The Alliance Party has welcomed news of a visit to Ireland from Pope Francis in 2018. Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn said: “The announcement about the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland is to be warmly welcomed as it has the potential to help build bridges between communities, and I am hopeful the visit will include […]
Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle has condemned the production and distribution of threatening leaflets in East Belfast on Friday night. The leaflets, which carried images of the Union flag and a gunman, contained the threat ‘All PSNI informers will be put out of this area’ were placed on cars overnight. Chris Lyttle said: “Once again we […]
Alliance East Belfast MLA Naomi Long has said a multi-million pound contract for Harland and Wolff is a major boost for the area. The manufacturing company secured the contract, which it says will support 200 jobs, with wind farm developer Scottishpower Renewables. The engineering firm is to make 24 steel foundation jackets for wind turbines […]
Alliance Health spokesperson Paula Bradshaw MLA has said more support needs to be given to people on waiting lists, after the latest figures showed a rise in those waiting for more than nine weeks for outpatient appointments. According to Departmental figures, over two-thirds of patients were waiting more than nine weeks for a first consultant-led […]
Alliance South Belfast MLA Paula Bradshaw has welcomed the announcement from the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition that it will undertake a series of public engagements. Ms Bradshaw said: “We are all aware of how emotive the subjects of flags, identity and culture can be. These have been used, without justification, as an […]
Alliance Finance spokesperson Stephen Farry MLA has said the Executive needs to make investments across the board following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. Dr Farry was speaking after Philip Hammond announced the Executive will receive an extra £250 million in infrastructure funding. However, Dr Farry said the focus should also be on other economic drivers, including […]
East Antrim MLA Stewart Dickson has said the successful application for a major pig farm in Newtownabbey shows the need for third-party right of appeal in planning decisions. The farm will accommodate 15,000 pigs, half of what the developer had originally intended. The initial plan had received thousands of objections. Alliance MLA Mr Dickson, who […]
Alliance South Belfast MLA Paula Bradshaw has expressed frustration local community benefits promised as part of the Windsor Park upgrade never materialised, saying it does not bode well for the Casement Park project. In preparation for the submission of bids for the contract to upgrade the South Belfast stadium, each bidder consulted with groups in […]
Alliance Economy spokesperson Stephen Farry MLA has said it is disappointing there wil be potential job losses locally after Fujitsu announced up to 1,800 jobs would be cut in the UK. The electronics firm said the exact number of jobs to go in Northern Ireland would be determined at a later date. It currently employs […]
Alliance Party Leader Naomi Long has criticised the Communities Minister Paul Givan following his statement that he will not transfer regeneration powers to local government. Naomi Long said: “Local government has been calling for the transfer of regeneration powers from the Executive to allow them to streamline community, economic and land use planning with land […]