Alliance Leader David Ford has said that political opportunities must not be squandered in 2003, as they had been over the past 12 months. Mr Ford said: “The last year has been one of disappointment. It was supposed to herald a new era of stability, but instead the public got one crisis after another as […]
Alliance Party Justice Spokesperson, Stephen Farry, has said the Government should concern itself with getting more police on the beat, rather than worrying about what religious denomination recruits were. Earlier this week, Oversight Commissioner Tom Constantine revealed that initiatives to reassign officers from bureaucratic duties and encourage the civilianisation of other posts “have not been […]
Alliance’s North West representative Colm Cavanagh has backed PSNI calls to the Scottish Premier League not to hold Old Firm games on the same days as potentially contentious parades. Mr Cavanagh was speaking after police cameras showed that many of those involved in last weekend’s rioting in the North West after the Celtic vs Rangers […]
An Alliance delegation met Minister of State Des Browne and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Tom Kitt this afternoon at Castle Buildings as part of the ongoing talks process. The delegation consisted of Party Leader David Ford MLA, Deputy Leader Eileen Bell MLA, Chief Whip Kieran McCarthy MLA and General Secretary, Cllr Stephen Farry. Speaking after […]
Alliance Sports Spokesman Michael Long has backed PSNI calls to the Scottish Premier League not to hold Old Firm games on the same days as potentially contentious parades. Mr Long was speaking after police cameras showed that many of those involved in last weekend’s rioting in the North West after the Celtic vs Rangers game […]
Alliance MLA Kieran McCarthy is writing to the Department of Regional Development to seek answers about allegations that toxic paint is falling from the hull of the Strangford ferry into the Lough. Mr McCarthy said that he was concerned that a toxic heavy metal derived from cyanide (isocyanate) was used in paint that was peeling […]
Alliance MLA Kieran McCarthy has said that Government plans to steamroller a Northern Ireland ‘tap tax’ through Westminster are ‘crazy’. Mr McCarthy was speaking ahead of a meeting with Finance Minister Ian Pearson today. Mr Pearson was expected to unveil plans to review Northern Ireland’s rating policy this morning. Mr McCarthy said: “Although we already […]
Alliance Deputy Leader Eileen Bell has told the Prime Minister that the issue of paramilitary fugitives (‘On The Runs’) cannot be resolved in isolation from paramilitary exiles. Speaking after today’s meeting with Mr Blair at Downing Street, Mrs Bell added that there must be a form of due process to allow for an acknowledgement of […]
The Alliance Party will ensure that the rights of the disabled form a central part of its election manifesto, Equality Spokesperson Margaret Marshall said today, the European Day of Disabled People. Accepting a submission from Disability Action this morning, Mrs Marshall said political parties had a duty to ensure that equal rights truly meant equal […]
Alliance Assembly member Seamus Close has said the passage of the Environment (NI) Order 2002 today (Tuesday) is an abuse of process and illustrates why it is so important that devolution is re-established as quickly as possible. The Environment (NI) Order 2002 subsumes three Assembly Bills: Pollution Prevention and Control Bill Local Air Quality Management […]