Other News In Brief

UUP: Mary Lou McDonald Comments 'An Insult To The Irish People'

UUP East Antrim MLA, John Stewart, has said that comments made by Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald are "an insult to the Irish people".

Mr Stewart said: "On television on Monday night Mary Lou McDonald was asked if she believed IRA violence was justified. In response she said 'I believe what was justified was the right of the Irish people to stand against British Imperialism and to fight for our freedom.'

"Her comments encapsulate perfectly the parallel universe in which those who endorse or seek to justify physical force republicanism operate.

"The IRA were not acting on behalf of the Irish people – no matter how you might choose to define the term 'the Irish people.'

"The Irish people did not endorse the IRA campaign because their political wing - Sinn Fein – received a very small vote during the 1970s and 1980s and was so small it could not be said to constitute an endorsement of anything.

"The Irish people did not authorise or carry out atrocities such as Bloody Friday, Claudy, Birmingham, La Mon, Enniskillen or Warrington. Nor did the Irish people ask for the murder of Garda Jerry McCabe, Garda Gary Sheehan, Private Patrick Kelly or Prison Officer Brian Stack let alone the many RUC officers, Prison Officers and Soldiers murdered in Northern Ireland.

"Those were solely the work of the Provisional IRA. They were terrorist acts by people who had no mandate and who operated under no lawful authority.

"To claim that those responsible were in any way acting on behalf of the Irish people is to insult the Irish people and try to make them complicit in foul and brutal murders.

"No normal democratic political party would find itself in the position Sinn Fein chooses to place itself in time and time again, where it can't condemn terrorist murders without trying to caveat or equivocate."

DUP Responsible For Energy Payment Delay – SDLP

The blame for the delay to the £600 energy support payment lies with the DUP, SDLP Cost of Living Spokesperson Matthew O'Toole has said

Mr O'Toole also slammed the British government for their failure to get the payment out to struggling families before Christmas.

He said it would be much easier to get the payment out with an Assembly and Executive in place.

South Belfast MLA Mr O'Toole said: "The news that the £600 energy support payment won't make it to people in Northern Ireland before Christmas will be an incredible blow to many families who were waiting for and relying on this money. There will be people finding it difficult to pay their food, fuel and energy bills who had budgeted to the last penny to get through the festive period, after repeated reassurances that this payment was coming.

"People here have been abandoned – abandoned by the DUP who would rather use people in our communities who are going cold and hungry as a bargaining chip for their own narrow, identity driven politics and by a British government who have proven time and time again they couldn't care less about the issues impacting people in the North.

"Families in England, Scotland and Wales have begun to receive this support. People in the South are being protected by a raft of proposals designed to defend people from the worst aspects of this emergency. The fact remains that if we had an Executive and Assembly in place we would have stood a better chance of getting this money to those who need it. The DUP can keep shouting and protesting, but it is their boycott of the institutions that is punishing people here.

"The SDLP has repeatedly raised this payment at Westminster and our MPs have done everything in their power to hold the government to account. These delays will leave pensioners suffering in cold homes, children missing meals and parents cracking under the pressure of trying to keep everything together. The British government's indifference to the plight of people here should serve as a message to those who advocate for the status quo and refuse to engage in conversations around a better, brighter future for everyone on this island."

Alliance Calls For Action On MOT Backlog

Alliance Infrastructure Spokesperson Andrew Muir MLA has has written to the Department for Infrastructure about the ongoing problem with backlogs to the MOT booking system.

It has been reported that the breakdown of lifts in MOT centres prior to Covid and then the reduced capacity for testing during the pandemic has left a huge backlog in bookings with many people unable to secure slots before their MOT certificate or Road Tax expire.

Speaking about the issue, Andrew said: "I understand the DVA has worked hard to increase capacity but I'm concerned that we still aren't getting on top of the problem. I am contacted frequently by people who have been unable to secure an appointment before their MOT certificate expires, or have been left unable to renew their vehicle tax and incurred fines because of this.

"Despite increasing capacity at test centres the situation doesn't appear to be improving and in light of this I wrote to the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Infrastructure to raise my concerns. Emergency MOT appointments are apparently available to people who are within 5 days of their road tax expiring but it appears many people are struggling to access this service and are then incurring fines for their vehicles being untaxed.

"This is the last thing people need at the moment in the midst of a cost of living crisis. DVLA Swansea manage Road Tax fines and have repeatedly told people who have been in contact they will not rescind these for drivers in Northern Ireland despite the ongoing issues accessing MOT appointments here. It's unacceptable, and we need to see swift improvement and definitive measures taken by the Department to actively manage this situation."