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Commenting on the outcome of this weeks Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels where European fisheries Ministers gathered to set the total allowable catches and quotas for the industry in 2008, Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson, who is a member of the European Parliament ‘s fisheries committee, said,

“As I have said on a number of occasions before I have witnessed this damaging process take place now for a number of years and there is no doubt in my mind that the result for Northern Ireland’s fishing industry gets worse as each year passes.

“This deal is yet another body blow for the local fishing industry in Northern Ireland with significant reductions in the number of days fishermen can spend at sea. The conclusions will please no –one.

“What I want to see happen is a fundamental change to the way these negotiations take place. The annual spectacle of last minute negotiations must end.

“I have a number of criticisms of the Common Fisheries Policy but discards has to be the craziest of all. The European Commission must end the discards madness and allow fishermen to land everything they catch.

“We need action taken now to ensure the sustainability of the fishing industry in Northern Ireland or it could easily follow the textile and other well known local industries into obscurity.”

Following the arson attack on a GAA club in County Fermanagh on Wednesday afternoon, Ulster Unionist Party Leader Sir Reg Empey said that those responsible were playing into the hands of those who were attacking and burning orange halls.

Sir Reg said the last thing anyone needed in Northern Ireland was tit-for-tat sectarian attacks that targeted GAA clubs and orange halls. In a statement he said,

“This completely unwarranted arson attack on a GAA club in Fermanagh is exactly the kind of development we were fearing after the recent spate of attacks on Orange Halls. Those who are attempting to ramp up tensions and provoke a retaliatory response by attacking orange halls must not be given the fuel they need. It is self evident that in attacking GAA clubs those responsible are playing into the hands of those burning orange halls.

I would appeal for an end to all attacks. They are unnecessary, stupid and can only lead to further division.”

Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner, has received an assurance from the First Minister that he will receive information on how appointments are made to the central appointments unit of the First Minister’s and Deputy First Minister’s Office.

Assemblyman Dr Coulter said: “I asked the First Minister if he would explain how appointments are made to the central appointments unit in OFMDFM, how many officials are involved in the unit, how they are recruited, to whom they are answerable, what audits have been carried out on their performance in the past five years, and whether those audits are made public?

“In his response, the First Minister told me he would be happy to write to me and give all the facts I want. He said his Office had nothing to hide. In fact, he said he had not yet met some of the officials that he is supposed to be dealing with. When there are over 500 of them, the First Minister told me, that cannot be done in a day.

“I was also assured by the First Minister that Ministerial appointments to public bodies are, where appropriate, made in accordance with the code of practice published by the independent Commissioner for Public Appointments.

“He said the code of practice sets out appointment procedures, which are founded on the principles of selection based on merit, independent scrutiny in the selection process, equality of opportunity and a process that is open and transparent.

“I was also told the code of practice also requires Departments to comply with their statutory duty under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 when making ministerial appointments to public bodies,” said Assemblyman Dr Coulter.

Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner, has called for a ‘family first’ approach to helping terminally ill patients.

Assemblyman Dr Coulter, who is also UUP Health Spokesman, issued his plea during a Stormont debate calling for a study into care facilities for terminally ill in the Province.

He added: “I fully supported the motion that the Assembly expresses concern that 75% of terminally ill people in Northern Ireland are unable to die in the place of their choice, whether in their own home or the home of a family member.

“The motion, which was successfully passed, also expressed concern that many terminally ill people are admitted to hospital on multiple occasions, unnecessarily, during the final weeks of life, causing stress to their families and carers.

“I also welcomed the positive results emerging from the ‘Delivering Choice Programme’ which Marie Curie Cancer Care has operated in Great Britain, and supported the calls to Health Minister Michael McGimpsey to provide the necessary resources for a pilot programme aimed at ensuring that patients, and their carers, receive the necessary support throughout the palliative care period.

“The care of patients must always be at the heart of the Health Service; without that guiding principle, it becomes a matter of simple economics, which leaves the patient aside. That principle must apply to the palliative care of terminally ill patients, just as it applies to waiting lists and hospital cleanliness.

“Patient care must not be simply an objective of the Health Service: it must be an intrinsic part of its culture.

“Of all Departments, the Department of Health, Social Service and Public Safety touches areas to which no easy cost can be affixed, and the care of terminally ill patients is one such area. However, the use of robust health economics models for the home-based manage­ment of terminal illness has begun in the public domain.

“The Sheffield School of Health and Related Research was commissioned to develop such a model in 2003. Evidence from the USA, Spain and Italy suggests that a home-based terminal model may lead to cost savings.

“For that reason, the Health Minister should consider the commission of his own study to establish the real situation and to create financial and health economics models to address it.

“Too many of the available studies relate to outside the UK, let alone Northern Ireland.
Almost £400 million is spent on palliative care in England. We must establish the overall figure for Northern Ireland to give a ballpark figure to work towards; within that provision, there is a broad range of services to consider.

“The indications are that the uncosted value of informal carer inputs to the system is approximately £2,500 per carer.

“The community certainly admires the work of the Marie Curie nursing service. I praise those who have gone into that service in order that people who are terminally ill may be cared for properly; I also take into account the contribution of many family members.

“Marie Curie Cancer Care estimated that end-of-life care at home would double its existing spend; a fact that may give us a handle on what is involved.

“Whatever the facts, they will be satisfactorily collated only by a specialist ministerial working party that will give us real, practical and logical figures from which to work.

“Of one thing we may be sure: we must always take into account the wishes of those who are coming to the end of the journey of life.

“In my experience in another life as a full-time Presbyterian minister, I found that one of the things that touched me most was the despair that one sees sometimes in a hospital bed in a patient who cannot be at home among family to end the journey of life.

“With that in mind, I fully support the call for a pilot study so that we can put the care of the patient and the family first and ensure that a person who is coming to the end of their life is given some peace of mind and good care,” said Assemblyman Dr Coulter.

In a statement today a spokesman for the Ulster Unionist Party commented ahead of the Council meeting tomorrow night in Banbridge that seeks to replace the out-going UUP Councillor Tyrone Howe.

The spokesman said,

Tyrone Howe has acted appropriately and has shown the respect for the office of Councillor that it deserves. By his own admission he felt that he could not devote the time and energy necessary to properly fulfil the function. In stepping down he has acted honourably and sensibly.

The people of Dromore want to see a local person, who is easy to get the hold off and focused on Dromore elected. That person is Carol Black who was selected by the UUP to go for the seat on Saturday 15 December. Mrs. Black is a mother of two who is in her mid 40’s and has lived in Dromore for 17 years. Her children have attended both Dromore Central Primary School and Dromore High School.

The DUP have suggested that if the UUP does not select their preferred choice of replacement for Mr Howe then they would not suggest a co-option but may challenge us in a by-election. It is an utterly ridiculous proposition for a rival political party to be suggesting what candidates another political party should run.

A co-option would be the normal course of events when a member resigns and that is what the UUP believes should happen at the Banbridge Council meeting tomorrow night. There is no need for a by election that would cost the rate payers £25,000 and is asking the voters to come out in the middle of winter. But if it comes to it the UUP is prepared and ready to fight one.”

Commenting on the publication of the Varney Report today, Ulster Unionist Finance spokesman Roy Beggs said in a statement,

“When the DUP failed to get the £1 Billion package that they had promised, they deflected their failure with the Varney Review and the prospect of tax reforms to kick-start the Northern Ireland economy. However Gordon Brown has already ruled out a lower corporation tax solely for Northern Ireland.

When this is combined with a tight, stand-still budget, it is clear reading between the lines of the Varney Report that we face a Herculean task in stimulating the much needed growth in Private Sector employment. We are to be reliant on our current budgets and our won devices.

The reduction in UK general corporation tax levels and the basic level of income tax from the last budget seems helpful at first look. However despite the headline grabbing reduction in corporation tax from 30% to 28% for large businesses, it should be remembered that there was a well concealed increase in the same tax from 19% to 21% for small business. The Northern Ireland economy relies particularly heavily on the enterprise of small and medium sized businesses. This increase in corporation tax for small business has adversely affected Northern Ireland.

The difficulty is that our manufacturing sector is being hit by higher costs in gas, electricity and transport than their competitors in the rest of the United Kingdom. These additional costs are already diverting money away from research and development and marketing.

The Chancellor should be granting lower excise duties across the board which would make many firms more competitive and in one fell swoop end the smuggling of illegal fuel that is funding on-going criminality in border areas. The exchequer is losing out in Millions of pounds due to their own stubborn short-sightedness. As it stands we have a chicken and egg situation, not helped by a Scrooge Chancellor and his even Scroogier predecessor whos legacy is still being felt.

Northern Ireland’s business men and women are a resilient and determined bunch. However given the closed mind of the chancellor on a local Corporation tax cut, his unwillingness to cut excise duties and bring them in line with our closest competitors in the Irish Republic, there are few tools at the disposal of the Executive to entice Investors to Northern Ireland. After all the hype and promises from the DUP, we have now been promised a second review into the implications for employment stemming from the Programme for government and the draft budget.”

Ahead of tomorrow’s scheduled meeting of the Executive, Ulster Unionist Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea today asked what a Minister had to do to break the Ministerial Code after he received an answer to a written question he put to the First and Deputy First Minister that in their opinion, Catriona Ruane did not break the code when she made her education announcement without Executive approval or consultation.

In a statement an incredulous Mr McCrea said,

“Not only did Minister Ruane make an absolute mockery of the DUPs much mooted improved ministerial accountability but she drove, as I see it, a horse and cart through the Ministerial code by making an announcement on Education without consulting a single one of her Executive colleagues.

Education is one of the most important and significant policy areas in government. In fact after St. Andrews the DUP trumpeted the fact that they had saved academic selection and that Ministers could no longer do solo runs like Martin McGuiness. History seems to be repeating itself. The choices made in education impact children’s and parents lives, their prospects and their aspirations. It also affects our economy in a number of ways.

Just to re-iterate the Education Minister by-passed all of her Executive colleagues, by-passed the Assembly Committee and if she could have gotten away with it, would have tried to by-pass a proper debate in the Assembly. This, given the sensitive nature of her proposals and not least the fact that they cut across the cross-community requirement, should have been run past the Executive. It should be remembered how some in the Executive reacted to Margaret Ritchie’s decisions on the CTI money. The way in which Minister Ruane was allowed to behave illustrates the double standard that the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP were referring to in October. There is clearly one law within the Executive for Sinn Fein and another for the SDLP.

I saw no evidence of Ministers jumping from the front benches to the back benches to challenge Catriona Ruane on her statement. Indeed the First and Deputy First Minister seem rather relaxed about a fellow Minister running amok on such a vitally important policy area. The question has to be asked therefore what on earth a Minister has to do to break the Ministerial Code?

I have asked my Party Leader to ascertain, at tomorrow’s meeting what constitutes a breach if this does not.”

After meeting with Orange Order Leaders last week on the on-going campaign against Orange Halls and following attacks on Friday evening and Sunday morning, Ulster Unionist Party Leader Sir Reg Empey today called for Security Minister Paul Goggins to hold a ‘summit’ meeting with the Police with a view to tackling the escalating problem.

Sir Reg said the government has been too complacent in their approach to the attacks. In a statement Sir Reg said,

‘I met with Orange Order Leaders last week to discuss the ongoing campaign against halls owned and operated by the Loyal Orders. Following this meeting, at which compelling evidence of a ‘campaign’ was produced, I wrote to both the Secretary of State and the Chief Constable.

It is now clear that what has been happening, especially this year, constitutes a deliberate and orchestrated campaign, whose motivation is blatantly sectarian. No other explanation is credible. Despite this evidence, the Loyal Orders face obstacles in obtaining compensation for these attacks. I have called on Shaun Woodward to change the law immediately to make it easier for claims to be paid for this destruction. So far the NIO has taken no action.’

I also called on the chief constable to take a more sympathetic approach to issuing Chief Constable’s certificates, which are essential if compensation is to be forthcoming.

The events over the weekend illustrate that there are still those out there who still feel that they can cause trouble and hope to provoke retaliation. There is far too much complacency about the government’s response to this ongoing threat to stability. That is why I am issuing a call for Security Minister Paul Goggins to call a summit meeting with the Police and the Orange Order to effectively tackle this problem which has the potential to destabilise communities in Northern Ireland.

It’s time for action by the PSNI and the NIO to bring this campaign to an end.”

Commenting on the continued fallout over the Maze Stadium plans this morning, UUP DCAL spokesman and DCAL Deputy Chairman David McNarry said in a statement,

“Much has been made about the architects for the site being snubbed after flying in from London. Before everybody weeps for them it should be remembered that they have currently been paid to date in the region of £3 Million for their plans. The Committee chose not to meet them yesterday because the process was, as some commentators have noted, a farce. We would be happy to welcome them again when we have all the information surrounding the project at our fingertips.

Here are the facts:

The Committee does not have the full picture, a business plan, the final costs or costed alternatives to the Maze stadium at present. This is like being asked to give an opinion on a car you are buying for someone without having seen anything other than how it looks.

The Committee felt it was being bounced. A News Conference was planned for the same time as the Committee meeting by the Minister and Architects, presumably designed to unduly influence the media and attempt to railroad the Committee into accepting a Maze or nothing outcome. This is no way to treat a Committee. Our role is to scrutinise and ensure that the public in Northern Ireland get value for Money. We are not a plaything to be used in a political game of chess by the Minister. Treating a Committee in this way is corrosive to the democratic process and makes a mockery of DUP claims of accountable Ministers.

The Committee is not in favour nor against a National Stadium at the Maze but we will not and can not make a final decision on this matter until we are properly armed with the facts, costings and a proper business plan. This is a common sense approach. We do not seek to be obstructive for obstruction’s sake but we do seek to be afforded basic courtesies and be given adequate information. The root causes of the difficulty surrounding the Maze project do not lie with the Committee. The Committee did not walk out, it was adjourned by consent and at the first opportunity apologised to the designers for circumstances which were beyond its control to which the designers replied with full understanding.”

Rev Dr Robert Coulter MLA, the Ulster Unionist North Antrim Assemblyman, has called on the Prime Minister to lift his ban on a Government £725 million bail-out plan for pensioners who lost out when their employers went bust.

“It is widely known that Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain has set this money aside in his departmental budget to pay for this bail-out plan. Blocking a scheme which the relevant Minister has already planned to fund, is a Scrooge-like thing to do in the mouth of Christmas. It only goes to confirm the Prime Minister’s reputation as what the Americans call a tight-wad.”

“Apparently work on this project is well advanced with both a £725 million package and a scaled-down £350 million package under consideration. It is terrible that the Prime Minister should pull the plug on this at this late stage. It sends out a terrible message to pensioners who were unfortunate enough to find themselves in this position through no fault of their own. It will be a pretty miserable Christmas for many of them.”

“The tight fistedness of the Prime Minister is legendary. It is also very short-sighted. His meanness is also hampering the work of our own Ministers in the Executive who have been denied the peace package on a scale they might reasonably have expected after the remarkable achievement of making peace in Northern Ireland. It takes no account of the disgraceful under-investment in our infrastructure by direct rule Ministers over thirty five years and in the way European Union funds were retained at Westminster.”