31st Anniversary Vol. Seamus Harvey

Over 500 Republicans assembled in South Armagh yesterday afternoon to remember Vol. Seamus Harvey who died on 16th January 1977.  Sinn Fein MP, Conor Murphy, gave the oration.  Addressing the large crowd, Conor, spoke of the commitment given by Seamus and his comrades in pursuit of freedom and lasting peace in Ireland.

Austism Centre stakeholder consultation welcome

Newry and Armagh MLA Cathal Boylan has welcomed the commencement of public consultations on how services will be delivered from the proposed Middletown Autism Centre. 

“It is hoped that at these engagements throughout Ireland, relevant stakeholders will be given a chance to state how they feel services should be delivered” said Cathal who continued "While it is very frustrating that the Middletown Autism Centre facility which had been first brought on stream by Martin McGuinness has not been up and running before now, there is a confidence that we are seeing positive signals that the waiting is over. The Centre will offer support and training to people living with and working with autism from across the island. There is no doubt of the huge benefits that the Centre will bring”.

He also said that at the recent North /South Ministerial Meeting Ministers including Education Minister Caitriona Ruane endorsed the future plans for the Centre which include the provision of training/advisory and information/research services and education, learning and support services which are due to come on stream once building work is completed. "I also hope that proposals for a joint all-Ireland Autistic Spectrum Disorder conference in 2008 will become a reality” said the Sinn Féin MLA who concluded by stating There is wide support from across the political board for an 'Autism Act' to be introduced that would not only provide the level protections required but also give the condition the profile it deserves and raise awareness on the subject. There is also an urgent need for the provision of proper financial and support resources. An infrastructure to deal with Autism in a caring, professional and structured way is essential.

MLA Expresses Concerns in relation to Ballybot House Proposal

take place about the future focus of the Confederation. I share the concerns of many community activists that there is a very direct move away fro a community development and capacity building focus to a more corporate agenda. This I believe is wrong and will not serve the community sector in Newry well."

Community petition for Granemore Road gritting presented to Roads Service

There is presently another count taking place. Recently residents contacted me voicing their concerns that where the counters were presently positioned they would not reflect vehicle road numbers. I have managed to ensure that an additional counter will now be placed beside the School, and I would hope that this should reflect the full traffic capacity on the road”. The Councillor concluded by stating that she expected the results of the survey to be finalised by the end of January.

Suspension of housing grant payment inspections will have a catastrophic impact

Newry and Armagh MLA Mickey Brady has said that the decision by the Housing Executive to suspend Housing Grant Payment Inspection appointments from the 16th of January would have a catastrophic impact on not only those in most need of having their homes and facilities brought up to an acceptable standard but on the local building trade.

Camlough DPP Information Meeting Positive

Fews area Sinn Fein Councillor Turlough Murphy, a member of the Newry and Mourne District Policing Partnership has said that the recent Public Meeting held in Camloch at which both he and his colleague Councillor Colman Burns outlined  Sinn Feins understanding of what they felt were the vital necessities of “Policing In the Community” was a positive and constructive one.

Representatives from various sporting, voluntary and community groups throughout the Fews area were amongst those in attendance to hear the Sinn Féin DPP members state that they would be striving to ensure that all lived in stable and safe communities. “We will achieve this by empowering communities through the utilisation of police resources, and by building a new relationship with policing structures.

The Councillor also told those present that the immediate aim of himself and his Sinn Féin colleagues on the District Policing Partnerships was to “play a constructive role in the operation of the Newry and Mourne DPP by engaging in a critical approach to all matters pertaining to policing in our community. We also aim to develop transparency and openness in the contact between Newry and Mourned DPP sub-group and policing structures.”.

He also said that they encourage the concept of Neighbourhood Forums and would promote in their engagements with civic institutions, the concept that joined up actions lead to joined up solutions. Slieve Gullion area Councillor Colman Burns said that it was imperative that he and his colleagues hold the Policing Structures to account. “We will critically challenge the operational practice of policing in our community and importantly we will continue to question as to how police resources are used” said Colman and he continued “We will seek to reconstruct the relationship between the community and policing, through proactively shaping the policing agenda and by holding to account the policing structures in our community”.