Latest releases
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2,847 releases
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McGuigan marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities, calling for better public services, expanded supports, a narrower employment gap and accessible transport and public spaces.
Disability and equality Original release: McGuigan marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities (opens in a new tab)
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Palliative care report can play a positive role in shaping change – McGuigan
Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan welcomes the Health Committee's report on palliative care access across the North, saying it gives voice to patients and staff. He points to growing waiting lists, limited resources and uneven services by postcode, and urges the Health Minister to consider its…
Health Issue: Assembly Health Committee report on palliative and end-of-life care Original release: Palliative care report can play a positive role in shaping change – McGuigan (opens in a new tab)
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People in crisis need the right care from the right service – Dillon
Sinn Féin MLA Linda Dillon calls on the Health Minister to lead a cross-departmental effort delivering Right Care, Right Person, so people in mental ill-health or personal crisis receive health or social care rather than relying on PSNI as a last resort.
Health Justice and policing Issue: Assembly debate on Right Care, Right Person motion Original release: People in crisis need the right care from the right service – Dillon (opens in a new tab)
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O’Toole welcomes introduction of baby loss certificates
SDLP MLA O'Toole welcomes the introduction of baby loss certificates, which he says will give families recognition of pregnancy and baby loss. The release is brief and gives no further detail on the scheme's scope or timing.
Health Issue: Deaths, Still-Births and Baby Loss Bill final stage passage Original release: O’Toole welcomes introduction of baby loss certificates (opens in a new tab)
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Baby Loss Certificate Scheme marks a compassionate step forward, says Tennyson
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We must work to ensure everyone in NI has a safe and suitable home, says Armstrong, on Homelessness Awareness Week
Alliance Communities spokesperson Kellie Armstrong MLA says homelessness is too often reduced to statistics, labels or stereotypes, and calls for work to ensure everyone in Northern Ireland has a safe and suitable home, marking Homelessness Awareness Week.
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Police shouldn’t be expected to pick up pieces of broken health system, says McAllister, ahead of Assembly motion
Alliance health spokesperson Nuala McAllister MLA says police are being left to handle mental health crisis calls that belong in the health system, citing 39,000 yearly safety calls and urging the Health Minister to deliver the Mental Health Strategy and Right Care, Right Person model ahead of an…
Health Justice and policing Issue: Assembly motion on police time spent on mental health calls Original release: Police shouldn’t be expected to pick up pieces of broken health system, says McAllister, ahead of Assembly motion (opens in a new tab)
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Green Party Cllr Kendall Again Condemns Executive Over Continued Delay of Safe Leave
Green Party Councillor Lauren Kendall accuses the Economy Minister and the Executive of stalling Safe Leave, which would give paid leave to domestic abuse victims, and says the delay is letting victims down. She links the criticism to new Women's Aid figures on refuge use and referrals in 2024/25.
Justice and policing Disability and equality Issue: Safe Leave legislation delay and inaction Original release: Green Party Cllr Kendall Again Condemns Executive Over Continued Delay of Safe Leave (opens in a new tab)Archived copy, Internet Archive capture of 29 November 2025 (opens in a new tab)
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Sinn Fein hypocrisy highlighted following Enniskillen Hotel event
TUV spokesperson Alex Elliott accuses Sinn Fein of hypocrisy over an Enniskillen Hotel event on an all-Ireland health service, linking the party to a republican terror campaign that he says drained health resources. He also rejects a proposed €100 GP charge and calls the event an electioneering…
Health Community relations and legacy Issue: Sinn Fein Enniskillen Hotel all-Ireland health service event Original release: Sinn Fein hypocrisy highlighted following Enniskillen Hotel event (opens in a new tab)
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Citizens’ Assembly on future of Ireland must have healthcare front and centre – Mary Lou McDonald TD
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, speaking at a Commission on the Future of Ireland event in Enniskillen on rural health, urges Dublin to hold a citizens' forum on the island's future with health and social care central, and urges deeper cross-border health planning and an all-island public…
Health Constitutional affairs Original release: Citizens’ Assembly on future of Ireland must have healthcare front and centre – Mary Lou McDonald TD (opens in a new tab)
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Mason welcomes support to allow girls the right to wear trousers in school
Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason welcomes cross-party support on the Education Committee for a proposal giving girls a clear right to wear trousers in school. She says the DUP Education Minister missed a chance to modernise school uniform policy and pledges to work with others to deliver it.
Education Disability and equality Issue: Education Committee proposal on girls' right to wear trousers in school Original release: Mason welcomes support to allow girls the right to wear trousers in school (opens in a new tab)
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Sinn Féin representatives welcome Health Minister to Dungannon respite facility
Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew and Councillor Nuala McLernon welcome the Health Minister's visit to Woodlawn House in Dungannon, which provides adult respite for people with learning disabilities, and call for urgent action on repeated last-minute respite cancellations.
Health Disability and equality Issue: Health Minister visit to Woodlawn House Dungannon respite facility Original release: Sinn Féin representatives welcome Health Minister to Dungannon respite facility (opens in a new tab)
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Alliance backs decision to take forward legislation to give girls right to wear trousers in school
Alliance MLA Michelle Guy welcomes the Education Committee's decision to take forward a single-issue bill allowing girls to choose trousers as part of school uniform. She says the Education Minister could have made the change through his uniform guidance and urges him to update the guidelines…
Education Disability and equality Issue: Education Committee proposal on girls' right to wear trousers in school Original release: Alliance backs decision to take forward legislation to give girls right to wear trousers in school (opens in a new tab)
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Hargey condemns south Belfast racist graffiti
Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey condemns graffiti on a property near Ravenhill Embankment in south Belfast that she describes as racist. She says the community is diverse and urges anyone with information to contact police.
Disability and equality Issue: Racist graffiti on property near Ravenhill Embankment, south Belfast Original release: Hargey condemns south Belfast racist graffiti (opens in a new tab)
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McLaughlin secures review into social services after raising concerns with Minister
SDLP Foyle MLA Sinéad McLaughlin welcomes Health Minister Mike Nesbitt's confirmation that officials will review how social services operate alongside family courts, after she raised parents' cases with him. She says the review must move quickly and questions why concerns did not reach the…
Health Issue: Health Department review of social services and family courts Original release: McLaughlin secures review into social services after raising concerns with Minister (opens in a new tab)
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16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence brings renewed focus to ending violence against women and girls, says Egan
Alliance North Down MLA Connie Egan says gender-based violence has no place in society and highlights this year's 16 Days of Activism theme, 'No Excuse for Online Abuse', amid a rise in deepfake videos of women.
Justice and policing Disability and equality Original release: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence brings renewed focus to ending violence against women and girls, says Egan (opens in a new tab)
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High number of social work vacancies ‘alarming’ – Ní Chuilín
Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín says more than 80 social work posts are vacant in the Belfast Trust, calling the figure alarming and urging the Department of Health to fill the posts urgently so staff are not overstretched and vulnerable people receive care.
Health Issue: Belfast Trust social work vacancies Original release: High number of social work vacancies ‘alarming’ – Ní Chuilín (opens in a new tab)
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McGrath expresses concern about health service funding
SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath MLA says he is concerned about future health service funding, pressing Health Minister Mike Nesbitt in the Assembly over a projected £200m overspend this year and its effect on next year's budget.
Health Public finance and taxation Issue: Health department projected £200m overspend and future funding concerns Original release: McGrath expresses concern about health service funding (opens in a new tab)
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Significant Reduction in Endoscopy Waiting Lists
UUP Health Minister Mike Nesbitt welcomes a 62% fall in endoscopy waiting lists to their lowest level since before COVID-19, citing regional endoscopy centres at Lagan Valley and Omagh hospitals and independent-sector insourcing. The release says recurrent funding is being sought to bring this…
Health Issue: Endoscopy waiting list reduction figures October 2025 Original release: Significant Reduction in Endoscopy Waiting Lists (opens in a new tab)
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Minister must expedite approval of funding for the Birch Hill Centre for Mental Health – Kearney
Sinn Féin's Declan Kearney, South Antrim MLA, calls on the Health Minister to expedite approval of funding for the Birch Hill Centre for Mental Health and confirm a clear timeframe, citing unsustainable conditions at Holywell Hospital in Antrim.
Health Issue: Birch Hill Centre for Mental Health funding approval Original release: Minister must expedite approval of funding for the Birch Hill Centre for Mental Health – Kearney (opens in a new tab)