Blog entries posted during 2011
02/12/2011
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Assembly Round Up
Over 60 older people debated the issues of health, crime and fuel poverty at a Pensioners’ Parliament last week on Friday 25 November. The debate, chaired by the Speaker of the Assembly, William Hay MLA, was run in the same way as an Assembly deba...
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12/12/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Our new website is live! As the window to the work of the Assembly, the website combines ease of use and lots of new features designed to make finding what you want easy and fast. We’ve taken people’s views on board along the way and it’s been...
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19/09/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
During his first trip to Northern Ireland yesterday, the Chinese Consul-General, Mr Li Ruiyou, attended an event in Parliament Buildings hosted by Tom Elliott MLA, Chair of the Committee for the Office of the First and deputy First Minister. The...
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23/09/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The Assembly Committee for Social Development held a special Stakeholder event on September 22 where Members met with a range of Voluntary Sector groups from across Northern Ireland. Among the Groups at the event were Age NI, Save the Children and...
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29/06/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The Committee for Education held an event tonight for the education sector. Almost 60 representatives from the sector, including organisations such as the Education and Library Boards, teaching unions and children’s and young people’s charities,...
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01/07/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The mystery of the red dispatch boxes in the Senate Chamber, why the building was once covered in cow manure and tar, and what caused the fire in the Assembly Chamber in 1995 – these are just some of the things you will find answers to on one of o...
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29/09/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Parkanaur College was the venue for this week’s Employment and Learning Committee Meeting. A residential college in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, Parknaur provides further education to people with learning difficulties and disabilities and helps students...
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01/11/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Paintings of Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell, and 1947 Open Championship winner Fred Daly by Belfast born Mark Robinson are on display in the Great Hall of Parliament Buildings before touring other venues throughout Northern Ireland a...
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29/11/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Nine trainees from the NOW project (North and West Belfast), which trains and supports young people with learning difficulties, got the opportunity to show off their culinary and hospitality skills at a recent event hosted by the Assembly’s...
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28/11/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The Assembly’s Social Development Committee was out and about this week when Members combined their weekly Committee meeting with a visit to the new Jobs and Benefits Office in Andersonstown, Belfast. Members met with staff who explained how a new...
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17/11/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
In May 2011 the European Commission announced the creation of a network of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) Envoys for member states. The Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee invited organisations and bodies that provide support to...
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23/06/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Thirty six MLAs entered a MAC (Metropolitan Art Centre) competition which sought poems, paintings, drawings inspired by constituencies, political philosophy or simply a beautiful view. This was the first ever exhibition of its kind in the UK or...
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23/06/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The Assembly Committee for the Environment held a special stakeholder event today to hear people’s concerns about plans to regulate taxis in Northern Ireland. Many organisations have been in touch with the Committee concerned about plans set out b...
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17/11/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Heating or eating - that’s the choice that many local people face every winter. With 44% of households in Northern Ireland in fuel poverty, finding ways to end this problem has become a top priority for the Assembly’s Social Development Committee....
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25/10/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The Committee for Employment and Learning hosted an event, in conjunction with Colleges Northern Ireland, where six of Northern Ireland’s Regional Colleges showcased some of their most innovative training programmes. The Committee met with a numbe...
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14/10/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The Assembly’s Social Development Committee was out and about this week when members visited the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division (CMED) in Belfast City Centre. CMED has undergone a number of changes recently and this visit by the...
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25/10/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Delve into the world of the Assembly and learn all about how laws are made. Step into the shoes of an MLA and try your hand at taking part in a press conference. Wind back the years and watch archive footage from the significant events leading to...
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27/01/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Despite being billed as a friendly match, our local MLAs can expect a tough encounter as they take on Belfast Deaf United at Blanchflower Park playing fields tomorrow (Friday 28 January). We spoke to Belfast Deaf United Football Team Captain Roy...
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21/01/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The Northern Ireland Assembly was in the North West on Friday (21 January) to meet with local voluntary and community groups and to give them the chance to meet MLAs to discuss how both can work together more effectively. The event took place at t...
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08/02/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
There are a large number of bills being discussed this week including the Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill which will introduce a range of new measures to protect our environment and local wildlife; and the Dogs Amendment Bill which will make...
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31/01/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Docking dogs’ tails is on the Assembly’s agenda this week as MLAs debate the Welfare of Animals Bill. If the Bill becomes law, it will prevent tail docking, with exemptions for working dogs. This is being done to improve the welfare of dogs. The...
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18/01/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
A long awaited report into those not in education, employment or training (so called NEETs) will be debated in the Assembly Chamber today. One of the shocking facts brought out the report is the cost to the economy of youth unemployment—some £250...
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12/01/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
A group of young people will be here at Parliament Buildings today to tell MLAs what they think of public transport. The Committee for Regional Development has invited them along and is keen to hear their views and give them the chance to have the...
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20/01/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Students from four Belfast Schools got a unique opportunity yesterday to tell members of the Assembly’s Education Committee about their schools and what makes them so successful. The Committee were at Belfast Model School for Girls to meet...
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18/01/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The increase in VAT, cuts to benefits and the freezing of public service pay were all topics for discussion at today’s Northern Ireland Assembly and Business Trust Breakfast. Minister for Finance and Personnel, Sammy Wilson was on hand this mornin...
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25/03/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
A simple question via twitter prompted the Northern Ireland Assembly to become the first legislature in the UK and Ireland to host a ‘Tweetup’. The question “Can anyone come and visit Parliament Buildings?” set the wheels in motion for the event,...
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25/03/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The Northern Ireland Assembly is now dissolved and the Assembly election will be held on 5 May 2011. When the Assembly comes back after the election all 108 MLAs, from 18 constituencies, will serve for a four year term. Every four years, in...
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12/10/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Two Assembly Committees came together today to support the launch of Health in Mind – a new project designed to improve the quality of life of people affected by mental health, increase understanding of and reduce the stigma associated with mental...
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07/10/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The Northern Ireland Assembly supported a series of community outreach events in Newry and Cookstown which brought MLAs and local community and voluntary groups together. Organised in partnership with the Confederation of Community Groups and the...
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11/05/2011
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Assembly Round Up
The Northern Ireland Assembly and Business Trust (NIABT) breakfast at the Balmoral Show was a hive of activity today with newly elected MLAs and local businesses such as Tayto, Mash Direct and Dunbia getting together to discuss common ground. Firs...
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17/02/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
The Enterprise Trade and Investment Committee released a report this week following its inquiry into the development of renewable energy in Northern Ireland. Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain,...
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11/03/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
Some of our MLAs have wrapped up warm and donned a hard hat today to volunteer at a Habitat for Humanity building project in east Belfast. They’ve arrived at the site and are getting ready for a day of painting. We’ll be tweeting updates and...
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09/03/2011
by:
Assembly Round Up
For the first time in the Assembly’s history, primary school children will give evidence to an Assembly Committee. Pupils from St Mary’s in Draperstown are coming to Parliament Buildings today to talk to the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure...
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