Monthly Archives: October 2014

THE DUP has been accused of lacking the will to share power after it effectively blocked a deal to elect the assembly’s first nationalist speaker. The post was promised to Sinn Féin as long ago as 2007 but the DUP has refused to honour the agreement, pointing to an apparent U-turn by republicans on welfare re-form. The need to elect a new speaker arose after last week’s resignation of Foyle MLA William Hay, due to ill-health. In 2011, following the last assembly election, the DUP and Sinn Féin made their support for the deal public, with Mitchel McLaughlin widely expected to succeed Mr Hay. However, it is understood that many DUP MLAs are opposed to the idea of Mr McLaughlin — or any Sinn Féin MLA — assuming the speaker’s role. In yesterday’s vote, which also saw deputy speakers John Dallat of the SDLP and Ulster Unionist Roy Beggs nominated … Continue reading →

The vote was held at Stormont on Monday after veteran DUP politician Willie Hay retired from the role for health reasons. There had been an informal agreement, made in 2007, that principal Deputy Speaker Mr McLaughlin would replace Mr Hay halfway through the Assembly term. However the DUP abstained from voting after deciding it would not support Mr McLaughlin, who has been filling in for Mr Hay over the past few weeks, as the new Assembly Speaker. First Minister Peter Robinson has said the matter must be dealt with in the forthcoming talks. Meanwhile the UUP’s Roy Beggs and the SDLP’s John Dallet, who are both Deputy Speakers, were also nominated by their parties but did not receive enough votes to be elected. Father of the House Sam Gardiner, the oldest Stormont representative, said: “As a speaker has not been elected it will be necessary to return to this matter … Continue reading →

The North Antrim MLA was punished for clashing with UUP Deputy Speaker Roy Beggs last week. During a debate on the North South Ministerial Council, Mr Allister tried to ask deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness whether alleged non-cooperation by Gardaí over the pending Kingsmills inquest had been brought up. However, Mr Beggs tried to prevent him from making the query as he said it did not relate to Mr McGuinness’s statement. Mr Allister did not retake his seat or stop making his point despite a number of requests from Mr Beggs. He later questioned the consistency with which the Deputy Speaker had chaired that item of business. On Tuesday, Sinn Féin principal Deputy Speaker Mitchel McLaughlin said the TUV leader’s behaviour toward Mr Beggs during the exchange had been among the worst the Assembly had witnessed. “I know that the Member will try to spin this, but let me be … Continue reading →

The vote was held at Stormont on Monday after veteran DUP politician Willie Hay retired from the role for health reasons. There had been an informal agreement, made in 2007, that principal Deputy Speaker Mr McLaughlin would replace Mr Hay halfway through the Assembly term. However the DUP abstained from voting after deciding it would not support Mr McLaughlin, who has been filling in for Mr Hay over the past few weeks, as the new Assembly Speaker. First Minister Peter Robinson has said the matter must be dealt with in the forthcoming talks. Meanwhile the UUP’s Roy Beggs and the SDLP’s John Dallet, who are both Deputy Speakers, were also nominated by their parties but did not receive enough votes to be elected. Father of the House Sam Gardiner, the oldest Stormont representative, said: “As a speaker has not been elected it will be necessary to return to this matter … Continue reading →

Health Minister Jim Wells said child heart surgery may, in future, be carried out in Dublin, on 14 October 2014. Mr Wells was delivering a statement on the outcome of the October monitoring round and a report on paediatric congenital heart services. An International Working Group, made up of leading physicians in the field, recommended a “single service model” for the island of Ireland, which would mean surgery in Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital would cease. Minister Wells said, “the simple reality is that we cannot reach these standards alone”, but assured MLAs his priority remained “patient safety and effective delivery of care”. Mr Wells said that, at present, a very small number of “less complex” paediatric cardiac operations and interventional procedures take place in Belfast, and cardiac treatment for adults would continue there. However, he said he “could not ignore the expertise and experience” of the working group and, subject … Continue reading →