Latest releases
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4,753 releases
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Sign Language Bill will deliver positive change for deaf community – Gildernew
Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew welcomes the Assembly's vote to move the Sign Language Bill to the next stage of scrutiny, saying it will recognise Irish and British Sign Language and improve deaf people's access to education, health and justice services.
Disability and equality Issue: Sign Language Bill second stage Assembly vote Original release: Sign Language Bill will deliver positive change for deaf community – Gildernew (opens in a new tab)
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McGuigan meets BMA on issues facing GP practices
Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan calls for action on pressures facing GP practices after meeting the British Medical Association, urging the Health Minister to prioritise GP core funding and resolve indemnity negotiations quickly.
Health Original release: McGuigan meets BMA on issues facing GP practices (opens in a new tab)
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British-Irish parliamentary links post reunification mutually beneficial – Rose Conway-Walsh TD
Sinn Féin spokesperson Rose Conway-Walsh TD welcomes an Irish Times and ARINS Project survey finding most people North and South want the east-west link maintained after reunification. She calls for British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference meetings to be regularised and prioritised.
Constitutional affairs International affairs Issue: Irish Times and ARINS Project east-west link survey Original release: British-Irish parliamentary links post reunification mutually beneficial – Rose Conway-Walsh TD (opens in a new tab)
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Ferguson launches consultation on banning unfair letting fees
Sinn Féin MLA Ciara Ferguson urges the public to respond to a consultation on her Private Members' Bill to ban unfair letting fees charged by landlords or letting agents, which also would require the Department for Communities to issue guidance on prohibited payments. The consultation is open…
Housing Issue: Ferguson letting fees Private Members' Bill consultation launch Original release: Ferguson launches consultation on banning unfair letting fees (opens in a new tab)
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McGrath welcomes Minister’s commitment to explore access to muscular dystrophy drugs
SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath MLA welcomes Health Minister Mike Nesbitt's pledge to engage the Belfast Trust on getting Givinostat, a drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, to young patients such as 12-year-old Alfie Pentony from Newry.
Health Disability and equality Issue: Givinostat access for Duchenne patients raised in Assembly topical question Original release: McGrath welcomes Minister’s commitment to explore access to muscular dystrophy drugs (opens in a new tab)
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Dodds: Health budget must prioritise patients
DUP MLA Diane Dodds criticises the Belfast Trust's spending of over £130 per teacher on an RSE course, arguing the money should go to waiting lists, cancer diagnosis and emergency care. She says she pressed Health Minister Mike Nesbitt on the matter in committee.
Health Public finance and taxation Issue: Belfast Trust spending on teacher RSE training course Original release: Dodds: Health budget must prioritise patients (opens in a new tab)
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Protecting Women and Girls' Spaces.
DUP MLA Peter Martin praises the Northern Ireland Women's Rights Network for its evidence to the Executive Office Committee and says the party will continue to protect women and girls' spaces, criticising other Assembly parties' stance.
Disability and equality Issue: Northern Ireland Women's Rights Network evidence to Executive Office Committee Original release: Protecting Women and Girls' Spaces. (opens in a new tab)
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Gabhann Reilly comhghairdeas le Kneecap
Sinn Féin MLA Aisling Reilly congratulates the rap group Kneecap on their success in film, after their IFTA and BAFTA wins, and praises their work promoting the Irish language on the global stage. She also links their success to awareness of political and social causes, including Palestine.
Disability and equality Original release: Gabhann Reilly comhghairdeas le Kneecap (opens in a new tab)
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SDLP has a problem with common sense – Brooks
East Belfast DUP MLA David Brooks says the SDLP's reaction to DUP Leader Gavin Robinson's comments on diversity quotas shows it puts ideology ahead of common sense, and accuses the party of intolerance towards differing views.
Disability and equality Issue: DUP Leader Gavin Robinson comments on woke diversity quotas Original release: SDLP has a problem with common sense – Brooks (opens in a new tab)
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Congratulations to Andy Allen at the Invictus Games
UUP Leader Mike Nesbitt MLA congratulates Andy Allen, his colleague, on winning four medals at the Invictus Games in Whistler, and says he has asked the Speaker to host a welcome home event for him.
Other Disability and equality Issue: Andy Allen Invictus Games medals in Whistler Original release: Congratulations to Andy Allen at the Invictus Games (opens in a new tab)
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Durkan: Representative police service not about ‘woke quotas’
SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan says a representative police service is not about 'woke quotas', responding to DUP Leader Gavin Robinson's email to members. He says the PSNI falls far short of reflecting the community and calls for more recruitment from nationalist backgrounds, women and minority groups…
Justice and policing Disability and equality Issue: DUP Leader Gavin Robinson comments on woke diversity quotas Original release: Durkan: Representative police service not about ‘woke quotas’ (opens in a new tab)
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‘Welcome news wastewater funding will unlock new west Belfast developments’ – Maskey
Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey welcomes £19.5 million in additional funding for NI Water, with £7 million to progress 1,200 homes and five commercial units in the upper Falls, and urges continued expansion of housing and wastewater capacity.
Infrastructure and transport Housing Issue: Infrastructure Minister's Assembly statement on water and wastewater infrastructure Original release: ‘Welcome news wastewater funding will unlock new west Belfast developments’ – Maskey (opens in a new tab)
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Magical Thinking in Whitehall and Brussels
TUV leader Jim Allister, writing in the News Letter, argues that the Official Control Amendment Regulations remove the justification for the Irish Sea border by allowing checks away from border control posts, and calls on the Government to explain why it accepts this arrangement.
Constitutional affairs International affairs Issue: Official Control Amendment Regulations and Irish Sea Border checks Original release: Magical Thinking in Whitehall and Brussels (opens in a new tab)
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Alliance position on health funding becoming increasingly confused – Chambers
UUP MLA Alan Chambers accuses the Alliance Party of disregarding pressures on patients and health workers, saying Alliance MLA Nuala McCallister gave incorrect figures at a Health Committee session on the January Monitoring Round allocation to health.
Health Public finance and taxation Issue: January Monitoring Round health funding allocation Health Committee exchange Original release: Alliance position on health funding becoming increasingly confused – Chambers (opens in a new tab)
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Lack of access to respite care absolutely unacceptable, says Mathison.
Alliance Strangford MLA Nick Mathison says it is unacceptable that only 13 of 85 eligible people in the South Eastern Trust receive residential respite, and presses the Health Minister for clarity on how a £13 million short-break investment is being spent and how many young people await a social…
Health Disability and equality Issue: South Eastern Trust residential short breaks access figures Original release: Lack of access to respite care absolutely unacceptable, says Mathison. (opens in a new tab)
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Flynn welcomes progress on Belfast mother and baby unit
Sinn Féin’s mental health spokesperson, MLA Órlaithí Flynn says she welcomes the Health Minister’s indication that a mother‑and‑baby mental health unit at Belfast’s City Hospital will be built this financial year, a project the party has long called for.
Health Issue: Announcement of Belfast mother and baby mental health unit Original release: Flynn welcomes progress on Belfast mother and baby unit (opens in a new tab)
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Homelessness organisations doing essential work - Minister
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, speaking at Belfast's Stella Maris centre run by Depaul, says homelessness has no simple fix and that accommodation must come with support services. He outlines recent steps including the Housing Supply Strategy and an extra £6.7m for the Housing Executive.
Housing Issue: Minister Gordon Lyons visit to Stella Maris homelessness centre Belfast Original release: Homelessness organisations doing essential work - Minister (opens in a new tab)
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Delargy welcomes Health Minister’s commitment to progressing new Altnagelvin emergency department
Sinn Féin MLA Pádraig Delargy welcomes the Health Minister's intention to press ahead with a replacement emergency unit at Altnagelvin, announced after a Health Committee meeting. He says the existing unit, the oldest in the north, needs rebuilding to cut waiting times.
Health Infrastructure and transport Issue: Altnagelvin emergency department rebuild announced by Health Minister Original release: Delargy welcomes Health Minister’s commitment to progressing new Altnagelvin emergency department (opens in a new tab)
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Dodds Questions Ballooning Costs of RVH Children's Hospital
DUP health spokesperson Diane Dodds says she is shocked by escalating projected costs for the RVH children's hospital, noting estimates rose from £250 million in 2013 to over £600m, with Committee papers suggesting over £1bn. She calls for clearer oversight and financial control.
Health Public finance and taxation Issue: RVH children's hospital cost estimate rise raised at Health Committee Original release: Dodds Questions Ballooning Costs of RVH Children's Hospital (opens in a new tab)
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Weir marks Holocaust Memorial Day
DUP Peer Lord Weir, speaking in the House of Lords on Holocaust Memorial Day, marks the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau's liberation and warns that genocide and antisemitism remain relevant today, including in Northern Ireland. He highlights Millisle's refuge and Millisle Primary's memorial…
Disability and equality International affairs Original release: Weir marks Holocaust Memorial Day (opens in a new tab)