MLA wants rapid transit system for North Belfast

North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín said that a rapid transit system that will see a dramatic improvement in traffic flow across the city must be extended to North Belfast.
Ní Chuilín is set to have a meeting with the director of the Belfast Rapid Transit Project Ciaran de Búrca later this month to ask that the scheme, which is planned for west, south and east Belfast also be rolled out in North Belfast.
Last year Sinn Féin minister for regional development Conor Murphy announced the three pilot routes for the scheme, which will include rapid transit buses and light rail.
However, the local MLA said that with the announcement that the University of Ulster is to move the majority of its classes to just north of the city centre and the growth in local tourism that North Belfast should be included in the scheme.
“The Rapid Transit Project will provide the city with a fast reliable and modern public transport service,” said Ní Chuilín.
“I am meeting with the project director Ciarán de Búrca asking to discuss extending the scheme to the north of the city.
“I believe there are three possible routes in North Belfast for a light rail scheme.
“The Shore and Antrim roads are obvious links between North Belfast and the city centre and have access to sea ports, the city airport and the motorway.
“The proposal to relocate much of the University of Ulster’s Jordanstown campus to the Cathedral Quarter and York St area will also require enhanced modern transport links to facilitate this massive regeneration project.
“The Crumlin Road is another route with huge potential. Belfast is only beginning to open up the tourist potential of the Crumlin Road Gaol site and courthouse and the flagship development of the Girdwood site should ensure the volume of passengers needed to make this route viable.”
Ní Chuilín said extending the project to include North Belfast was a necessary investment in the area’s future.
“The University of Ulster’s decision to relocate to the north side of the city centre is a huge vote of confidence in the people of this area.
“It’s vital that infrastructure projects beginning in the near future create sustainable jobs which will help communities through the current economic downturn.
“However, it is just as important that projects which have been well-thought out also provide us with a platform to regenerate North Belfast in the future.”

£7m for deprived areas welcomed

Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín has welcomed news that £7m is to be spent in deprived areas over the next two years, ending months of speculation and uncertainty that key community posts were to be axed.
“I welcome the announcement by the Social Development minister that jobs in the Neighbourhood Renewal scheme are to be continued until 2011,” said Carál Ní Chuilín.
“This will mean an extra £7m for some of the most deprived communities in the North.
“Sinn Féin has been lobbying since August last year for an extension to the posts of people working in Neighbourhood Renewal as they have been providing vital services in areas which are suffering most from poverty, neglect, discrimination and social inequality.
“The announcement that these jobs will now be supported until 2011 will also bring to an end the uncertainty which has hung over the future of these posts and the services they deliver like a dark cloud.
“We hope that these workers can now get on with the task of ensuring that those most in need can continue to avail of their services.”
Carál Ní Chuilín also said that the two-year breathing space provided by the announcement now needed to be used well.
“The work carried out by people working to renew and rebuild deprived communities cuts across several government departments,” she said.
“Tackling poverty, neglect and deprivation is clearly an issue of social justice.
“All departments, which have a role in ending the inequalities which flow from these social evils, must use the next two years well to make the transition from Neighbourhood Renewal as seamless as possible.”

Easier to Register to Vote in Birmingham, Alabama than the North

Sinn Fein MLA Carál Ní Chuilín said this week that it is easier to get on the electoral register in Birmingham Alabama than it is in the North of Ireland.
“Sinn Fein contacted officials in the Elections Division of the Office of the Alabama Secretary of State to enquire about the process involved in getting onto the electoral register in Alabama,” said Ní Chuilín.
“An Alabama election official confirmed to us that extra identification evidence is not required in Alabama on top of filling in a registration form.
“In the 1960s Birmingham, Alabama, was the centre of the Civil Rights struggle for African Americans. It was a place where discrimination was institutional.
“Now today we find that the process involved in getting registered in Alabama is much simpler and easier than the process in the North of Ireland.
“All you need to do in Alabama to get on the register is fill in an electoral registration form and send it in.
“Yet here, in the North of Ireland, even after filling in a registration form and providing their name, address, date of birth, national insurance number and signature, people are still been denied their place on the register.
“In the year from Dec 2007 to Dec 2008, over 3,500 people were denied their rightful place on the electoral register after their forms were rejected.
“This is unacceptable and is a clear denial of the right to vote and we have to question the motives of the Electoral Office which is accountable to, and funded by, the NIO.
“The Electoral Office has access to lists of deaths, of people who will be turning 18 and Central Services Agency, council and NIHE databases which deal with changes of address. This access to information should allow the Electoral Office to track changes themselves.
“Many people are turned off by the complex process involved in getting registered. These are largely people from disadvantaged areas, who already feel detached from the system.
“The Electoral Office must end their excessive demands on individuals for unnecessary additional evidence and they must prioritise getting those people who are not on the electoral register onto the register.
“In particular, the Electoral Office needs to be proactive in bringing forward initiatives to bring increased numbers of people from disadvantaged areas onto the electoral register.
“These are the people who are suffering most from the excessive demands of the Electoral Office.’’
“I am sure that people will be shocked and alarmed that it is easier to register to vote in Birmingham, Alabama, once the centre of discrimination against African Americans, than it is to register in the North of Ireland.’’

Irish language PS and GAA pitch development welcomed

Chairman of the town planning committee, Sinn Féin councillor Danny Lavery, said he was delighted to see the drawings for a new Irish language primary school and Gaelic Games pitch get the green light.
The development which is due to take place on the Cricky pitch on the Cliftonville Road, finally looks set to be put into action if the plans get the whole council's seal of approval in March. They were unanimously approved by Belfast City Council's town planning committee earlier this month.
"I'm glad to see we've overcome hurdles that were put in the way of this project by various individuals who did want to see this ever become a reality,” said the Sinn Féin Councillor.
“Getting approval from the committee is fantastic news and a milestone for the community of North Belfast."

Sinn Féin rep calls in the dog wardens

The Belfast City Council dog fouling wardens will undertake an extra patrol in North Belfast following a request from local Sinn Féin councillor Tierna Cunningham.
Dog fouling wardens are to step up their patrols in North Belfast after an overwhelming number of local people said dog mess is their biggest annoyance in the area.
The Sinn Féin representative carried out a door-to-door survey of homes in the Castle electoral ward and found many homeowners said that dog fouling on the pavements is one of the biggest issues in the area they would like to change.
They were particularly angry that main roads such as the Whitewell Road and Antrim Road are covered in dog mess.
Councillor Cunningham, herself a dog-owner, said local people are disgusted with pet owners who do not clean up after their animals.
"Parents are having to manoeuvre round the mess with prams and are understandably worried about letting their children out to play considering the danger the mess creates," she said.
"I would call on dog owners to clean up after their animals. A responsible dog owner should be picking up after their dog and not doing so can only be described as anti community behaviour.
"They make the streets hazardous and dangerous for children as well as making the area look awful."
"I welcome the council's plans to step up their patrols in North Belfast and hopefully with an increase in patrols and more responsible dog owners we can make the streets safer.”

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Banks must do more for small businesses

North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín has called on local banks to do more to help small and medium sized businesses in the north of the city.

"The CBI and the Federation of Small Businesses have expressed their concern this week about the failure of banks to provide the necessary credit to support small and medium sized businesses here," she said.

"This is in spite of the massive injection of public money being made available to banks to address these issues.

"Businesses are still being forced into closing resulting in people losing their jobs and the resulting effects it has on families.

"Banks have a corporate responsibility to help and support businesses in this current economic climate. The money was not given to protect banks alone and shore up their future.

"More needs to be done to secure guarantees from banks that if they receive public money they must ensure that it goes back into the economy in a way that will keep peoples jobs safe, and keep local businesses open."