Coulter to ask First Minister to bring in new Health & Emergency Workers Protection Law
Rev Dr Robert Coulter MLA, Ulster Unionist Health Spokesman, who successfully sponsored a private member’s bill proposing a new category of crime - with increased punishments for attacks on doctors, nurses, health workers and social workers- in the Assembly on Tuesday said today that he was now writing to First Minister Ian Paisley to demand that the bill be made law here when policing and justice powers are devolved.
“The measure I proposed was passed unanimously by the Assembly. This means that this is not only the will of the Assembly but it is a law and order measure agreed by the whole Assembly and by all parties. I will, therefore, be writing to the First Minister, Dr Ian Paisley, to ask him to raise the matter in the Executive with a view to the Executive bringing in an Executive Bill when policing and justice powers are devolved to the Assembly. At that point, when the Assembly has the competence to deal with this, there can be no doubt now that this will become the law.”
“This will send a clear signal to the yobs who attacks nurses, doctors, health workers, social workers, ambulance workers and fire fighters that they will now face nine months in jail. Attacks on health workers never happened in the past and this is a new category of crime. It is unacceptable in any civilised society and now the Assembly is saying clearly that they will not tolerate it. The days when yobs could do what they like are now coming to an end. I am glad to have been the proposer of the bill which will bring this about.”