Cllr Áine Groogan said:
"This meeting should not have happened."
"Planning enforcement is clearly delegated to council officers for a reason, to ensure decisions are impartial, evidence-based, and grounded in planning law. Attempts by political parties to intervene in those decisions risks undermining that process, and could breach the standards set out in the councillors’ code of conduct."
"Some members of Belfast City Council have sought to drag council officers into the debate surrounding tonight's special meeting. We believe that is totally unacceptable. Officers are there to apply the law impartially, not to be pulled into political point-scoring by political parties."
"Councillors are also explicitly advised not to lobby for enforcement action or seek to influence officers. Tonight’s move cuts across that guidance and attempts to set a dangerous precedent."
"You don’t have to agree with a development to respect the process. Councillors regularly make decisions they may not personally support because the system must operate fairly and within the law."
"Instead, what we are seeing is distraction politics. While parties engage in headline-grabbing interventions, people in our city are facing real pressures, ever-increasing housing waiting lists, rising fuel costs, public services at breaking point, and ever growing inequality in our communities."
"Green politics is about doing things differently. That means respecting proper process, focusing on real outcomes, and refusing to play into political theatre that delivers nothing for the public we serve."