Category: Uncategorized

SDLP Assembly Member for Newry and Armagh Justin McNulty MLA has said more must be done to protect our watercourses and has called on the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to engage with landowners to help prevent incidents from occurring in the first place.   Mr McNulty said, ‘The protection of our environment […]

SDLP Assembly Member for Newry and Armagh Justin McNulty MLA has called for an urgent rethink on the GP Out Of Hours Service as it was revealed that 5,968 GP Out Of Hours shifts in the Southern Trust area have gone unfilled in the last three years.  The figures were revealed to him by Health […]

A man and woman in their 30s have been sentenced for causing the death of a Newry, County Down, man in a crash on the A1 dual carriageway in May 2018. Karl Heaney, 27, was driving from Newry towards Belfast when he encountered two cars driving on the wrong side of the road near Banbridge. […]

This Infant Mental Health Awareness Week (7-13th June), the Southern Trust is reminding everyone who works with children and young people to consider the importance of babies’ social and emotional development. Organised through the Parent-Infant Foundation, Infant Mental Health Awareness Week runs every June. This year’s theme is ‘including infants in children and young people’s […]

Hospital waiting lists and the future of health and social care services here have been one of the most covered news topics in recent weeks. Unfortunately, many of the discussions, the radio phone-in shows, the newspaper columnists, the letters to the editor and the contributions in the Assembly have generated more heat than light. We […]

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has set out the changes needed over the next decade and beyond for transport delivery. The Minister published the Department’s priorities for the future of transport – Planning for the Future of Transport – Time for Change,  which is about refocusing and reprioritising the aims of the Department for Infrastructure to meet […]

SDLP Assembly Member for Newry and Armagh Justin McNulty MLA has pressed Communities Minister Deidre Hargey MLA on the need to provide more capital funds to boost sports facilities.  Mr McNulty explained, ‘Our sports clubs are the backbone of local communities and in the last eighteen months we have seen the true value of them […]

Mr Kieran Downey (34) of Railway Road, Newry, was today fined £2,000 at Newry Crown Court for breaches of waste management legislation, and ordered to pay costs of £506.40. Officers from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) found that the defendant had knowingly permitted controlled waste to be deposited on land which did not have […]

Justice Minister Naomi Long has praised the vigilance of Border Force staff as 15.12 million cigarettes and 4.44 tonnes of tobacco were seized in two separate operations.  If the smuggling attempts had not been detected, it would have cost the Treasury approximately £7.24 million in unpaid duty and VAT. In the first operation Border Force […]

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has outlined high level budget commitments for the new financial year. The Department has a capital budget of £722.5m and a resource budget of £429.9m, which includes a £9.2m allocation specifically for Covid. Outlining how she plans to spend the capital allocations this year, Nichola Mallon said:  “The budget allocations I have received […]

SDLP Assembly Member for Newry and Armagh Justin McNulty MLA has said more must be done to increase physical activity in school-aged children following the publication of research by the Education Committee at Stormont.  Mr McNulty explained, ’The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends 60 minutes of physical activity a day for children and yet the […]

There has been a lot of speculation in the media about former DUP leader Arlene Fosters resignation and the election of Edwin Poots as the new leader of the DUP. South Down DUP MLA Jim Wells has recently made the news allegedly regarding a letter from him to party members in the constituency asking them […]