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UUP South Belfast MLA Michael McGimpsey today welcomed the fact that the DUP are embracing positive change by seeking cosmetic tweaks to the Belfast Agreement.

Mr McGimpsey, responding to today’s article in the Newsletter in which the DUP claimed they had made significant changes to the Agreement, welcomed the engagement from the DUP and said it was a long overdue recognition by them of the progress that Northern Ireland had made over the last 10 years.

In a statement the UUP MLA said,

“Bar a few cosmetic tweaks here and there to the agreement, the deal being offered by the DUP is essentially the Belfast Agreement.

It is useful to think of these ‘changes’ as similar to the changes you would make to a modified car. Under the hood it is still the same car. But the bodywork has been changed with a few go faster stripes and a spoiler. In the end it still does the same things as the car without the modifications and ultimately will drive you to the same destination.

With direct rule ministers continuing to negatively affect the daily lives of everyone in Northern Ireland with policies that do not command the support of the public, it is refreshing to see that the DUP have woken up, ditched the negative messages of the last few weeks and are beginning to embrace positive change.

Ultimately they will have to present the people to whom they promised so much with what effectively is a slightly modified Belfast Agreement. This obviously requires a lot of ground work and I welcome their opening move on this front.

I welcome and congratulate the DUP on this positive development. It will be seen as an act of significant engagement. It has been a long hard slog, but finally after a number of years in the wilderness the DUP are finally embracing positive change.”

UUP South Belfast MLA and former sports minister Michael McGimpsey today urged Irish Rugby bosses to use their common sense when it comes to deciding what national Anthem to play when the Irish rugby team play International games in Belfast.

There had been some debate in recent days about what anthems should be played and when.

In a statement Mr McGimpsey said,

“I would urge Irish Rugby bosses to use their common sense when it comes to deciding what anthems should be played at different venues.

The Soldiers song is played at International games in Dublin and Ireland’s Call is played at all international ‘away’ fixtures. On the rare occasions that international fixtures are played in Belfast it must be ‘God Save the Queen’.

The Irish Rugby team is an all-Ireland team with players from across Northern Ireland. It is only right and proper therefore that for international fixtures in Belfast our national anthem is played. When the Irish team plays in Belfast they are playing at home, in Belfast the home anthem is God Save the Queen. It really is that simple.”

Senior Ulster Unionist and former Sports Minister Michael McGimpsey has said that the hunger strike museum is clearly the price the DUP will have to pay to get the Maze project on track.

In a statement, the South Belfast MLA said: “The cat’s out of the bag. All my predictions have come true, and the DUP can’t say they haven’t been warned.

“The DUP says ‘republican shrine not on at the Maze’ – they say they will not allow Sinn Fein to build a shrine. It’s too late, it’s already there.

“There’s no point in anyone saying that this will not be a shrine. Republicans are treating it as such – they’ve already had one commemoration on it, so what’s to stop them doing it again?

“On Tuesday, the DUP came out against the ‘politicisation’ of sport at Casement Park. But by Wednesday it emerges that republicans want to see Maze prison walls, watchtowers and H-blocks preserved along with the hospital where 10 hunger strikers died.”

“The DUP have been far from consistent on the issue.

• On May 12, responding to concerns that the Maze site will contain a republican shrine, the DUP chairman of the Maze Panel Edwin Poots reportedly said “it is largely accepted now that this will not happen. Republicans conceded the museum idea was a non-runner some time ago… I am confident there will be no shrine”.

• Then on May 31, Coiste spokesman and former hunger striker Laurence McKeown, is reported to have said that “the suggestion for a conflict transformation centre was actually made by Coiste so we are certainly very supportive of the announcement”.

• On the same day, Edwin Poots had moved from no shrine, to defining what the buildings would be. “I would dismiss any notion of this being a terrorist shrine or anything like that”, he said.

• And by June 5, Mr Poots had wobbled again, conceding there would be a building but that he didn’t think the centre would glorify terrorism. “It will actually point out the deficiencies in terrorism and send out a clear message that people should move away from terrorism and conflict.”

• And now republicans announce plans for a £10 million museum and conflict resolution centre to be built on the site of the former Maze prison.”

Mr McGimpsey added: “On June 5, the DUP had maneuvered themselves into a position where they actually ended up arguing the merits for the ‘hunger strike museum’.

“Are they really going to hide behind semantics and argue the difference between shrine, transformation centre, and museum?

“What republicans did at Casement last weekend has profoundly embarrassed the GAA. They hijacked an important cultural and sporting venue for their own ends. If anyone really thinks that they won’t do this at the Maze, they’ll need their head examined.”

UUP Former Arts Minister Michael McGimpsey has criticised the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure for providing the Arts Council Northern Ireland with an inadequate budget, marking Northern Ireland as one of the lowest spenders on the arts in the UK.

According to a recent report by the Arts Council Northern Ireland, an average £6.33 per person is spent per person on the arts, followed by England at £8.19, Wales at £8.80, Scotland at £10.69 and the republic of Ireland £10.72.

The UUP spokesman for Culture, Arts and Leisure said:

“The arts in Northern Ireland are being severely short changed when we consider the budgets allocated elsewhere in the UK. Whilst places like Edinburgh are receiving cash injections for arts projects right, left and centre, Northern Ireland is falling behind and in danger of losing out.

“During my time as Arts Minister, I doubled the funding for the arts. However, with Direct Rule, we are sliding behind whilst others areas have witnessed substantial increases. The government has clearly not shown the same commitment to Northern Ireland as it has shown elsewhere.

“Money spent on the arts is money well spent. Not only do the Arts reinforce our cultural creativity, it captures the imagination of our public and excites the interest of our young people.

“Simply put, we cannot allow the artistic needs of Northern Ireland to fall under the wayside, and under Direct Rule, attention to the arts has continued to slip. This is another example of how Northern Ireland’s future would be best in the hands of locally elected representatives who are sincere in their promotion of Northern Ireland’s rich artistic and cultural endeavors”.

Following the IRA’s ‘thorough investigation’ into Jean McConville, senior Ulster Unionist Michael McGimpsey has said that the only ‘inquiry’ of value is one which reveals the burial locations of the remaining Disappeared.

In a statement, the South Belfast MLA said: “The IRA would have us believe that it can launch an inquiry into events more than three decades old. If they can do that, then they can investigate the ‘Disappeared’.

“People here are not interested in attempts by republicans at self-justification. We’ve seen how this veers from sham inquiries by the IRA to shameful interviews by apologists declaring that the murder of Jean McConville simply wasn’t a crime.

“Instead of releasing baseless accusations and excuses, republicans should inquire over the Disappeared and reveal meaningful information on burial sites.”

He added: “Clearly, the IRA is solely concerned with repeating old lies, rather than offering some crumb of comfort to victims families who have been denied the opportunity to bury their loved ones for so long.

“Sham IRA inquiries are, of course, valueless. A more valuable exercise would be for republicans to alleviate, rather than accentuate, the suffering of these families.”

South Belfast MLA Michael McGimpsey led a delegation including UUP Cllr Bob Stoker, Tom Morrow from the Greater Village Regeneration Trust (GVRT) and representatives for Annadale Residents for a meeting with Minister David Hanson today.

The delegation, while welcoming recent government initiatives said it had concerns at the pace of change and wanted to ensure minimal foot dragging from government on their proposals and undertakings regarding the re-development of the Donegall Road/Village and Annadale areas.

Speaking after the meeting Mr McGimpsey said,

“We had a very constructive meeting with Minister Hanson. We discussed the upcoming redevelopment of the Donegall Road/Village area. This area has the highest concentration of unfit housing in Northern Ireland – of 1400 units 2/3 are designated unfit. The GVRT, Cllr Stoker and Myself are concerned at the slow pace of change since the redevelopment announcement was made. The plans will have a strong and positive effect on the local community but people are telling us that they want to see real action on the ground and not just words of intent. We wanted to ensure that there was no foot dragging and that the process could get underway as quickly as possible. Minister Hanson said he would be writing to me shortly with a detailed timeframe for the redevelopment process. This is a welcome development.”

Turning to the redevelopment of Annadale Mr McGimpsey added,

“The re-development of Annadale is another very welcome government initiative but again I remain concerned at the pace of change. The Housing Executive has pledged £8 Million to the redevelopment of the flats and a minimum of 50 homes for Annadale Crescent. We want to see the process beginning as soon as possible and the lives of the many residents who will be affected improving quickly.”

Commenting following his meeting with Planning Minister David Cairns yesterday morning, and the launch of the Belfast Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Subject Plan, UUP South Belfast MLA Michael McGimpsey said:

“I welcome the launch of the strategy. Putting proper controls and policy in place to deal with unscrupulous landlords is something that I have been campaigning for, alongside others, for a number of years now.

“This strategy ought to provide a measure of control and discipline in the area of HMO development. There’s a draft policy in place – let’s see the Planning Department and Planning Appeals Commission use this to protect the quality of life of families in South Belfast in particular, and for those further afield.

“The local community should not be prey to landlords whose sole motivation is profit. Instead of councillors being forced to suspend HMO applications on a case-by-case basis, the safeguards must be there to ensure inner city areas are not swamped with haphazard development. And that’s what the HMO Subject Plan ought to be about.

“The real solution for an area like the Holylands is for Queen’s University to produce purpose-built accommodation so that the local community is protected and the student body is not exploited.”

Ulster Unionist South Belfast assembly member, Michael McGimpsey, will meet with Planning Minister David Cairns on Tuesday to highlight the problems associated with “unscrupulous developers” and the proliferation of Houses Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) which includes flat conversions.

The South Belfast MLA will call for:

- a cap to be placed on the numbers of HMOs in residential areas

- an effective moratorium on new HMO development in the Holylands

- and proper controls and policy in place to allow planners to clampdown on unscrupulous developers.

In a statement, the South Belfast MLA said: “According to the Housing Executive’s recent ‘South Belfast Housing Study’ there are more than 10,000 HMOs in Northern Ireland, half of which [4,806 properties] are in South Belfast alone. Clearly, HMO development and flat conversions is smothering communities in South Belfast.

“The Belfast Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Subject Plan is due for publication on Tuesday. Assuming it comes back with appropriate controls, I will be calling for a Ministerial statement pledging to immediately adopt it as policy.

“Jeff Rooker produced a Ministerial statement for rural planning. While the PPS 14 document was out for consultation, it was treated as policy. Urban development should be approached in the same way. If they can protect the countryside from rural bungalows, they can protect South Belfast from unscrupulous developers.

“Therefore, I will be calling on the Minister to give immediate effect to safeguards and controls contained within the HMO Subject Plan. If these are immediately adopted it will guillotine applications – and avoid the inevitable rush from developers over the coming months.”

He added: “Newly proposed HMO applications must be banished from the Holylands. Indeed, in all areas of South Belfast there must be a cap placed on HMOs and flat conversions allowed in the area.

“For example, in Glasgow there is a 10% cap on HMO development placed around the university area. There needs to be a similar approach for Queen’s University – a 10% cap must be the absolute maximum.

“We need to put proper controls and policy in place to allow the Planning Department to deal with unscrupulous and profiteering landlords. But in particular we need to bring the Planning Appeals Commission into line.

“What has happened in the Holyands could not have happened without the lax approach of the Planning Appeals Commission. This is unacceptable in a public body.”

Concluding he said: “Just to get an idea of where all this could be heading - one landlord remarked that there should be no residents in Holylands, that it should be exclusive to HMO development.

“I think that’s an outrageous suggestion for anyone to make. But this indicates that landlords and developers are now sufficiently emboldened to now be opening talking in this way.

“The Planning Minister should now immediately send out the clear message that South Belfast communities will be protected. Their quality of life must be given primacy in the decision-making process.

“The trend over HMOs must be stopped in South Belfast. Communities should not be smothered by haphazard and unregulated development.”

At the moment Belfast is divided up into four different policing sections, known as District Command Units: North, South, East and West with each area allocated a full-time quota of around 250 police officers. So far, so reasonable.

Policing is about upholding the rule of law and protecting life and property. Forming a separate city unit would be a tremendous reassurance to both South Belfast residents and the business sector. It would also send out a very clear message out to organised crime gangs and individual criminals. I would call on other parties, particularly Sinn Fein whose ambiguous attitude towards law and order still prevails, to put their money where their mouth is and back my call.

The government is intent on pushing the Maze project ahead. We’re told there’s no plan B.

Direct Rulers have driven this forward – the people of Northern Ireland have not. And when bad politics overrules sound economics, the taxpayer pays the price.