Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the DUP on 20 December 2022.

Newry & Armagh DUP MLA William Irwin has slammed those behind a second ATM theft at the Fruitfield service station and shopping complex on the outskirts of Richhill.

The incident occurred at 4.30am on Tuesday morning and involved the theft of a digger from a construction site close by. The site was previously targeted in May 2020 resulting in building damage and the theft of a significant amount of cash.

Commenting William Irwin said: “This is a shocking crime where a digger has been stolen from a site close by, driven through fences and fields, across a main busy road and then through the Fruitfield fences and eventually to the cash machine housing.

With the use of such a large machine significant damage has been caused to the building. The criminals stole the cash machine and fled.

This is a well-used complex and will certainly inconvenience a great many people who rely on the machine for their cash. There will also be a cost to the service station in rebuilding this facility and it illustrates the impact of such criminality. Hopefully those behind this criminality can be apprehended and brought before the courts.

This occurred at 4.30am this morning according to the PSNI and I would appeal to anyone who may have witnessed anything suspicious to contact the PSNI immediately and assist with their inquiries.”

The press release issued by the DUP on 19 December 2022.

DUP South Antrim MLA Pam Cameron has welcomed plans by Health and Social Care Trusts to introduce a maximum limit of three hours for ambulance handover at Emergency Departments across Northern Ireland.

The new limit, which may be reduced further over the coming months, will be accompanied by a reform of the arrangements covering discharge from hospital. Patients will leave hospital no later than 48 hours after confirmation they are medically fit and where a suitable placement which can meet their needs is available.

Responding to the announcement by Trust Chief Executives on Monday, Mrs Cameron said:

‘‘With ambulances routinely backed up outside our Emergency Departments for hours, Trusts are right to get to grips with serious delays facing discharge from hospital.

Nobody should face hours waiting on an ambulance or waiting to be admitted to hospital when there are viable options available to reduce delay. The introduction of a wait time of no more than three hours for ambulances is therefore a clear and important statement of intent.

Whilst these are undoubtedly difficult and sensitive decisions, they will help to reduce bed days lost, increase in-patient capacity and ensure our Health Service has the tools to secure better outcomes for those most in need.

The DUP believes every patient should be actively involved in decisions in their care and treatment. There should be ample time for a care package to be agreed while someone remains in hospital. However where this is not possible – or in circumstances where a patient’s chosen package is not immediately available – it seems reasonable for that process, if practicable, to continue in an alternative setting. This would help to maximise available acute care beds in our hospitals.

Of course, continuity of care should be paramount throughout this process. Assurances have been provided that there will be no cost to the patient or their family for interim placements. It will not affect their place on waiting list for their preferred care option. Each Trust now needs to ensure those commitments are practically honoured and that no patient is unfairly disadvantaged.’’

DUP Fermanagh & South Tyrone MLA Deborah Erskine added:

‘‘In other parts of the United Kingdom, it is already accepted that if a patient’s preferred care placement or package is not available when they become medically available for discharge, an alternative which is appropriate to their health and care needs will be offered on an interim basis. This decision would bring Northern Ireland into line with that policy.

Whilst the number of beds that stand to be impacted is small, reducing length of stay in hospital will have a tangible impact by ensuring more extremely ill patients can get through the front door and receive the treatment they desperately need. It can also help revolutionise turnaround times for ambulances.

In our Assembly Election Manifesto in May, we pressed for the Department of Health to establish a powerful new unit to minimise delayed transfers from hospital. At that time, we highlighted that huge resources are squandered through patients fit for discharge requiring extended stays in hospital, awaiting confirmation of community care arrangements. This issue needs to be addressed. Therefore we strongly support the announcement by Trusts today.’’

The press release issued by the DUP on 19 December 2022.

DUP East Antrim MLA Gordon Lyons has written to the Government asking further questions about the £600 energy payment for Northern Ireland.

The former Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has written to BEIS Secretary Grant Shapps MP and Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris MP.

Mr Lyons said,

“This announcement by the Government is a step forward for those who pay their electric bills via direct debit however for those who use pre-paid top-up metres, many questions remain as to how this scheme will be delivered. Whilst the Government has stated the payments will start in January, there is no clarity as to how this will happen for keypad customers.

The most obvious questions relate to keypad users and when they will receive their payment and what will the process be? I also understand some of the energy companies were not ready to make the announcement on Monday morning.

There was a scheme sitting ready for the Government to use which was imperfect, but the energy companies were ready to make the payments last month to everyone.

The Secretary of State’s suggestion that this could have been done via the Northern Ireland Executive is wrong and when in Ministerial office my officials were clear that they did not have the resource, capacity, or the skills to make the payments. For the Executive to have steamrollered ahead with a scheme would have been in direct contravention the first recommendation of the RHI Report.

Rather than trying to weaponise the energy payments against the DUP, the Government would have been well advised not changing the goalposts at the last minute. In which case, people would have the £600 in their accounts by now.”

The press release issued by the DUP on 19 December 2022.

The DUP’s Upper Bann MP and EFRA spokesperson Carla Lockhart has said the agri-food sector will be relieved to see the grace period extended for veterinary medicine as the Protocol places 51% of our veterinary medicine supplies in jeopardy but said the whack-a-mole approach must stop.

Carla Lockhart said:

“For many months we have been highlighting the looming animal welfare and animal health crisis that was possible from 1st January 2023 because of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The British Veterinary Association estimated that, without an extension to grace periods, we would see over fifty per cent of veterinary medicines withdrawn from the Northern Ireland because they are sourced from mainland UK. The impact such a scenario would have had on our world leading animal health and animal welfare standards would have been devastating.

Whilst clarity would have been welcome earlier, this extension of grace periods is good news in so far as it removes the immediate threat to supply. However, what it does not do is solve the fundamental issue here. That is the unacceptable situation whereby the Northern Ireland Protocol hands power to the EU over our veterinary medicines.

The EU suggest the solution for local vets is to reorientate supply chains. This is their way of telling Northern Ireland businesses to stop trading with their UK counterparts, and instead to trade with the EU. Such a stance is offensive to anyone who values the economic integrity of the United Kingdom.

Grace periods are only sticking plaster solutions. This whack-a-mole approach must stop. This agreement is only to 2025. The can has only been kicked down the road. What we need urgently is the EU and our Government to find a new agreement that addresses these intolerable restrictions on the flow of goods within the UK.”

The press release issued by the DUP on 19 December 2022.

DUP Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP has said former Taoiseach Micheál Martin reached out to understand the concerns of unionists and Mr Donaldson also encouraged the new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to take a leaf from Micheál Martin’s book.

Sir Jeffrey said,

“As neighbours we want to have a cordial and respectful relationship with the Government of the Republic of Ireland. The imposition of the NI Protocol upon Northern Ireland, without unionist support but with the support of Dublin, was a backward step for North-South relations.

During his tenure as Taoiseach Micheál Martin sought to understand why unionism was wholly opposed to the NI Protocol. I encourage Leo Varadkar to follow Micheál Martin’s example in managing North-South relationships. Whilst many unionists will struggle to forget the new Taoiseach waving news reports from the 1970’s of a bombed border customs post which gave the threat of violence a seat at the EU negotiating table and demoted the power of democracy and politics, we are prepared to work with him if he is willing to address unionist concerns.

For those who have forgotten, political progress in NI was hard won and is built on the support of unionists and nationalists. Not one unionist MLA supports the Protocol. The idea that one section of our people will dominate the other and ignore the concerns of unionists will never produce durable or balanced outcomes.

There will be no solid basis for an Executive and Assembly until the Protocol is replaced with arrangements that restore NI’s place in the U.K. internal market and our constitutional arrangements are respected.”

The press release issued by the DUP on 16 December 2022.

DUP MLA Gordon Lyons has said the Government needs to get on with delivering the Energy Support Payments to Northern Ireland.

Speaking after raising it with the Prime Minister during his visit to Northern Ireland the East Antrim MLA said,

“There is now further speculation surrounding the delivery of these payments. The delays being suggested are down to issues with the ‘cash out’ option introduced at the 11th hour at the insistence of the Government when they had previously ruled out that option.

With predictions from some that the process won’t be complete until June there needs to be certainty provided by the Government. A statement about the date of payment isn’t enough. Given past U-turns from the Government such a statement won’t offer people any real guarantee. What they need to see is the payments processed and delivered.

It’s time for the Government to get on with delivering this assistance to people at a time when they need it most.”