Just three years after the DUP’s Iris Robinson flew to Italy to purchase a £6,000 Christmas tree, Castlereagh Council has decided to give it the chop. Although supposed to save the Council money — the ‘renewable’ tree was expected to last for many years more — this year the Council are using a different fir, […]
Alliance Alderman, Stewart Dickson, has condemned the brutal paramilitary-style attack against a man in the Glassillan area of Greenisland, and warned that parties should always condemn such attacks Alderman Dickson, who represents Greenisland, stated: “Once again, we see a brutal attack against a man carried out by paramilitary thugs. “It is important that political parties […]
Alliance Leader David Ford has welcomed today’s announcement by the Secretary of State of a roundtable meeting of the parties next Thursday, but expressed disappointment that these talks will be held on the basis of review under paragraph 7 rather than a Comprehensive Review under paragraph 8. David Ford said: “Alliance was clear that the […]
Alliance Leader David Ford has welcomed the commitment of the Irish Government to a comprehensive review of the Good Friday Agreement before the elections due in May. Mr Ford led an Alliance delegation to meet Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen today in Belfast. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Ford stated: “We emphasised to Mr Cowen […]
Castlereagh Alliance Councillor Michael Long has presented a petition of around 400 signatures to the Planning Service expressing opposition to plans for a bookmaker’s shop at 43 Rosetta Road. Cllr Long said he believes that the huge response by residents should help convince the Planning Service that the application should be refused. Cllr Long said: […]
Alliance Councillor Michael Long has welcomed a recommendation to introduce 20mph speed limits to cut road deaths in Castlereagh. However, Cllr Long has said the reduced speed limits should not just be introduced in conjunction with traffic calming measures but introduced as a stand-alone response to reduce road deaths. Cllr Long said: “The new 20mph […]
Commenting on the news of the arrest of a civil servant by police investigating IRA spying allegations at Stormont, Alliance Leader David Ford stated: “This certainly adds to the concerns Alliance and others have about the behaviour of republicans. Without pre-judging the case against any individual, clearly there are many questions to be answered.”
Alliance Party MLA, Sean Neeson, has welcomed the publication this week of a NIO Consultation Paper on Race Crime and Sectarian Crime Legislation in Northern Ireland. Speaking after attending the consultation launch at the Indian Community Centre in Belfast, Sean Neeson said: “Alliance has been campaigning for the introduction of Hate Crime Laws into Northern […]
Alliance Leader David Ford has strongly criticised former Environment Minister Dermot Nesbitt after he passed judgment on NIO Minister Angela Smith’s handling of the new waste management strategy launched this week. Mr Ford said: “Mr Nesbitt is of course an expert on waste. He wasted the chance to work through this process when he was […]
Alliance Sports Spokeperson Michael Long is writing to Glentoran Football Club to ask it to consider increasing the number of its ticket outlets to include neutral shops. Councillor Long — a Glentoran fan himself — is taking the action after it was revealed that the only ticket outlet outside the club’s Oval ground sells paramilitary […]