uuptoday.org

Ulster Unionist Victims spokesman Derek Hussey today said that Victims’ groups were suffering needlessly as a result of the hold-up in appointing a Victims’ Commissioner.

In a statement Mr Hussey said,

“I express my concern over the on-going issue of the appointment of a Victims’ Commissioner for Northern Ireland.

Whilst we await an OFMDFM decision on this matter, Victims’ Groups are suffering!

There is no reason why the issue of core funding to Victims’ Groups cannot be addressed NOW within OFMDFM wherein the responsibility, via the Victims’ Unit, lies.

Undoubtedly, we as the UUP, have some concerns in regard to particular items within the past Interim Victims’ Commissioners Report! However, those issues that are common should be addressed.

To give confidence to the Victims’ Sector that they are not abandoned, they need to see work in progress rather than further provarication.

It lies within the remit of OFMDFM to advance those issues that can be immediately addressed.”

UUP spokesman on Victims Issues Derek Hussey today gave a cautious welcome to the establishment of a government consultative group tasked with finding an appropriate way of dealing with victims issues and ‘the past’.

In a statement Mr Hussey said,

“The UUP welcomes any input into victims issues and how to deal with the past but we reiterate our opposition to the establishment of a truth commission.

Bertha McDougall has already outlined a positive and comprehensive victims’ agenda that I believe should form the backbone of any recommendations. I am mindful that while this debate continues, for many, pain and hurt continues on as a very real aspect of daily life. It is imperative that resolution happens sooner rather than later. That is why I am concerned that this group are not due to report until next summer.

There is no reason why, for example, the issue of core funding to victims groups cannot be addressed now within the OFMDFM wherein lies the responsibility for the Victims Unit. Undoubtedly the UUP have concerns in regard to some of Bertha McDougall’s recommendations! However those issues that are common should be advanced. To give confidence to the Victims sector that they are not abandoned they need to see work in progress rather than further prevarication.

With the McDougall framework already there, the edges of the jigsaw puzzle are already in place. This group can and should test public opinion to see where the other pieces fit.

I am however concerned that the Secretary of State acted unilaterally in the appointment of this group without consulting OFMDFM wherein the Victims Unit lies.”

Referring to the Secretary of State’s comments about the cost of the Saville Inquiry and how there had to be a better way of investigating the past Mr Hussey added,

“I share Mr Hain’s concern at the nature and expense of inquiries such as Saville, however he cannot have it both ways. Saville was set up by his government. Let us hope that the Historical Enquiries Team - who are doing valuable work - coupled with the new group established today, will find a way sensible and pragmatic solution away from the current approach which has failed to find a common language that genuine victims can relate to.”

Ulster Unionist Strabane District Councillor and member of Strabane DPP, Derek Hussey, has rounded angrily on statements issued through the Strabane Chronicle by a Mr Willie Gallagher on behalf of the ’so called’ IRSP representing the INLA in the area.

Mr Hussey said “Surely to God we have had enough of this type of rhetoric over the past 40 years.

“Citizens want peace of mind and normality within our community, throughout our District area and indeed the whole of Northern Ireland.

“Last week we witnessed the IRSP calling on citizens to reject those within our community who want to contribute to normality and just want to get on with living, of whatever creed.  To once again place them in threat of removal of the most basic of human rights - the right to life - is surely tantamount to incitement to terror!.

“Mr Gallagher stated ‘There are armed groups within our community who are willing to take action against spies or informers’.

“It is because of the continued existence of such people in our community that the Police Service must take every precaution in dealing with these types of situations.  They haven’t gone away yet but it is time that they did!

“I call on the elected majority within the Nationalist/republican community to refute ‘without reservation’ these threats to their fellow citizens in the Strabane area and beyond.

This week has marked the eighth anniversary of the Omagh bomb - one of the most horrific days in the history of Northern Ireland.

I believe that the victims of the Troubles deserve no less.

UUP Victims Spokesman Derek Hussey today branded the creators of an internet based paramilitary game set in Northern Ireland as tasteless and insensitive.

The game, in which the objective is to become top dog among paramilitaries has provoked a strong response from victims and groups representing victims.

In a statement Mr Hussey said,

“This game really is in poor taste and those who have created it and who presumably are profiting from it are insensitive.

There is nothing glamourous or playful about paramilitarism in Northern Ireland. At a time when many victims are coming to terms with the new dispensation and politicians are trying to draw a line under the past, this type of nonsense does not help. I would urge the creators of the game to think again and remove it from the internet.”

West Tyrone Ulster Unionist Assembly candidate, Derek Hussey, has welcomed a positive response to the Health section of the UUP’s published Manifesto by Mary Hinds, NI Director of the Royal College of Nursing.

Mary Hinds sits on a Press Association panel of specialists who are reviewing each party’s manifesto and, in her assessment of the Health section of the Ulster Unionist Party’s Manifesto, she stated “This is a
comprehensive and innovative agenda for the improvement of health and social care in Northern Ireland. I’m pleased to note the strong emphasis upon public health measures, which will build upon the achievements of the previous executive in relation to Investing for Health.”

The NI Director of the Royal College of Nursing continued “I am also pleased to note the party’s commitments to training the right numbers of nurses and supporting childcare provision for student nurses. It is good to see the references to enhancing mental health services and healthy living centres. Again this reflects the Royal College of Nursings’ own campaign priorities, particularly in promoting the mental health of children and young people and of older people, and addressing alcohol dependence and obesity.

“Violence against nurses and other health staff is a major concern and we are pleased the UUP has continued to highlight this issue. In concluding her remarks, Mary Hinds said “It is also very welcome to see the party’s commitments on the implementation of NHS Direct in Northern Ireland, support for nurses in policy making, care management networks and the enhancement of prescribing by nurses.

“These will all help to enhance standards for care for patients. That, after all, is what really matters.”

The West Tyrone UUP candidate, Mr Hussey, said “I welcome this extremely positive assessment of the Health proposals contained in our Party Manifesto. It is all the more pleasing to receive such an endorsement of these proposals given that it comes from one who is representative of those working on the front line of our Health Service.

“Undoubtedly, our proposals will help rural communities and can be an important element on the way to providing proper health provision notwithstanding the need for acute services in an Omagh based hospital. Whilst not questioning their training and professionalism, care must also be taken to ensure that nurses are not pressurised into roles that should be Doctor-led.

“I fully endorse Mary Hinds final comment in that what really matters for all of us is enhanced standards of care for patients.”

West Tyrone UUP Candidate Councillor Derek Hussey has welcomed the success of Hospital Campaigners in Scotland who have managed to reverse a decision of the Department of Health to close their A&E Unit and have managed to have acute services retained in the hospital which is located in Greenock.

Mr. Hussey said: “Newspaper reports highlight the fact that the unit was saved ‘thanks to a massive public protest’. The hospital concerned is 19 miles from the nearest hospital in Paisley and the closure would have effected 37,000 people.”

“Does the story not sound familiar?” asks Mr Hussey.

“This particular case exactly mirrors the situation in Omagh, however we have to realise that the 19 miles from Greenock to Paisley can be covered in a reasonable time because of the much better road facilities that exist in that area.

“Why does the Government in Scotland listen to the public when the Administration in Northern Ireland clearly does not. We had a situation recently when Cabinet Ministers took to the streets to support their local hospital, in this case former Secretary of State for NI Dr John Reid supported his local hospital and they have won their campaign.

“This shows that the Department of Health can be forced to reconsider. The Northern Ireland Assembly will have to seriously consider all Health options when it resumes its control of Northern Ireland affairs. We cannot allow a situation to arise where we will dither again and again as to the establishment of an Executive. If that means two acute hospitals in the South West - one in Tyrone and one in Fermanagh - so be it!

“I would also at this point urge all groups and interested parties to submit a response to the Governments Public Consultation on the recommendations of the review of pathology services in Northern Ireland.

“The loss of 24-hour coverage of for any hospital will mean that it is unsafe for this hospital to be classed as a Level 3 Acute Hospital.

Government proposals could mean that Altnagelvin could be stripped of its Level 3 status and if that is the case there is absolutely no chance of a Level 3 hospital in Tyrone or Fermanagh.

“We need to have 24-hour pathology cover for all the hospitals in Northern Ireland, full stop. Stripping this service from local hospitals and centralising it in Belfast cannot be allowed to happen.”

Reports in the regional press that the Department of Health in Northern Ireland has spent £13 million in the last nine years on external consultants were blasted by West Tyrone Ulster Unionist Assembly candidate Derek Hussey as “scandalous”.

In a statement, Mr Hussey said: “We in West Tyrone and our neighbours in South Tyrone and Magherafelt have seen what the Health Department can do at the flick of a pen when they decide to remove services from an area.

“Omagh has been decimated by years of neglect, the maternity unit was removed to Enniskillen, and, with stealth, the A&E Unit, Intensive care, pediatrics have been removed under the blanket heading of ’safety’.

“Yet, if a portion of these millions that have been wasted on consultants to advise on managerial issues – and including on one occasion to help find a guest speaker – had been spent on frontline issues the situation might well have been averted.

“When one looks in detail at the report and reads £6,251 spent on ‘providing a facilitator for the senior management workshop’, one wonders what the workshop involved. The Department’s priority should surely be facilitating health care for all of us through our frontline health professionals.”

Mr Hussey concluded: “No Minister can justify the removal of departmental resources to fund these junkets, and all funding of this nature must be kept under public scrutiny. If we had an effective Assembly such costs would be investigated both by the Health Committee and by the Public Accounts Committee.”

Speaking at an event organised by Disability Action in Cookstown, Ulster Unionist Party candidate for West Tyrone Derek Hussey thanked the organisation for ensuring that the voice of disabled people was being heard during this election campaign.

The event was one of seven held by Disability Action across Northern Ireland as part of the ‘Count Us In’ project enabling disabled people to speak directly to candidates.

In a statement, Mr Hussey said: “Ulster Unionists believe that the Northern Ireland Executive must take urgent and immediate steps to promote compliance with all aspects of the Disability Discrimination Act.

“We view this as being absolutely essential and hope that it works towards improving the basic human rights of Northern Ireland’s 300,000 people with disabilities.

“Ensuring equality for citizens with disability is necessary for any fair society. People experiencing a range of illnesses - including cancer, MS and mental illness - are now, at last, brought under the protection of the law. The delay in extending to people with disabilities in Northern Ireland the same rights and protection as elsewhere in the UK was totally unacceptable.

“But it is not all about government action and initiatives. When criminals target people with disabilities – when employers refuse to consider people with disabilities for employment – when members of the public on our streets or on our roads fail to respect people with disabilities: then we need attitudes to change. We need a new culture of respect for all, including people with disabilities.

“Alongside government initiatives, each of us need to exercise social responsibility within our communities. The Ulster Unionist Party knows that this places a heavy responsibility on ourselves and all political parties to lead by example. We are called not just to vote for legislation that improves life for those with disabilities. We also, as parties, have a social responsibility to ensure that we respect people with disabilities – as voters, as people with a voice, as people deserving our respect.”

West Tyrone UUP Assembly candidate Derek Hussey has highlighted the importance of the Government’s decision to provide an additional £2 million for dental practices.

Mr. Hussey said: “Many people have been experiencing difficulty in obtaining the services of a dentist as more and more in practice have opted to go private because of the high running costs involved.

“I am pleased to see that the extra funding will be targeted directly at those practices providing dedicated Health Service dentistry.

“High standards in oral hygiene must be maintained and I welcome Health Minister Paul Goggins’ announcement.”