Other News In Brief

Call For Royal Mail To Tackle Postal Charges

The SDLP has called on Royal Mail to tackle the significant differences in postal charges North to South that are ripping off people in NI.

SDLP MLA John Dallat said: "It is astounding that Royal Mail continues to treat the South as a foreign country for the purpose of postal charges and imposes an international levy for cards, letters and parcels that, in some cases, go no further than a few miles down the road.

"The difference in charges is significant, particularly for those sending a number of items. Sending a 100g card from North to South costs £1.57 while the same card coming South to North costs £1. And it’s even more maddening for parcels where a 2kg package will sting local people for £4.45 more than senders in the Republic.

"There's a clear case for harmonising postal rates across the island, not least of all for local firms who do business on a North/South basis.

"This Royal Mail rip off should have ended long ago. It needs to be addressed now."

Almost 400 NI Schools To Face A Combined Deficit Of £50m

Almost 400 schools in Northern Ireland are to face a combined deficit of £50 million by the end of this financial year, it has been revealed.

Ulster Unionist Education spokesperson Rosemary Barton MLA, said the situation has been ignored for far too long.

She said: "I have highlighted for some time that there have been net reductions in school budgets given the increase in costs of running schools. Regrettably, there appears to have been a reluctance on the part of the education authorities - including former Ministers - to do anything positive to resolve the issue.

"While we have received this warning of the funding gap, questions must be asked as to what options are being put in place to resolve the issues, have any savings been identified, have any reviews of structures within the Education Authority taken place and what discussions have taken place with the Department of Education to address the shortfall?"

Firm Fined For Pollution Offence

A business in Co Fermanagh has been fined £15,000 for a pollution offence.

Fermanagh Properties Ltd was convicted of making a polluting discharge to a waterway and for making a discharge of trade or sewage effluent into a waterway at Lower Lough Erne.

On 21 July 2016 a Water Quality Inspector (WQI) acting on behalf of the Department visited Lusty Beg Resort on Lower Lough Erne to investigate a report of sewage from the treatment plant serving the resort. The WQI noted that the shoreline was grey in colour and smelled of detergents. On 2 August 2016 the WQI returned to the site and met with management from the business. It was explained by management that a discharge from the resort laundry block had been occurring. On 22 November 2016 the WQI again returned to the site and confirmed that the discharge was continuing. The discharge was pale white / grey in colour and smelled strongly of detergents.

On 16 February 2017 the WQI returned to the site and confirmed the discharge from the laundry block was still occurring. A statutory sample of the discharge was collected on 16 February 2017. Visits were again made by the WQI on 4 May 2017 and 2 June 2017 and the discharge was still ongoing.

The result of the analysis of the sample collected on 16 February 2017 show that the discharge contained poisonous, noxious or polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving waterway.

(CD)