Ní Chuilín meets with Union over possible job loses

North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín met this week with representatives of the trade union NIPSA about possible job losses in social security offices as a result of a government review.
NIPSA fears that up to 200 jobs could go in social security offices under a new scheme to redeploy staff and that many workers will face very real practical difficulties traveling to work.
Carál Ní Chuilín called on the Minister for Social Development Margaret Ritchie to call a halt to the plans to relocate workers and cut jobs.
“We are very concerned at the scale of job losses which would come about as a result of this review,” said Carál Ní Chuilín.
“We believe that up to 200 workers could lose their jobs as a result of the proposed redeployment.
"The objective of the review was to improve accessibility for applicants, which is now even more important given the rise in the numbers of people out of work and the growing economic crisis.
“However, one of the proposals to emerge from this review is to replace the face to face service applicants currently benefit from with a phone service.
“I am concerned that this will seriously affect the quality of service for new applicants in particular at a time when people need all the help they can get.
“What works for England won't necessarily work here.”
Carál Ní Chuilín said that the minister should now bring the review to a close.
"The primary concern in all of this should be the claimant,” she said. “As we head into further economic uncertainty and hardship, the Minister for Social Development should not allow this review to continue.
“The 35 Social Security Offices across the North are a vital service which will no doubt act as a further help as we face into darker economic days.
“Should this review continue then it will remain open until the 31st of January and I would call on as many community groups as well as individuals to have their say and oppose plans to redeploy staff and services throughout the Six Counties."

Fly tippers using entry as a dumping site - Lavery

Sinn Fein councillor Danny Lavery has called on the Housing Executive
to secure a North Belfast entry beside a school playground, which is
being used as a dumping site by illegal fly tippers.
"Belfast City Council workers were called out this week to do a major
clean-up of an entry which runs at the back of Wyndham Street and
alongside Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain," said Danny Lavery.
"The entry was absolutely filthy after the Christmas period due to
illegal fly tipping. It is not secure and local people have told me
that fly tippers are arriving in vans and dumping their rubbish there.
"This problem has been allowed to run for some time now and it
presents a major health hazard to local people and the schoolchildren
alike.
"I am calling on the Housing Executive to ensure that the entry is
properly secured to prevent this illegal dumping happening in future.
"I would like to thank the council's cleansing department for their
swift response to my request for action but I am also asking council
enforcement officers to check the rubbish to see if there are any
clues as to who is responsible for the dumping."

Protest against the slaughter in Gaza

North Belfast Sinn Féin are holding a protest against the slaughter in Gaza on Saturday January 17th at 1pm. Assemble outside the Glenpark in Ardoyne Avenue

Stop the slaughter in Gaza

By Carál Ní Chuilín
As I write this piece my thoughts are with the besieged people of Gaza. The attacks on them and the people of the Palestinian territories are totally and absolutely wrong. More than 600 people, more than 200 of them children, have been killed and 2,800 wounded since the Israeli army launched its air, sea and missile attacks on Gaza eleven days ago.
After almost a week of aerial bombardment the Israelis have now also sent in heavily-armoured tanks, artillery and soldiers to attack densely populated cities from the ground as well.
More than 75 people were killed on one day, Tuesday, many of them children at the al-Fakhura school situated in a refugee camp.
Of the 600 deaths since the massive Israeli bombardment began all but ten victims have been Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians.
All the civilian deaths in Gaza, including those seeking shelter in a UN school are indefensible and unjustifiable.
The UN has also advised that there is now a growing shortage of basic foodstuffs and fresh water in Gaza because of the damage to the local infrastructure.
Hospitals too are struggling to cope with the massive casualties and there is also a shortage of medicines as the Israelis continue to tighten their blockade of Palestinian towns and cities
The humanitarian cost of the offensive to date has been catastrophic and decisive action is needed now to secure a ceasefire.
It is Sinn Féin's view that the International community cannot allow the situation in Gaza to deteriorate any further.
The International community, including the Irish Government, the EU and the USA, has to intensify its efforts to resolve the situation in Gaza.
There should be an end to all military activity in Gaza from both sides of the conflict but let's be clear - what is happening in Gaza is the slaughter of Palestinian people by an aggressive Israeli regime with high schools and crèches among the buildings targeted.
Innocent children have been killed and maimed and will continue to be targeted unless Israel calls a ceasefire.
All international diplomatic efforts must be focused on persuading the Israeli government to cease its operations in Gaza and end hostilities.
However, tough words alone will not move the Israeli government.
It is clear that the Israeli government is not listening.
The timing of the current Israeli offensive was as calculated as every other aspect of these operations. __
is no accident that these attacks occurred in the last weeks of the Bush presidency.
The Israeli assertion that its operations are in response to Hamas’ rocket attacks is threadbare. The rocket attacks should cease.
However, the timing of their current offensive is directly linked to Barack Obama’s move into the White House on January 20. It comes after a lengthy embargo on Gaza and the closing of border crossing.
Those responsible seem to be about making sure that the ongoing crisis in the Middle East is the new US President’s first foreign policy test.
The Israeli government has also rather cynically chosen to act just before that state is due to go to the polls._
My party colleagues Sinn Féin MEPs Bairbre de Brún and Mary Lou McDonald are calling for a suspension of the European-Mediterranean Association Agreement, which underpins preferential trade with Israel as a way of forcing Israel's hand and bring about a ceasefire and an end to the killing.
The Irish Government has a role to play here and should push this approach at EU level.
I would urge all international leaders to consider this approach and others to bring about an end to the killings in Gaza and to prevent a ground offensive from Israel.
World peace and stability is in the interests and responsibilities of all sovereign nations and that includes peace in the Middle East.
What is required is of course security for Israel and a free Palestinian state but the days of Israel using the excuse of security to slaughter innocent Palestinians must be brought to an end.
Otherwise we will see a continued cycle of conflict, death and destruction in the region.
The Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign has organised a demonstration against the invasion of Gaza for this Saturday assembling at the Art College Square at 12.30pm to march to City Hall.
Come along to add your voice to the thousands all over Europe and the Middle East who are calling for an end to the slaughter in Gaza.

Sinn Féin want education system based on needs of all our children and young people - Gerry Kelly

By Gerry Kelly
One of my most enjoyable tasks as an MLA in North Belfast are visits to our local schools.
The energy and commitment of principals, teachers and other school staff to provide the very best education possible for our children is inspiring and as a public representative it’s our duty to try to build on their successes.
Despite the successes however, there remains a shocking level of underachievement and the gap between the top achievers and those failed by the system is growing. How can you build a society based on equality when after 12 years of compulsory education around 12,000 of our young people do not achieve the necessary skills in English and Maths?
There are also groups of children who are losing out more than others because of these inequalities and this is particularly relevant to North Belfast given the make-up of the area.
In working-class communities 44 per cent of Protestant males and 41 per cent of Catholic males leave school without five good GCSEs.
Young people who have a disability, or are from ethnic and Traveller communities also suffer from inequalities in education.
Sinn Féin believes it is unacceptable that 4,500 children each year leave primary schools without adequate literacy and numeracy skills.
This simply can’t be allowed to go on. The education system needs radical reform. We can’t build an economy to benefit all our people if educational opportunity is not available on an equal basis to all in the community.
Therefore we fully support Caitríona Ruane’s decision to review the provision for children with additional needs, as well as reviews of the provision for children from the Traveller community and of the growing Irish medium education sector.
This is all part of a strategy being proposed by the Sinn Féin minister to raise standards in numeracy and literacy. The next plank of that strategy to deliver an education system fit for the 21st century is the establishment of the Education and Skills Authority, the most fundamental reform of the education system here for more than a generation.
This single authority replacing nine existing organisations, will streamline administration and make more funds available for schools.
The ESA will have a remit to deliver equality and raise standards for all children, ensuring that schools have the training, support and resources to provide the best education possible.
The ESA will also be democratically accountable as the majority of its members will be made up of local councillors, working on local committees, and it will report back to the minister and the Assembly.
The establishment of the ESA is only one of a number of reforms, which Sinn Féin proposes to modernise the education system.
The outdated Transfer Test has now been taken by primary school pupils for the last time.
It is almost impossible to find anyone who thinks the Transfer Test was a good idea. So why did we subject 10-year-old children to such stress for so long?
Why was the educational future of so many dependent on two one-hour high-pressure tests?
These tests labelled children as failures and denied them access to certain schools.
This test saw 95 per cent of children from Malone Road primary schools, who sat the 11-plus, transfer to grammar schools, compared to 26 per cent from the Shankill and 22 per cent from the New Lodge. This test owed more to social selection than academic ability. This was a postcode lottery in education.
We do not need to subject 10-year-old children to selection tests to put them on an educational route that is best for them.
The vast majority of education systems around the world manage to transfer children without any form of academic selection and produce excellent results. Why can we not learn from the experiences of Europe and the Americas?
It is widely accepted that 14 is a more appropriate age to decide on educational pathways when our young people currently choose their examination subjects.
At 14 they can be matched to educational provision that best meets their needs and abilities, whether that is academic, vocational or a combination of both.
I strongly support academic excellence and want our schools delivering the highest quality opportunities for every child, from their very first day in school.
I believe the reforms proposed by the Education Minister if given a fair wind will deliver a system based on equality, which is modern, effective and responsive to the needs of all our children and young people.

Sinn Féin welcomes key recommendations of the Bill of Right's Forum report

Gerry Kelly has welcomed key recommendations of the Bill of Right's Forum report that was released this week and said he was disappointed that 10 Commissioners had dissented from the report and that the DUP and UUP were continuing to oppose a Bill of Rights.
"The Bill of Rights is a fundamental part of the Good Friday Agreement and I believe it represents an incredible opportunity to make a real and positive difference to the lives of all our people and I welcome the handover of the Human Rights Commission advice as the next stage in this long process," the North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA said.
"But to those members of the DUP and UUP who continue to oppose a Bill of Rights, I would ask them to explain to their electorate, why they reject key rights for the people that they represent.
“If implemented, a Bill of Rights would compel government to take whatever possible steps it can in order to address the economic and social problems which face our people. "This isn't about Republican rights, nationalist rights, unionist or loyalist rights - it is about rights for all."

Kelly welcomes green energy project

North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA, Gerry Kelly welcomed ‘a positive’ green development to North Belfast news that a former landfill site in North Belfast will soon be providing electricity to thousands of homes as part of a multi-million pound green energy project.
Belfast City Council is hoping the unique joint venture, the biggest landfill generating electricity scheme in the north, will be producing five million watts of electricity every single hour by next summer.
“Given the current high price of electricity and its dependency on the price of world oil and energy prices this is a welcome initiative producing electricity from what we all would consider waste,” said Gerry Kelly.
“There has been a debate about the use of the North Foreshore site and the landfill that is situated there has raised a fair amount of controversy over the years but this development now sees a positive, green contribution come from the former landfill which will benefit people locally.”