Green Party Northern Ireland

Two attacks in a week have hit the Friends of the Field community garden in south Belfast, with plants reportedly poisoned and equipment broken. Police are investigating. 1/2

“You can’t sell hope on stage and approve drilling in the office. Greens across these islands are calling this a betrayal of the next generation, and they’re right. Hope isn’t a slogan, it’s a decision, and this was the wrong one.” - Mal O’Hara, GPNI Party Leader

Mal O'Hara, Green Party Leader: “Labour have approved a gas field that, by the operator's own figures, would supply just 2% of UK gas demand. That will do little for the cold homes I see across Northern Ireland. 1/2

Today MLAs vote on a Bill to give children on free school meals a payment in the holidays, and one change could decide when families actually see it. The DUP Education Minister wants to remove the rule that says payments must start by the next school break. 1/5

These payments stopped in 2023, and the Trussell Trust reported that food parcels jumped 49 percent that summer. The sponsor thinks the scheme would cost around 21 million pounds a year. Families deserve to hear whether our leaders will find that money. 4/5

Today MLAs vote on a Bill to give children on free school meals a payment in the holidays, and one change could decide when families actually see it. The DUP Education Minister wants to remove the rule that says payments must start by the next school break. 1/5

Without that rule, the start date would be set later by the Department. The Assembly would have to approve it, but nobody would have to hurry, and a parent cannot plan a food shop around a date that does not exist. 2/5

The residents of the Garvaghy Road have a right to live in peace. That shouldn't be a controversial thing to say. 1/4

None of this happened by accident. Drumcree is a symptom of a broken system, a political process that was never built to actually deal with our past. Nearly thirty years on, we still have no agreed way of resolving exactly this kind of entrenched dispute. 3/4

The residents of the Garvaghy Road have a right to live in peace. That shouldn't be a controversial thing to say. 1/4

Garvaghy Road residents have called for independent international mediation in the Drumcree dispute. We agree: this can't be fixed by the same institutions that caused it. 1/4

Drumcree isn't a one-off crisis. It's a symptom of a political system that finds it easier to manage division than resolve it, and mediation has to be led by people equipped to find compromise, not by politicians or institutions that have already proven they can't. 3/4

Garvaghy Road residents have called for independent international mediation in the Drumcree dispute. We agree: this can't be fixed by the same institutions that caused it. 1/4

Independent mediation now. Green Party Deputy Leader Lesley Veronica said: "What we have seen at Drumcree is a failure of politics, a failure of process, and most importantly, a failure to properly listen to the people who have lived with the consequences of this dispute for decades. 1/6

Drumcree is a symptom of a bigger problem. Nearly three decades into peace, we have still never agreed a comprehensive mechanism for dealing with our past. Until we do, the same flashpoints will keep reopening, again and again. 5/6

Independent mediation now. Green Party Deputy Leader Lesley Veronica said: "What we have seen at Drumcree is a failure of politics, a failure of process, and most importantly, a failure to properly listen to the people who have lived with the consequences of this dispute for decades. 1/6

Belfast City Council group leader Cllr Brian Smyth said: "There is now a clear case for independent international mediation, involving people with no stake in our internal politics but real, hard-won experience of resolving conflicevery bit as entrenched as ours elsewhere. 3/6

Independent mediation now. Green Party Deputy Leader Lesley Veronica said: "What we have seen at Drumcree is a failure of politics, a failure of process, and most importantly, a failure to properly listen to the people who have lived with the consequences of this dispute for decades. 1/6

Lough Neagh is part of our shared home. Today we stood with others at Stormont to call for clean water and urgent action to protect one of our most important natural resources. Toxic algae cannot be allowed to become normal. 1/2

“Today, the Parades Commission allowed a restricted parade down the Garvaghy Road, first time in almost 30 years. This is not a moment for triumphalism, but responsibility. We owe the next generation a broken cycle, not a repeated one.” 1/2

People don't just fall through the cracks. Sometimes the cracks are left there on purpose. Underfunded mental health services. Poverty. Homelessness. Isolation. Discrimination. Years-long waiting lists. A benefits system that punishes disabled people for being disabled. 1/4

It means changing the conditions that make people feel there's no way out, before they ever reach that point. Today we remember those we've lost, and we keep working for a Northern Ireland that catches people long before crisis point. 3/4

People don't just fall through the cracks. Sometimes the cracks are left there on purpose. Underfunded mental health services. Poverty. Homelessness. Isolation. Discrimination. Years-long waiting lists. A benefits system that punishes disabled people for being disabled. 1/4