Latest releases
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1,460 releases
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Allister meets RNIB in Westminster
TUV MP Jim Allister thanks the RNIB after a Westminster meeting, praising its vision rehabilitation teams and guide dog work, and cites local figures of about 3,470 people in North Antrim with sight loss and roughly 130 new cases each year.
Disability and equality Health Original release: Allister meets RNIB in Westminster (opens in a new tab)
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Assembly backs cost of living motion – Gildernew
Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew welcomes the Assembly's backing of his party's cost of living motion, urging Communities Minister Gordon Lyons to strengthen proposals for tackling poverty amid families struggling to afford food and heating.
Social security and welfare Economy and employment Issue: Assembly cost of living motion on poverty and Communities Minister's proposals Original release: Assembly backs cost of living motion – Gildernew (opens in a new tab)
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Doherty named as Right to Food Commissioner
SDLP councillor Paul Doherty says he has been named to the Right to Food Commission, which will gather evidence across Britain and the North on hunger and foodbanks. He says he will represent the North and push for policy shaped by people with lived experience of poverty.
Social security and welfare Local government Issue: Right to Food Commission launch at Westminster Original release: Doherty named as Right to Food Commissioner (opens in a new tab)
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Hunter criticises EA's handling of Sandelford School repairs
SDLP MLA Cara Hunter criticises the Education Authority over its handling of repairs at Sandelford School in Coleraine, where deteriorating classrooms and unsuitable mobile units have disrupted pupils with complex needs. She calls for faster repairs, clearer communication and a commitment that…
Education Disability and equality Issue: Sandelford School Coleraine classroom repairs and mobile unit closures Original release: Hunter criticises EA's handling of Sandelford School repairs (opens in a new tab)
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Durkan: Health staff on Universal Credit deserve fairness on ‘rightfully earned’ pay rise
SDLP Communities Spokesperson Mark Durkan MLA urges the Health, Communities and Finance Ministers to cooperate so health staff on Universal Credit can receive the backdated 2025/26 NHS pay award without losing benefit payments. He calls for a phased payment approach, warning single parents, mainly…
Social security and welfare Health Issue: Health Minister confirms backdated 2025 healthcare pay award Original release: Durkan: Health staff on Universal Credit deserve fairness on ‘rightfully earned’ pay rise (opens in a new tab)
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Hunter concerned at lack of Access NI checks in special needs schools
SDLP Opposition Education Spokesperson Cara Hunter MLA expresses concern that 353 special needs school support staff posts were filled without Access NI checks, according to an FOI response from Unite. She calls on the Education Minister to urgently set out plans to end temporary engagement forms…
Education Disability and equality Issue: Access NI checks for special needs school support staff Original release: Hunter concerned at lack of Access NI checks in special needs schools (opens in a new tab)
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Durkan: Sinn Féin gaslighting people on cost of living
SDLP Opposition Communities Spokesperson Mark H Durkan MLA accuses Sinn Féin of gaslighting the public with its Assembly cost of living motion. He says the party, as the biggest in the Executive, should take responsibility for failing to address rising living costs, citing the two-child welfare…
Economy and employment Social security and welfare Issue: Assembly cost of living motion on poverty and Communities Minister's proposals Original release: Durkan: Sinn Féin gaslighting people on cost of living (opens in a new tab)
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Gildernew to meet groups working to tackle poverty as Sinn Féin brings cost of living motion to the Assembly
Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew says he will meet community groups and charities supporting families before his party's Assembly cost of living motion on Monday. The motion asks the Communities Minister for concrete plans to help hard-pressed households, and the party calls his draft poverty plan weak.
Social security and welfare Economy and employment Issue: Assembly cost of living motion on poverty and Communities Minister's proposals Original release: Gildernew to meet groups working to tackle poverty as Sinn Féin brings cost of living motion to the Assembly (opens in a new tab)
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Sinn Féin Unites With DUP To Vote Down Trans Rights Solidarity Motion In Derry City and Strabane District Council
People Before Profit Cllr Shaun Harkin says Sinn Féin joined the DUP to defeat his trans rights solidarity motion at Derry City and Strabane District Council, after Sinn Féin called the motion divisive. The motion opposed Stormont transgender policies including the puberty blocker ban and school…
Disability and equality Local government Issue: Derry City and Strabane council vote on trans rights solidarity motion Original release: Sinn Féin Unites With DUP To Vote Down Trans Rights Solidarity Motion In Derry City and Strabane District Council (opens in a new tab)
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Training nurses to spot signs of violence and abuse will help save lives – Dillon
Sinn Féin MLA Linda Dillon welcomes Queen's University Belfast's initiative training nursing students to identify warning signs of abuse affecting women and girls, arguing frontline staff help protect at-risk people. She says Sinn Féin will keep backing measures that strengthen protections.
Justice and policing Health Issue: Queen's University Belfast nursing students abuse-recognition training initiative Original release: Training nurses to spot signs of violence and abuse will help save lives – Dillon (opens in a new tab)
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Mallaghan praises Hope Magherafelt for vital community support and calls for immediate end to two-child limit
Sinn Féin MP Cathal Mallaghan praises Hope Magherafelt's community work during a visit, including its café, food support and signposting, and calls for the UK government to scrap the two-child limit immediately.
Social security and welfare Original release: Mallaghan praises Hope Magherafelt for vital community support and calls for immediate end to two-child limit (opens in a new tab)
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McCrossan urges progress ahead of Troubles payment scheme deadline
SDLP West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan urges the Executive Office to speed up applications to the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme before its August 2026 closure to new applications. Citing figures he obtained, he says 2,476 applications have succeeded and 1,758 awards total nearly…
Community relations and legacy Disability and equality Issue: Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme application figures Original release: McCrossan urges progress ahead of Troubles payment scheme deadline (opens in a new tab)
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Child Benefit u-turn welcome, but more needed – Dáire Hughes MP
Sinn Féin MP for Newry and Armagh Dáire Hughes welcomes HMRC's U-turn on letters suspending Child Benefit payments, but calls for all payments to be reinstated immediately, back payments guaranteed and the errors never repeated.
Social security and welfare Public finance and taxation Issue: HMRC Child Benefit suspension letters U-turn Original release: Child Benefit u-turn welcome, but more needed – Dáire Hughes MP (opens in a new tab)
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Durkan: 3,000 drop in free school meal approvals deepens pressure on families
SDLP Opposition Communities Spokesperson Mark H Durkan MLA says a drop of over 3,000 free school meal and uniform grant approvals in two years, linked to Universal Credit eligibility thresholds, deepens hardship for families. He calls on Ministers to communicate clearly so parents can reapply.
Social security and welfare Education Issue: Free school meal and uniform grant approvals fall by 3,000 Original release: Durkan: 3,000 drop in free school meal approvals deepens pressure on families (opens in a new tab)
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Baker slams decision to cut education support for vulnerable children
Sinn Féin MLA Danny Baker criticises the Education Authority's cuts to Education Otherwise Than at School support for vulnerable children, and says he will raise it in the Assembly next week. He blames DUP Education Ministers for financial mismanagement, and says the Lagan Valley Education Project…
Education Disability and equality Issue: Education Authority cuts to Education Otherwise Than at School support Original release: Baker slams decision to cut education support for vulnerable children (opens in a new tab)
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Timothy Gaston granted leave to intervene in legal challenge against DFI minister’s imposition of Irish signage at Grand Central Station
TUV welcomes a court decision granting MLA Timothy Gaston leave to intervene in the legal challenge to the infrastructure minister's imposition of Irish-language signage at Grand Central Station. The party says it looks forward to joining the case through his counsel, Emma McIlveen BL.
Disability and equality Justice and policing Issue: Grand Central Station Irish signage legal challenge leave to intervene Original release: Timothy Gaston granted leave to intervene in legal challenge against DFI minister’s imposition of Irish signage at Grand Central Station (opens in a new tab)
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McGrath presses Chief Constable on violence against women cases
SDLP Policing Board member and South Down MLA Colin McGrath presses Chief Constable Jon Boutcher on PSNI handling of violence against women and girls, criticising the decision that only one of four officers under Police Ombudsman investigation faces a full misconduct hearing. He calls for…
Justice and policing Disability and equality Issue: Police Ombudsman report on officers' conduct during December 2022 arrest Original release: McGrath presses Chief Constable on violence against women cases (opens in a new tab)
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Burrows Warns School Meal Price Rise Will Hit Struggling Families
UUP MLA Jon Burrows, Education Spokesperson, says the Education Authority's roughly 20 per cent school meal price rise will hit struggling families hard, adding £92.50 per child over a 185-day year. He will write to the Education Minister seeking an explanation and urging reversal.
Education Economy and employment Issue: Education Authority school dinner price increase announcement Original release: Burrows Warns School Meal Price Rise Will Hit Struggling Families (opens in a new tab)
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Excuse for removing tri-lingual letterheads ‘bogus’ – McHugh
Sinn Féin MLA Maolíosa McHugh calls the Communities Minister's reason for dropping tri-lingual letterheads 'bogus', saying a written answer showed no savings could be quantified. He accuses the minister of failing to publish an Irish Language Strategy.
Disability and equality Issue: Removal of tri-lingual letterheads from Department for Communities Original release: Excuse for removing tri-lingual letterheads ‘bogus’ – McHugh (opens in a new tab)
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Brownlee welcomes progress on Sensory Room proposals for children’s…
East Antrim MLA Cheryl Brownlee welcomes the Health Minister's update on a sensory room for the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, following a DUP adjournment debate. She says the Minister asked officials to work with the Belfast Trust on the proposed facility.
Health Disability and equality Issue: Sensory room proposal at Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children Original release: Brownlee welcomes progress on Sensory Room proposals for children’s… (opens in a new tab)