East Antrim Alliance MLA Seán Neeson has said he hopes that a pipe bomb find in Newtownabbey is not a sign that tension is going to increase in the area. Five large pipe bombs and ammunition were found at a house in the Carmeen Drive area just after 9.30pm last night. Séan Neeson MLA stated: […]
Alliance Party Education Spokesperson Trevor Lunn MLA has said his party would help deliver an Irish Language Act, but only if it came at no expense to the public purse and served to promote, rather than politicize the language. Speaking after a meeting with Irish language umbrella group POBAL, the Lagan Valley Assembly member stated: […]
Alliance Leader David Ford has described the new draft PPS 21 as a reasonable attempt by the Department of Environment to stand up to political pressures demanding an effective free-for-all on house building. David Ford said: “The Department of Environment was facing huge pressures from politicians determined to continue the free-for-all on rural house building. […]
Alliance Sustainability Spokesperson Cllr Alan Lawther has labelled the SDLP’s approach on rural planning hypocritical, given the stance they have on environmental protection. Mr Lawther said that the SDLP’s environmental credentials had been damaged by their position on PPS 21. The new PPS 21 policy is being discussed in the Assembly today and the SDLP […]
Alliance Party Finance Spokesperson Stephen Farry MLA has welcomed the £20bn fiscal stimulus but contrasted the decisive leadership of the British Government to the relative inactivity of the Stormont Executive. Dr Stephen Farry MLA stated: “Alistair Darling should be congratulated for taking decisive actions to kick-start the British economy in the face of recession and […]
18 months ago the Executive made the economy its ‘number one priority’. Since then, we have seen a banking crisis, a credit crunch and a business downturn. I have to admit, reluctantly, that this may not be entirely the Executive’s fault! However, we in the Alliance Party have a clear and longstanding commitment to a […]
Alliance Party Justice Spokesperson, Stephen Farry MLA, has expressed his sympathy to the families of the four police officers killed in a road accident in South Down this morning. Stephen Farry stated: “This is a huge tragedy not just for the police family but the whole community in Northern Ireland. These officers were out on […]
Last Monday, the Northern Ireland Assembly debated a motion tabled by the Alliance Party calling for the Executive to table its response to the Varney II Report. Sir David Varney’s Review of the Competitiveness of Northern Ireland was presented in April 2008, but has largely dropped off the political agenda since then. The Varney I […]
East Belfast Alliance Councillor Mervyn Jones has hit out at those who burgled the house of two women, one in her 80s and the other in her 90s. The incident took place in Parkgate Avenue, Ballyhackamore at around 9pm last night and both women were left shaken but unhurt. Cllr Mervyn Jones stated: “This was […]
Alliance Party MLA, Stephen Farry, has questioned the rationale of David Cameron’s Conservatives in signing up to a pact with the Ulster Unionists that puts identity politics ahead of their apparent mission of building modern, progressive politics. Dr Stephen Farry stated: “After wandering in the wilderness looking for a new identity, and alliances from the […]