Latest releases
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2,983 releases
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Diana Armstrong is new AERA committee chair
UUP MLA Diana Armstrong, Fermanagh and South Tyrone, says she will chair the Assembly's agriculture and environment committee, replacing Robbie Butler, and pledges to hold the Department to account on farm affordability, bovine TB, mental health and the Dilapidation Bill.
Agriculture and rural affairs Environment and climate Original release: Diana Armstrong is new AERA committee chair (opens in a new tab)
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Health Minister Robbie Butler visits Bryson Charitable Group on first day in post
Health Minister Robbie Butler says he visited Bryson Charitable Group in Belfast on his first full day in post, hearing about its homecare work and anti-poverty efforts. He stresses the importance of community and voluntary sector partners to his Department's Neighbourhood Model of Care and says…
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Dodds: New Health Minister faces enormous challenges
DUP health spokesperson Diane Dodds MLA says incoming Health Minister Robbie Butler has a heavy workload and urges him to act quickly on pay, morale, GP strain, cancer waiting times and the Muckamore report. She also asks whether he will continue Mike Nesbitt's approach or reset it.
Health Original release: Dodds: New Health Minister faces enormous challenges (opens in a new tab)
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Robbie Butler MLA appointed Minister of Health
UUP Leader Jon Burrows MLA says he has nominated Robbie Butler MLA to become Northern Ireland’s next Minister of Health, pledging full confidence and urging swift, patient‑focused reforms to improve access to care.
Health Original release: Robbie Butler MLA appointed Minister of Health (opens in a new tab)
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Butler cannot be yet another caretaker Health Minister, says McAllister
Alliance spokesperson Nuala McAllister MLA congratulates Robbie Butler on becoming Health Minister after Mike Nesbitt's departure, but says he must not be a stopgap, urging him to prioritise health service reform and difficult decisions.
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Carroll: Health service "fraying at the seams" while unionism turns in on itself
People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll says the UUP's turmoil over Mike Nesbitt's resignation reflects wider disarray in unionism while the health service is under strain. He criticises the Health Minister's reliance on for-profit healthcare and calls for a properly funded health service.
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McGuigan convenes urgent meeting of Health committee
Sinn Féin health spokesperson and Health committee Chair Philip McGuigan is convening an urgent Health committee meeting after the resignation of Health Minister Mike Nesbitt. He says the committee will ask the Department of Health's Permanent Secretary to attend to understand the impact on health…
Health Original release: McGuigan convenes urgent meeting of Health committee (opens in a new tab)
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Statement from Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows
UUP leader Jon Burrows thanks Mike Nesbitt for his service as Health Minister after his resignation, says the party will nominate a successor soon, and calls for reform to be engaged with communities, citing concerns around Causeway.
Health Original release: Statement from Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows (opens in a new tab)
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Allister urges Minister to reject Trust proposals for Causeway Hospital
TUV leader Jim Allister, MP for North Antrim, has written to the health minister urging him to reject the Northern Trust's plan to move emergency general surgery from Causeway Hospital to Antrim Area Hospital. He calls for the Trust to publish the data behind its decision, citing claimed…
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UUP cannot maintain fiction that there is a separation of party and policy on future of Causeway Hospital
North Antrim MP Jim Allister calls on UUP leader Jon Burrows to clarify whether his party backs his stated position on the future of Causeway Hospital, and whether Health Minister Mike Nesbitt is committed to the Causeway. He says the UUP cannot separate party and policy on the issue.
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Sodium Valproate families deserve recognition, support and redress – Flynn
Sinn Féin MLA Órlaithí Flynn says families affected by sodium valproate deserve recognition, support and redress. She calls on the British Government to clarify its response to the Cumberlege Review and Hughes Report, and on the Northern Ireland Department of Health to gather data on those harmed.
Health Disability and equality Original release: Sodium Valproate families deserve recognition, support and redress – Flynn (opens in a new tab)
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O'Toole: Resignation of Health Minister exposes "shambolic" Executive
SDLP Leader of the Opposition Matthew O'Toole MLA says the resignation of Health Minister Mike Nesbitt shows the Executive lacks a serious approach to government, and calls it an insult to healthcare workers and patients. He links it to the failure to agree a Budget and to internal party disputes.
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Leadership means more than making speeches: Bradley
DUP East Londonderry MLA Maurice Bradley says the UUP must show its opposition to ending emergency surgery at Causeway Hospital is more than rhetoric. He challenges UUP leader Jon Burrows to use his leadership influence, and asks why the UUP health minister remains in post if Burrows lacks…
Health Original release: Leadership means more than making speeches: Bradley (opens in a new tab)
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McGrath: Workforce planning key to ending agency reliance in the health service for good
SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath MLA welcomes HSC Chief Executives' plans to speed up cutting agency staffing in the health service. He calls on the Health Minister and Executive to sustain the progress and plan permanent workforce recruitment and retention to avoid a return to…
Health Economy and employment Original release: McGrath: Workforce planning key to ending agency reliance in the health service for good (opens in a new tab)
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Dumped Car in River Lagan 40 Years On
Green Party Cllr Anthony Flynn and Lagan Valley Greens Co-chair Richard Gill call for the car dumped in the River Lagan to be removed and the site checked for contamination, such as a battery leaching heavy metals. They also demand written confirmation that the river will be clear next summer, and…
Environment and climate Local government Issue: Dumped car in River Lagan near Lisburn council chamber Original release: Dumped Car in River Lagan 40 Years On (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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Causeway Hospital needs words translated into action: Bradley
DUP MLA Maurice Bradley calls on the Health Minister to end uncertainty over Causeway Hospital and respond positively to the message from an open meeting in Coleraine Town Hall. He says the Trust has sought to remove services and that words must now become action.
Health Original release: Causeway Hospital needs words translated into action: Bradley (opens in a new tab)
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Blair denounces failure of leadership from UFU
Alliance AERA spokesperson John Blair MLA dismisses the Ulster Farmers' Union's no-confidence vote in Minister Muir and DAERA officials as a stunt, saying it pre-empts an independent review into the Fivemiletown operation.
Agriculture and rural affairs Environment and climate Original release: Blair denounces failure of leadership from UFU (opens in a new tab)
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Sinn Fein hypocrisy on victims’ payments is breathtaking – Brett
DUP MLA Phillip Brett says Sinn Fein is hypocritical for urging the Secretary of State to reopen the closed claims process for the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme, a programme the DUP helped create for innocent victims.
Community relations and legacy Disability and equality Original release: Sinn Fein hypocrisy on victims’ payments is breathtaking – Brett (opens in a new tab)
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Ní Chuilín urges British Secretary of State to reconsider closing applications to Troubles Permanent Disability Payment Scheme
Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín says she is disappointed by the British government's plan to end applications to the Troubles permanent disability scheme at the close of August. She has written to the Secretary of State asking him to reconsider, arguing the deadline leaves many applicants at a…
Community relations and legacy Disability and equality Original release: Ní Chuilín urges British Secretary of State to reconsider closing applications to Troubles Permanent Disability Payment Scheme (opens in a new tab)
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Will activist groups distance themselves from ‘coloniser’ comments
DUP MLA David Brooks challenges Irish language campaign groups, including Conradh na Gaeilge, to say whether they agree that erecting bilingual signs is "decolonisation" and who the colonisers are, after an activist's remarks at a Féile an Phobail concert.
Disability and equality Original release: Will activist groups distance themselves from ‘coloniser’ comments (opens in a new tab)