uuptoday.org

East Londonderry UUP Assembly member Norman Hillis says the GAA has proved that it is a political organization by permitting the use of Casement Park for a hunger strike anniversary commemoration.

Speaking as he received a petition from a Coleraine group objecting to the Council’s decision to give funding to Kilrea Gaelic Club, Mr. Hillis said the GAA’s action in allowing one of its grounds to be used for a political rally turned its claim to be a purely sporting body completely on its head.

“I sympathize with those who are incensed by this action. The GAA’s central governing body in Dublin had said the rally would break its rules about staging political events. However, that did not stop the County Antrim Board from letting the commemoration go ahead.

“The hunger strikers were guilty of the most dastardly crimes against innocent people and that is something which seems to have been forgotten by those involved in this event.

“There would be an outcry if a rally celebrating the activities of a terrorist loyalist organisation were held at a major sporting venue in Belfast.

“All sporting arenas must be free from such involvement. Until such time as this happens I feel it is inappropriate to hand over public funding to sporting groups affiliated to the GAA. Other parts of its organisation are clearly quite comfortable with such political association and care nothing about who is offended by it.”

Mr. Hillis said previous Council grants to assist the development of Gaelic sports in the Borough were made on the understanding that the GAA was a non-political body but he added: “This action now proves that this is not the case.

“The work of many people in the GAA to reform its rules and regulations has been undone by the Casement example and I can understand why victims of the actions of the hunger strikers are angry about the situation.

“The GAA is tainted by the actions of those who run Casement Park and also by the fact that the Association did not move to stop the event taking place there.”

East Londonderry UUP Assembly member Norman Hillis has condemned whoever was responsible for a fire at a house in Causeway Street Portrush which the police are treating as arson.

Mr. HIllis said: “For anyone to be so callous as to pour flammable liquid
through the letterbox of a house and set it on fire is pure, unadulterated evil.

“Fortunately there was no-one in the house at the time.

“I would appeal to anyone who may have seen anything to help the police
with their enquiries,” he said.

East Londonderry UUP Assembly member Norman Hillis is looking into the issue of providing a children’s play area in Ballykelly.

The local representative said he was amazed to discover during a constituency surgery in the village that the young children had been without a designated play area for quite some time.

Mr. Hillis said: “This is not acceptable. Children of a young age need a space with play equipment to enjoy themselves. It is a vital part of growing up.

“I am surprised that there is not facility and I intend to look into the matter.”

Mr. Hillis said he had received representations from several parents of young children during a clinic he conducted in Ballykelly, together with local UUP Councillor Edwin Stevenson.

“I understand that there was a provision in the past but that it fell victim to vandals. Even so, those who target such places should not be allowed to deny others a place to enjoy themselves and I intend to take up the issue as soon as possible,” Mr. Hillis confirmed.

East Londonderry UUP Assembly member Norman Hillis has warned that an accident is waiting to happen at King’s Lane in Ballykelly.

The MLA has been advised of the problem of some speeding motorists along the road.

During a clinic in the village, Mr. Hillis who was accompanied by the UUP Councillor for the area Cllr. Edwin Stevenson said he was asked to look into the situation by residents.

“It seems that some drivers do not want to observe the 30 mile an hour restriction along the road and as a result local people fear for the safety of their children.

“Speed restrictions are in place for a reason and motorists should not exceed them in built up areas where there are children in the vicinity.

“This is an accident waiting to happen and it cannot be ignored. I do not know if speed ramps would be an option but I want to ascertain what can be done to help improve safety.”

Mr. Hillis acknowledges the concerns of local people at King’s Lane and, together with local UUP Councillor Edwin Stevenson, plans to discuss theissue with representatives of the DRD Roads Service.

East Londonderry UUP Assembly member Norman Hillis has strongly recommended that the Roads Service push ahead with plans to construct a bypass around Ballykelly.

Reacting to the Minister’s announcement of consultation on a proposed £400m Province-wide roads upgrade, Mr. Hillis said the construction of a bypass around the village was long overdue.

“There have been numerous improvements along the north west corridor linking Londonderry, Limavady and Coleraine over recent years and the bypass around Limavady has been a key element in easing traffic flow in the town.

“However, the bottleneck on the approaches to Ballykelly remain a significant difficulty for motorists and a frustration.

“Traffic is regularly backed up considerable distances into and out of the village during peak times and this in turn creates delayed journey times for motorists.

“I would urge the Minister to ensure that the bypass is high on the agenda as it would complete the network on what is one of the busiest routes in the north west.”

The increase in knife attacks in the area has led to a call from East Londonderry UUP Assembly member Norman Hillis for the public at large to become involved in the drive to tackle the problem.

Mr. Hillis says: “There seems to be a prevailing attitude where people are willing to condemn attacks involving knives but not prepared to actually take any active involvement in challenging this culture.”

The MLA is supporting Criminal Justice Minister David Hanson’s 12-week consultation on knife crime to seek people’s views on how to tackle the problem.

Approximately 1,200 knife-related crimes occur in Northern Ireland every year, and 44 murders during the past five years have involved blades.

Mr. Hilis added: “It is time to come out strongly and force home the message that young people should not carry knives. They are deadly weapons, capable of causing serious injury and death.

“People who have views on the issue must make them known. The Government is making a serious effort to tackle the problem and we cannot sit back and do nothing. Consultation means consultation and I would appeal to everyone who is anxious or concerned about knife crime to make a submission.

“I have welcomed the fact that a recent three-week knife amnesty resulted in almost 900 items being taken out of circulation.

“Now the plan is to involve teachers and community groups at a seminar on the issue and I believe that an education package will begin in schools in September.”

The chairman of the East Londonderry Ulster Unionist Association, Assembly member Norman Hillis, has paid tribute to the former Mayor of Coleraine, Jim Watt.

Mr. Hillis said: “There is no doubt that Jim Watt made a significant contribution to Unionism in this area over many years.

“He was a stalwart of the Association and a hard working public representative during his long career in local governenment.

“Jim was very much a realist and not afraid to speak his mind. His warmth and infectious sense of humour will be missed by us all.

“On behalf of the Association I would take this opportunity to pass on our sincere sympathy to his wife, Sadie and the entire family circle.”

UUP MLA Norman Hillis has congratulated the company responsible for the development of a design concept for the new visitors centre at the Giant’s Causeway.

Mr. Hillis, vice chairman of the Causeway Coast and Glens Ltd said it was imperative that the project remained on course for completion in 2009

He added: “The facilities proposed are excellent and will greatly enhance the experience of visiting our number one tourist attraction.

“While extending my congratulations to Land Design Studio Ltd and Moyle Council, I would urge them to ensure that the project remains on course for opening in three years time.

“It has taken a long time to progress to this stage and I am acutely aware that many visitors to the Causeway are disappointed that such a facility is not in place.”

East Londonderry MLA Norman Hillis has backed calls by the parents of a 14-year-old County Down girl who died from an asthma attack for more to be done to raise awareness of the illness.

Victoria Warneck died in her Bangor home after suffering a chronic attack and Mr. Hillis said that the condition was now so critical right across Northern Ireland that it must be taken much more seriously.

The UUP Assembly member said: “This was the second death from an asthma attack in recent times and much more needs to be done to help people with the condition.

“While I welcome the fact that the Department of Health has recently announced a £3m investment in a strategy to help people with respiratory conditions, including asthma, I feel that we must drive on the issue of awareness and the potential the condition has to restrict the lives of people of all ages.”

Asthma UK reveals that more than 150,000 people have asthma in Northern Ireland and of that total, 35,000 of them are children.

Mr. Hillis added: “We should be doing more in this field. When you consider that admissions to hospital for asthma in Northern Ireland are significantly higher than in the rest of the UK and that on average, 44 people die each year from the condition, the warning signs are there for all to see.”

Welcoming the European Commission’s recent Directive on the compulsory use of seat belts in all vehicles, Norman Hillis MLA, the Ulster Unionist Party’s European spokesman, has called on the Commission to do more to improve road safety across Europe.

Mr Hillis explained, “The European Commission recently reviewed the efforts made since 2001 to improve road safety. While considerable progress has been made - in 2005 there were 41,000 road fatalities in Europe compared with 50,000 in 2001 - greater efforts will have to be made at all levels.

“Generally speaking, the European legislation in force so far made seat belt use compulsory only in vehicles under 3.5 tonnes. In vehicles with more than nine seats and in commercial vehicles, it was not compulsory to use seat belts when sitting in the back of vehicles. The existing Directive did require the use of child restraints on seats fitted with seat belts, but it did not specify what type of restraint would be appropriate. It allowed children to travel without being properly restrained by a device suited to their size if none was available.

“The new Directive makes it compulsory to use seat belts in all categories of vehicles and on all seats fitted with them; it also provides for a series of measures to improve the safety of children travelling in cars, lorries and coaches,” continued Mr Hillis.

“While this new Directive is very much welcome, with the alarming numbers of people dying on the roads, - 42 people have perished on Northern Ireland’s roads so far this year - I feel that more can still be done.

“Safer car design can drastically reduce the effect of road crashes: safer vehicle fronts can reduce the potential of injury to pedestrians; increased safety features can protect passengers involved in accidents; I call on the European Commission to implement directives which tighten up the regulations regarding car design and reduce the numbers European families who have to suffer the loss of loved ones.”