John
Over the last few weeks I have been travelling across Northern Ireland meeting with hundreds of people from every county. In every part of NI we have been talking, and listening, on the issues that impact all our people.
Our party is engaged on the issues that matter most and we will give a voice to those who daily are doing their best to make life better for them, their families and their neighbours.
We remain committed to removing the Irish Sea border. Left unchallenged it will damage our country and our union in the longer term. Northern Ireland's place within the UK internal market must be respected and protected. As UK citizens, we should not be subject to foreign powers whilst all the time Northern Ireland diverges further from the rest of the UK.
We have made progress in focusing minds on this. It is only through our determination that the EU and UK Government are back at the talks table. Unionists should keep focused and together we can see a resolution to this.
But we are also focused on many other vital issues – the state of our health service, the cost of living, including on childcare and the need to build and sustain our economy.
On Monday I spent time with the staff at Antrim Area Hospital to hear first-hand of the pressures on our Health Service. Over recent weeks we have been highlighting the crisis in the domiciliary care sector and how that is exacerbating the pressures on hospitals.
Having no care package in place, means a lot of elderly patients are either occupying a hospital bed even though they are fit to go home or else they are in a step-down facility costing close to £1,000 per week. This is not sustainable.
Astoundingly there were 513 people in the Southern Trust alone waiting on a care package. It would be more prudent to pay our domiciliary care workers better wages, make the career more attractive and have more carers employed than pay massive sums for step down facilities when most patients just want to be back in their own bed.
Whilst the Health Minister has responded to our campaign by announcing a few days ago that he is allocating more money for domiciliary care, this will run out in March and won’t deliver the reform needed. Our hospitals need a long-term plan.
We oppose the introduction of domestic Covid passports, not because we dismiss the threat posed by the virus, but because the focus should be on evidence-led policy and measures which will make a real difference.
Across all these areas I have been hugely encouraged by support for the DUP's stance. People recognise it is this Party that has the strength and experience to lead in these uncertain times.
The coming election will be a simple choice – Supporting the DUP for A Union that helps deliver for the everyday needs of our people in health, education and the economy or Northern Ireland being led in the wrong direction by Sinn Fein.
Our party has been reinvigorated in recent months. There is renewed energy and determination across our membership at every level. We have welcomed many new members and seen the return of valued representatives who have re-joined the Party. Shortly we will be announcing candidates for the election.
We have lots more to do, so now is the time to ask your friends and family to join with us and help us strengthen Northern Ireland.
Our focus is on the future and on delivering for the people of Northern Ireland.
You can play your part too. Get involved and make the difference.
