Do all parties now support the reintroduction of prescription charges? Is this now official policy?

In 2010 all political parties welcomed the abolition of prescription charges by Ulster unionist Health Minister Michael McGimpsey. Now the new DUP health minister Edwin Poots has suggested that they may be reintroduced. 

I introduced a motion to council opposing any introduction of charges but this was voted out not only by the DUP but by the Unionists, Alliance and Green councillors.

I would question if this is now the official policy of each of these parties. If so why and when did they change their policy?

The main points I made against prescription charges were:

• Are a tax on illness
• Against the principles of the health service
• Have been abolished in Scotland and Wales
• High administrative costs. 80% of patients do not pay them.
• Widespread fraud
• Unfair as some long term illnesses were eligible for free prescriptions while others with other long term illnesses had to pay.
• Amount raised would be small esp if Mr Poots suggestion of 50p was introduced.

NOTE

BBC report on NI Assembly 12th Dec 2011

Northern Ireland’s health minister has said he is seriously considering reintroducing prescription charges to help pay for life-saving drugs. Edwin Poots told the NI Assembly he would probably put the issue out to consultation sometime in the New Year.

BRIAN CONDEMNS THE DECISION BY NORTH DOWN COUNCIL TO PRESS FOR MEETING WITH CHIEF CONSTABLE TO OPPOSE THE PROPOSED CLOSURE OF HOLYWOOD POLICE STATION

I believe that the campaign to retain Holywood police station is an irrational and ill-informed attempt to create public fears where none exist. North Down council should play no part in it.

I must disagree with Ald Dunne’s assertion that the closure of Holywood police station would have a devastating impact on the town and that the residents were alarmed that this would lead to a crime wave in the borough.

I discussed the proposed closure with some Holywood residents and they were not the least concerned one even pointed out that no one ever used the station.

I believe that the future of Holywood station must be an operational matter for the PSNI and North Down council should not get involved. The PSNI’s role is to provide an effective and efficient service and if they believe that closing Holywood station will achieve this they have my full support.

Instead of this knee jerk reaction we should consider what service does the station provide at present? Members of the public rarely visit the office and if there is an incident in Holywood town centre any response would come from the local mobile petrol car directed from Bangor as the officers based in the station are unable to leave the premises.

I believe a more efficient police service could be provided by a two man patrol car rather than two officers stuck in Holywood police station. To retain the station which is rarely used would seem to be a wasteful use of resources.

A few years ago North Down council organised a similar campaign to oppose the reduction of opening hours at Holywood station. We were told it would have disastrous consequences and the people of Holywood were terrified that they would be left unprotected against terrorists, muggers, burglars and drunken cyclists.

As the local MLA I had no evidence of such concerns as not a single constituent contacted me on this matter. When the hours were finally reduced these alleged fears were found to be groundless and the councils campaign to be a waste of ratepayer’s money and resources.

I believe that the campaign to retain Holywood police station is another irrational and ill-informed attempt to create public fears where none exist .North Down council should play no part in it.

Former North Down MLA Brian Wilson calls on the Assembly to introduce legislation to ban hunting with hounds following the incident in Kircubbin where a family cat was torn to shreds by the hunt.

It is sickening that this barbaric practice continues in Northern Ireland while it is banned in the rest of the UK.

As a cat owner and lover I totally understand the anguish this has caused to the owner and my heart goes out to her.

“Last year I brought a Private Member’s Bill forward in an attempt to end this animal cruelty in Northern Ireland and bring our legislation into line with England, Scotland and Wales.

“I was disappointed that the Assembly rejected my bill as public opinion shows that the people of Northern Ireland want to see an end to animal cruelty and unnecessary suffering.

“There is ample evidence to show that mammals hunted with dogs feel distress and pain and I have always pledged to promote and defend animal welfare – that is why I wanted to see this ban extended to Northern Ireland

I  believe that blood sports are barbaric and that fox hunting, stag hunting, and hare coursing have no place in civilised society and must go the way of cock fighting and bear baiting.

“Hunting with hounds is cruel and has no place in the 21st century and seeing animals ripped to shreds by packs of dogs cannot be considered a sport by any right thinking individual and this recent incident highlights just how barbaric and indiscriminate it is

It is time that the Assembly banned this barbaric practice.

In my Assembly speech at the second stage of this Bill I called for a 15p levy if it was going to effectively reduce this serious nuisance

The ultimate success of the legislation will be when plastic bags are phased out completely and no revenue was raised. I do not believe the 5p levy will achieve this.

I have supported a levy on plastic bags for many years but not on economic grounds but on environmental grounds.

Plastic bags have a serious impact on the environment and on wildlife. There are many examples of wildlife and indeed farm animals dying a very painful death having digested a plastic bag.

There is also the problem of litter. Light bags are blown throughout our countryside, festooning our trees and hedgerows and destroying the green, clean countryside that we are trying to promote as tourism.

The aim of the Bill should not be to raise revenue; it should be to change consumer behaviour, reduce plastic bags in the rural landscape and increase public awareness of littering.

The levy imposed by the Irish government has been a great success. It has reduced the use of plastic bags by more than 90%: 1·3 billion fewer bags are used each year. There has also been a significant reduction in littering, and costs have been minimal, at only 3% of the revenue raised. Research carried  out for the Dáil some years ago showed overwhelming support from both the public and retailers.

However, that is not what it is about. We have to encourage people to reuse bags. That would dramatically reduce what goes to landfill.

It can be done. In theIrishRepublic, 1·3 billion fewer bags are used.

I am coming from the perspective of the levy not being a revenue raiser. I want people to change their behaviour so that it will be phased out in the longer term. However, we have to be realistic; it will not disappear overnight. In the short term, it will raise money that can be used for the green new deal.

I find the opposition to the levy from the small retailers very hard to grasp, given that in the Irish Republic all retailers, the chambers of commerce and the multinationals all believe that it is a good thing. Even those who initially opposed it now support it. Retailers have made significant savings. One retailer experienced savings of £1·9 million in the first year because it bought fewer plastic bags. They still made savings after administrative costs.

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It is easy to be cynical but I do believe this is a genuine attempt by the First Minister to move away from our sectarian past.

Like his previous courageous decision to attend the funeral in a Catholic church of the  policeman Ronan Kerr who was murdered by dissidents it is a major step for any DUP leader. Indeed I recall in the 1980’s being stoned by DUP supporters after attending an ecumenical service in St Comgalls on Brunswick Road.

We have moved on. I welcome the speech and believe that it provides a real opportunity to move forward and away from what he called “ a them and us society.”

I believe we should support Mr Robinson’s vision even though it still has a long way to go. It was a brave speech to make at a DUP conference and it is clear from other speeches especially Sammy Wilson’s  that many in the party’s grass roots do not yet share this vision and feel more comfortable with the traditional divisive politics which have served us so badly.

I believe that if we are to achieve the vision of a shared and united society Mr Robinson will need the support from many outside the traditional DUP supporters and I am therefore happy to support him.

At a time when we are cutting out education and health service it is grossly irresponsible to waste £150 million on the proposed reform of local government.

The decision of the executive to go ahead with the reform of local government is incredible. Has no-one read the PWC report? To proceed at present is a classic case of ignoring the financial facts and pressing forward with proposals which have been totally undermined by the evidence.

To proceed with the 11 council model is not only irrational but it will fail to achieve any of the original objectives of the RPA. In the present economic climate it is irresponsible to spend £150m (on PWC figures) up front and look forward to some questionable savings over the next 25years. Neither the Councils nor the Department can justify such expenditure particularly at a time when other services including Education and Health are being cut.

The 11 Council model will not achieve any of the original aims coterminosity, the transfer of significant new powers to local government, the recruitment of new more professional councillors and in particular make significant savings for the ratepayers.

The meagre savings identified by the PWC report could easily be met by efficiency savings and closer cooperation’s between existing councils. Planning could easily be transferred to the 26 councils with minimum disruption using the Group system.

I call on Finance Minister Sammy Wilson not to give in to the bullying of the large stores and to go ahead with the Large Stores Rates Levy

I have an interest in this levy as I originally proposed in my speech on the draft budget in January and I was delighted when then the Minister took it up.

It is depressing to hear the whinging of mainly out of town supermarkets complaining when for years they have received many advantages at the expense of the small independent retailers and town centres.

It is difficult to have much sympathy with multinationals like Tesco when the levy is equivalent to a few hours trading out of the profits of almost £4 billion. The introduction of this levy will go some way to create a level playing field. It would help balance the disadvantage small independent businesses face as large out of town supermarkets take advantage of free parking and economies of scale.

To listen to the spokesperson for Tescos you would think that that the company is a benevolent job creation charity. This is not the case as the company is a profit maximising organisation and all research has shown every job created by the supermarkets will result in at least one job being lost in local retailers.

 I would appeal to Sammy to stand up to these threats and introduce the levy. Given the massive profits these supermarkets are making there is no way the supermarkets would give up their massive profits in response to a levy equivalent to the profits of 2 to 3 hours trading.

* I first proposed this levy in my speech on the draft budget on 19 th January as the Green Party inScotlandwere supporting a similar levy. Sammy Wilson then took up the idea and introduced it into his budget in March.

I CONDEMN  TONIGHT’S  DECISION BY THE COUNCIL TO SELL BANGOR LEISURE CENTRE SITE TO A PRIVATE DEVELOPER  AND TO IGNORE THE PROPOSALS FROM THE SEELB TO DEVELOP THE SITE FOR A NEW BANGOR CENTRAL INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL

The 300 parents teachers and children who lobbied North Down council this evening received a kick in the teeth when the DUP controlled council (including 3 DUP MLAs) rejected a proposal to continue negotiations with the SEELB on the provision of a new primary school and agreed to sell the site to a private developer. Bangor Central Integrated is a wonderful school and is always oversubscribed but requires new buildings. In their Assembly manifesto just months ago the DUP promised their support for a new school.

At tonight’s meeting Cll Michael Bower proposed that the decision be deferred for a month to allow negotiations to take place between council officers the SEELB and the school. This was rejected by15 votes to 9. I supported Cllr Bowers proposal which was backed by the 6Alliancemembers the Green Party councillor an Independent, The DUP voted unanimously to support the sale. This is perhaps not surprising given that DUP had been involved prior negotiations with the developer.

I am extremely disappointed that the Council ignored the 600 signed petition and refused to defer the decision for a month to allow further negotiations. The fact that the DUP promised to support a new school just a few months ago and are now proposing that the site be sold to a private developer undermines the integrity of politicians and reinforces the public perception  that all politicians cannot be trusted.

The DUP argue that the sale will keep down the rates. This is rubbish as any payment to the council will not be made until the developer has obtained full planning permission .It is unlikely  that this will affect the rates before the 2013/14 financial year. Therefore to defer the decision for one month would have no effect on the rates.

I CONDEMN THE SIX MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS FROM NORTHERN IRELAND WHO SUPPORTED THE TORY BILL TO PRIVATISE THE NHS IN ENGLAND EVEN THOUGH THE LEGISLATION WILL NOT APPLY IN NORTHERN IRELAND.

It is sickening to see peers from Northern Ireland lining up to support this legislation which will effectively spell the end of the NHS in England.

Yesterday’s vote by the peers to reject  Lord Owens call for a full  examination the long term implications of this Bill  is disgraceful as ignores the representations from the BMA and objections from the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of G.P’s.

Is it morally right that Lords Alderdice, Ballyendmond, Kilclooney, Trimble and Maginnis should vote for such an important piece of legislation which will destroy the NHS in England when it will not affect the people of Northern Ireland?

I suppose it is not surprising that the Ulster Unionists should unite with the Tories to push through this shameful bill which has little public or professional support.

Does this mean that the Ulster Unionists would support a similar privatisation of the Health Service in Northern Ireland?

The people of Northern Ireland are entitled to know if this is indeed their policy.

It is comforting that it is extremely unlikely that the Ulster Unionists will ever have the opportunity to introduce such a bill and it is reassuring that all the DUP peers present rejected the bill.

* BRIAN WILSON WAS FORMER MEMBER OF EASTERN HEALTH BOARD AND MLA FOR NORTH DOWN