Tom Buchanan
West Tyrone · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“However, the Bill must give hydro operators clarity and confidence, through a sustainable licensing framework with long-term regulatory certainty, to enable them to invest and upgrade, modernise and improve fish pass technology.”
“I note that quite a bit of work in the Bill falls to the Department with regard to monitoring, enforcement and scientific assessment, which will require adequate resourcing. <BR /> <BR />The Bill must strike the right balance between encouraging investment and protecting sensitive freshwater habitats.”
“I welcome the opportunity to say a few words at Second Stage of the Fisheries, Aquaculture and Water Environment Bill. It is overdue legislation, which touches on three interlinked systems: commercial fisheries; growing the aquaculture sector; and the wider water environment, with an ambition to modernise regulation while supporting susta…”
“<BR /> <BR />Hydro schemes and hydropower to produce clean energy that will contribute to decarbonisation targets must be catered for in the Bill, with a clear vision for their future expansion. Those are not abstract infrastructure projects but local assets that generate clean renewable energy while supporting employment in rural areas.”
“Minister, under your watch, many miles of posts and wire fencing were put up along the A5 western transport corridor. However, in the past few weeks, a good bit of that has been removed by a mechanical digger and pushed into a pile for dumping.”
“In reality, however, every notice, every new form and every new administrative step will be another cost to councils. We simply cannot keep relying on councils to pick up the cost. We cannot pretend that council budgets are elastic, with plenty of stretch left in them. As is the case in many other sectors, councils are under pressure.”
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“In the light of current circumstances in relation to COVID-19, the Chairpersons' Liaison Group met on 24 March to consider a number of proposed changes to Committee procedures. Those changes are designed to allow for the continued operation of Committees when several Committee members may be unavailable or it is not possible for a physical Committee meeting to take place. Both the Business Committee and the Chairpersons' Liaison Group were content to bring draft Standing Orders to the Committee on Procedures for their assessment. At its meeting on Wednesday 25 March, the Committee on Procedures agreed the draft Standing Orders, which subsequently brings us to the debate.”
“He went on to explain that the Business Committee would give further consideration to future business and that ways in which the Assembly operates might change to accommodate social distancing. Significant changes have already been agreed by the Assembly insofar as temporarily suspending Question Time and private Member's motions not being scheduled. Members have also been asked not to table questions for written answer in the usual manner. Furthermore, the Business Committee recently identified a number of potential issues that may arise during the current circumstances and considered several solutions to them. The agreed way forward informed the proposed Standing Orders 111 to 116, which are set out on the Order Paper today.”
“It is clear that, to allow the Assembly to continue to carry out its business while adhering to public health advice and keeping Members and staff as safe as possible, there is an urgent requirement to make changes to usual Assembly procedures. Therefore, the Committee on Procedures was asked to urgently consider and bring the motion before the House this afternoon. <BR /> <BR />I will provide some background to the motion. At the beginning of the plenary sitting on Monday 16 March, the Speaker of the House reflected that business as usual could not continue in the Assembly during the current period. Following further conversations with party Whips, the Speaker wrote to MLAs on 18 March, setting out some initial changes.”
“On behalf of the Committee on Procedures, I am pleased to bring before the House this motion to amend Standing Orders. On behalf of the Committee, I wish to convey my sincere thanks to the Assembly officials who were involved in drafting these amendments. This was a huge task, given the short period of time that they had to produce the draft Standing Orders. Normally this amount of work would take weeks rather than days, and it is another display of the exemplary support that is provided to the Assembly during these difficult times. I am sure that every Member will agree with that and recognise that. <BR /> <BR />We are facing far-from-normal times.”
“However, following consideration of the legal advice, the Committee agreed the motion that is on today's Order Paper by consensus and without Division. On behalf of the Committee on Procedures, I commend the motion. <BR /> <BR />As a member of the Democratic Unionist Party, I say that we agree with the motion. It will be in the best interests of Members, and the Assembly will be best served by Committees with a membership reduced from 11 to nine. That will give more focus, result in quicker Committee decisions and allow business to be brought to the House in a much more efficient and quicker manner. Therefore, I commend the motion.”
“The Committee also agreed that the quorum should remain at five but with a review of the issue in several months' time, when the Committee will write to Committee Chairpersons to ask whether they have experienced any issues or have any concerns about the quorum remaining at five. The Committee agreed to consider the issue again at a later date. However, the ongoing problems brought about by COVID-19 could mean that quorum for Committees is an issue that needs to be considered again sooner rather than later. <BR /> <BR />It would be remiss of me not to point out that, at its meeting on 26 February 2020, a member who was not available for the deliberations expressed his opposition to the reduction of members on the Committee.”
“<BR /> <BR />On the issue of quorum, members noted that the Assembly's current quorum of five was relatively high compared with other legislatures that the Committee looked at, which mainly have a quorum of three. As I mentioned, there was concern amongst members as to whether a quorum could be consistently maintained. It was the view of some members that a quorum of five gave a better chance of a wider range of parties being in attendance at the meetings. <BR /> <BR />On the conclusion of its deliberations, the Committee agreed that the Standing Orders should be amended to reflect the change from 11 to nine members.”
“If some members sit on multiple Committees, does that constrain the time available for them to read, research and prepare for each Committee? Does it have a corresponding effect on the capacity of members to undertake high-quality scrutiny? Those were some of the questions and issues that were raised by members during our deliberations on the issues. <BR /> <BR />Continuing on discussions around resource, some members highlighted the fact that a member may be on one or more Committees. However, compared with other members, they may have a very different level of background support behind them in terms of what they can give. It was the view of some members that support mechanisms for individual members on Committees may be an issue that the Assembly could look at at some time in the future.”
“However, on the other hand, with a larger Committee, members were of the view that there was a greater representation of parties and, therefore, more views and ideas provided on the issue. In respect of a smaller Committee of nine members, members fully acknowledged that there was a risk of less representation of parties but discussions and decisions could be made more quickly and therefore the Committee might become more effective in carrying out its business. Some concern was raised by members around the quorum for a smaller Committee and particularly on whether quorum could be maintained on a consistent basis. I will come back to that a little later. <BR /> <BR />There was discussion between members on whether Committee members were adequately resourced.”
“In addition to asking Research Services to look into the number of members on Committees in the other devolved legislatures, along with the Houses of the Oireachtas and the House of Commons, the Committee also agreed to look into issues relating to the quorum of the Committees. On 12 February, the Committee considered the research findings and deliberated on the matter. I will briefly cover some of the discussions held during the deliberations. <BR /> <BR />On the issue of a larger Committee of 11 members, there was discussion around occasions when having a larger number of members on a Committee may mean it can be difficult to reach consensus on an issue.”
“Subsequently, the reports were agreed by the Business Committee on 20 January, when it was also agreed to suspend Standing Orders 49(2)(a) and 52(2)(a) prior to moving the two motions on the Committee membership reports. The Assembly agreed the motions. <BR /> <BR />Recognising that suspending Standing Orders was only a temporary solution, the Business Committee agreed to refer the matter to the Committee on Procedures. On 27 January 2020, the Business Committee wrote to the Committee on Procedures asking for consideration of the issue and the introduction of a more sustainable arrangement in Standing Orders. At its first meeting, on 29 January, the Committee on Procedures, noting a letter from the Business Committee, commissioned research on the matter.”
“On behalf of the Committee on Procedures, I am pleased to bring the motion to amend Standing Orders to the House today. I will begin with some background to the proposed amendment. <BR /> <BR />Under the Assembly Members (Reduction of Numbers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, the number of MLAs per constituency was reduced from six to five, leaving a total of 90 seats in the House. Following the resumption of the Assembly on 11 January 2020, parties agreed voluntarily to allocate nine seats to Statutory and Standing Committees instead of the 11 required by Standing Orders 49(2)(a) and 52(2)(a). Whips and party representatives agreed memberships of Committees, and they are available in the Assembly reports NIA 5/17-22 and NIA 6/17-22.”
“As they seek to learn to live with the loss that they have sustained, I want simply to pass on our deepest and heartfelt sympathy to them all. I trust and pray that they will know God's help and blessing in the days that lie ahead. It is always difficult when a dearly loved one is taken from us. You do not get over it, but you learn to live with it. As those families learn to live with their grief, sorrow and loss, we assure them of our prayers. It behoves each one of us in the Chamber to number our days and to apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
“He delivered for his constituents. He was a former schoolteacher and vice-principal of Omagh High School. He was passionate about education and delivering for the people of West Tyrone. He was also a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and he wanted to make sure that law and order was protected for the people of Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Oliver made some very good contributions to and deliveries for the people in West Tyrone, which still stand as a testament to him. Throughout the length and breadth of West Tyrone, people still talk passionately about Oliver Gibson and his legacy. <BR /> <BR />Today, we remember all the respective families whose homes have been left with a vacant chair and a voice silenced.”
“Of course, it is good to take time to remember and reflect on those who used to serve in the House, sat on these Benches and made their contributions to society and the constituencies that they served. Sadly, they are no longer with us. A number of them were in the House when I came here in 2003. I had the privilege of serving alongside some of them. We will all remember them in different ways; for the different contributions that they made and the service that they provided to their constituencies. <BR /> <BR />As for me, I remember with fondness my dear friend and colleague Oliver Gibson. Oliver was the person who brought me into politics at the very outset. He brought me into council and paved the way for me to follow him into the Assembly in 2003. He was someone who lived for politics. He made some very valuable contributions indeed.”
“Will the Minister advise how, in the event of any aid package, all farmers who were affected — some were affected a lot more than others — will benefit fairly and equitably?”
“That concludes the appointment of the Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons of the Standing Committees.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The regulations before the House today, as laid out by the Minister, will mitigate the costs and return the scheme to its original policy intention by introducing a two-tier tariff, an annual payment cap and other mitigating measures. Despite the other party walking away and bringing down the institutions, I ask Members, at this late hour, to do the right thing. Let us support the SR before the House today and ensure that mitigating measures are put in place to stop the overspend on the scheme.”
“Now we have the regulations before the House today —”
“There will be plenty of time for everyone in the Chamber to stand up and say whatever they have to say.”
“Now we have the regulations before the House today —”
“— should have that level of abuse hurled at them.”
“We have to condemn those. I would like to hear Members speaking in this debate today condemn the attacks launched on our party leader, the First Minister. Irrespective of what people think about how the scheme was drawn up or whatever, no one —”
“They do not want that party to walk away. What they want is the matter to be dealt with. They want us to sit down, discuss it and find a resolution to it. I spoke to many people over the Christmas period, and right up to now, and their message is quite simple: let the politicians do what they are elected to do, which is work through the difficult situations and not walk away from them. That is the message from the people out there. Lo and behold, we have a party that is not able to do that. It looks like we have quite a number of Members around the Chamber who are not able to do that but who are seeking to walk away from the situation. Of course, this has all been hyped up by the media to their own advantage. As a result of that, we have seen deplorable, downright disgraceful and outrageous attacks on the First Minister, our party leader.”
“No. <BR /> <BR />The people do not want an election.”
“<BR /> <BR />No one denies the controversy caused throughout Northern Ireland by the RHI scheme and the concern and anger that there is amongst the people. However, the anger from the people is directed not at the scheme but at those who are abusing the scheme by not using it as it was intended to be used. Therefore, it is important that those people be tracked down and that enforcement action be taken against them. The difficulty, and the problem, lies with the ones who are abusing the scheme and not using it in the appropriate way.”
“As the Minister outlined today, all the measures before the House are the first step to reducing the projected overspend. Of course, the Minister had a meeting with the Committee this morning, and, while we all agree that that is not the way in which we wish to see information coming to the Committee, given the fashion in which it was rushed through, the situation was not of our doing. The Committee, as the Deputy Chair said, would have liked much more time to look at the regulations, but that opportunity was not there for us. As I said, that was not a situation of our making. It happened because Sinn Féin walked away from the institutions. It is not prepared to face up to the difficulties, to debate them and to see a resolution found to the difficulties that lie there.”
“No. You will have your opportunity. I commend them for the work that they have done in bringing forward measures to mitigate the costs associated with this scheme.”
“I support the draft Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017. I have no doubt that, throughout the debate and before it draws to a close, there will be much finger pointing around the Chamber. I have no doubt about that. The debate has only started, and we have already seen the finger pointing. I commend the Minister and his Department for the work that they have done since the Minister took up his position, especially over the Christmas period.”
“I thank the Member for his answer. I appreciate what he said, but I think that Members are finding that, at lunchtime, speeds are still very slow. Maybe that could be addressed.”
“<BR /> <BR />We look forward to further discussions on making the university's proposals a reality in the area for the development of health professionals in the trust area and for the good of the people, the economy and health delivery in the Western Health and Social Care Trust area.”
“The medical school will improve the recruitment and retention of medical professionals not only in the north-west but in the entire south-west quarter of Northern Ireland and the entire region, taking in the triangle model for the delivery of health by the Western Trust, which includes Altnagelvin, the South West Acute Hospital and the new hospital in Omagh. It is something that will deliver not only for the north-west, as we heard today, but for the entire south-west quarter of Northern Ireland, where the trust has the same difficulties in seeking to bring in medical professionals to work in the area.”
“<BR /> <BR />Across the entire Western Health and Social Care Trust area — with Altnagelvin and its new cancer centre, the new South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen and the new local enhanced hospital in Omagh — we have the platform and structure of excellence in place to attract highly skilled professionals in the medical field to train and work in this area. <BR /> <BR />The new South West Acute Hospital is one of the most modern and finest hospitals in Northern Ireland and is the envy of many other areas, but it must be properly staffed with sufficient medical professionals to allow it to deliver to its full potential for all its patients.”
“The development of a medical school would provide the platform that would attract and retain skilled people in the medical profession, especially from the entire north-west and south-west quarter of Northern Ireland. This in turn is good not only for the university and the Western Health and Social Care Trust but for our economy, skills development and the overall health and well-being of our citizens. <BR /> <BR />Ulster University and the Western Trust have been recognised as centres of excellence, and we must continue to build on this success and turn the west of the Bann into a magnet for medical students, doctors and staff to study, work and live.”
“<BR /> <BR />Moving forward, however, the development of those proposals and making them a reality is essential for stabilising our health and social care services not only in the north-west but in the entire south-west quarter of Northern Ireland. The Western Health and Social Care Trust is under severe pressure due to its dependence on medical and dental locums to meet demand at an unsustainable cost of £12·9 million, and the development of the proposed new medical school would help to address this ongoing issue while reducing the cost of locums. Although the Western Health and Social Care Trust has faced many difficulties in seeking to recruit medical staff west of the Bann, it has been proven — this has been said today — that medical graduates are more likely to seek employment closest to where they are educated.”
“Thank you. The proposal has been put forward by the University of Ulster and not by any individual or party. For the SDLP to come out this morning and say that it is its proposal is misleading to say the least. To reinforce what my colleague said, on 24 March this year, my colleague Simon Hamilton, the then Health Minister, kick-started the process again when he met the University of Ulster's vice chancellor, Professor Patrick Nixon, to discuss the proposals for establishing a graduate-entry medical school in the north-west, which, I have no doubt, has the support of all the people in the Chamber today.”
“— through questions for written answer, private Members' motions and, indeed, in the respective Committees, where the university has put forward its proposals. I give way.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. The concept of a medical school in the north-west based on the University of Ulster campus at Magee College, Londonderry has been in the melting pot for some considerable time. It is not something that the SDLP has dreamed up and put out today as its proposal. Over the past few mandates of the Assembly, the issue has been brought to the fore on numerous occasions —”
“I thank the Minister for what she has done up until now. Will she give an undertaking that she will ensure that the families are kept to the fore of the process so that they will feel part of it and that delivery will come for them? Let us remember that they are the people who suffered and who had concerns.”
“It is important that lessons are learned and that people are treated with respect so that pitfalls that cause animosity, bad feeling and delay in schemes going forward are avoided in future. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I will mention the gas network. The Gas to the West project is expected to add some 40,000 to 50,000 additional customers by the end of 2018 when works are completed. This provides a welcome alternative for many businesses feeling the financial pressure of high costs. A number of businesses in west Tyrone are awaiting the arrival. However, with the increase in demand from both domestic and businesses over the next few years, no doubt this will add extra pressure to the gas supply. Again, perhaps the Minister could give the House some indication of the security of the gas network as we move forward to the future.”
“Of course, that is a two-way process; while those seeking grid connections have every right to expect the application and connection process to be transparent, efficient, timely and flexible, landowners' interests must be respected throughout the process. <BR /> <BR />Little respect has been shown in an ongoing scheme in west Tyrone to a few landowners who have genuine concerns about the direction of the overhead network. Although they have offered alternatives on their land with the support of neighbours in the surrounding area, they have practically been treated with contempt. The issue must be approached with sensitivity and due respect as renewable energy is taken forward. I have heard much about the North/South interconnector this evening. Of course, a lot of landowners are involved across that whole section of ground.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is fair to say that, looking back over the past 10 years, the energy market in Northern Ireland is almost unrecognisable due to the increase in renewable energy. Changes in the way in which electricity is generated are clearly evident when travelling throughout Northern Ireland. In west Tyrone, there is a proliferation of wind farms and single wind turbines throughout the countryside. With the increase in wind generation comes the difficult issue in some areas of accessing connection to the grid. There is no doubt that the grid is a scarce and valuable resource. Every effort should be made to ensure that all connections to it maximise the efficient use of the network to the customer's interest.”
“While there is clear evidence to show that Northern Ireland is competitive when it comes to labour costs, property costs and other costs associated with the manufacturing industry, more work needs to be done on the reduction of energy costs. Each one of us around the Chamber tonight will say that more work needs to be done on that, and we need to work together. If some parties continue to point the finger, it will not do much to move the matter forward. The security of our electricity supply is of extreme importance. Perhaps the Minister will give an indication this evening as to the ongoing work between his Department, the Utility Regulator and the System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI) on how current and future electricity demand will be met.”
“I think that the entire House is agreed on one issue: long-term sustainable renewable energy is vital for the continued growth of Northern Ireland's business sector. As that sector has a high dependency on electricity, it stands to face a number of challenges in the next few years. Opportunities for economic growth will be very much dependent on providing an electricity system that provides affordable, secure and sustainable energy for our businesses and consumers right across Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />My constituency is renowned for manufacturing. When it comes to competitiveness, it is dependent on not only energy costs but the totality of costs and overheads faced by businesses.”
“What is happening with Northern Ireland postgraduate students whose loan applications were incorrectly proposed by the Student Loans Company?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. In the light of the huge interest in this scheme — no doubt more applications will come in — will the Minister give some consideration to allocating more money to it in-year and in the years that lie ahead?”
“— a leading global destination for sport.”
“— and push ahead for Northern Ireland to become —”
“— that will present themselves as a result —”
“— that we have to sell to the world, we can truly grasp what a unique destination we have. <BR /> <BR />The year 2016 has been one of dramatic change on the political stage of the world. We should embrace these challenges —”