Tag Archives: North Antrim MLA

NORTH Antrim MLA Robin Swann has called on the Executive’s Farming Minister to implement an urgent inquiry into what he described as her department’s “totally inadequate response” to the recent snap flooding which caused the DARD office to be closed. Mr Swann said he was shocked to learn that during the recent snap floods, the DARD headquarters was itself closed due to flooding and the agriculture minister and her senior staff had to be relocated to another headquarters. “While DARD was trying to maintain basic services, surely the minister should have had a contingency plan in place? There have been more than enough severe weather situations in recent years to warrant such a scheme being put in place immediately so that DARD can maintain its full service to the farming community,” continued Mr Swann. “It is important that while DARD is not operating at full capacity, farmers keep a precise … Continue reading →

Published on Friday 27 January 2012 10:35 Mr Robin Swann, the North Antrim Ulster Unionist Party Assembly and Stormont Agriculture Committee member, has told his constituency association that the past year had seen a steady increase in new members. Assemblyman Swann, who was re-elected as North Antrim Chairman, was addressing a packed Annual General Meeting in Cloughmills Orange Hall, attended by members from all parts of the constituency. Mr Swann added: “The past year has seen the party successfully retain its Assembly seat. We continue to build the association and especially strengthen the membership. “Indeed, we have a terrific calendar of exciting political, fund-raising and social events planned in the coming months, including our annual Burns Night supper and entertainment in Clough Masonic Hall.” As well as Mr Swann re-elected as North Antrim Chairman, other constituency officers elected included: Secretary, Mr Steven Phillips; Treasurer, Mr Roy McClean; President, former Ballymoney … Continue reading →

  Swann Urges Action On Balmoral Site : Irish Construction News   Irish Industry News 20/01/2012Ulster Unionist MLA for North Antrim, Robin Swann, has commented following the January monitoring round which exposed a £2 million shortfall in the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure due to the failure to secure a buyer for the former Public Records Office at Balmoral Avenue in South Belfast. The Culture, Arts and Leisure Spokesperson commented: “The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has moved to its new site at the Titanic Quarter and this is a unique service which provides a national archival institution for Northern Ireland. It has a record of many important artefacts, for example, it has a digitised archive of all the signatures of the Ulster Covenant. – – – – – – Advertisement – – – – – – “This state of the art facility was budgeted for by … Continue reading →

Published on Monday 23 January 2012 13:11 BALLYMONEY Library’s opening hours each week are set to be slashed from 57 per week to 40 – the biggest reduction in Northern Ireland. The proposals are set to be implemented before June of this year. Following DCAL Minister Carál Ní Chuilín’s announcement of £2.39m additional funding last week, the Libraries NI Board approved revised proposals arising from the Review of Opening Hours across Northern Ireland on Thursday. The additional money eases the financial pressure on Libraries NI and means that library opening hours do not need to be reduced to the same level as originally proposed to meet savings targets resulting from the Comprehensive Spending Review. However, Ballymoney’s facility will be open 17 hours less each week. Ballycastle Library’s hours are set to be cut from 44 each week to 40. The library in Cushendall will remain open 18 hours every week. … Continue reading →

#ANGLING – Northern Ireland’s taxpayers could be left with a bill for millions in EU fines if action isn’t taken to reverse the decline of salmon stocks, the News Letter reports. Ulster Unionist MLA Robin Swann said he believes that voluntary measures to help protect the North’s Altantic salmon will not remove the threat of “fines which would likely run into millions which [the people of NI] will end up paying”. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, NI’s Fisheries Minister Carál Ní Chuilín called on offshore anglers and commercial fishermen to forego applying for 2012 salmon licences. Annual monitoring of the North’s salmon rivers has shown a failure to reach targets most years since 2002, with the survival rate of salmon in the marine phases in some cases dropping to as little as 5%. Coastal drift nets and bag nets off the north Antrim coast – which contravene EU directives – … Continue reading →