Following a recent external recruitment process, Health Minister Robin Swann has appointed Professor Siobhan O’Neill as the Mental Health Champion for Northern Ireland. Professor O’Neill is the current Interim Mental Health Champion and Professor of Mental Health Sciences at Ulster University. She is one of Northern Ireland’s leading experts in the […]
Childcare was a critical issue during Covid-19 which highlighted just how vital the sector is to our economy as we seek to rebuild from the pandemic, allowing parents to go to work and supporting children’s development. The last year has seen real changes – and challenges – for parents using childcare, as well […]
Newry SDLP MLA Justin McNulty has raised concerns that grants to assist people with disabilities to make adaptations to their homes are falling short. The SDLP has written to Communities Minster Deirdre Hargey urging her to increase the NI Housing Executive’s Disabled Facilities Grant in line with the increasing construction and materials costs […]
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is urging young people to check if they have a hidden pot of gold – in the shape of a Child Trust Fund (CTF). It is now one year since the first account holders started turning 18 and around 55,000 CTFs mature every month. This means […]
Newry SDLP MLA Justin McNulty has hit out at the decision by the Executive to exclude 16-18-year-olds from the High Street Voucher Scheme. The Newry and Armagh MLA, “I have had some reservations about this scheme from the outset. “Initially, the stated intention of the Voucher Scheme was to provide a […]
Finance Minister Conor Murphy has launched a new Operational Delivery Apprenticeship scheme for the Civil Service. He was speaking as he was joined by both Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey and Economy Minister Gordon Lyons to launch the scheme. Minister Murphy encouraged people to consider applying for a place as the first […]
Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon has announced the rollout of Phase 2 of the part-time 20mph speed limit schemes at 106 schools across Northern Ireland, including five schools in the Newry and Mourne area. This takes the total number of schools benefiting from this new road safety scheme introduced by Minister Mallon to 209. […]
Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has launched Skill Up, a new initiative to deliver free training places, in an investment of up to £23million. Supported by the Northern Ireland Office, Skill Up will fully fund the local further education colleges and universities to deliver approximately 15,000 training places in over 250 subject areas for […]
Northern Ireland’s largest community and civic pride initiative, Live Here Love Here, is calling for volunteers in County Down to play their part in cleaning up local beaches on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September 2021. The big weekend event marks the start of its annual Healthy Oceans, Healthy Minds campaign, in partnership […]
University students taking part-time jobs are at increased risk of falling victim to scams, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is warning. Higher numbers of students going to university this year mean more young people may choose to take on part-time work. Being new to interacting with HMRC and unfamiliar with genuine […]
