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UUP Assembly Chief Whip and Culture, Arts and Leisure spokesman David McNarry today welcomed Assembly calls for an introduction or an extention to Northern Ireland of the Football Offences act, but Mr McNarry said any new legislation should also cover the GAA.

In a statement Mr McNarry said,

“I’m all for campaigns to end sectarianism and violence at sports grounds, but it is wrong when considering a Football Offences type Act, not to consider Gaelic Games. Gaelic Games are among the highest spectator sports in Northern Ireland, and where recent incidents of sectarianism made headline news.

I commend the Irish Football Association for their efforts to date in stamping out the scourge of sectarianism and violence at football games. Their efforts have been successful. Football here is a million miles away from what it used to be and enjoyed by all and particularly now by those with young families.

Rugby too is another sport that in terms of sectarianism and violence has been a success story, it is very much a family sport and I cannot recall any serious incidents in the recent past where sectarianism and violence reared their ugly heads.

It would however be completely remiss of the Assembly and Executive to exclude the GAA from any legislation covering sectarianism and violence. It is clear that more needs to be done by the GAA to eradicate sectarianism and the almost weekly violence on pitches across Northern Ireland. It trust that the Assembly, when considering this motion tomorrow, will ensure that it is not just football that falls under the microscope.”

UUP Finance spokesman Roy Beggs MLA today articulated the UUP’s opposition to a Sinn Fein motion in the Assembly for tax varying powers to be transferred to the Executive.

In a statement Mr Beggs said,

“I have no doubt that for ‘tax varying power’ we should be reading ‘tax raising power’, no doubt with a view to facilitate a new additional local income tax or business taxes.

Some politicians appear to believe that they can solve our economic problems by simply imposing additional taxes on workers and companies to increase public expenditure. For Northern Ireland to progress economically, we must carefully consider what effect any changes may have on jobs in the real economy.

We need to listen to our private sector employers. We should not be placing additional burdens on them.

Sinn Fein appears to continue to be out of touch with economic relatives. Let’s make the best use of Northern Ireland’s existing public funding and not add any further impediments to local jobs.”

UUP Leader Sir Reg Empey today appointed Paula Bradshaw as the Party’s spokesman on Urban regeneration.

Paula is the Director of the Greater Village Regeneration Trust which deals specifically with urban regeneration in the Village area of South Belfast.

In a statement Sir Reg said,

“Urban regeneration is a policy that is not only close to my own heart as an MLA for East Belfast, but of vital importance to the future prosperity, stability and well being of Northern Ireland as a whole. Tackling the massive difficulties faced by our urban areas is a tremendous challenge but not one the UUP is prepared to shy away from. Unlike previous direct rule governments, we will not pay lip service to it or brush it under the carpet.

Paula brings a wealth of experience to the role as an expert and an instigator of meaningful, sustainable and long term positive changes to urban regeneration in the Village area. I have every faith that her experience will be of benefit to other parts of Northern Ireland.

Paula Bradshaw added,

“The need for an urgent sustainable and workable urban regeneration strategy is the unfortunate result of over 30 years of systematic neglect by successive governments. Urban regeneration is not simply about attracting inward investment. It also covers the provision of decent social housing, improving education, tackling health problems and dealing with the overall urban environment.

In my experience there are no quick-fix solutions and it will take time and a great deal of government commitment and resources to begin to turn-around the problem. I intend to use my role to bring urban regeneration policies and initiatives to the attention of our key local decision makers and our media, but above all I want to ensure that the successful on-going work that the Greater Village Regeneration Trust has been engaged in can be tailored and translated to other urban areas across Northern Ireland. I look forward to meeting the challenges ahead of me.”

UUP MLA for Mid-Ulster and farmer Billy Armstrong today took the Agriculture Minister to task for refusing to champion Northern Ireland Beef during Minister’s Question Time in the Assembly today,

In a statement Mr. Armstrong said,

“In her statement today in the recent Foot and Mouth outbreak, Minister Gildernew disappointingly decided not to take the opportunity to act as a champion of Northern Ireland beef. Northern Ireland’s farmers and consumers are confronted by the reality of cheap, inferior Brazilian beef imports. I raised this matter with the Minister in early August and was hoping she would in today’s statement become a persuader on behalf of Northern Ireland beef. It was disappointing too that even today in her speech she could not bring herself to refer to Northern Ireland, instead using ‘the North’.

Everyone is fully aware that the Northern Ireland Assembly cannot legislate to prevent the importing of Brazilian beef. However, the Minister could and should use her position to encourage supermarkets to offer consumers quality beef, guaranteed by the highest food traceability, environmental protections and animal welfare standards.

As the recent Ulster Farmers Union – Irish Farmers Association joint statement made clear, our hard-earned and closely protected FMD-free status is threatened by Brazilian beef imports. FMD is endemic in Brazil and traceability standards are, to say the least, incredibly poor. Boasting about our bio-security standards while failing to challenge supermarkets who import Brazilian beef is nonsensical.

I fully support the call by Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson for an EU-wide ban on Brazilian beef imports. Europe’s consumers deserve nothing less than quality beef”.”