ALLIANCE Leader David Ford MLA has welcomed the latest report by the Independent Monitoring Commission into paramilitary activity. Mr Ford stated: “The IMC report clearly indicates a welcome reduction of activity by the IRA, but disturbingly shows that the organisation remains capable of carrying out acts of violence. “If the republican movement is committed to […]
Reacting to the likely outcome of the US Presidential election, Alliance Deputy Leader Eileen Bell said: “I offer my congratulations to George W Bush on what seems to be his inevitable victory. “The Bush administration has always played a constructive role in the Northern Ireland peace process, and its policy has been put into action […]
ALLIANCE Assembly member Kieran McCarthy (Strangford) has expressed his disappointment over a meeting with the Minister for the Environment about a 45-foot wall erected in Killyleagh without planning permission. Mr McCarthy said residents, who have dubbed it the ‘Berlin wall’, are now taking up the issue with the Human Rights Commission. Today’s delegation was comprised […]
Having lobbied Roads Service for a footpath at Manse Road for some time, Councillor Sara Duncan was finally able to thank Roads Service employees for completing the footpath from Garland Hill to Lagan College. Cllr Duncan said: “Every time Roads Service came to Castlereagh Council I questioned them as to when a pavement would be […]
ALLIANCE Assembly member Alderman Kieran McCarthy is to lead a delegation to meet with the Minister responsible for the Environment, Angela Smith MP, to discuss why nothing has been done to remove a massive wall built in Killyleagh without planning permission. Mr McCarthy and four residents from Strangford View and the local community association will […]
As the Secretary of State prepares to meet representatives of the UPRG, Alliance Leader David Ford has called on him to put pressure on them to ensure that loyalist paramilitary violence is ended. David Ford said: “On a number of occasions in the past, Government representatives have spent time in meetings with Loyalist paramilitaries. Now […]
BELFAST Lord Mayor Tom Ekin has said that racist discrimination against members of minority ethnic communities seeking accommodation in South Belfast should not be tolerated. Speaking after it was revealed that an estate agency has used racist discrimination when advertising accommodation to let in the south of the city, Councillor Ekin stated: “This is a […]
The Appeal Court in Downpatrick today upheld the convictions of three persons convicted of displaying illegal paramilitary flags. These were the first convictions of their kind. The convictions related to the erection of a vast number of LVF flags in the Loughview Estate in Holywood last summer. It is one of few mixed public housing […]
ALLIANCE Assembly Member, Cllr Naomi Long MLA, is warning the public to be vigilant about phone prize scams after she was contacted by two companies today. Cllr Long MLA was informed that she had entered a competition (she hadn’t) and won a major prize. However, the recorded message told her that she needed to claim […]
ALLIANCE Councillor Michael Long has called on fellow Castlereagh councillor and DUP Deputy Leader Peter Robinson to “catch a grip” following his claim (in today’s News Letter) that there was no need for power sharing in Castlereagh Borough Council because “Castlereagh isn’t a divided society”. Cllr Long said it was an insult to those in […]