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.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,021 lines we hold for Tom Buchanan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 20 of 21.
“In making my winding-up speech on the motion, I thank Members who took part in the debate for their contributions and interest in it. I also join the Chairperson in thanking the Minister for Employment and Learning for responding on all of the issues and concerns that were raised in the House today. It is clear that further and higher education institutions play a very important role in growing the local economy and delivering on Programme for Government commitments. As all the contributors to the debate have outlined, the importance of the further and higher education sectors in Northern Ireland cannot be overestimated. Of course, that was evidenced by the arguments put forward by the Committee Chairperson, Mr Robin Swann.”
“With the streamlining of the Civil Service and the reduction in the number of Departments, does the deputy First Minister agree that there is still time between now and the election in 2016 to reduce the number of Assembly Members? Is he willing and does he have the appetite to take this through the Executive?”
“— in the best interests of teachers and pupils in Northern Ireland.”
“At times, that might mean making hard decisions in order to deliver the best results. <BR /> <BR />I fully understand the position of the Member who secured the debate and the folk in the West Belfast constituency who have brought the issue to the Floor of the House. St Mary's is in the midst of their constituency, but we need to put narrow sectoral constituency issues behind us if we want to deliver what is best for the people of Northern Ireland in order to move forward in a meaningful and positive way —”
“<BR /> <BR />We have not been in the dark about this. As the Chair of the Committee said, we knew that it was possible that the issue would come to the fore. I do not believe that we can continue — or indeed that there is any merit in continuing — to prop up St Mary's. It is no longer financially viable, either in the short or the longer term. I ask everybody in the House to be real about this and to live in the real world. Is it financially viable to continue to prop up St Mary's? Is it sustainable? I do not think that anyone can put their hand on their heart and say that it is. I know that there are those in the House who will not like the view that I am putting forward, but, as politicians, our aim should always be to do what is best for Northern Ireland.”
“Therefore, we must look at what is the best way forward, and to do that we need to look at where training is excelling and where top results are being produced. <BR /> <BR />As a party, we believe that the best option financially and for the long-term sustainability of teacher training is to utilise the estate at Stranmillis to create a national centre of excellence for teacher training. Of course, that has the added value of being in close proximity to Queen's University, where students could also avail themselves of the expertise that is delivered there. We acknowledge that there is a short-term hurdle that has to be overcome to reach the longer-term goal. Therefore, there needs to be creativity in the Budget, and we need to consider ways in which short-term sustainability can be achieved to reach the end goal.”
“OK. I believe that there is clear evidence that reform is required in the way in which we train teachers in Northern Ireland. I do not believe that anyone in the House, even at this late hour, could agree that providing teacher training through five institutions in Northern Ireland is sustainable any longer. It simply is no longer economically viable. That is hitting us all in the face tonight. That is the reality of the situation. It simply is no longer economically viable to continue to provide teacher training through five institutions. As a party, we have continually called for the centralisation of teacher training, and while we acknowledge the good work and the training that has been provided over the years by these other institutions, the reality is that the status quo is no longer viable.”
“No. I believe that there is clear evidence —”
“I speak as the Deputy Chair of the Committee. I noticed that Fra McCann said that this was the biggest thing to come before the House. It is not really. The biggest thing to come before the House was welfare reform.”
“Minister, a huge swathe of my constituency of West Tyrone is severely affected by this crisis under your watch. Given that this dispute has being going on since Christmas, should you not have put mitigating measures in place to stop such a crisis happening. When are you going to come out of your closet and take your responsibilities seriously and get the water back on for my constituents?”
“Are you satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations on that priority? How do the measures now sit alongside the recreational and commercial sectors?”
“One of the key negotiating priorities, as outlined in your statement, was to agree:”
“I welcome the Minister's announcement that no financial transactions capital will be lost this year due to a substantial allocation to the University of Ulster. Is the Minister satisfied that all Departments are doing their best to ensure that this source of capital is utilised?”
“Minister, you are right to say that new markets are vital for the beef sector here in Northern Ireland. Have we any indication when that sector will be able to enjoy and see the coming to fruition and opening up of those new markets?”
“My question is along the same lines: exactly what consideration will the Minister and her Department give to the safety issues of any new wind farms proposed on land belonging to the Department?”
“One of the most worrying things is Ferone Drive, which is a 24/7 facility for those with challenging behaviour. The potential reduction or removal of that service is of grave concern. I call on the Minister to ensure that something is in place for those with challenging behaviour in the Omagh area.”
“Of course, we are listening to the health-care workers and service providers, and they are the people saying that it is nigh impossible for them to be able to deliver those services in the situation that they find themselves in. <BR /> <BR />One of the things that I want to touch on, and I know that my time is almost gone —”
“Thank you, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. It has been clearly pointed out, including at the commencement of the debate, that Omagh has suffered again and again from cuts over the years. The removal of services has created in the people of Omagh a lack of confidence in the trust's ability to deliver services in the efficient way in which they should be delivered. In addition, it appears that the Western Trust is targeting mental health facilities throughout Omagh and West Tyrone. The list of cuts being drip-fed almost weekly is an increasing concern for health-care workers, service providers and the community as a whole.”
“Any moves to cut back on that expenditure will cause a lot of concern, anxiety and stress among patients, their families and their carers.”
“Of course, all this was done under the guise of Developing Better Services. Now we have Transforming Your Care, which has a more community-based focused, and I welcome that. We all know that everyone wants to stay at home for as long as they possibly can. However, in seeking to deliver Transforming Your Care, the Western Health and Social Care Trust has failed to put the proper infrastructure in place, leaving huge gaps in rural areas of West Tyrone while seeking to deliver this service. The further proposed cuts mean that the quality of care being delivered to patients will be further eroded and seriously impacted on. No doubt, we all agree here that domiciliary care for the most vulnerable is a necessary expenditure.”
“We lost our ENT service, which was second to none, having been built up by Dr Kate Law, not to mention the video link service that was delivered by Dr Patterson. On all those occasions, the trust saw fit not to replace consultants when they retired. Of course, a number of other services were lost to Omagh, which the Member who secured the debate mentioned.”
“When I entered the political arena almost 22 years ago as a councillor on Omagh District Council, one of the first things I was faced with was the closure of maternity services in Omagh. Since then, I have fought year on year to retain health-care provision in Omagh, especially at the Tyrone County Hospital. The first challenge, as I said, was the closure of maternity services, which were removed to Enniskillen. West Tyrone and Omagh are still suffering the effects of the closure of that service. We are now in a position whereby there is no facility for childbirth in County Tyrone. The identity of future generations has been taken away, and children have been robbed of their County Tyrone identity. <BR /> <BR />We then witnessed the removal of acute medical and surgical care and, of course, our accident and emergency services.”
“I also thank the Minister for his presence at the debate and for his open-door policy, which affords concerned Members a meeting on request and at a suitable time. I fully appreciate the difficult circumstances that the Minister and the trust find themselves in because of the Budget and the knock-on effect that it is beginning to have on service delivery, especially in rural areas. <BR /> <BR />I am sure that it is no surprise to the House or the Minister that the Members for West Tyrone are here again debating health care. The Adjournment debate is focused on the impact on service provision in Omagh of the cuts proposed by the Western Health and Social Care Trust.”
“That would involve a lengthy process and would be a disproportionate use of resources and time, given that, currently, only a small number of individuals may be affected. Again, pursuing that option would significantly delay the establishment of the pension. <BR /> <BR />Finally, the third option, which the Committee chose, was to use a legislative consent motion, which is considered to be the most timely, reasonable and proportionate way forward in the circumstances. <BR /> <BR />It was with that in mind that the Committee concluded that it was prepared to support the Department in seeking the Assembly's endorsement of the legislative consent motion.”
“To ensure that the scheme can be operational in 2015-16, appropriate primary legislative powers should be in place early enough to allow for the preparation of regulations and for setting in place the necessary supporting IT, administrative and governance arrangements. <BR /> <BR />The Committee was briefed on the three legislative options that are open to the Department. The first was to identify a suitable primary legislative vehicle to take forward the relevant amendments. However, such a vehicle is unlikely to become available in the immediate future, and if that option were pursued, the establishment of a pension for fee-paid devolved judicial office holders would be significantly delayed. <BR /> <BR />The second option was the development of a Bill specifically for providing entitlement.”
“Officials from the Department for Employment and Learning and the Department of Justice briefed the Committee on the legislative consent motion. In response to questions from the Committee, they outlined the reasons for choosing a legislative consent motion to amend the current legislation.”
“The Minister also advised that the impact of the judgement is that the Ministry of Justice tabled an amendment on 11 September to the Pension Schemes Bill currently before Parliament to establish pension arrangements for fee-paid judicial office holders. <BR /> <BR />The Committee has been assured that the Departments responsible for the Northern Ireland judiciary have agreed that it is appropriate to seek to extend the amendments now being proposed in Parliament to the Pension Schemes Bill so that they may be applied in Northern Ireland. The Committee is also assured that implementing this by way of a legislative consent motion has the Executive’s approval. <BR /> <BR />The Committee received the legislative consent motion on 12 November 2014 and considered it at a meeting on 19 November 2014.”
“I have only a few short remarks to make. The overall purpose of the Bill, as the Minister said, is to establish a new legislative framework for private pensions, defining them on the basis of the promise that they offer for members about their retirement benefits during the accumulation phase. <BR /> <BR />The Minister for Employment and Learning wrote to the Committee on 25 September 2014, notifying it of the outcome of the UK Supreme Court case of O’Brien v Ministry of Justice, which held that fee-paid judicial office holders were entitled to a pension on terms equivalent to those enjoyed by their salaried counterparts.”
“As the Chair said, the Committee will be keeping a close watch on the subordinate legislation that will be brought forward by the Department to address the concerns raised by stakeholders that were not specifically dealt with in the legislation. We look forward to keeping a close eye on that. Again, I support the passage of the Bill through the House today.”
“Thank you very much, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. I welcome the Final Stage of the Work and Families Bill. Let us hope that, as it finds its way through Final Stage and on to the statute books, it will be something that will not only help working families and the parents, particularly, women, but will reduce the bureaucratic burden of red tape on our business sector, which is a problem at the minute. <BR /> <BR />I commend the Minister and the departmental officials for their close work with the Committee over the short period in which the legislation was coming through, and the Committee staff for the work that they have done.”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Given the difficulty that lands were not available, does she have any timescale as to when this may be brought to a close? There is a real need for this type of development land in the area.”
“The issue of home-to-school transport has been lobbied on in the Chamber for some time. Does the Minister agree that his delay in issuing the report is of grave concern to parents and is curtailing education and library boards in providing transport in extremely dangerous rural areas? Does he agree that some flexibility needs to be instilled in the old scheme until he sees fit to bring forward the programme?”
“I, too, thank the Minister for his statement to the House. Minister, you talk about the high standard of training required, but how will you ensure that it is delivered? Have you any concerns about the recruitment of tutors with the up-to-date industry and occupational experience alongside the required teacher training?”
“<BR /> <BR />We are also disappointed that the amendments that have been brought forward did not come before the Committee. As the Chair pointed out, welfare reform was not mentioned. This was said to be a stand-alone Bill, despite all the times that the officials were questioned on it. <BR /> <BR />There are some issues that we are concerned about, and perhaps the Minister will address those in his closing remarks.”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. One of the issues of concern in the Committee was shared parental leave and the difficulty that that could create for small businesses. The Chair of the Committee pointed out in his deliberations that the CBI has concerns in that regard. Hopefully, that will be fully addressed by the officials and proper legislation will be in place to ensure that small businesses are not affected by this shared parental leave. Should a husband and wife work in the same business, that could have a detrimental effect on the business. I ask the Minister to ensure that proper legislation is in place to ensure that small businesses are not adversely affected by this type of scenario, should it arise in the small business sector.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak briefly on this today. The Minister has quite rightly pointed out that the amendments are minor and technical in nature and that they were brought forward as a result of the stalemate in welfare reform here in Northern Ireland. However, one of the issues of concern when the Bill was going through the Committee was shared parental leave.”
“Does the Member agree that one of the ways to defeat the spread of pancreatic cancer being caught too late is for GPs and clinicians to think cancer first and to go down the road of treating or looking at it as cancer and then treating all the other symptoms after that?”
“— they would have access to help and clarity on these issues. I have a lot more here, as you will appreciate, but I thank the House for allowing the issue to be debated today. I trust that something will be done to move it forward.”
“Something more needs to be done on that matter. If we had more specialists in the community —”
“I urge Queen's University Belfast, which is the principal medical school in Northern Ireland, to recommend that all its students take that practical module to raise their awareness of the matter. I also call on my colleague the Health Minister to oversee the promotion of the free tool right across Northern Ireland. In addition, I urge the Minister to talk to the Royal College of GPs in Northern Ireland to look for additional ways to promote the tool. <BR /> <BR />Delving deeper into the system of how pancreatic cancer patients are treated in Northern Ireland shows that it leaves a lot to be desired. At present, there is only one hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) nurse for the whole of Northern Ireland. That lady is the only specialist pancreatic cancer nurse for the whole population of our Province.”
“Those controversial campaigns just last week won two highly acclaimed awards from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. I met Ali back in June when she came over here. We had a meeting with the then Health Minister, Edwin Poots, and Ali outlined for him the fully accredited online tool that PCA has made for GP training. <BR /> <BR />I am pleased to inform the House that, since that meeting, the training module on diagnosing pancreatic cancer in primary care has been fully published in the Royal College of GPs' members' newsletter and is readily available for GPs to access. I now call on all GPs in Northern Ireland to make themselves aware of that invaluable tool, which is freely available to them.”
“<BR /> <BR />This year, I met a remarkable and inspirational lady called Ali Stunt, who is a survivor of pancreatic cancer. Ali survived the disease and now heads up the charity that tackles pancreatic cancer head on. Rather than simply bemoaning problems surrounding the cancer, the charity has, as its name suggests, taken action and developed an online training module accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners that is provided free for GPs and can be used for continual professional development. Pancreatic Cancer Action (PCA) is the first charity in the world to provide a practical solution to the problem of late diagnosis of pancreatic cancer patients. I congratulate Ali Stunt from Pancreatic Cancer Action on its very successful cancer awareness advertising campaign.”
“Sadly, the speed of diagnosis has a direct impact on the eligibility for surgery or palliative treatment, and if those are consistently too late, lives will be lost needlessly. <BR /> <BR />It would appear that GPs have a problem when it comes to diagnosing pancreatic cancer. From investigation of GP guidelines it is clear that they are structured around cancer type rather than the symptoms. The GP must think cancer first, then think site and then compare patient symptoms. Surely that is illogical. Why are guidelines not written around presenting symptoms that would rule out a cancer diagnosis first? It would seem that it is difficult to get clinicians to think of cancer first when making a diagnosis. That goes some way to explain why GPs in the UK diagnose a measly 18% of pancreatic cancer cases.”
“That is largely due to the fact that, by the time the disease is diagnosed, it is too late for surgery. Around 80% of patients are diagnosed when the disease has advanced. <BR /> <BR />Related to that is another incredibly worrying statistic on pancreatic cancer: 40% of patients visit their GP three or more times before being referred to hospital, and over 16% of patients have had to visit their GP or hospital seven times or more before getting a correct diagnosis. That is despite research carried out by Pancreatic Cancer UK that has shown that nearly 25% of pancreatic cancer patients experience symptoms for up to 12 months prior to being diagnosed. Clearly, there is a problem, and that problem costs lives. Pancreatic cancer charities have repeatedly told of the pattern of missed opportunities to be diagnosed at GP surgeries or hospitals.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am here to lobby for and to call for an equal allocation of funding for pancreatic cancer. In Northern Ireland, aggressive measures need to be put in place now to develop early detection and treatment tools before incidences of the disease are allowed to dramatically increase. The way in which pancreatic cancer is detected and treated now is not working. Ninety-five per cent of patients who are diagnosed with the disease die from it. During the early stages when the tumour would be traceable, there are usually no specific symptoms, which is why it is so deadly. It tends to be discovered at advanced stages when there may be abdominal pain or jaundice. Presently, there are no screening tools. The average survival time for a pancreatic cancer patient is just two to six months from diagnosis.”
“Despite the enormity and seriousness of those figures, pancreatic cancer receives only 1% of the National Cancer Research Institute's partner spend. If we compare the spend on breast cancer of £3,426 per death per year, we see that pancreatic cancer staggers into oblivion with a measly £625 per death per year. That disparity in funding allocations to different cancers must be addressed. There is a direct link between funding allocation, research and tackling disease, and we cannot have success in fighting pancreatic cancer if research funding does not improve. The lack of funding over the past 40 years has led to pancreatic cancer being the neglected disease, and it is little wonder that pancreatic cancer has been labelled the Cinderella of all cancers in relation to other cancers such as breast cancer and prostate cancer.”
“Recent research from Cancer Research UK has shown that, thankfully, mortality rates for most cancers are declining, yet pancreatic cancer is not following those statistics. It is shocking to note that the five-year survival rates for pancreatic cancer have remained largely unchanged for the past 40 years. Northern Ireland is at the bottom of the pile, faring only slightly better than Bulgaria in the one-year survival rates for pancreatic cancer patients, and trails far behind the rest of the UK, which is already falling behind the European average. Those depressing figures culminate in the fact that pancreatic cancer has the worst survival outcome of any of the 21 most common cancers. <BR /> <BR />At present, the forecast for pancreatic cancer is bleak. By 2030, it is set to be the fourth largest cancer killer.”
“How can anyone put a lifetime into six months? Those haunting words are heart-rending, and, today, in Northern Ireland, too many people are thinking the same thing and asking the same questions. They have so little time left with their loved ones after receiving the diagnosis. <BR /> <BR />Pancreatic cancer is not a rare disease. The latest available figures show that, in 2012, 244 new cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed and, of those, 243 deaths were recorded. That equates to 6% of all deaths from cancer in Northern Ireland. In fact, the most worrying statistic about pancreatic cancer is that, unlike most other cancers, it is going against the trends, and mortality rates are increasing.”
“I will let you hear what Kerry said about the day her life changed for ever:”
“I move the motion in light of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month this November and to bring this important topic to the Floor of the House. Today, 24 people will die from pancreatic cancer in the UK; that is 24 out of the 8,700 people who will lose their battle against pancreatic cancer this year. Pancreatic cancer is a deadly scourge that is sweeping across the UK at an increasing and alarming rate. It is time that we at government level put measures in place to stop the flood of pain, trauma and death that has been unleashed across the Province. <BR /> <BR />One of my constituents — Mrs Kerry Irvine, who is just coming into the Gallery — is the reason that I brought this matter to the House. Since losing her husband Noel to pancreatic cancer in 2011, Kerry has fought to raise awareness of this awful disease.”