Other News In Brief

Man Fined For Waste Offences

A man from Newtownabbey has been fined £6,500 for a number of waste offences.

Arthur Magill was convicted for six breaches of waste management legislation and was fined £6,500, plus court costs of £116 and an offender levy of £15, at Belfast Magistrates' Court.

Between December 2014 and November 2015, officers from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) discovered that the defendant was unlawfully keeping and treating waste metal, skip waste, and construction and demolition waste on his premises.

He pleaded guilty to all offences. The site did not have a licence and the defendant was not authorised by the NIEA to store, keep or treat controlled waste.

NI Housing Association Invests £530,000 In Two Refurb Projects

A housing association in Northern Ireland has invested £530,000 in two refurbishment projects.

Clanmil Housing has completed work at its independent living schemes in Abercorn Court in Portrush and Barbour Court in Enniskillen.

The project included cleaning and repainting the outside of the buildings, interior redecoration of shared spaces within the schemes and modern new kitchens in all apartments. A new hairdressing salon was also installed with washing and styling units in Abercorn Court.

The tenants' lounge areas were also upgraded to create a bright, modern and comfortable space.

Tony Giffen, Clanmil's Group Director of Assets said: "At Clanmil we pride ourselves on the homes we provide and invest in maintaining them and making them as safe, secure, warm and attractive as possible for the people who live in them.

"By working positively with us our tenants can help us deliver the best possible results when we're upgrading, so we really appreciate the time the tenants at Abercorn Court and Barbour Court have committed to this project and their patience during the refurbishment work."

Call For Sign Language Act to Be Made A Priority In NI

Ulster Unionist MLA Robbie Butler has said a Sign Language Act to assist the local deaf community should be the main linguistic priority in Northern Ireland.

He said: "Deaf people have been cruelly hit by the collapse of the local political institutions.

"A major public consultation on a new Sign Language Framework, which included proposals to ensure people in the deaf community have the same rights, responsibilities, opportunities and quality of life as everyone else, came to an end last July. Yet following the subsequent collapse of the Assembly the issue has remained frozen in time since.

"Unfortunately however, with every passing day of stalemate at Stormont people in the deaf community continue to face daily barriers, not least in terms of accessing basic public services.

"British Sign Language (BSL) and Irish Sign Language (ISL) is often the primary means of communication for people who are profoundly deaf and they are also used by a significant number of their families and friends. Whilst they are accepted to be languages in their own right, they have absolutely no statutory protections.

"The Framework that went out to consultation last year was a major step in the right direction. It proposed legislation to officially recognise, promote and protect both languages as well as providing support for the parents and families of deaf children. It’s just hugely frustrating no progress has been made since – the last twelve months have been a missed opportunity to deliver real improvements for the deaf community across Northern Ireland."

(CD)