Other News In Brief

Concerns Raised Over Closure Of Bangor Custody Suite

Concerns have been raised over plans to close Bangor Custody Suite from 01 December.

Alliance Councillor Andrew Muir said it has the potential to leave a major shortage of officers on the ground as they spend time travelling between Bangor and Belfast.

He said: "We have already lost Ards Custody Suite and while we are told closure of Bangor Custody Suite is a temporary measure, elected representatives and local solicitors are rightly concerned that if this proposal is not challenged it could lead to closures of local police stations. An important aspect of policing is visibility to maintain public confidence. We need this facility to remain open and police officers to be available to serve the community. We intend to follow the matter up at all relevant levels to ensure this short sighted decision is reviewed."

Call For NIHE To Be Given More Money To Develop Social Homes

Sinn Féin is calling for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) to be given more financial resources to develop more social houses.

MLA Fra McCann made the call after the opposition in the NI Assembly proposed to build less houses than the Executive.

Mr McCann said: "Demand for social housing is an issue that all elected representatives are familiar with and one which we deal with on a daily basis.

"It was therefore bizarre that the opposition in the Assembly today actually proposed to build less houses than the Executive.

"You couldn't make this up!

"This would be a game changer in terms of the delivery of social housing."

Green Party Welcomes Amnesty International Poll

Green Party Deputy Leader Clare Bailey MLA has today, 18 October 2016, welcomed a new poll commissioned by Amnesty International Northern Ireland indicating that 72% of people in Northern Ireland support reform of abortion laws in cases of sexual crime.

She said: "Currently Northern Ireland has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. Despite successive opinion polls showing that the majority of people want to see the law reformed, we have yet to see a majority of MLAs support this.

"During the last mandate, votes to allow abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality lost by 59 votes to 40 and for sexual crime including rape, by 64 votes to 32. This shows how clearly out of step our politicians are with the public mood. We need to keep pressurising Stormont to act on behalf of the people and to trust women.

"Northern Ireland's near total ban on abortion is not fit for purpose. The reality is that women in Northern Ireland are having abortions. In 2015, 833 women travelled to England to access healthcare which is denied to them in Northern Ireland, and between 2010 and 2015, 5,605 women from the island of Ireland accessed abortion pills online.

"Whilst we await the publication of the Fatal Foetal Abnormality Working Group, it is patently obvious that if this group does recommend the most incremental of changes, it will not be enough to catch up with public opinion."

(CD)