Other News In Brief

Eight Abortions Carried Out In NI

Eight pregnancies were terminated in hospitals in Northern in 2018/19, the Department of Health has revealed.

The statistics are the first to be published after abortion was decriminalised in the region through the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act in 2019.

Campaign group Amnesty International said the figures represent a huge gap between those who legally accessed an abortion locally and the number of people forced to travel for the service.

Over 1,050 women travelled to England for a termination throughout that period.

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International's Northern Ireland campaigns manager, said: "Just eight terminations were carried out in Northern Ireland for 2018/2019 – representing a tiny fraction of the number of people who travelled elsewhere in UK to access the service, and not including those who accessed pills online.

"This demonstrates just how necessary our new law is. Soon, those who need a termination will have their choices treated with dignity and respect at home.

"All eyes are now on the Northern Ireland Secretary of State to ensure regulations and a swift transition to services that respect rights, choice and are fully accessible."

Since October 21 last year, women in Northern Ireland can safely go to their doctors for medical assistance, including in cases where they have self-managed an abortion with pills, without fear of prosecution.

Anyone given a serious or fatal foetal diagnosis may be able to access the healthcare locally, whilst all others will have their travel and services covered by the UK Government.

Translink Under Fire Over Vegan Advertising

Translink has came under fire for its new vegan advertising campaign that promotes the practice of cutting out animal products in your diet.

The Ulster Farmers' Union accused the travel provider of using emotive language to demonise the livestock industry and promote the vegan lifestyle through its adverts on the side of local buses.

The union acted on expressions of concern from a number of members and contacted Translink, however felt unsatisfied by the inability to remove the ads. It's understood they read: "It's not a personal choice when someone is killed, use plants not animals."

UFU president Ivor Ferguson said: "A public service should be impartial on all matters but the vegan adverts on the Translink buses uses emotive language that singles out our local farmers and has the potential to do serious damage to our agriculture industry and the livelihood of our farming families. Our produce is farmed to some of the highest environmental and animal welfare standards in the world so that consumers can enjoy quality food without worrying about what it contains or where it came from but Translink's adverts dismisses the facts helping to perpetuate a negative narrative about eating meat and consuming dairy products."

Mr Ferguson said the language is an attempt to "isolate the farming community through misinformation".

"We want to work with Translink and hope they will review their vegan advertisements. Bus Éireann removed vegan advertisements from their buses in the Republic of Ireland after receiving a high volume of concerns and we would like to see Translink do the same," he concluded.

Antrim Construction Firm Hit With Water Pollution Fine

A civil engineering firm in Antrim has been struck with a £500 fine after being found guilty of a water pollution offence.

John McQuillan (Contracts) Ltd attended Lisburn Magistrates' Court yesterday, 21 January, where it was also issued a £15 Offenders Levy.

This comes after a Water Quality Inspector (WQI) acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) inspected the Collin Glen River in Belfast in 2018 following a number of complaints about silt in the area.

The Inspector and a colleague from the Regulation Team visited the Whitehill Landfill site at Glenside Road, Dunmurry. A flow of brown water was observed flowing down the concrete road and entering a storm water grating. An open section of the waterway downstream of the Glenside Road was also brown in colour.

In accordance with procedures, a statutory tripartite sample was collected and analysed. The results of the analysis shows that the run-off had an extremely high suspended solids content.

Effluents with high suspended solids contents can have an abrasive effect on the gills of fish, making them susceptible to infection. In addition, suspended solids can settle out in the waterway and lead to the destruction of fish spawning sites leading to a reduction in fish population and destruction of habitats for invertebrates which are an important source for fish.



(JG/CM)