STORMONT’S economy minister is proposing a package of significant changes to employment law including an effective ban on zero-hour contracts in Northern Ireland first initiated by a local MLA. Conor Murphy set out the details in an Assembly statement on Monday and launched a consultation to introduce new legislation in late 2025. There was a previous […]
Wait goes on for Irish passports
HOLIDAY season is on the way and some Fermanagh residents have been left sweating as the wait for passports processing goes on. The Department of Foreign Affairs recently revealed that the average processing time for renewing a standard adult passport currently stands at 10 business days and 15 days for a child renewal. Of the 200,000 […]
Sinn Féin’s Murphy eager for ‘constitutional change’
AT the recently held Fermanagh People’s Assembly, the President of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald, said that an ‘awful lot of work’ needs to be done ahead of a potential united Ireland. A huge crowd turned out to the Westville Hotel in Enniskillen last month for the panel-led discussion, which talked about the possible make-up […]
Michelle Gildernew selected for EU elections
FERMANAGH and South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew has been officially selected by Sinn Féin to contest the upcoming European Parliament elections later this summer. On June 7, the Sinn Féin politician is set to run alongside party member Chris McManus in a bid to secure election as an MEP in the Midlands/North West constituency. Sinn […]
Gildernew gets €10k for breaking leg in Leinster House
SINN Féin’s Michelle Gildernew has received a €10,000 payout after breaking her leg in Leinster House in 2012. The MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone sought damages from the Houses of the Oireachtas in Dublin after falling down stairs while attending a committee meeting. She was paid a €10,000 settlement through the State Claims Agency in 2019. […]
Quinn writes to MLAs
FOLLOWING on from his letter to the Oireachtas Justice Committee in Dublin, Seán Quinn has now written to all MLAs in the North, alleging the PSNI had failed to investigate reports of “multiple acts of fraud and criminality.” Last month Mr Quinn wrote to TDs and senators who are members of the Justice Committee, calling for an investigation into alleged fraud during […]
MLAs making some nice cash on the side
By John Carney NEW FIGURES have revealed the business interests of MLAs recently elected to the Stormont Assembly and many are getting some handy extra cash on top of their £51,500 salaries. All 90 members are required to declare information on a register of interests of any financial interest that “might reasonably be thought by others to […]
Call for urgent work to repair vital road bridge
CALLS for repairs to a ‘vital’ bridge over Lough Erne which caters for hundreds of vehicles every week have once again been made. Roscor bridge was blown up by the Army during the Troubles and to date it remains in what has been said to be an ‘unsuitable’ condition. The bridge had previously been singled […]
Poor broadband growing worry for local farmers
FUNDING for our forests, animal health, the environment and fisheries, and for food and farming is all to be slashed by the newly restored Stormont Executive. On top of that, a new digitalisation plan by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) could see farmers here in Fermanagh disadvantaged due to the county’s […]
‘Out-of-work’ MLAs ‘can’t justify travel expenses’
FERMANAGH’S MLAs must show exactly what they are doing to help the county and exactly what value local people are getting for the money they are paying them. That’s the view of former Stormont official and local debt advisor Kevin Lawrenson, who said people had been outraged by news the five Fermanagh South Tyrone MLAs […]