DUP Assembly member Arlene Foster has moved to reassure unionists in Fermanagh they 'really don't need to be nervous' about the position of her party, rumours of a spilt or even the possibility a leadership challenge.

Following an internal meeting of the DUP in Templepatrick on Friday, Ms Foster said: "This was an internal meeting about political strategy and the approaching election, nothing more."

The Fermanagh/South Tyrone representative said there is a certain amount of 'scare-mongering' currently taking place on the part of the Ulster Unionist party, and she believes this is not conducive to moving politics forward.

"Yes, there are concerns in our community, and I don't deny that. But I can said there is no split in the party and definitely no suggestion of a leadership challenge," she said.

"It is understandable people are nervous after the way David Trimble let us down over the past number of years," she continued.

"Yes, people are jittery, but they have to remember it is Dr Paisley who is now in the leadership role, not David Trimble.

"Unionists do get nervous when the see unionist parties going into talks, but that is because in the past at times like Weston Park, unionism always came out worse off. But that was then, this is not the Ulster Unionist party and there is no need to be nervous," she reassured.

Ms Foster also said responsibility for a large part of the rumours of discontent lie at the hands of the Ulster Unionist Party, she said: "This is wishful thinking on their part, they want to see what happened to them happen to us, but that's not going to happen."

The MLA also said she was disappointed the UUP leader had chosen to raise a debate in the Chamber on Monday regarding the internal workings of the Assembly.

"People here would rather see us sitting down debating real issues, like the Bain report which was released on education, or water rates, rather than looking senseless naval gazing at ourselves," Ms Foster concluded.