Category: Uncategorized

NI’s Chief Medical Officer has urged young people aged 16 and over not to miss out on COVID-19 vaccination. Professor Sir Michael McBride welcomed the “Big Jab Weekend” initiative to improve vaccine take-up. It will see the mass vaccination centres once again offering vaccine first doses to all eligible age groups – for two days […]

Sinn Féin MLA, Liz Kimmins and local Councillor Mickey Larkin have called for an urgent meeting with the PSNI after a serious incident in Jonesboro yesterday evening, when a car was deliberately driven through the village ramming other vehicles and over-turning another. The MLA explained, “In the event an innocent young woman was injured and […]

Newry SDLP Councillor, Gary Stokes, has praised the persistence of his local community after a series of campaigns going back over ten years to have Peter McParland Park in the city upgraded.  The Council agreed at a meeting on Monday night to spend £88,500 upgrading the facility.  The works will include the resurfacing of the playing […]

Responding to the humanitarian crisis ongoing now in Afghanistan, Aontú Deputy Leader & Cllr for Mid Ulster, Denise Mullen, has called on both the Stormont Executive and the Irish Government to step up and be leaders in accepting Afghan refugees at risk! Cllr Mullen: “The worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan which has played out over […]

Police are appealing for information following a hit and run road traffic collision in The Village and Finnegans Road areas of Jonesborough last night, Tuesday 17 August. Sergeant Maxwell said, “At around 6:55pm last night, it was reported that a black Toyota Avensis car had been involved in two separate collisions yesterday evening. “It is […]

While the vast majority of employers pay their employees at least the National Minimum Wage, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has today released some of the most absurd excuses used for not paying the legal minimum. Last year (2020 to 2021) HMRC helped more than 155,000 workers across the UK recover more than £16 million […]

Concerns about the environment and climate change have featured highly in news agendas throughout the past week as the United Nations IPPC report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) declared a global ‘Code Red’ wakeup call and the need for immediate, urgent and decisive action. A special meeting of the NI Assembly has been called also […]

Following the Joint Trade Unions meeting with the Health Minister today, UNISON will now carefully monitor the response from the Northern Ireland Executive to the Health Minister’s request for funding to award a pay uplift. Their pay is now in the hands of our politicians. Regional Secretary Patricia Mc Keown is strongly advising political parties […]

NI Water is calling on Government policy makers and regulators to tap into the potential of its water and wastewater infrastructure to tackle the climate emergency and nature crisis. Launching its Annual Integrated Report for 2020/21, Sara Venning, Chief Executive, NI Water, outlined the role that NI Water can play to tackle these challenges: “The […]

If you ever wondered what nationalism looks like then you’ll find the answer in this week’s Bogside bonfire and in the mirror image bonfires built by loyalists. As a political philosophy, nationalism – British and Irish – is inward looking, narrow, unimaginative and toxic. No matter the protests from the people who embrace it, no […]

SDLP Assembly Member Justin McNulty has urged hospital patients and their visitors to wear face coverings when required. It comes after the British Medical Association said doctors have noticed an increasing number of people refusing to wear masks or get tested for coronavirus before attending hospital appointments or visits. The Newry & Armagh MLA said:  […]

Aontú Rep for East Derry and Education Spokesperson, Gemma Brolly urges Ministers to recognise that the scandalous school Uniform Costs exceed considerably the financial assistance available.  Rep. Brolly states: “The average Post-Primary School Uniform costs a minimum of £175, not including footwear, a coat, a bag or stationery, yet the current School Uniform grant offers […]