New Assembly members take up seats
Five new MLAs from the DUP, Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance have been co-opted to replace colleagues at Stormont.
Five new Stormont Assembly members have taken up their roles in Northern Ireland.
DUP MEP Diane Dodds will represent the Upper Bann constituency.
It was vacated by party colleague Carla Lockhart after she won the Westminster seat in last month’s General Election.
She said: “It’s a great privilege to represent an area where I was born and now live.
“We all need a functioning and stable Assembly which delivers and deals with the practical everyday issues we all face.”
Two new Sinn Fein MLAs have also joined the Assembly.
Liz Kimmins and Deirdre Hargey signed the register at Parliament Buildings after being co-opted to replace Megan Fearon in Newry and Armagh and Mairtin O Muilleoir in South Belfast respectively.
Elsewhere Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has retaken her former seat in East Belfast ahead of Brexit, and the SDLP’s Sinead McLaughlin has replaced her party leader and newly elected MP Colum Eastwood in Foyle.
