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Kenny Donaldson, Party Officer responsible for Youth Development was guest speaker at the relaunch meeting of Edenderry Central Branch held on Tuesday 30th May 2006 in Portadown Town Hall.

“Do we want our young people (who are the future) involved in; drug pushing, pimping, extorting, smuggling, organising and inflicting sectarian and racial acts of hatred? I for one do not - I want a society free from sectarianism, I do not want more wee lads like Michael McIlveen murdered and distraught families left behind. I don’t want young people to feel that their best opportunity at progressing in life is through joining the junior ranks of paramilitary organisations and aspiring to one day become the Adair or a Shoukhri of their area,” concluded Kenny.

Ulster Unionist assemblyman, Tom Elliott MLA, has met with representatives from the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) to discuss the recent announcement concerning the possible closure of Moy Park’s Lisnaskea plant. Ferne Foods, employs some 180 people in the Fermanagh town, an area which has witnessed the closure of several other major employers in recent years.

After the meeting the Fermanagh and South Tyrone assemblyman said:

“As the closure of this facility has yet to be formally announced by Moy Park, it is essential that all the issues are addressed in this period of consultation.

“The union is concerned at the way this has been handled and are justifiably worried for their members’ livelihoods, this has the potential to devastate the economy of the Lisnaskea area if these jobs are lost.

“There is also a feeling that this profitable arm of the business is being unfairly penalised to the detriment of an entire area of the Province, a region where jobs are difficult to come by.

In conclusion Tom added: “During the meeting we discussed a strategy to help resolve the issue for the many employees and their families, and I am fully prepared to meet all stakeholders on this matter in the weeks ahead. Indeed I have arranged a meting with Moy Park management, which is planned to take place this Friday.”

North Down Ulster Unionist Alderman Leslie Cree MLA has offered his support to Diabetes Week which takes place on 11th –17th June.

“Over the next few weeks Diabetes UK Northern Ireland will be raising awareness about the seriousness of the illness and the importance of living with and managing the condition.  Over 51,000 people in Northern Ireland have been diagnosed with diabetes and another 25,000 have the condition and don’t know about it,” said the MLA.”

“These are alarming statistics, however, one of the main objectives of Diabetes UK Northern Ireland’s awareness campaign, is to call for the establishment of active programmes that will help identify those people who may be at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.”

Diabetes UK state “Type 2 diabetes develops slowly and the symptoms are usually less severe.  Some people may not notice any symptoms at all and their diabetes is only picked up in a routine medical check up.  Some people may in fact put the symptoms down to “getting older” or “overwork”.

They also advise that Type 2 diabetes, on average, can take between nine and twelve years to diagnose someone with this form of the disease with up to 50% of people having a serious complication at the point of diagnosis.  The longer someone is undiagnosed the more they are at risk of a serious complication such as heart disease, kidney failure, amputation, stroke and blindness.

They stress that early identification coupled with access to structured education, information and support will help provide people with the support to deal effectively with their condition and keep themselves healthy.

Type 1 diabetes develops much more quickly, usually over a few weeks and the symptoms are normally very obvious.

“ I commend the invaluable work that that is being done in terms of offering support and information to people living with diabetes.  Diabetes UK Northern Ireland’s work extends to working in partnership with healthcare professionals and local health service providers, voluntary groups across Northern Ireland, raising vital research funds through fundraising events and of course awareness campaigns such as Diabetes Week that educates us all about the disease and the potential impact that it may have on our health.  I would urge anyone who is experiencing any of the following symptoms as indicated by Diabetes UK  to consider visiting their G.P.” stressed Mr Cree.

Diabetes UK list the main symptoms of diabetes as:

§    Increased thirst
§    Going to the loo all the time – especially at night
§    Extreme tiredness
§    Weight loss
§    Genital itching or regular episodes of thrush
§    Blurred vision

Ulster Unionist East Antrim Assembly Member Roy Beggs Jnr has condemned this afternoon’s shooting in Newtownabbey.

In a statement, Mr Beggs said: “I utterly condemn those behind this shooting. There can be no place for this kind of activity in right-thinking society.

“I would call on anyone with information to immediately contact the police. The perpetrators of this barbaric act must be swiftly taken off the streets and subjected to the fullest rigour of the law.”

Speaking today, Ulster Unionist Party Leader Sir Reg Empey said of the Preparation for Government Committee,

“We will nominate a senior delegation to take their places on this committee.

We have long campaigned for a serious attempt at resolving outstanding issues. While the proposals that have been put forward by the Secretary of State are more restrictive than we had wished, we will test out the committee and other parties to see if there is a real desire to remove the roadblocks that are standing in the way of devolution.

Attempts by parties to pretend that negotiations with government can substitute for agreement between the parties are naïve. The difficulties lie not between individual parties and government but between the parties themselves, otherwise our problems would have been resolved many years ago.”

Referring to the business committee, Sir Reg added,

“We hope that there will be business to transact at the Assembly next week. The Secretary of State should permit the Assembly to discuss issues such as the Review of Public Administration, education, industrial de-rating and the economy.

We believe that these issues should be dealt with quickly so that government knows, at an early stage, what our views are on these issues are. This would also test the Secretary of State’s statement that he would listen closely to what people are saying.”

Ulster Unionist Assembly Member Billy Armstrong has condemned the vicious attack on a Polish man at the weekend in Magherafelt.

The Mid-Ulster Assemblyman said, “The vicious attack on a man from Poland on Saturday evening in Magherafelt must be totally condemned.  I am disgusted that anyone could treat another individual in such a brutal manner.

“I understand that the police are currently investigating a motive on this attack.  However, there can be no place in a modern society for racism. Without tolerance and respect for diversity, no society can meaningfully prosper.

“I have met numerous people from Poland who have come to Northern Ireland to earn a decent living, and they all come across as pleasant, hard-working people.  Foreign Nationals are extremely important to the Northern Ireland economy. Many have left impoverished lives in other Countries in search of work and sustainability for their families. They should not be condemned to misery for wanting something better for themselves and their loved ones. They deserve our help and support, they deserve to be treated as we would hope we would be treated if emigrating to another Country.”

Billy added, “I appeal to anyone who has any information to contact the Police without delay so that the perpetrator of this attack should be brought to justice.”

UUP North Down Councillor Diana Peacocke has called for the Government to consider issuing legislation which will force cosmetic manufacturers to declare whether their products or ingredients have been tested on animals anywhere in the world.

Councillor Peacocke said:

“Whilst there may be a ban on cosmetic testing on animals in the UK, it does not stop companies from sourcing their products or their ingredients outside the UK, where cosmetic animal testing continues.

“Some products offer no information at all and others which say ‘not tested on animals’ or ‘cruelty-free’ can be misleading as it could refer to the product itself and not the ingredients. The terms ‘not tested on animals’ and ‘cruelty free’ are also without a definite legal definition and leaves much room for ambiguity.

“A product should state unequivocally whether or not it, or its ingredients, have been tested on animals anywhere in the world.  We’ve seen a splurge of legislation on the correct labelling of food products, and various companies have gone to great lengths to let us know what is in our food – so why shouldn’t same detail be afforded to cosmetics?

“We are at the time of the educated consumer, when people are becoming more concerned about where our products are coming from. Legislation needs to be tightened in order that consumers are provided with the correct information which allows them to make an informed choice”.

Ulster Unionist MP Lady Hermon has, whilst giving firm support to the knife amnesty, called for the Government to look again at reforming anti-knife laws. Speaking from her Bangor constituency office, she said:

“It’s amazing that a Government which has made such a song and dance of re-balancing the scales of justice in favour of victims has just missed the opportunity to significantly reform knife laws.

Knives are incredibly dangerous items, and so even if only a small number of them are given up during the amnesty period that is still to be welcomed.  But what is irritating and extremely disappointing is a shorter amnesty in Northern Ireland compared to the rest of the United Kingdom, and I’ll certainly be pressing the NIO for its extension.”

The North Down MP continued:

“Nevertheless, the amnesty period should focus minds on law reform in this area.  It’s not enough simply to announce increases to maximum sentences for knife crime when the public know maximum sentences are rarely imposed.  What we need is a system based on strict liability for carrying knives in public, with exceptions for those licensed to hold them for work purposes.  People will only stop carrying knives, if they genuinely fear conviction.”

Ulster Unionist Environment Spokesman, Sam Gardiner MLA, said today that there was evidence that the plastic bag tax in the Irish Republic was failing and that the use of plastic bags in the South was on the increase again.

“I understand that the Irish Government plans to increase the tax on plastic bags by 25% or even double it from 15 % to 30% to stem the rising use of plastic bags in the South. Evidence suggests that shoppers in the Republic are buying over 130 million plastic bags each year.”

“It seems that the deterrent effect of the 15% tax has weakened over the past four years of its operation. In 2002, shoppers spent only €7m on plastic bags in supermarkets and other stores. But sales rose to €12.6m in 2003, €13.5m in 2004 and €17.5m last year. Clearly the tax is not working.”

“It seems that fast food outlets are the worst offenders and many may be breaching the regulations over the use of free plastic bags. Larger plastic carrier bags, used by some independent fast-food outlets, do not qualify for the exemption.”

“There are important lessons in all of this for us in Northern Ireland and the UK. If we were to take action against the use of plastic bags and promote instead the use of re-usable bags, then clearly we will have to look carefully at the level of any tax rate we might levy on plastic bags. We must do something about plastic bags because disposing of them is costing ratepayers a lot of money.”

“In the light of this evidence from the Republic, there has to be a concern that the plastic bag is intrinsic to supermarket shopping and, if that is the case, then we are going to have to look at planning applications for supermarkets and perhaps be encouraging the development of more and more local markets and farmers’ markets which are becoming more and more popular anyway.”

Rev Dr Robert Coulter MLA, Ulster Unionist Health Spokesman and Assembly Member for North Antrim, said today he was horrified that shots had been fired at an ambulance crew in the Dunclug Estate in Ballymena.

“Apparently, the ambulance crew returned after the incident to give help to a man found at the site of the incident with a head injury. This shows a level of dedication to duty which reflects the very best standards of the service.”

“This issue raised by this is very serious. We need to get a grip on the situation where ambulance crew, nurses, hospital workers, and doctors are attacked when on duty. I have already called for an Emergency Workers Protection Law closely mirroring that in Scotland but, because the Assembly is not functioning properly, I am being prevented from introducing this law which is very necessary. I have done all the preliminary work and the Bill is ready, but because of this appalling political drift, I am being prevented from introducing it.”

“It is high time all the nonsense about who will talk to who and who will participate in what stopped. There is a job of work waiting to be done in the Assembly on behalf of the people and I for one want to get on with it. The need to protect our health and emergency workers is of the highest priority and it is being neglected like so much other public business – rates increases, water charges and so on - because of the lack of political movement.”

“The people want all these pressing issues sorted out and MLA’s should get on with it. People are rapidly getting fed up with all the juvenile excuses for not getting on with the job.”