Councillor Barr, who himself served in the Armed Forces, pictured with fellow soldiers awaiting helicopter pick-up from a field in Afghanistan in Spring 2011.
Braid Ulster Unionist Councillor, Alan Barr, has welcomed the renewal of the Armed Forces Covenant within Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.
At the latest meeting of the Council, Councillor Barr spoke in favour of the renewal and revision of the Armed Forces Covenant. He was further heartened that his two amendments were spoken in favour of and accepted by Councillors from other parties.
Councillor Barr, a veteran of the Northern Ireland and Afghanistan campaigns, said:
I trust that the Council's commitment to The Armed Forces Covenant will be more than a promise - it will be a moral obligation to ensure that our service and ex-service personnel are treated fairly and receive no disadvantage and where possible, given special consideration - especially those veterans who gave the most, such as the injured and the families of those bereaved.
“This revised Armed Forces Covenant is a testament to our Borough's gratitude and recognition of the invaluable contributions made by our Armed Forces whether at home or abroad. It is our commitment to honour their sacrifices and to ensure that they are supported as much as possible. As they stood by us, it is now our duty to stand by them.”
Councillor Barr proposed that the following two additional pledges be added to the Covenant:
• This Council tries to get those hard-to-reach veterans, where they are willing, the help they need.
• Council signs up to the Blue Light Card Scheme.
The Blue Light Card Scheme will permit those veterans who have a Blue Light Card to receive discounts on using leisure facilities such as leisure centres and golf courses.
The Councillor welcomed the progress that had been made since the Covenant was first signed in 2016. This included the excellent work of the Veterans Champion in organising roadshows and the Veterans Support Programme for their road trips and other get-togethers.
Councillor Barr continued:
“I do hope that this revised Armed Forces Covenant can be supported by all parties tonight. This is because our veterans stretch across the religious and political divide - being a veteran is not exclusive to being a Protestant or a Unionist. A veteran is someone who wore the uniform of our Armed Forces and at times, put themselves in harm’s way no matter the cost to themselves or to their families.”
He added that he could personally testify to this:
“In Afghanistan, one of my best friends was an Irish Guardsman from Lurgan who played GAA. In his quarters, I witnessed guys in Rangers and Celtic tops playing the X-Box together and hanging above them was the Northern Ireland flag, the Union Flag and the Irish Tri Colour. They may have been Protestant, Roman Catholic, Unionist or Nationalist but they were members of the Armed Forces and now they are veterans and deserving of this Council's support.”
Councillor Barr concluded by reminding the Council of a quote:
“We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us."
He stated that, “our Armed Forces are those brave men and women, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they are never forgotten and that their sacrifices are always remembered.”