Latest releases
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2,505 releases
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Tennyson welcomes Conversion Practices Bill passing second stage
Alliance Deputy Leader Eóin Tennyson MLA welcomes his Conversion Practices Bill clearing second stage in the Assembly, with the bill now moving to Committee Stage. He calls conversion practices cruel and archaic and says the bill protects LGBT+ people while preserving free speech and religious…
Disability and equality Issue: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill Second Stage debate Original release: Tennyson welcomes Conversion Practices Bill passing second stage (opens in a new tab)Archived copy (captured later), Internet Archive capture of 10 November 2026 (opens in a new tab)
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Sinn Féin opposed to conversion therapy – Hargey
Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey says the party opposes conversion therapy during the Second Stage debate on the Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill. She says Sinn Féin will keep engaging with the Bill sponsor to make the legislation fit for purpose.
Disability and equality Issue: Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill Second Stage debate Original release: Sinn Féin opposed to conversion therapy – Hargey (opens in a new tab)Archived copy (captured later), Internet Archive capture of 10 November 2026 (opens in a new tab)
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March for Clean Water: Stormont
People Before Profit calls on people from across the North to join a march at Stormont on 26 September demanding urgent action on toxic algae in Lough Neagh and drinking water quality. It blames intensive agriculture, data centres and underfunding of NI Water for the pollution.
Environment and climate Original release: March for Clean Water: Stormont (opens in a new tab)
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Kearney welcomes DAERA financial mitigation for Lough Neagh fishermen
Sinn Féin MLA Declan Kearney welcomes DAERA's three-year financial support scheme for Lough Neagh fishermen during the ongoing moratorium, but says it falls short of full compensation for lost income. He calls for sustained work with the fishing cooperative, the wider fishing community and…
Agriculture and rural affairs Economy and employment Issue: DAERA three-year financial support scheme for Lough Neagh fishermen Original release: Kearney welcomes DAERA financial mitigation for Lough Neagh fishermen (opens in a new tab)
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Carroll: Stormont Stalemate Robbing Thousands of a Second Chance at Education
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll condemns the planned cut of almost 8,000 further‑education places, saying the Executive’s budget stalemate will hit working‑class, women returning to work and newcomers, and calls for emergency funding to restore the places.
Education Public finance and taxation Issue: Planned cuts of 8,000 further‑education places Original release: Carroll: Stormont Stalemate Robbing Thousands of a Second Chance at Education (opens in a new tab)
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Givan launches programme to boost support for pupils preparing for…
DUP's Education Minister Paul Givan announces a new Primary Literacy and Numeracy / Transitions Support Programme for Primary 6 and 7 pupils, with up to £600,000 for schools in 2026/27 and expressions of interest open until 1 October.
Education Issue: Primary Literacy and Numeracy / Transitions Support Programme launch Original release: Givan launches programme to boost support for pupils preparing for… (opens in a new tab)
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Clear answers must be provided on proposed Richill AFC funding allocation – Sheehan
Sinn Féin Education spokesperson Pat Sheehan MLA calls for clear answers from Education Minister Paul Givan on a proposed £30,000 allocation for a football pitch at Richhill AFC, questioning changed departmental advice after the minister's visit and asking the Education Committee to investigate.
Education Public finance and taxation Issue: Proposed £30,000 funding allocation for Richhill AFC football pitch Original release: Clear answers must be provided on proposed Richill AFC funding allocation – Sheehan (opens in a new tab)
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Carroll: Teachers Right to Take stand. Minister Must Deliver Not Delay
People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll backs teachers and school leaders in industrial action, urging Education Minister Paul Givan to deliver a funded plan cutting workload instead of seeking more time on the workload review's 27 proposals.
Education Economy and employment Issue: Teacher workload industrial action and Independent Teacher Workload Review implementation Original release: Carroll: Teachers Right to Take stand. Minister Must Deliver Not Delay (opens in a new tab)
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O'Toole: Belfast Met cuts expose cost of Executive Budget failure
SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole says cuts of over 2,500 places at Belfast Met reflect the impact of the Executive's failure to agree a Budget, noting the college is on a contingency allocation with a shortfall of about £6.8m. He calls on the four Executive parties to resolve the Budget impasse.
Education Public finance and taxation Issue: Belfast Met student places cuts linked to Executive Budget Original release: O'Toole: Belfast Met cuts expose cost of Executive Budget failure (opens in a new tab)Archived copy (captured later), Internet Archive capture of 9 November 2026 (opens in a new tab)
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Education Minister must bring forward a plan to reduce teacher workload – Sheehan
Sinn Féin education spokesperson Pat Sheehan calls on Education Minister Paul Givan to present a credible plan that reduces teacher workload, saying teachers have warned for years and should not need industrial action to be heard.
Education Issue: Teaching unions announce industrial action short of strike Original release: Education Minister must bring forward a plan to reduce teacher workload – Sheehan (opens in a new tab)
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Carroll Brings Toxic Lough Neagh Water into Assembly Chamber: "Would any MLA Take a Sip?"
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll brought a jar of algae-contaminated Lough Neagh water into the Assembly chamber, challenging Executive ministers over the lough's pollution crisis and accusing the DUP of stoking sectarian tension around Drumcree. He also promotes a clean-water march at…
Environment and climate Original release: Carroll Brings Toxic Lough Neagh Water into Assembly Chamber: "Would any MLA Take a Sip?" (opens in a new tab)
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Burrows urges Givan to act before workload dispute escalates to strikes
UUP leader and Education spokesperson Jon Burrows MLA urges Education Minister Paul Givan to return to talks and agree a time-bound plan to implement the Independent Review of Workload in full, ahead of teachers' action short of strike from 28 September.
Education Issue: Teaching unions announce industrial action short of strike Original release: Burrows urges Givan to act before workload dispute escalates to strikes (opens in a new tab)
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Armstrong: Nearly £1 million spent on mothballed Careers Portal
UUP Deputy Leader Diana Armstrong MLA says the Department for the Economy has spent about £889,000 on the paused Careers Portal Project, with nothing delivered, and demands the Minister state whether it will continue or close and show what benefits the spending has produced.
Economy and employment Public finance and taxation Issue: Careers Portal Project spending revealed in Assembly question response Original release: Armstrong: Nearly £1 million spent on mothballed Careers Portal (opens in a new tab)
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Queen’s report highlights again the damaging impact of academic selection – Sheehan
Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan says a new Queen's University Belfast report shows academic selection harms children and the education system, and blames successive DUP Education Ministers for ignoring the evidence. He calls for a fairer post-primary transfer system.
Education Issue: Queen's University Belfast report on academic selection and post-primary transfer Original release: Queen’s report highlights again the damaging impact of academic selection – Sheehan (opens in a new tab)
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Aiken warns of long and frustrating winter as EU-UK reset delayed again
UUP Windsor Framework spokesperson Dr Steve Aiken MLA warns that repeated delays to EU-UK reset talks, with the timetable slipping from July to October and now late November, leave agribusiness and manufacturing firms without needed certainty.
Education Economy and employment Issue: EU-UK reset talks timetable delayed again to late November Original release: Aiken warns of long and frustrating winter as EU-UK reset delayed again (opens in a new tab)
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Brain drain and vocational pathways matter more than the transfer test row, says Burrows
UUP Leader Jon Burrows MLA calls for the education debate to shift from the transfer test to tackling brain drain and creating properly funded vocational pathways into apprenticeships, while defending parents' right to choose a child's school.
Education Economy and employment Original release: Brain drain and vocational pathways matter more than the transfer test row, says Burrows (opens in a new tab)
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Eastwood demands equitable access to new breast cancer treatment for patients in Northern Ireland
Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood calls for equitable access to Enhertu, a life-extending breast cancer drug now available on the NHS in England, for patients in Northern Ireland. She has written to Health Minister Robbie Butler seeking an urgent timetable for its availability locally.
Health Disability and equality Issue: Enhertu breast cancer drug availability in Northern Ireland Original release: Eastwood demands equitable access to new breast cancer treatment for patients in Northern Ireland (opens in a new tab)
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Infrastructure Minister must act on sand-dredging at Lough Neagh, says Blair
Alliance Environment Spokesperson John Blair MLA calls on the Infrastructure Minister to pause commercial sand dredging on Lough Neagh until a review of permissions and environmental assessments is completed, citing evidence that dredging releases nutrients linked to algal blooms. He also urges…
Environment and climate Infrastructure and transport Issue: Lough Neagh sand dredging nutrient release and NIEA licence review letter Original release: Infrastructure Minister must act on sand-dredging at Lough Neagh, says Blair (opens in a new tab)
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Conversion Practices Bill a historic opportunity for progress, says Tennyson, ahead of debate
Alliance Deputy Leader Eóin Tennyson MLA calls on Assembly members from all parties to back the Conversion Practices Bill at Second Stage, describing it as a historic opportunity to ban conversion practices he calls cruel and archaic.
Disability and equality Issue: Conversion Practices Bill Second Stage debate Original release: Conversion Practices Bill a historic opportunity for progress, says Tennyson, ahead of debate (opens in a new tab)
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O'Neill: Girls Themselves Won U-Turn on Right to Wear Trousers Through Relentless Efforts
People Before Profit's Maeve O'Neill welcomes the decision to let girls wear trousers in school, crediting girls who campaigned for years and criticising Education Minister Paul Givan's U-turn as embarrassing. She calls for the uniform legislation to be challenged and for RSE and menstrual health…
Disability and equality Education Issue: Education Minister Givan's school trousers guidance for girls Original release: O'Neill: Girls Themselves Won U-Turn on Right to Wear Trousers Through Relentless Efforts (opens in a new tab)