Latest releases
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21 releases
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Hanna: Budget must deliver support now and invest in Northern Ireland's future
SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP calls on the Chancellor to use the 2026 Budget to fund extra Home Heating Oil Support, an Essentials Guarantee for Universal Credit and extend Rural Fuel Duty Relief, and to pledge a ten‑year partnership investing in infrastructure, housing and skills to build a stronger
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Issue: Stormont budget request for household support and infrastructure investment Original release: Hanna: Budget must deliver support now and invest in Northern Ireland's futureArchived copy, Internet Archive capture of 8 November 2026
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Hunger figures must be a wake-up call for Communities Minister, says Mulholland
Alliance MLA Mulholland says new figures showing more than one in five people in Northern Ireland ran out of food and could not afford more in the last year should be a wake-up call for the Communities Minister. He calls for a funded, ambitious Anti-Poverty Strategy with deadlines and measurable…
Social security and welfare Economy and employment Issue: Stormont poverty statistics release Original release: Hunger figures must be a wake-up call for Communities Minister, says Mulholland
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Education Minister must ensure RSE is age appropriate and evidence based – Mason
Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason calls on the Education Minister to ensure Relationships and Sex Education is age‑appropriate, evidence‑based and tailored to young people’s development, after yesterday’s Assembly debate.
Education Issue: Assembly debate on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Original release: Education Minister must ensure RSE is age appropriate and evidence based – Mason
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BROLLY: “Safeguarding must not be used as an excuse to sideline parents”
Aontú Deputy Leader Gemma Brolly, ahead of an Assembly debate on the Education Committee's RSE report, says safeguarding must not sideline parents and calls for parental withdrawal rights, school ethos and transparency to be protected in future reforms.
Education Issue: Assembly debate on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Original release: BROLLY: “Safeguarding must not be used as an excuse to sideline parents”
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TransformED is taking education system in the wrong direction – Sheehan
Sinn Féin education spokesperson Pat Sheehan MLA says Paul Givan’s TransformED is steering education the wrong way, warning it would increase high‑stakes exams, cut coursework, narrow the curriculum and add pressure on teachers while ignoring academic selection, and urges the Minister to listen to ‑
Education Issue: TransformED education reforms announcement Original release: TransformED is taking education system in the wrong direction – Sheehan
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Minister putting unsustainable additional workload on teachers, says Mathison, ahead of TransformED motion
Alliance Education spokesperson Nick Mathison says the Education Minister is placing an unsustainable additional workload on teachers through the TransformED reforms, ahead of an Assembly motion on the day raising concerns from teachers, principals and parents.
Education Issue: TransformED education reforms announcement Original release: Minister putting unsustainable additional workload on teachers, says Mathison, ahead of TransformED motion
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Common sense prevails as Queen’s lifts Remembrance collarette ban
Young Unionist chairman Jay Basra welcomes Queen's University Belfast's decision to lift the ban on Orange collarettes at its Remembrance Sunday service on 8 November, saying it respects participants' identity and urging the university to consult students before future changes.
Community relations and legacy Education Original release: Common sense prevails as Queen’s lifts Remembrance collarette ban
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Queen’s urged to explain Remembrance collarette ban
Ulster Unionist Party's Jay Basra calls on Queen's University Belfast to explain its ban on Orange collarettes at Remembrance Sunday services.
Community relations and legacy Education Issue: Queen's University Belfast Remembrance Sunday service collarette ban Original release: Queen’s urged to explain Remembrance collarette ban
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Reichenberg highlights oil voucher discrimination
Aontú representative in Slieve Gullion Liam Reichenberg says residents of Radius sheltered accommodation in Crossmaglen and Keady have been excluded from the £100 home heating oil voucher and calls on the minister and department to urgently review the criteria.
Social security and welfare Economy and employment Issue: Home Heating Oil Support Scheme voucher eligibility criteria review Original release: Reichenberg highlights oil voucher discrimination
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Armstrong calls for interventions to support homeless in NI following Prime Minister's summit on rough sleeping
Alliance MLA Armstrong, the Strangford MLA, calls for interventions to support rough sleepers in Northern Ireland after a Prime Minister-hosted summit on rough sleeping, urging accommodation at scale and partnership with the voluntary sector.
Housing Social security and welfare Issue: Prime Minister's summit on rough sleeping Original release: Armstrong calls for interventions to support homeless in NI following Prime Minister's summit on rough sleeping
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McDaid slams ‘wear more clothes’ advice in schools
SDLP Councillor Catherine McDaid criticised the Education Authority's advice that pupils should “ wear more clothes” in D Derry schools, arguing it reflects cut budgets and inadequate heating rather than protecting children and staff, and she urged action on heating and repairs.
Education Local government Original release: McDaid slams ‘wear more clothes’ advice in schools
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The Department for the Economy has failed Ulster University’s staff
The party criticises the Department for the Economy's handling of Ulster University's funding, putting 450 jobs at risk. The party Leader, Mal O'Hara, calls for Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald to explain her plan for higher education in Northern Ireland.
Education Economy and employment Issue: Ulster University job cuts announcement Original release: The Department for the Economy has failed Ulster University’s staff
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Cllr Flynn welcomes supreme court ruling on religious education in schools
The party welcomes a Supreme Court ruling on religious education in schools, stating it's a chance to update NI's education framework to make every child feel welcome and respected. Cllr Flynn congratulates the father and daughter who brought the case.
Education Issue: Supreme Court ruling on mandatory Christian worship in NI schools Original release: Cllr Flynn welcomes supreme court ruling on religious education in schools
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Giant Strike Recharges Workers’ Fight
People Before Profit says the Thursday public‑sector strike was the biggest since 2015, congratulates unions and calls for longer, coordinated action, urging workers and communities to prepare for further strikes while demanding the DUP and the Secretary of State release funding and end austerity‑dr
Economy and employment Education Original release: Giant Strike Recharges Workers’ Fight
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The UCU Strikes
People Before Profit interviewed UCU Rep Aisling O’Beirn, who said the Ulster University strike is driven by staff casualisation, soaring workloads, burnout and a 35% cut to future pension benefits, arguing that poor working conditions harm students’ learning.
Education Economy and employment Original release: The UCU Strikes
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Council Hardship Fund A Response To Westminster & Stormont Criminal Negligence
People Before Profit Cllr Shaun Harkin says he is frustrated by a further delay to the Council Emergency Hardship Fund in Derry, with officers re-inviting bids for a Fuel Payment Partner to run it. He blames Westminster and Stormont for failing to tackle the cost of living crisis.
Social security and welfare Local government Issue: Council Emergency Hardship Fund roll-out delay Original release: Council Hardship Fund A Response To Westminster & Stormont Criminal Negligence
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DFC Minister Can Act And Should Act On Punitive Debt Deductions
People Before Profit Cllr Shaun Harkin calls on the DfC Minister to suspend punitive debt deductions from Universal Credit and other benefits, citing a unanimous Derry and Strabane District Council motion and DfC correspondence showing no plans to act.
Social security and welfare Economy and employment Issue: Derry and Strabane Council motion on suspending benefit debt deductions Original release: DFC Minister Can Act And Should Act On Punitive Debt Deductions
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Harkin: Council Hardship Fund Hypocrites
People Before Profit Cllr Shaun Harkin says the Council Hardship Fund is a drop in the ocean and condemns the SDLP, Sinn Féin and DUP for blocking or cutting it, calling their actions hypocritical and urging additional funding to tackle the cost‑of‑living crisis.
Economy and employment Local government Issue: Council Hardship Fund Original release: Harkin: Council Hardship Fund Hypocrites
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DUP And UU Think 6000 Students At Magee Is Good Enough For Derry
People Before Profit Cllr Shaun Harkin says the DUP and Ulster University are accepting 6,000 students at Magee as enough, and calls for an urgent plan to reach a 10,000-student minimum within five years. He also calls for investment across Derry and the North West, citing Derry City Deal funding…
Education Economy and employment Issue: Ulster University Magee campus student number target 6,000 Original release: DUP And UU Think 6000 Students At Magee Is Good Enough For Derry
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A Billionaire’s Budget
People Before Profit says the Tory budget announced by Liz Truss is an anti‑working‑class plan that favours billionaires, cuts benefits and ignores the cost‑of‑living crisis, and calls for mass rallies in Belfast and Derry to oppose it.
Public finance and taxation Economy and employment Issue: Liz Truss 2022 budget announcement Original release: A Billionaire’s Budget