Monthly Archives: October 2019

Police have issued a fresh warning to motorists over new speed restrictions on Carrick’s Belfast Road. The restrictions came into operation last month close to Model Primary School in the Co Antrim town. A spokesperson for Carrickfergus PSNI stated: “It seems there’s some confusion but when the 20mph signs are flashing that section is restricted to 20mph. “This is purely as a road safety measure to allow the children to get to and from the school safely. Please keep this in mind as I’ve noticed people are still travelling in excess of 20mph. “So keep below 20mph and don’t get yourself a ticket heading to or from work.” Introducing the measure for the start of the new school term, the Department of Infrastructure explained the part-time speed limit applies for a distance of just under 500 metres in the morning when pupils are arriving at school. It also operates at … Continue reading →

Fresh healthcare statistics have shown that the number of people waiting longer than 12 hours at Emergency Departments has doubled in the past year. Some 3,482 patients waited to be treated and either discharged or admitted to hospital for over 12 hours at Northern Ireland’s AE departments this year, just under 5% of all attendees. The statistics came to light in the Department of Health’s Waiting Time Statistics bulletin for the quarter ending 30 September 2019. Pressure facing EDs appears to be growing when we consider the summer period, with 214,685 people attending Emergency Departments, over 9,000 more than the same period in 2018. In September meanwhile, some 71,820 people attended for medical assistance, 7.6% more than in 2018. Those who were discharged home following treatment had an average wait of just under three hours, while those admitted to hospital waited around seven and a half hours, the figures reveal. … Continue reading →

DUP colleagues and I, along with the TUV and UUP members Roy Beggs, Robbie Butler, Alan Chambers and Robin Swann signed a recall petition spearheaded by Baroness O’Loan and Both Lives Matter. That petition recalled the assembly on Monday to thwart Westminster’s extreme abortion legislation coming to pass. DUP leader Arlene Foster pictured at Stormont on Monday with party MLAs including Carla Lockhart, towards the left of the picture, when MLAs returned to the chamber to debate laws on abortion and same sex marriage. Photo Stephen Hamilton /Presseye Some have queried why we left it to October 21. The answer is simple, we worked for and tried to secure the restoration of devolution right to the last day. A deal would have automatically stopped this legislation given that an executive would have formed. My party leader also made it clear that the DUP was willing to legislate on the Irish … Continue reading →

Former DUP health minister Edwin Poots has admitted a form of temporary direct rule for the Northern Ireland health service would be preferable to no minister at all. Mr Poots, who was health minister from 2011 to 2014, was speaking after the former UUP leader Lord Empey introduced a Private Member’s Bill to transfer authority for the local health service to Westminster until a new Executive can be formed. Over 8,000 people spent 12 hours or more in AEs during the last quarter The Lagan Valley MLA stressed his preference for a locally elected minister rather than a direct rule minister but admitted that “any minister is better than no minister”. His comments come after the publication of damning new statistics on emergency care in Northern Ireland. The latest quarterly waiting time statistics show a huge rise in the numbers of people forced to wait more than 12 hours at … Continue reading →

Calls for the Stormont speaker to quit immediately have been issued from across the political spectrum, despite him announcing his intention to leave his post after fresh claims surfaced concerning him and Charter NI. Calls for the Stormont speaker to quit immediately have been issued from across the political spectrum, despite him announcing his intention to leave his post after fresh claims surfaced concerning him and Charter NI. Robin Newton – the long-standing East Belfast MLA who has held the post since May last year – said on Wednesday that, at the next available sitting of the Assembly, he will move to have a replacement speaker elected. It followed claims by the BBC’s Spotlight show the previous night that he had a greater role with UDA-connected group Charter NI than fellow MLAs had been led to believe. Mr Newton’s statement on Wednesday denied he had misled the Assembly about his … Continue reading →