uuptoday.org

Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson has written to the European Council of Ministers in Brussels demanding that they take action to stop the Zimbabwean Dictator Robert Mugabe or any of his Government representatives from attending conferences in the European Union.

Speaking from Strasbourg Mr Nicholson said,

“The deplorable behaviour of the Mugabe regime is an affront to democracy. They have violently broke up peaceful protests detaining and torturing many of those involved and their actions must lead to more robust action from the entire international community.

“I have written to the EU Council of Ministers demanding that they refuse to allow Robert Mugabe entry into the EU.”

UUP Mid-Ulster MLA Billy Armstrong said one of the first things a newly devolved assembly could do would be to find the right balance in rural housing rules throughout Northern Ireland to make homes more affordable for rural young couples and first-time buyers.

Mr Armstrong said moves on rural planning, unlike other policy areas, would not have any dramatic cost implications.

In a statement Billy said,

“A new Assembly should focus on increasing the efficiency and transparency of the planning system – delivering speedy and consistent planning decisions

We need a balanced rural planning policy: One that protects the countryside from random development while allowing for sustainable development of rural communities. We also need a planning policy statement providing, where required, for 25% of new builds to be affordable housing

The hard fact is that while we are governed by Direct Rule from Westminster, the Northern Ireland Office Ministers will be slow to order any relaxations in the specific PPS14 housing restrictions.

The major advantage of having a fully devolved legislative parliament at Stormont is that it can implement relaxations in the housing restrictions to allow our young rural constituents to get onto the housing market ladder.

It seems that many of the ‘new generation farmers’, who are part-time, are being classified as ‘hobby farmers’ and are therefore finding it extremely difficult to expand their farming businesses or to erect a dwelling house on their holding due to tight restrictions placed upon them.    Government’s criteria for need is too high for these ‘new generation farmers’ and the Northern Ireland Assembly must look to set these at realistic levels as soon as possible otherwise the countryside will be deserted.

We need to find the right balance between environmental concerns that protect our rural fabric while enabling people who live in rural areas to prosper and have a decent standard of living.”

Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the North Antrim Ulster Unionist Assembly member, who is also the Ulster Unionist Health spokesman, has described the Government’s 1.9% pay award to nurses as “derisory and an effective pay cut”, given that inflation is currently running at 2.7%.

Assemblyman Coulter said this “totally mean” pay rise for nurses was clear proof the National Health Service was suffering from what he branded as “terminal managementitis”.

The UUP MLA, who has just won his third successive Assembly election, added: “Nurses and other health professionals can expect to receive a rise of 1.5 per cent in April and a further one per cent in November, equivalent to an annual increase of about 1.9 per cent.

“This will lead to still more nurses walking away from the health service and going abroad. It is already a very worrying trend. This award will mean less than £500 extra a year for a newly qualified nurse earning around £19,000.

“Nurses and doctors are the most valuable element in our health service, yet here we have nurses getting what amounts to a pay cut and family doctors getting no increase at all. Yet the number of bureaucrats continues to rise.

“There is a culture of “managementitis” which, under the guise of making things more efficient, is actually a massive waste of taxpayers’ money.

“It is time we had a cull of all these layers of meaningless management pursuing endless targets they themselves set and put health professionals back in charge of the health service with a new culture of patient centredness and health professional leadership,” argued Assemblyman Dr Coulter.

Ulster Unionist South Belfast assembly member, and former DCAL Minister, Michael McGimpsey, has voiced his concerns over the far-reaching nature of the draft Irish Language legislation published today.

The UUP MLA said that the legislation could have huge implications not only for public services, but also for Northern Ireland’s courts system and tribunals.

In a statement, Mr McGimpsey said: “What the Minister is saying today is that if there is no executive up and running by March 26, then we’ll see:

- the use Irish in legal proceedings in Northern Ireland’s courts

the use of Irish in tribunals, such an industrial tribunals, the Fair Employment Tribunal, and social security tribunals

- a duty on public authorities on the use of the Irish language in the provision of their services

- and the creation of a new oversight body, an Irish Language Commissioner.

“Maria Eagle can’t really believe that these clauses could ‘build consensus’ or reflect a ‘middle ground approach’. She voices her hopes that such proposals will gain acceptance across both main sections of the community. This underlines how detached from reality government here has become.”

He added: “The high stakes nature of DUP negotiations means that excessive and unnecessary measures contained in the legislation could become reality for Northern Ireland.

“Everyone in Northern Ireland who speaks Irish can speak English. And yet DUP negotiators will ensure that Irish is given equal weight in courtrooms and tribunals.

“This has been one of the worst aspects of the St Andrews Agreement. Language issues were settled nearly 10 years ago under the Belfast Agreement.

“But the DUP did not seem overly concerned when this first emerged. And indeed they seem to have accepted the Act as part of the choreography.”

Concluding he said: “Today’s publication is DUP failure writ large. And without devolution on March 26 – a proposition which Gregory Campbell stated would be an insult everyone’s intelligence – we will see public services and legal procedures in Northern Ireland operating in Irish.

“This must represent all that a large section of society in Northern Ireland feared the most. The financial implications of this legislation, and consequent impact on community relations, are potentially enormous.”

Ulster Unionist councillor Alderman Michael Copeland has said that the relaxation of advertising in relation to gambling is a worrying step.

In a statement, Mr Copeland said: “Advertising is designed to entice people toward a product. But when that product is gambling the government must be expected to exercise a greater degree of caution.

“Many will be concerned about the perceived haste government is displaying toward liberalizing the rules on gambling. And given their track record on the mainland, what does the future hold for Northern Ireland?

“Removing the ad ban on gambling, albeit in a qualified way, is too much too soon.”