North Down Greens

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A party of Economic Sustainability, Grassroots Democracy, Equality and Environmentalism.

26/10/2026

Green Party councillor calls for greater funding for organic farming
Read more in the first comment

21/10/2026

This is Red, our rescue terrier, who is hypersensitive and reactive to noise. We've just had to get diazepam tablets prescribed by our vet to help him cope with fireworks over Halloween.

Why should any of us have to medicate our pets just so others can let off fireworks w***y nilly?

I've brought motions to Belfast City Council calling for action on fireworks before, and yet every year we're still having the same conversation.

But it's not just dogs like Red. It's wildlife and vulnerable people, as well as those living with PTSD.

I'm not against folks enjoying themselves. But surely we can celebrate Halloween without causing so much unnecessary distress to animals and vulnerable people.

12/10/2026

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.

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.

Another change, from the Education Committee Chair, says the payment should never be less than the price of a school meal. So the test for every party is simple: will you vote for a clear start date and a payment that buys a proper meal?

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.

Children should not wait on a date that was never written down.

09/10/2026

Always a pleasure to meet again with the fantastic Patrick Baga from GREY2K USA and to talk about the progress we need to make in Northern Ireland to END the cruel and unregulated greyhound racing industry, once and for all.

Profit is no excuse for cruelty, and calling something a sport cannot be a cover for barbarity.

🚨🐾 Greyhound racing in Northern Ireland operates in a legal vacuum. No specific laws or independent regulatory body in Northern Ireland governs greyhound racing here. Although Minister Muir / DAERA has confirmed that greyhounds fall under the regulations relating to companion animals, Councils have not been given training or budget to carry out welfare checks on racing establishments. This means:
This regulatory void leaves greyhound welfare largely unprotected:
💔 Dogs injured during racing can disappear from the record without mandatory reporting requirements
💔 Critical information on deaths, injuries, and outcomes remains hidden from public scrutiny
💔 There are no consistently enforced welfare standards governing kennels, transport, or racing conditions
💔 When welfare failures occur, meaningful accountability is often absent
💔 There is a "retirement void without tracing of what happens to greyhounds who are no longer fast enough or profitable enough to race. When their racing days end, these dogs face a dangerous lack of traceability.
💔 Overbreeding & Culling: The industry constantly breeds new puppies to find the next winner, creating a massive surplus of unwanted dogs.

With the closure of Drumbo, and no one able to ascertain where the dogs have gone - this highlights the lack of regulation and the need for this to end once and for all.

Greyhounds make fantastic companion animals in domestic settings, needing modest walks and providing many years of love and companionship.

Thanks again to Causeway Coast Dog Rescue for yet another brilliant animal welfare conference, bringing together dedicated animal advocates, rehoming and rescue organisations, campaigners, vets and offering all of us who want to raise animal welfare standards in Northern Ireland.

09/10/2026

It was wonderful to meet the team from Lost and Found Pets North Down/Ards & Surrounding Areas/ Rescue & Rehoming at the Causeway Coast Dog Rescue Animal Welfare Conference.

This dedicated team works so hard to try to reunite humans and their animal companions, as well as helping across other areas to ensure animals are protected and cared for.

I look forward to working together with you to make a difference and hopefully make progress on important issues that protect people and animals.

27/09/2026

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.

Nearly thirty years after the Good Friday Agreement, we should not be reopening the same wounds; we should build on the peace process and deliver institutional change that protects people in a settlement based on human rights and justice for all.”

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 conflicts every bit as entrenched as ours elsewhere.

The people of the Garvaghy Road have been badly served by institutions and political parties that have used them as bargaining chips.

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.

Northern Ireland deserves better than repeatedly returning to the unresolved fights of the 1990s. We need independent mediation, institutions that function, and honesty about our shared past. Nothing less will stop us coming back here again."

ENDS

27/09/2026

25/09/2026

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Bangor

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https://www.greenpartyni.org/

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