Category: Uncategorized

Following a lengthy battle with Covid 19 which is still continuing, the Northern Ireland executive agreed to a £500 NHS special recognition payment as a thank you to our amazing NHS staff. However thanks to extensive planning and negotiations from the Department of Health it has been revealed via their website that they are on […]

Finance Minister, Conor Murphy has today announced a revaluation of all 74,750 non-domestic properties, delivering on his commitment for more frequent revaluations here. Known as ‘Reval2023’, this process will result in a new non-domestic Valuation List being used to calculate business rate bills from April 2023. Announcing the revaluation, Minister Murphy said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has […]

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has announced that the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) is planning to resume full vehicle testing services from 26 July. In light of the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, which has enabled a number of close contact services to resume including driving tests, the DVA has carried out a review of its […]

Visitors to all care homes across Northern Ireland will be encouraged to undertake twice weekly Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests. Making this testing available for all asymptomatic visitors, that is those not displaying any symptoms, is an important additional mitigation in the fight against the virus, and is part of the Department of Health’s ongoing […]

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has announced £17million for a Roads Recovery Fund from her 2021/22 capital budget. Earlier this month the Minister announced her high level budget commitments for the new financial year which included investment of £223.1m in our roads’ network.  The £17m funding for the Roads Recovery Fund will be used to address […]

Even by Northern Ireland standards, the past week has been a political car crash. The DUP all but imploded, Sinn Fein went to the Westminster Parliament – which it boycotts on ‘principle’ – asking the British government to introduce an Irish Language Act, the Assembly teetered on the verge of being collapsed and all the […]

A £19.3million funding programme to support town and city centres recover from the impact of Covid-19 has helped thousands of businesses across councils, Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey has said.  Launched in August 2020, initial funding for the Covid-19 Recovery Revitalisation Programme was for measures such as shop frontage and awnings/canopies; outdoor furniture; heaters and queueing […]

Health Minister Robin Swann has launched a new Elective Care Framework for Northern Ireland, setting out a detailed roadmap for tackling hospital waiting lists. The Minister today said he wanted to “restore hope” to people waiting for hospital care in pain and discomfort. The Framework proposes a £700m investment over five years. It sets out […]

Ensuring working parents have access to statutory Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay is the right thing to do, Economy Minister Paul Frew said today. The Minister was speaking as the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Bill reached its second stage in the Assembly. Mr Frew said: “Working parents who experience the loss of a child under […]

A man abused for years by a paedophile priest at a Co Down school is to receive a six-figure sum in damages, the High Court heard today. The pay-out to Tony Gribben forms part of a settlement reached in his lawsuit over the historic sexual and physical assaults he suffered at the hands of the […]

Health Minister Robin Swann has applauded initiatives to support vaccination take-up. A targeted programme of pop-up clinics is being rolled out to different locations in Northern Ireland, helping local communities access vaccines. Separately, GP practices will be getting in touch with patients aged 50 and over who have so far not come forward for their jabs. […]

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has just launched a new public awareness campaign to tackle the issue of dog fouling and raise awareness of ‘Responsible Dog Ownership’ in our district. The campaign has been developed in partnership with Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful,which is an independent charity dedicated to creating a cleaner, greener and more […]