At a rival press conference, Brian Faulkner is critical of the Northern Ireland government for introducing the local government franchise now.

Faulkner's criticism is largely due to a lack of consultation with the rest of the party and the people it represents. According to Faulkner, the introduction of such a measure shows how out of touch the government is with the currently explosive situation in the country.

Faulkner comments that it fails to satisfy the civil rights movement, it fuels the fires of distrust within the Unionist Party, and furthermore, it puts the rule of law at risk in Northern Ireland.

A RTÉ News report on Brian Faulkner discussing the implications of the parliament vote for universal franchise broadcast on 23 April 1969.

Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives.

If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us.

RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us.