uuptoday.org

UUP East Belfast Representative and Castlereagh Councillor Michael Copeland today backed calls for a special medal to be awarded to British troops fighting Taliban in Afghanistan and urged the Northern Ireland public to sign a petition on the downing street website.

The online petition posted on the number 10 website seeks to award soldiers with a special medal above the standard Operational Service Medal.

Mr Copeland said given the high number of soldiers from Northern Ireland who have and are serving in Afghanistan, a special medal was only fitting.

He said,

“I fully support efforts to petition the government for a special medal, above the Operational Service Medal, for our troops who have served, are serving, or whom are still to serve in Afghanistan.

I think the public are only too aware of the intensity of the conflict with the Taliban, where many British Troops lives have been lost and where some of the fighting is the most ferocious seen in decades.

Given the high numbers of troops from Northern Ireland who have served and are in Afghanistan, I would hope that the public here would join me in supporting the call for a special medal and will, like me, sign the petition.”

Commenting on the publication of unemployment figures for Northern Ireland, UUP Leader and Employment and Learning Minister Sir Reg Empey said,

“The figures show the lowest unemployment figures for Northern Ireland since records began. At 3.7% this is the first time that we have recorded the lowest levels of unemployment in the United Kingdom.

We must not be complacent however, as this masks the long term problems we have with low levels of participation in the workforce and lower productivity. Our businesses also face significant cost disadvantages with their competitors.

The future of our economic prosperity lies in ensuring that our people obtain the skills at all levels that will keep Northern Ireland ahead in the years to come.”

Commenting on the on-going rows concerning the Aer Lingus’ decision to move operations from Shannon to Belfast, Ulster Unionist Party Leader Sir Reg Empey said,

“Last week there was considerable euphoria here when Aer Lingus announced the establishment of a base at Belfast International Airport, promising at least 100 new jobs.’

What a difference a few days can make. The airline is now besieged on all sides, threatened by strike action, shareholder meetings, attacked by some of the biggest names in corporate Ireland and forced to provide a skeleton service with help from other airlines.

This all goes to prove that all politics is local, and business interests are not far behind!”.

Billy Armstrong, the Ulster Unionist MLA for Mid Ulster has demanded that the Department of Regional Development takes urgent action to ensure that all correspondence issued by them, and the Water Service to constituents in County Londonderry uses the County’s correct title.

“My constituency of Mid-Ulster incorporates part of County Londonderry and part of County Tyrone. I have received numerous complaints from constituents in County Londonderry who are most unhappy that correspondence and bills received from the Water Service are addressed to ‘County Derry’ rather than the proper and full name of County Londonderry.

County Londonderry is the official name of the County and it is right and proper that all Government bodies and especially Departments within the Northern Ireland Assembly use its correct name.

I have already written to Conor Murphy the Minister for Regional Development demanding that action be taken to immediately rectify this unacceptable situation.”

UUP Education spokesman and Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea today commented on pupils receiving their A level results. In a statement Mr McCrea said,

“Today’s A level results demonstrate once again the excellence of our education system. Many young people will be delighted with their individual results and it is important that we as a society offer our congratulations to them, but it is also important to commend the efforts of teachers and parents who have supported them over the last seven years.

In today’s society some people seem overly eager to devalue the achievements of young people, but I believe that the record high marks now being achieved are the product of the hard work and perseverance by our young people who are able to take advantage of the first class education offered across Northern Ireland

Our society must recognise the value of education not only to the individual but to society as a whole. The world in which we live is changing rapidly and with each day that passes it becomes more and more apparent that the ability to learn is the only enduring competitive advantage.

Without encouragement and a supportive environment many of our young people would fail to maximise their potential, and they and our society would be unable to compete in the global economy.

Within the excellent results there will be those who will feel disappointed and there will be others whose personal triumph is overshadowed by those with higher grades. We must reassure them all, that A levels are merely “Stepping stones” to the next phase of their lives, they do not define an individuals worth, and in a few short years they will be a dim and distant memory. What happens next is the really important issue and the world is full of opportunity.

Our entire education system is under pressure and given the importance of education to long term prosperity this will alarm parents, teachers and pupils. Whilst there is an undoubted need to address the plight of those for whom the educational system has not been a success, we must be careful not “to through the baby out with bathwater”. Our education system is a precious thing, we must take care to nourish and protect it and we must take every opportunity to explain the benefits and encourage all sections of our community to take advantage of the opportunities presented.”

Ulster Unionist Member of the European Parliament Jim Nicholson MEP has said the intervention of Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary in the row over Aer Lingus plans to fly from Belfast International to London Heathrow smacked of sour grapes and was extremely unhelpful.

Mr O’Leary’s Ryanair own a 25% stake in Aer Lingus and announced today that he wants and extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to take place where the proposed plans could be blocked.

In a statement Mr Nicholson said,

“Mr O’Leary’s intervention today could ultimately jeopardise not just Aer Lingus plans to fly from Belfast International to London Heathrow but also put at risk their plans to fly to other European destinations from Belfast International, which in economic terms would be a disaster.

“At the end of the day, Mr O’Leary is not acting in the best interests of the people of Shannon or of Belfast but in the best interests of himself and his company.

“His reaction is nothing but sour grapes and I would encourage him to look at ways of how he can expand Ryanair’s services from Northern Ireland on the back of recent announcements, instead of playing silly games with Aer Lingus’s move to Belfast International.”

Ulster Unionist Assembly Chief Whip David McNarry today took the DUP to task over claims that Unionism has been boosted after 100 days at Stormont.

In a statement Mr McNarry said,

“This latest alpha male chest beating by Ian Paisley begs a number of questions. What is so right now that wasn’t right before apart from Ian himself being in charge? The fundamentals, framework and institutions of the Belfast Agreement are unchanged after all.

All the safeguards that the DUP are trumpeting as some great victory for them were already negotiated. Perhaps Ian Paisley would like to spell out what is it exactly he has done that is so different?

The DUP, and Ian Paisley in particular stood on a platform of first smashing the Agreement then of changing it. Was it smashed? No. Were there changes? Cosmetic tweakery at best.

The real story of the last 100 days is how the DUP sold a false bill of goods to people then, cuckoo like, seek to claim credit for an agreement that wasn’t theirs to begin with.

While we undoubtedly welcome the damascene conversion by the DUP and the return of devolved institutions for the people of Northern Ireland, we must question the validity of the DUP Leader’s claims.”

Commenting on recent hardline DUP comments on the Irish Language Act, UUP Deputy Leader Danny Kennedy said in a statement,

“It is strange to hear the DUP suddenly toughening up their language on the Irish Language Act. It should be remembered that this proposal came out of the blue in St. Andrews and at that time and until now the DUP did not object to it.

The UUP had settled the language issue through the Belfast Agreement. Language was to be carried through the North/South language body which comprises of the Board of Ulster Scots and the Irish Bord na Gaelige. In this set up we had an Ulster Unionist Minister having a veto over all business. This was truly accountable.

The DUP, at St Andrews opened all of this up again with an Irish Language Act that gives Irish equality with English and makes it incumbent on the Executive to promote the language.

By tinkering around the Agreement they have created messes that need to be cleaned up. They can suddenly harden their rhetoric on the Irish Language Act but they are being inconsistent as this is a mess of their own creation. My fear is that their belated opposition will be too little too late.”

Upper Bann Ulster Unionist Assembly Member George Savage MLA today spoke of his outrage at the amount the 5 Education Boards have spent on out-of-court settlements over the past two years and the costs incurred in relation to legal fees and compensation. Speaking from Stormont, George said,

“Having received a response from the Minister to my question I am deeply concerned about the amount of money spent by the Education Boards on out-of-court settlements over the past two years and the costs incurred in relation to legal fees and compensation”.

“I am concerned that in the Financial Year 2005/2006, the 5 Boards spent £1, 052, 453 on legal fees and compensation. I am horrified to find a 68 PERCENT increase in the Financial Year 2006/2007 where the 5 Boards spent £1,764,213. This is a complete and absolute outrage and someone must be made accountable for this gross extravagance. I call upon the Minister to investigate this and to come up with some answers that actually will carry weight and resonate with the public and those in the education sector.”

“What I find even more worrying is that we do not know how much settlements decided upon in court have cost the Department or the Boards.”

This issue is very important because it cuts right to the heart of an ongoing debate within education circles, that being, who is accountable for how money is spent and how resources are allocated?

“It is my belief that the Minister and her officials have a lot to answer for!”

“This gross overspend is ridiculous when you consider that Classroom Assistants are still fighting for a just and fair pay deal from the Department and our Primary Schools are grossly underfunded.”

“The total figure that the Boards spent on legal fees and compensation in two years was £2.8million. It is a sobering to think that this would pay for 113 teachers or 226 classroom assistants.”

“I look forward to hearing what the Department of Education has to say…”

UUP MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Tom Elliott today commented on the Republican ‘Truth’ March in Belfast.

In a statement Mr Elliott said,

“Republicans have a blatant cheek to the asking for truth when they have consistently lied to the people of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. For the past 4 decades.

If Republicans really want the truth to be told than a good starting point is to start with themselves. Let them tell the public the truth about Kingsmills, La Mon House, Enniskillen , Narrow Water.

Let us hear Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness spell out their responsibilities towards the families of the disappeared for whom the truth has been in very short supply.”