Other News In Brief

Michelle O'Neil Meets With Tánaiste Micheál Martin

Sinn Féin Vice President, Michelle O'Neil, has met with Tánaiste Micheál Martin, as he visited Belfast to meet with political leaders.

Speaking after meeting Michelle O'Neill said: "I welcomed the opportunity to meet with the Tánaiste today on the current political situation and the serious work that needs to be done to restore the Executive now.

"Today marks one year from the DUP crashed the political institutions, they have since blocked an Executive being formed and are punishing the public at a time of huge financial difficulty.

"Blocking a government is having no impact on the Protocol talks, but instead has left our public services at the mercy of savage Tory cuts from London and is now holding up progress on Dáithí's Law, life-saving legislation on organ donation.

"This is serious business and there is no time to waste. People are struggling to heat their homes as energy costs continue to rise. Our health service is at breaking point and workers are forced to take strike action for fair pay.

"Since day one, I have been ready to form an Executive to work with other parties and the two governments to get the job done and deliver the change that people voted for in May.

"I again appeal to the DUP to get back round the Executive table with the rest of us to get on with the important work of investing in our health service and supporting people.

"There has been progress in the Protocol talks between the EU and British Government and that must continue in the spirit of cooperation to reach an agreement and give certainty to local businesses.

"We reminded the Tánaiste that as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, the Irish government must prioritise getting the Executive back up and running quickly."

People Travelling From Dublin Airport Reminded Of Recommended Times

Anyone travelling out of Dublin Airport have been reminded to arrive at their terminal two hours before a short-haul flight and 3 hours prior to a long-haul flight. Additional time of up to one hour is recommended for passengers checking in a bag with their airline at the airport.

daa, operators of the airport, have said that some 310,000 passengers are expected to travel through Dublin Airport on the first Bank Holiday weekend of 2023.

Over the five days between Friday February 3 and Monday February 6, around 160,000 people will fly out of Dublin Airport, with around 150,000 due to arrive.

According to Graeme McQueen, Media Relations Manager, daa: "We're expecting an average of more than 77,000 passengers per day over the four days between Friday and Monday. To ensure a smooth journey through the airport, we would strongly advise passengers to prepare for security in advance and go directly to the security screening area once they have checked-in.

"The Dublin Airport team is currently working hard to enhance the passenger experience with a number of changes and improvements being introduced over recent weeks, including a de-cluttering of passenger areas within both terminals, the introduction of additional seating and the addition of a new Baby Feeding facility in Terminal 1. Passengers can look forward to many improvements being made over the coming weeks and months too as we focus on providing passengers with a better experience at Dublin Airport.”

Dublin Airport will have Customer Care teams on duty across both terminals this Bank Holiday weekend to help passengers with their journey through the airport.

Alliances Calls For 'Consistent Five-Year Cancer Strategy' Ahead Of World Cancer Day

Northern Ireland is in dire need of consistent, five-year cancer strategies aimed at improving survival rates and ensuring that preventable deaths are reduced, Alliance Health Spokesperson Paula Bradshaw has said ahead of World Cancer Day (Saturday 4 February).

Paula, who chairs the All-Party Group on Cancer at Stormont, stated: "It is extremely concerning that, among eighteen jurisdictions with similar statistical models and health systems, Northern Ireland has been lagging behind for improvement in cancer survival rates since 1995. This is all the more alarming because we know what other jurisdictions have been doing better.

"Top of the list is Denmark, which has developed five-year cancer strategies consistently over that time period and has seen dramatic improvements in cancer survival. England, with the same 'NHS model' as we have, is in the middle of the list. There is no reason we should not be doing far better even within current resources.

"One fundamental failing in Northern Ireland has been the stop-start nature of our devolved institutions, meaning that there has not been adequate scrutiny to ensure cancer strategies are not only developed, but are also consistent with on-going work and the latest available research and equipment.

"Denmark in fact demonstrated that increased specialisms, with treatment available at fewer locations but with the guarantee of world-class service and provision exactly as envisaged in the 'Bengoa' proposals, can and will work provided it is adequately scrutinised and communicated with the buy-in of all political parties.

"The further lesson from Denmark and elsewhere is that cancer strategies should not look too far forward, because treatment options can change so rapidly, but that subsequent strategies should be able to demonstrate how they are building on work already undertaken and lessons already learned to provide both for both modernisation and consistency.

"In Northern Ireland we have similar rates of cancer diagnosis to the rest of the UK, yet survival rates are slipping because we are not responding quickly enough. What we need is a political system which will ensure MLAs get to work and stay at work scrutinising our progress, and a health system committed to prevention and early intervention so that cancer survival rates improve at least to in line with the rest of Europe."