Other News In Brief

New Community Garden Installed In Magherafelt

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) has invest over £17,000 to install a new community garden in the Leckagh Drive area of Magherafelt.

The Ground Maintenance Team covering the South Region completed the landscaping which has renovated the area.

The garden has a paved area as well as various evergreen and herbaceous plants to promote biodiversity and encourage wildlife.

NIHE's Magherafelt Neighbourhood Officer John Hagan said: "Our local staff listened to the concerns of the local community, who identified land that could be utilised for the benefit of the greater Magherafelt area.

"Local residents identified the desire for a community garden in the area, not just to provide an area for passive recreation but to enhance the entrance of the estate.

"The new seating, paving area and wide range of plants contained in the community garden has greatly enhanced the area, while causing minimal disruption to local residents."

SDLP Pays Tribute To Brendan Duddy

SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood has paid tribute to Brendan Duddy, following news of his death.

Mr Eastwood said that MrDuddy was one of Northern Ireland's silent peacemakers, without whom the road to peace must have been much longer.

He said: "Brendan Duddy was a member of a brave group of men and women who, for no personal gain or glory, advanced the cause of peace on this island immeasurably.

"His quiet but intensive work was critical to securing the 1994 ceasefire as a precursor to the Good Friday Agreement and, eventually, decommissioning.

"There's no doubt that the long road to peace would have been all the longer if not for the contribution of people like Brendan Duddy. I want to extend my deepest sympathies to Brendan’s family at this difficult time and I hope they are comforted by the knowledge that his was a life that changed this island’s history."

PM Wrong To Rule Out Lowering Voting Age - Alliance

Alliance East Antrim Westminster candidate Stewart Dickson has said the Prime Minister is wrong to rule out lowering the voting age at General Elections to 16.

Mr Dickson was speaking after Theresa May said she believed it was "right" to keep the current minimum voting age of 18 for future General Elections. However, Mr Dickson said that attitude meant young people were being denied the right to participate in the democratic process.

He said: "It has been a long-standing Alliance policy to reduce the voting age to 16, and we have previously supported calls for it in both Assembly and Westminster elections. It is a move which was especially successful in the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, with many 16 and 17-year-olds voting.

"If young people at 16 are old enough to work, join the armed forces and pay taxes, then it is only right they have a say in who makes those key decisions and how taxes are spent. If you pay taxes, then you deserve representation.

"By reducing the voting age we can also encourage more young people to take an interest in politics and get involved in the democratic process whilst still in education. Giving a new generation of young people the opportunity to have their say can only be a benefit to our local politics. The Prime Minister is wrong to rule it out."

(CD/MH)