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4,525 releases
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Ulster Unionist Party Warns Draft Budget Ignores Public Service Reform and Fiscal Advice
UUP finance spokesperson Dr Steve Aiken OBE MLA criticises Finance Minister John O'Dowd's draft budget for 2029/30, saying its £63 billion allocations fail to deliver transformation in Health, Education and Policing. He calls for efficiency reform and says Sinn Féin ignores existing fiscal advice…
Public finance and taxation Infrastructure and transport Issue: Draft Budget 2026–2029/30 Executive disagreement Original release: Ulster Unionist Party Warns Draft Budget Ignores Public Service Reform and Fiscal Advice (opens in a new tab)
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Unelected Commission Pushing Self-ID Agenda in Defiance of Supreme Court Ruling
TUV deputy leader Councillor Ron McDowell criticises the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission for advocating gender self-identification after the UK Supreme Court ruling on sex. He calls for the Executive Office to hold the Commission to account and says the Health Minister will be held…
Disability and equality Original release: Unelected Commission Pushing Self-ID Agenda in Defiance of Supreme Court Ruling (opens in a new tab)
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Welcome for uturn on Farming Inheritance Tax
TUV leader Jim Allister welcomes the Government's U-turn on inheritance tax for farm holdings but says the £2.5m threshold should have been set higher. He says sustained pressure from farmers and MPs forced the change and warns the campaign against the tax will continue.
Public finance and taxation Agriculture and rural affairs Original release: Welcome for uturn on Farming Inheritance Tax (opens in a new tab)
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Mallaghan welcomes u-turn on farming inheritance tax
Sinn Féin MP Cathal Mallaghan welcomes the British government's decision to raise the proposed inheritance tax threshold for family farms from £1 million to £2.5 million, crediting sustained campaigning by the farming community.
Agriculture and rural affairs Public finance and taxation Original release: Mallaghan welcomes u-turn on farming inheritance tax (opens in a new tab)
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McCrossan welcomes changes on farm inheritance tax
SDLP Opposition AERA Spokesperson Daniel McCrossan MLA welcomes the UK Government's revised plans to raise the proposed farmland inheritance tax threshold to £2.5 million for individuals and £5 million for married couples. He says the change will protect most local family farms and offers his…
Agriculture and rural affairs Public finance and taxation Original release: McCrossan welcomes changes on farm inheritance tax (opens in a new tab)
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O’Toole: Executive ends dismal year on Budget confusion
SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole, Leader of the Opposition, says the Executive ends a year of little delivery amid Budget confusion over a projected £440m overspend next year. He urges the Finance Minister to get to grips with the situation and seek additional fiscal powers.
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: O’Toole: Executive ends dismal year on Budget confusion (opens in a new tab)
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British Government must reverse ‘shameful’ cuts to Community and Voluntary sector – Gildernew
Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew calls on the British Government to reverse planned cuts of 64% to the Community and Voluntary sector under the Local Growth Fund, warning that jobs and vulnerable-user schemes are at risk.
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: British Government must reverse ‘shameful’ cuts to Community and Voluntary sector – Gildernew (opens in a new tab)
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Hanna: Community sector funding cuts will cause huge damage
SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP says the UK Government's 64% cut to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will devastate the community sector, putting jobs and services for marginalised people at risk. She suggests the timing, days before Christmas, was designed to bury opposition, and urges the Executive to…
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Original release: Hanna: Community sector funding cuts will cause huge damage (opens in a new tab)
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Childcare Strategy Welcome But Parents Must See Real Value
UUP education spokesperson Jon Burrows MLA welcomes the draft childcare strategy as a step forward but says it fails to address fee rises matching increased support, and asks what safeguards will stop disproportionate provider fee hikes under the childcare subsidy scheme.
Education Economy and employment Original release: Childcare Strategy Welcome But Parents Must See Real Value (opens in a new tab)
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Sinn Féin writes to David Lammy MP concerning hunger strikers’ health and wellbeing
Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney MLA says all Sinn Féin parliamentarians have signed a letter to Justice Secretary David Lammy urging him to resolve the hunger strike by eight prisoners in Britain, now at 47 days, and to engage directly with them and their legal representatives.
Justice and policing Health Original release: Sinn Féin writes to David Lammy MP concerning hunger strikers’ health and wellbeing (opens in a new tab)
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Givan welcomes approval of Ministerial Direction on Teachers’ Pay
Education Minister Paul Givan welcomes First Minister and deputy First Minister approval of his Ministerial Direction for the 2025–26 teachers' pay award, reached through the Urgent Decision procedure. He says the wider Education Department financial pressure, including a projected deficit of…
Education Economy and employment Original release: Givan welcomes approval of Ministerial Direction on Teachers’ Pay (opens in a new tab)
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Breastfeeding mothers must have access to services to support them – Dillon
Sinn Féin MLA Linda Dillon calls on the Department of Health and the Public Health Agency to ensure breastfeeding mothers get support, citing reports of a mother who had to pay for help and PHA research showing many mothers stop early due to lack of support.
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Givan: Childcare reforms could cut costs for families by over 50%
Education Minister Paul Givan launches a draft Executive Early Learning and Childcare Strategy, with a public consultation, saying it could subsidise working families' childcare costs by more than 50%. It proposes universal full-time pre-school education and an Early Years Curriculum Framework.
Education Public finance and taxation Original release: Givan: Childcare reforms could cut costs for families by over 50% (opens in a new tab)
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Irish neutrality incompatible with EU militarisation – Mairéad Farrell TD
Sinn Féin spokesperson Mairéad Farrell TD welcomes an Oireachtas Committee report on EU defence funding under ReArm Europe and the SAFE Regulation, saying it raises concerns over Irish neutrality and taxpayer-backed loans for weapons. She argues EU budget guarantees could conflict with EU law and…
International affairs Public finance and taxation Original release: Irish neutrality incompatible with EU militarisation – Mairéad Farrell TD (opens in a new tab)
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Support welcome but collaboration needed with eel fishermen – Kearney
Sinn Féin MLA Declan Kearney welcomes DAERA's announcement of a support payment for Lough Neagh brown eel fishers, but urges the department to work closely with fishing families on a lasting plan to rebuild the lough's commercial fishing sector.
Agriculture and rural affairs Economy and employment Original release: Support welcome but collaboration needed with eel fishermen – Kearney (opens in a new tab)
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The health and well-being of the hunger strikers is now entering an extremely alarming stage – Maskey
Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey warns that eight prisoners in Britain on collective hunger strike face grave risk, and urges Justice Secretary David Lammy to engage with their lawyers. He says Qesser Zuhrah's condition has rapidly worsened and calls for immediate clarity on her health.
Justice and policing Health Original release: The health and well-being of the hunger strikers is now entering an extremely alarming stage – Maskey (opens in a new tab)
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Campbell: Free TV licence plans a slap in the face for working people
DUP MP Gregory Campbell calls the Labour Government's proposals to offer free TV licences to benefit claimants a slap in the face for working people. He says the plans would shift the burden onto working households, questions how they would be funded, and urges Labour to focus on easing pressures…
Social security and welfare Economy and employment Original release: Campbell: Free TV licence plans a slap in the face for working people (opens in a new tab)
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Doherty slams Lyons over hardship funding
SDLP West Belfast councillor Paul Doherty criticises Communities Minister Gordon Lyons for confirming no Department for Communities funding for Belfast City Council's Hardship Fund in 2025/26. He says the decision will hit projects such as school breakfast clubs and calls on the Executive to take…
Social security and welfare Local government Original release: Doherty slams Lyons over hardship funding (opens in a new tab)
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McLaughlin questions how Childcare Strategy will be funded
SDLP Foyle MLA Sinéad McLaughlin questions how the Education Minister's draft childcare strategy will be financed, noting no agreed multi-year budget exists for the roughly £500 million needed over four years. She also criticises its release so close to Christmas after a promised autumn timetable.
Education Public finance and taxation Original release: McLaughlin questions how Childcare Strategy will be funded (opens in a new tab)
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McGrath: Executive must outline how they will find data breach compensation
SDLP MLA Colin McGrath, a Policing Board member, says significant questions remain over how the Executive will fund compensation for PSNI officers and staff affected by the data breach. He asks the Justice and Finance Ministers to set out how the money will be found.
Public finance and taxation Justice and policing Original release: McGrath: Executive must outline how they will find data breach compensation (opens in a new tab)