News in Brief

Make sure you're registered to vote

Sinn Féin National Chairperson Mitchel McLaughlin has appealed to everyone who is eligible to vote to complete the registration forms that will be delivered to homes in the Six Counties over the next few weeks.

The new Electoral Register will be published on 1 December. McLaughlin said it is imperative that all those aged 16 and over be included on the new Register so they can make an impact on the direction of Northern politics.

"Remember each person eligible to vote must complete an individual Registration Form," he said. "It is particularly important that those eligible to go on to the register for the first time or who have been removed from the register for any reason fill in the form and get registered. If additional registration forms are required they will be available at schools, colleges, youth clubs, community centres and local council offices, as well as all Sinn Féin constituency offices."

Grant comments slammed

Comments from the DUP regarding a council grant have been slammed as 'grossly offensive' and 'irresponsible' by North Antrim MLA Philip McGuigan. McGuigan was speaking after a decision by Ballymena Council to delay a £409 grant to Clooney GAC for hurling sticks, after local DUP councillors launched a vicious verbal attack on the GAA. McGuigan said the decision was another example of discrimination against nationalist and republican ratepayers.

University meeting

Sinn Féin's Michael Ferguson and Barry McElduff are to meet senior members of the Queen's University management to discuss concerns over the treatment of the Students' Union Executive. The meeting follows the university's banning of a bilingual handbook produced by the student group. Ferguson said it appeared that senior members of Queen's were attempting to disenfranchise the democratically elected Executive of the Students' Union.

Government must pursue British on Sellafield dumping

Reacting to the latest revelations that up to 10,000 cubic metres of nuclear waste have been buried 50 miles from Ireland, on the west coast of Britain, Louth TD Arthur Morgan says the Dublin Government must relentlessly pursue the British to close down the Sellafield nuclear plant.

"This is sure to cause consternation amongst the Irish people," said Morgan. "It has becoming increasingly clear that the west coast of Britain has become a nuclear dumping ground, endangering the lives and surrounding environs of the eastern Irish seaboard.

"Minister for the Environment Martin Cullen has a care of duty on behalf of the Irish people to relentlessly pursue the British to immediately call a halt to this practice of dumping nuclear waste and ultimately, to proactively seek the closure of the Sellafield plant.

"There is no place in the 21st Century for such a dangerous and unpredictable energy source. Both individual states and the EU should be actively leading the way in eradicating nuclear power and replacing it with safe and clean forms of energy."

Striking a chord

A campaign to secure a music course at the Waterford Institute of Technology is being supported by Sinn Féin Councillor David Cullinane. Speaking after attending a public meeting organised by the Waterford Music School Action Group, Cullinane said that learning music should not be the sole preserve of the elite. He added that it was a shortage of funds in WIT that was preventing the teaching of a course there, and asked the government to intervene.

Sport hypocrites

The government's attitude to sport is hypocritical, Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris said on Monday. He was speaking after Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue made statements on the performance of Irish athletes at the Athens Olympics and promised more success in the future. The Sinn Féin spokesperson on sport said the shortcomings of the Irish team could be attributed to a lack of state support and slammed the government for taking credit for any athlete who did well.

Asylum seekers campaign

Sinn Féin Dublin City Councillor Killian Forde has welcomed a recruitment campaign by the East Coast Area Health Board to house 260 young asylum seekers in Dublin city. The health board is seeking Dublin-based carers, including naturalised citizens, who may originally be from overseas to house the young people. Forde referred to the endeavour as an opportunity to fully embrace multiculturalism.

Donegal jobs rally

A rally will take place on Saturday 25 September in Market Square, Letterkenny, calling for jobs and equality for Donegal. The catalyst for the rally was a recent meeting between Donegal North East Sinn Féin and representatives of the remaining workers at the Unifi plant in the town, which is in the process of closing.

Sinn Féin Councillor Gerry McMonagle says six years have passed since the Donegal Employment Initiative report, which had set a local job creation target in the region of 815. However, he said, that plan had been binned in Dublin and it is now time to protest.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin's request for a meeting with Unifi about the ongoing redundancy negotiations has been refused. The company has said that it will only deal with trade unions in relation to redundancy negotiations. However, Donegal North East Sinn Féin representative, Councillor Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, put his views to a senior Unifi official during a telephone conversation this week, urging them to produce a reasonable redundancy package.