Other News In Brief

NI Travel Industry 'Decimated' By Pandemic

The DUP has called on the Finance Minister to bring forward measure to help NI's travel industry.

DUP Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson made the call after he met with representatives of the travel industry, which he said had been "decimated" by the pandemic.

He said: "Our outbound travel providers have been utterly decimated by the pandemic. The introduction of further restrictions upon UK travellers has resulted in these businesses being officially open, but effectively closed.

"The sector cannot simply continue to endure these unsustainable losses.

"The situation has become untenable for many of these businesses and without support from government, job losses will be the inevitable outcome.

"The UK Government has provided the Northern Ireland Executive with additional funding in response to the Omicron variant and the Finance Minister must move urgently to get this funding support out to those in need without delay.

"Travel Agents are at the heart of our high streets across Northern Ireland, employing over 700 people. The reality is that many of these businesses will be lost, if support is not forthcoming urgently."

NI Needs Green New Deal To Tackle Rising Energy Costs

A Green New Deal would help Northern Ireland tackle rising energy costs, Alliance's Danny Donnelly has said.

Appointed the party's Biodiversity and Green Energy spokesperson, Mr Donnelly has called for the retrofitting of all social housing and grants to retrofit private homes with energy efficiency measures, which he said would be a major step towards helping people get through the current crisis of rising energy costs.

Danny continued: "As we have recently seen, energy costs have risen dramatically for people across Northern Ireland and will likely to continue to do so.

"When coupled with increased cost of living across society, the ongoing pandemic and the heartless cut in universal credit affecting many, now is the time to look at how we get our energy and how we can future-proof our consumption.

"We have long seen an over-reliance on fossil fuels, with no thought given to our long-term future. Rather than sitting back, we need to be working hard to champion renewable energy. Alliance's proposal to retrofit social housing and give grants to do the same with private homes by 2030 is a fundamental step towards decarbonising the residential sector, while helping people now cope with the rising costs being experienced across our society.

"Many people are rightly worried about how they will pay for their latest energy bills. But it doesn't have to be like this. If we retrofit homes and actively tackle this crisis, we can remove that stress from people's lives."

SDLP Calls For 'Reset' In Approach To Protocol

The SDLP has called for a "reset" in the approach to the NI Protocol following the resignation of the British Government’s Brexit Minister David Frost.

Making the call, party leader, Colum Eastwood MP said: "It is telling that in his resignation letter, David Frost failed to make even a cursory mention of Northern Ireland. The truth is that his approach to the negotiations over the operation of the protocol were aggressively influenced by narrow ideology, almost always at odds with the needs and wishes of people and businesses on this island.

"The negotiations over the protocol cannot become a victim to the chaos at the heart of government in London. Frost’s resignation is an opportunity to reset the approach to the dialogue with the European Commission, to refresh the relationship with the EU and to return to the solutions that are presented to these challenges in the Good Friday Agreement.

"My clear view is that Boris Johnson’s days as British Prime Minister are numbered. He has lost control of his parliamentary party, Ministers are beginning to desert his government and his moral authority, if it ever existed, is in tatters.

"The next phase of politics between and across these islands must be marked by a commitment to cooperation in the best interests of the people we represent."