SDLP commend Ulster Rugby fun day at Strabane Academy

This week the SDLP in Strabane commend Ulster Rugby Club for holding an open training session at Strabane Academy, with fans also having the chance to meet their rugby heroes.

SDLP Strabane Town Councillor Patsy Kelly said “I would like to thank the Ulster Rugby team for coming to Strabane and allowing fans to watch the squad train. This was great for sport, and in particular local rugby in Strabane. It was great to see people there from all walks of life both young and old, and showed that events like this can be enjoyed with cross-community support.”

“In conjunction with the Ulster squad training session, Strabane Rugby club ran a great family fun day with bouncy castles and all sorts of entertainment for the family. When the training session was finished the Ulster players took time to meet their fans and sign autographs.”

Also attending the event was Strabane SDLP Youth Chairperson Seon Devine who said “It was great as a young fan; it was great to be able to meet my heroes in Strabane without having to travel to the likes of Belfast or Dublin to see them. This shows that there is no reason why more events like this can’t be held in Strabane. I would call on Strabane District Council and other relevant authorities to work with local clubs to encourage more events like this to happen.”

SDLP welcome work on Railway Road Footpaths

This week the SDLP in Strabane has welcomed the work on the Railway Road footpaths that will be transformed into a public seating area.

West-Tyrone SDLP MLA Joe Byrne said “It is great to see this work on-going and a snippet of how the Railway Road will look with its new footpaths. The whole of the Railway Road is due to be refurbished with new footpaths down to the ASDA roundabout. This will give the area a great boost not only in terms of business but tourism as well; a nicer town means more tourists.”

“The stretch of footpath directly in front of the Farmers Home will be made into a public seating area complete with benches and flower baskets. This will allow any walkers or shoppers to rest their weary legs while enjoying what Strabane as a town has to offer.”

“The SDLP have been constantly fighting for schemes such as this to refurbish Strabane and give it a fresher look for residents and visitors. This is a positive step and the SDLP will continue to fight for more schemes like this to take place at both at both Strabane District Council and Stormont.”

Kelly: Delay over business case into DARD relocation ‘unacceptable’

SDLP Councillor Patsy Kelly has said the Minister for Agriculture Michelle O’Neill must release a business case on the relocation of DARD Headquarters to Ballykelly.

Mr Kelly said:

“It is almost a year since Minister Michelle O’Neill made a decision to relocate DARD headquarters to Ballykelly without conducting an effective business case. I have consistently called for her to bring forward a business case for this decision which she has failed to do. This is a totally unacceptable state of affairs.

“It is deeply disappointing for people living in Strabane that they have been overlooked on this occasion particularly when the Minister has said the decision took into account factors such as socio-economic profile, deprivation and unemployment levels.

“Given the historic levels of underinvestment and resultant unemployment in Strabane it was imperative that the Minister took that into account and looked at all of her options. An effective business case would have assisted her in making a final decision.

“If the Minister is committed to the decentralisation of DARD then she must seriously pursue a business case for the most suitable location. One year on it is time for the Minister to get straight with the people of Strabane.”

Kelly urges Councils to clean up roads ahead of Fleadh

SDLP Councillor Patsy Kelly has called on councils to join together to ensure that roads and streets are cleaned up ahead of the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil which starts in Derry on Sunday 11 August.

Mr Kelly said:

“It is a great honour for Derry to host this year’s All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil, which is expected to draw crowds of up to 150,000. It promises to be an enriching cultural experience for all those attending.

“It is important that Councils adopt a collaborative approach and make sure that those travelling to the City of Culture see our roads and streets looking their best.

“Strabane district council has been working extremely hard to ensure that roads leading to Derry are attractive and inviting. The Fleadh is an opportunity to sell the North West and we must do all we can to ensure visitors feel welcome.”

SDLP welcome work beginning on Strabane’s new Recycling Centre

This week the SDLP in Strabane has welcomed the work beginning on the new Recycling Centre on the Strahans Road in Strabane.

Strabane SDLP Councillor Patsy Kelly said “I am very pleased to see work begin on the new recycling centre on the Strahans Road site. The environment is an issue that affects everyone no matter what political party they support. Everyone has a responsibility to do as much as they can to protect the environment for future generations to enjoy. I believe this new Recycling Centre will benefit the whole district and the people of Strabane.”

“It is obvious that using landfills can no longer be sustained as an option to deal with our waste. The new Recycling Centre will help to limit the amount of glass, paper and plastic that must be produced to maintain our needs. This in turn will lead to less waste being sent to landfill sites.”

The whole process of recycling is to help maintain the natural beauty of our area for our children and their children. For example as the demand for paper increases, a number of trees are being cut to produce it. By recycling paper, we can prevent the destruction of forests. We can save our natural resources by recycling products made from raw materials. Recycling a ton of mixed paper or newspaper is equivalent to saving 12 trees.”

“Most importantly I believe the new Recycling Centre will help make people aware of the little things they can do that make a huge difference in terms of recycling. If we all do our part, we can really help make Strabane a standout example of an environmentally friendly town.”

BYRNE: BANKS SYSTEMATICALLY DESERTING RURAL COMMUNITIES

SDLP MLA for West Tyrone Joe Byrne had had a meeting with a number of banks regarding the closure of rural bank branches and their impact on the farming community.

The austerity measures pursued by banks in the light of the current recession are causing great concern to many rural communities, particularly in places like West Tyrone. The recent announcement by the Ulster Bank about bank branch closures across the Island and the loss of 1800 banking jobs is a sad reminder of an austerity agenda by banking management, poignantly leaving many rural villages and small towns without a local bank branch.

Over the last two years, West Tyrone has suffered the loss of 6 bank branches in numerous smaller towns. Danske Bank has closed 4 branches in West Tyrone, namely Beragh, Fintona, Castlederg and Newtownstewart. The Ulster Bank and the First Trust Bank have closed their branches in Dromore now leaving the town without any bank. Last week, the Agriculture committee at the Assembly met and received presentations from the Ulster Bank, Danske Bank and the Bank of Ireland relating to how they are serving the banking needs of farmers across Northern Ireland. All three banks stated that they are committed to sustaining and developing the Agri-Food banking service to the farming community across the rural parts of Northern Ireland.

 Mr Byrne said:

"I questioned officials from all three banks about the severe impact the closure of rural bank branches will have to the farming community in particular. I told officials from the Danske Bank that the farming community of West Tyrone feels very aggrieved that all customers and in particular farming customers must use either Omagh or Strabane main street banks which, in addition, have no parking facilities. The rural farming community in Beragh, Fintona, Castlederg and Newtownstewart feel they have been short changed and treated badly by the banks"

"The fear now regarding the Ulster Bank is that West Tyrone could still suffer further bank branch closures; this would be devastating for the farming customers in particular. The banks that have squandered a lot of money on big loans to the property development sector during the economic boom are now on a deficit-driven campaign to improve their financial profitability. Resultantly rural, farming driven communities are losing financial services that are key to their viability both now and in the long term"

ENDS

Byrne welcomes Money for Agri-Food Loan Scheme

Joe Byrne, SDLP MLA for West Tyrone, yesterday welcomed the £10 million Financial Transactions fund to the agri-food loan Scheme. This fund was announced by the Minister for Finance and Personnel Sammy Wilson in his Monitoring Round Statement for 2013-2014.

Tue 2nd July

However Mr Byrne questioned the Minister on whether the amount would be enough for the agri-food loan scheme and whether the banks were willing to back those who want to invest in capital buildings particularly for poultry and the pig meat sector.

Mr Byrne said:

“I welcome the fact that the Minister stated that this was an initial allocation and that this figure will be revisited once the scheme is progressing. This is one area that Northern Ireland can be competitive in and the opportunity to create jobs in this industry should not be missed due to lack of funding.

“As Vice Chair and member of the Agricultural Committee at the Assembly we met with some of the major banks and they were not forthcoming with regard to their lending policy. Therefore I also welcome the fact that Ministers Wilson and Foster along with agri-food representatives have met with the major banks to discuss bank lending to such schemes and loan security and that they were positive.

“We believe that we have given them the ability to give loans to farmers who want, for example, to put up chicken or pig houses or whatever. We are taking some of the risk; up to 40% of the loan for any chicken house will be made available through the loan scheme that we set up, and we will have the last call on it. So, the banks' risk is reduced there.

“For the agri-food industry, the banks will be vetting farmers who are going to be suppliers. Therefore, they will know that they are capable of doing the job and maybe even have a track record. Of course, the agri-food industry will bear some of the on-going cost, because it supplies the grain, etc. If a business fails, because you need to have the supply of chickens, there is always the possibility of taking over and running the thing themselves.

“The banks are actually getting quite a good deal out of this. If they were to baulk at this, I think we would then be able to say that, despite all the rhetoric about lending, we do not see that reality on the ground. I do not want to be critical because I want to get them on board with the scheme. They were more than happy to come to a meeting. They said that they would go away and work at this themselves and come back to us. I am hoping that, in the very near future, we will have some positive results from that.”