Alliance Leader, David Ford, has welcomed the appointment of former Senator Gary Hart to act as an envoy of the American Secretary of State in the all-party talks which began last week. David Ford MLA said: “I am pleased to see the ongoing interest of the American Government in Northern Ireland. American envoys and representatives […]
Alliance Finance spokesperson, Judith Cochrane MLA, has said that Executive Ministers must do more to avoid wasting public money. Her comments were made after a report claimed tenancy fraud which could be costing the Department for Social Development around £11million. The Public Accounts Committee has just released a report which claims that DSD have not […]
Alliance Justice spokesperson, Stewart Dickson MLA, has said that there should not be any attempt to cover up child sexual abuse and associated illegal interrogations by paramilitaries. Mr Dickson was speaking after a man alleged that he and his brother were sexually assaulted by a member of the IRA in County Louth in the 1990s. […]
Naomi Long MP is to call for the Official Secrets Act (OSA) to be temporarily suspended so witnesses and whistle-blowers can give evidence regarding allegations around Kincora Boys’ Home. The Alliance MP will make the request today (Wednesday) during an adjournment debate she secured in the House of Commons on investigating historic child abuse allegations. […]
Alliance Belfast Councillor Maire Hendron has condemned those responsible for a pipe bomb which was discovered in the Templemore Avenue area of East Belfast on Tuesday. Police and Army technical officers carried out a controlled explosion on the device. Cllr Maire Hendron said: “Somebody could have been seriously injured or killed had this pipe bomb […]
Alliance Justice spokesperson, Stewart Dickson MLA, has welcomed the decision of the Public Prosecution Service to set up an independent review of the three cases involving allegations made by Mairia Cahill. Stewart Dickson MLA said: “Mairia Cahill has shown such tremendous courage and bravery in speaking out about such a personal and difficult issue. “I […]
Alliance MP Naomi Long has said the Northern Ireland Office’s vow to co-operate with the Assembly’s Historical Abuse Inquiry “totally missed the point” after the UK Government refused to make Kincora Boys’ Home part of its own investigation. East Belfast MP Mrs Long was speaking after the announcement that Kincora would be dealt with solely […]
Alliance Education spokesperson, Trevor Lunn MLA, will propose several amendments to the Consideration Stage of the Education Bill on Tuesday, which will seek to ensure that the Integrated and Irish Medium sectors are represented on the new single education authority. Mr Lunn will also propose amendments to increase the number of political representatives to include […]
Alliance Education spokesperson, Trevor Lunn MLA, has said that the DUP are opposed to integrated education. He was speaking after the DUP submitted petitions of concern to several amendments from Alliance and other parties to the Consideration Stage of the Education Bill. These amendments would have ensured that the Integrated and Irish Medium education sectors […]
Alliance Justice spokesperson, Stewart Dickson MLA, has spoken in strong support of the Human Trafficking Bill in the Assembly, but has said that prostitution is too complex an issue to be effectively dealt with by a single clause. Stewart Dickson said that Alliance would be supporting all of the amendments that have been co-signed by […]