Other News In Brief

Car Breaker Fined For Waste Offending

A Mayobridge car breaker has been fined on two counts of waste offending.

James Thomas Doran was fined a total of £600 plus an offenders' levy of £15.

He was fined for breaking cars at his premises without the appropriate waste authorisations.

Refurb Work At Park In Belfast Complete

Refurbishment work at Drumglass Park in south Belfast has been completed.

As part of the £400,000 project, funded by Belfast City Council, the playground was refurbished, pathways in the park upgraded as well as a new drainage system, reseeding was carried out and the installation of new park furniture, lighting and new artwork at the park.

Artist Eleanor Wheeler was commissioned by the council for the new artwork joining local schools and community groups in the design process which led to the creation of three pine cone sculptures located across the park.

Alderman Tommy Sandford, Chair of the council's People and Communities Committee, said: "I'm delighted to join with the local community and schools to officially unveil the wonderful refurbishment work that has been undertaken at Drumglass Park, which is a focal point for the community here in south Belfast.

"Drumglass has been transformed to be enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. The stunning, eye-catching pine cone sculptures, in particular, will draw in many more new visitors to the park now."

Call For Delivery Mechanisms To Help Veterans In NI

Upper Bann Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie MC has said that the Military Veterans in Northern Ireland will be watching with interest to see what delivery mechanisms have been agreed by the DUP in order to ensure that the Military Covenant is fully implemented and delivered in Northern Ireland.

He said: "What is absolutely essential now - and key to promoting confidence within the veterans’ community - is that the DUP outlines the delivery mechanisms that it has negotiated with the Government and how they propose to deliver on devolved matters, such as housing, health and education, because it is the delivery that has been failing up until now.

"The fact is that the Armed Forces are not a devolved issue, and the Covenant already operates across the entire United Kingdom.

"One of the weaknesses of the Northern Ireland position was that we had no representation on the UK-wide Covenant Reference Group. This was finally resolved by the passing of an Ulster Unionist motion in the Assembly on the 6th December 2016 when the Assembly voted to nominate a representative to the UK wide Armed Forces Covenant Reference Group.

"At that time I said that we brought forward the motion because we recognised the need to deliver for the veterans’ community in Northern Ireland. The lack of a local representative on the UK-wide Armed Forces Covenant Reference Group was an opportunity missed."

(CD/MH)