Monthly Archives: February 2018

Sinn Féin to take no action over Gerry Kelly clamp controversy

<!– –> SINN Féin has confirmed no action will be taken by the party against Gerry Kelly for cutting a clamp from his car. The party’s policing and justice spokesman was questioned voluntarily by the PSNI over a report of criminal damage after he was filmed on Friday using bolt cutters to remove the clamp in central Belfast. Mr Kelly revealed yesterday he had agreed to pay a fine of £150 to the clamping company and £50 for damage to the device. The North Belfast MLA said he regrets removing the clamp and would not do it again, adding that the matter “has now been resolved”. A spokesman for private clamping firm Parking Enforcement Agency (PEA) said it also considered the matter resolved. However, police last night said their inquiries are “ongoing” and a report “will be submitted to the Public Prosecution Service for their consideration in due course”. With … Continue reading

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Retailer strengthens partnership with foodbanks

East Antrim UUP MLA Roy Beggs has congratulated Asda for its ‘fight hunger create change’ campaign. It includes a £20m donation to FareShare and Trussell Trust to help them invest in their fresh produce infrastructure and grow their support services which help families out of food poverty. The campaign aims to provide an additional 24 million meals annually, provide 500,000 more people access to fresh food donations, support one million people to get out of food poverty and there is also a commitment for all Asda stores to be donating surplus food by 2020. Mr Beggs said: “I am aware that ASDA already provide great support to Larne foodbank and that they regularly put out a basket for food donations. They also allow bag packs, green coin collections and generously donated towards Christmas hampers as a few examples of their commitment to partnership work aimed at supporting the foodbank. “This … Continue reading

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Power outage sparks questions over Kilroot closure

The decision to close Kilroot power station has been defended following a recent power outage which it has been claimed would have caused significant blackouts in the Province had it happened later this year. Ulster Unionist MLA Roy Beggs has expressed concern about the security of the NI electricity supply, with particular focus on an incident which saw Londonderry’s Coolkeeragh power station out of operation for longer than expected at the end of last month. He said: “The plant failed to come back as planned after maintenance resulting in a longer period of time when the station was not generating. This is exactly the scenario that I have been highlighting in terms of the insecurity of our electricity supply without Kilroot power station in the future. “Such an unforeseen outage could easily have resulted in significant electricity blackouts across Northern Ireland had the Kilroot power station and the Ballylumford B … Continue reading

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Beggs congratulates Larne Asda on strengthened partnership with local foodbanks

East Antrim Ulster Unionist Party Assemblyman Roy Beggs has congratulated Asda for their “fight hunger create change” campaign. The campaign includes a £20m donation to FareShare and Trussell Trust to help them invest in their fresh produce infrastructure and grow their support services which helps families out of food poverty. The campaign aims to provide an additional 24 million meals annually, provide 500,000 more people access to fresh food donations, support 1 million people to get out of food poverty and there is also a commitment for all Asda stores to be donating surplus food by 2020. Roy Beggs MLA said “I am aware that ASDA already provide great support to Larne foodbank and that they regularly put out a basket for food donations. They also allow bag packs, green coin collections and generously donated towards Christmas hampers as a few examples of their commitment to partnership work aimed at … Continue reading

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Could NI face blackout if a station is down? – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

By Roy Beggs MLA February 13 2018 In a few months, as a result of a new Integrated Single Electricity Market (ISEM) auction stipulations and its outcome, Northern Ireland is set to close electricity generators that have maintained security of supply for decades. Over the last three years Kilroot’s coal fired station has met around one-fifth of Northern Ireland’s electricity demand. But Kilroot Power Station’s 440MW and a further 125MW generator at Ballylumford have now been earmarked for closure. Carefully honed generating teams managing plants and securing our electricity supply are to be scattered. Kilroot is a coal fired power station that was expected to close in 2021 as a result of increased carbon taxes and environment regulations. The SONI process has not included a mechanism for winding down older plants in an orderly manner, sweating the assets for the benefit of consumers. The one year auction system, T-1, resulted … Continue reading

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