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Following the ruling of the High Court on the Sexual Orientation Regulations (SORs), Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Assembly Party and Chair of the Committee of OFMDFM, Danny Kennedy MLA, has given his initial response.

In a statement Mr. Kennedy said,

“The Ulster Unionist Party will carefully examine the judgment of the Court on the SORs. As seen in the debate in the Assembly earlier this year, there is significant uncertainty within Northern Ireland as to whether Peter Hain in this legislation struck the correct balance between various rights.

Equality before the law is a fundamental UUP principle. We are therefore completely opposed to unfair discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. We also recognize the importance in a pluralist society of protecting the rights of conscience and religious belief, and the need to respect of the ethos of faith-based organizations”.

Unionists and loyalists will be left with a deep sense of irony following the disclosure that a senior member of the DUP was involved in advocating and promoting the Belfast Agreement as a model for resolving other conflicts in the world including the difficulties in Iraq, Ulster Unionist Deputy-Leader Danny Kennedy said today,

In a statement Mr Kennedy continued,

“The revelation simply confirms the fact that the DUP were never truly an anti-agreement Party but were simply engaged in a deeply cynical political exercise to emerge as the largest political party in NI - something which has proven costly to Unionists in terms of concessions made to republicans. All over this Province grass roots unionists are asking only one question to the DUP leadership - “What was the past 38 years all about?

The Unionist population is also informed now, from no less a person than Ian Paisley Jnr, that any suggestion of a rift in OFM/DFM ie the SF/DUP Government pact was “entirely fantasy politics” - so much for the promise given that “it wouldn’t be a love-in!”

Following the release today of the OFMDFM-commissioned Deloitte Report “Research into the financial cost of the Northern Ireland divide”, Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Assembly Party and Chair of the Committee of the Centre, Danny Kennedy MLA, has given his initial response to the Report.

In a statement Mr. Kennedy said,

“A key challenge facing the Northern Ireland Assembly is to protect the public purse. Wasteful, inefficient government spending needs to be challenged, ensuring that the taxpayers of Northern Ireland are given value for money for their hard-earned taxes. In light of this, then, I welcome the Report’s publications. I look forward to carefully scrutinising it and would urge all concerned to comment responsibly on its findings and not mislead the public.

“While the Report broadly identifies the cost of the divide to the public of £1.5 billion per annum, a careful reading of the Report suggests that this figure is be incredibly misleading. It includes the costs of policing civil disorder - and riots are not unique to Northern Ireland. It includes support for the victims of past terrorist violence. Put simply, victims cannot be abandoned in order to satisfy accountants. It includes costs associated with certain administrative changes under the RPA, changes which are broadly welcomed across Northern Ireland as means of saving money. The Report, ironically, also includes the cost of community relations programmes. Considering the hard and vital work undertaken across Northern Ireland to promote better relations in our society, it is - to say the least - strange that the cost of such efforts is implied to be a waste of public money.

“Value for money in government expenditure must be delivered by the Northern Ireland Assembly. Alongside this duty, Government, the Executive and the Assembly have other equally important duties - caring for victims, protecting the public during times of disorder and promoting good community relations. It is on this basis that I look forward to giving the Report careful consideration.”

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.”

Danny Kennedy MLA, Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, said today that while he welcomed the creation of a unified border force to fight against international terrorism which the Prime Minister has said will be “highly visible and uniformed,” this would raise serious issues of control if policing and justice powers were devolved to the Assembly.

“This new border force will bring together elements of the immigration and customs services so clearly it is a national as opposed to a regional force. This is also borne out by its border control remit which will be outside the scope of a regional administration in Stormont since it related to national security. It raises important questions, however, about the policing of the land border with the Irish Republic which, in turn, impacts directly on North-South relations.”

“There is no question that the land border with the Irish Republic is a UK border and will, therefore, have to be included in the remit of the new force. This is especially important after recent high profile drug smuggling cases where it was alleged by the authorities that drugs smuggled via the West Coast of Ireland were destined for the English market.”

“With the intelligence service MI5 already operating in the Province, the advent of a border force raises serious issues about the common sense of devolving policing powers to a local administration. This could seriously weaken efforts to co-ordinate policing activities since it is difficult to understand how certain operations against criminality could be as seriously advanced if they were not carried out under one single command structure but required all sorts of liaison between two or even three separate forces with two controlled from the UK and one controlled locally.”

UUP Deputy Leader Danny Kennedy today welcomed the appointment of Al Hutchinson as the new Police Ombudsman.

Mr Kennedy said the move to appoint a new Ombudsman was long overdue and hoped that Mr Hutchinson would inject some much needed integrity back into the office.

In a statement Mr Kennedy said,

Currently the Ombudsman offices are under police investigation into leaks of enquiries which have infringed people’s human rights, under investigation into breaches of the official secrets act and the Northern Ireland Office is in the process of reviewing guidelines and finding a new figure to fill the post.

This litany of failures, coupled with the fact that the Ombudsman did not command the support of the Retired Police Officers Association or the support of the Police Federation was the wake up call that was needed for the Secretary of State to appoint a new Ombudsman.

Mr Hutchinson brings a wealth of experience with him and the UUP wishes him well in the task of bringing some much needed integrity and impartiality back to the office of Ombudsman.”

Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader Danny Kennedy has called on the DUP’s Executive Ministers to “get their act together” on the national stadium.

Mr Kennedy was speaking after the weekend’s public argument between DUP Ministers, with Nigel Dodds contradicting the statements on the Maze location made by Edwin Poots.

Mr Kennedy said: “While most right-thinking people in Northern Ireland will agree with Minister Dodds in opposing a Hunger Strike shrine as an integral part of the Maze National Stadium plans, the confusion amongst DUP Ministers does Northern Ireland no favours.

“On the one hand we have Minister Poots telling us that the Maze location – with its Hunger Strike shrine – is non-negotiable. On the other, his DUP colleague Minister Dodds tells us that it is totally unacceptable. To state the obvious question, which is it? Is the Maze National Stadium and the Hunger Strike shrine non-negotiable, or is it unacceptable?

“When devolution was restored, most people in Northern Ireland had a sense that the Executive was going to have difficulty in achieving a united purpose. It is, however, somewhat surprising that the greatest divisions have appeared amongst the DUP Ministers – failing to agree on what was meant to be a signature project for the Executive, and failing to agree on whether or not a terrorist shrine is acceptable.

“All parties in the Assembly recognise that the issue of locating the National Stadium is a matter of some controversy. But to have Executive Ministers from the same party squabbling in the media over the issue, briefing against each other, and plainly contradicting one another is not the kind of government Northern Ireland deserves”.

In a joint statement on the Maze today UUP Chairman of the OFMDFM Committee Danny Kennedy and Deputy Chair of DCAL Committee David McNarry called on Dr Paisley to clear the air on the Maze project.

In a joint statement the UUP men said,

“It is important to draw the demarcation lines between the distinct issues arising out of the controversy surrounding the proposed maze development.

The decision to proceed with a national stadium rests with Edwin Poots the DCAL Minister whilst the decision to open an IRA shrine rests with Dr Paisley and the Office of First and Deputy First Minister.

A stadium does not necessarily have to be built on the Maze site. It could be placed elsewhere or not at all whereas the shrine is a project locked into the business plan adopted by Dr Paisley, who only last week signed a joint letter with Martin McGuinness shutting down the Maze monitoring panel and placing full responsibility for the development of the site with his own offices.

It is important therefore that OFMDFM clear the air regarding the shrine and indicate urgently when the shrine, as a tourist attraction, will be handed over to the DETI Minister Nigel Dodds.”

Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader Danny Kennedy has said that the First & Deputy First Minister must stop the rot of delay in relation to the appointment of an Older People’s Commissioner.

In a statement, the Newry & Armagh MLA said: “This issue was debated on the floor of the Assembly twice. Earlier this month, and in December, the proposal to create an Older People’s Commissioner received unanimous cross-party support.

“There is firm support for this move. In addition to which, both Sinn Fein and the DUP produced manifesto commitments to do precisely what the Assembly asked them to do.

“Yet the department is looking vague and non-committal. Many people will want to know why a final decision is not forthcoming. OFMDFM refers to the strategy ‘Ageing in an Inclusive Society’. This strategy, whilst detailed and thorough in many areas, stops short of recommending the establishment of a commissioner for older people.

“So a strategy that contains no older people’s commissioner is being brought forward, and no decision on a commissioner is forthcoming. This looks like fudge.

“Junior Ministers have been given particular responsibility for older people. I will be tabling a written question to see precisely what work has been done in relation to bringing forward the will of the Assembly.”

He added: “We live in an ageing society. By 2013, almost a quarter of the population will be of pensionable age. Surely now is the time for a new approach to older people’s issues.

“My view, and that of the Ulster Unionist Party, is that such a commissioner should be established as soon as possible. Help the Aged director Grace Henry has said that the appointment of the commissioner would ‘set a fitting tone for a new period of government - one that has Northern Ireland’s 175,000 older people firmly rooted at its heart’.

“As I told the Assembly in debate on the issue, the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister is perfectly capable of managing the detail. So why the delay?”

Ulster Unionist Assembly Member for Newry and Armagh, Danny Kennedy MLA, has expressed his deep concern at the tragic deaths in recent weeks of three students of Craigavon Senior High School.

In a statement, Mr Kennedy said: “The tragic circumstances surrounding the untimely deaths of three young people has shocked the local communities of Tandragee and Laurelvale. Across Northern Ireland parents, teachers, health professionals, local communities and elected representatives are asking what we as a society can do to prevent further similar tragedies.

“As a local representative I am acutely aware of the profound issues involved. I have been in contact with local clergy and community leaders as to how best elected representatives can address the issues in a sensitive manner.

“I want to express my deep and sincere sympathy to the families of the three young people, and the staff and students of Craigavon Senior High. I have today in the Assembly tabled an emergency question to the Education Minister asking her what assistance she will be providing to the staff and students of the school, and what co-operation her Department is undertaking with other departments and agencies.

“Addressing the tragedy of youth suicide is not a task for any one government department – it will require a partnership between government, the voluntary sector, local schools, parents, and faith communities. But the Department of Education must have a key role to play in this partnership.

“I will be in contact with other local elected representatives and local agencies to determine how local needs in the midst of these tragedies can be met.”