Other News In Brief

New Castlewellan To Newcastle Path Completed

A new £345,000 combined footpath and cycleway along the A50 Newcastle Road from Castlewellan towards Newcastle has been completed.

The upgraded route runs from the gateway feature in Castlewellan to the junction with Sawmill Road and provides an improved facility in the Castlewellan area to encourage more walking, wheeling and cycling.

Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd said: "I welcome the completion of this scheme. This significant investment to upgrade 1.6km of footway and cycleway in the Castlewellan area is part of my commitment to deliver active travel schemes across the North to make walking, wheeling and cycling a safer and more attractive option for people getting around.

"I am delighted this new cycleway and footway will greatly enhance provision for cyclists and pedestrians and provide further opportunities for active travel.

"I would like to thank the users of the existing stretch of road and footway for their patience and cooperation while these works were ongoing."

The improvement work involved widening 1,600 metres of existing footway and resurfacing, upgraded drainage, fencing and signage to provide a combined footway and cycleway.

Durkan Calls For Emergency Financial Support For Pensioners

SDLP Communities Spokesperson Mark H Durkan has written to the Communities Minister urging her to develop an emergency financial support package for pensioners as energy prices soar.

Mr Durkan expressed frustration that little to no action has been taken to protect this vulnerable demographic. According to Age UK, older households are twice as likely to live in extreme fuel poverty.

He has also been calling for a review into the rate of Winter Fuel Payment which has remained unchanged since 2010/11.

Although the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administers the scheme, the Department for Communities holds the powers to set the rate.

In response to Mr Durkan's latest call, Minister Hargey said she "continues to consider additional ways to help people through the cost of living crisis".

The Foyle MLA commented: "Pensioner households have been failed. We cannot escape the consequences of fuel poverty and the reality is that lives are at risk in the absence of adequate support. The older generation are more likely to be isolated in their homes especially during winter and therefore experience higher energy usage. Price hike after price hike is already forcing people to choose between heating or eating, soaring energy costs have somehow become the norm, but what is happening is abhorrent, it cannot be accepted with cynical indifference, it needs challenged and protections must be established.

"No household is immune to increasing energy costs but for pensioners this crisis hits harder. They are at an increased risk of illness and worse when we experience cold temperatures. I know many of my constituents are filled with a sense of dread as the winter months approach with no plan in place.

"Reviewing the current rate of Winter Fuel Payment is a small step but a necessary one. It's inexcusable that amid an energy crisis the Communities Minister has not seen fit to review, never mind increase, the rate of Winter Fuel Payment to assist our elderly population. The Minister's latest response underscores the complete lack of urgency on this issue. We hear much about discussions and considerations that are happening around the cost of living crisis, but we don't hear about action. Caretaker Ministers with powers can't rely on the absence of an Executive as an excuse, I've been calling for this review and many other support initiatives long before the current political impasse, meanwhile, Ministers have sat on their hands. People need solutions, not empty rhetoric.

"For too long pensioners have been treated with flagrant disregard by government, left without the support and dignity they deserve to enjoy their golden years in relative comfort. They should not be facing a battle to keep their homes warm and food on the table this winter."

Alliance Meet With Mental Health Champion Siobhán O'Neill

Alliance MLAs have met Mental Health Champion Siobhán O'Neill to discuss implementation of the Mental Health Strategy and ongoing concerns at the role of sectarianism in reinforcing poor mental health.

Speaking after today's meeting at Parliament Buildings, which took place alongside Upper Bann MLA Éoin Tennyson and Lagan Valley MLA Sorcha Eastwood, South Belfast MLA and party Health spokesperson Paula Bradshaw MLA stated: "We were pleased to meet the Mental Health Champion today to reinforce our support for the full implementation of the Mental Health Strategy.

"Issues arising from the pandemic, ongoing sectarianism and the cost of living crisis only emphasise how essential the strategy is, and how vital full implementation of it is to our collective well-being.

"We continue to have concerns funding is not guaranteed for the full strategy. When we say it must be fully implemented, the complexity of the issues within it demonstrate just how vital it is all aspects are covered in its delivery.

"We were particularly impressed by the promise of the early implementation plans to cover prevention of mental ill-health in the first place, and early intervention. This is essential across all aspects of what we do in health and care of any kind.

"We will now be putting a strong focus on ensuring the strategy is implemented in its entirety without delay. Our collective future will be greatly enhanced by it."