Arlene Foster
Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Yet, like too many projects, it has been tied up in legal wrangles. Too many infrastructure projects are being swallowed up in the courts. We need to improve the expertise in infrastructure delivery. We need better infrastructure for the next generation, but key projects being delayed by 10-plus years is unsustainable.”
“Any agreement involves compromises but NDNA had two central pillars that, I believe, remain important: ambition for devolution and a new cultural deal. The breadth and depth of issues that NDNA set us all to deliver on would have been enough to fill an entire term or perhaps more, let alone two years of government.”
“That confidence-and-supply agreement will leave a legacy but also highlights our challenges. Some £150 million has been rolled out via Project Stratum to bring broadband to rural areas and leave Northern Ireland as the best-connected region in Europe. When it is completed, the project will be transformational to our economy.”
“However, such short-term advantage comes at the cost of long-term harm to relationships. It is not a real partnership. Imbalance and instability are built in that will fester and deteriorate. If Brussels continues to think that the protocol is enough, it is in denial.”
“Colleagues inside and outside the House know very well that all periods of leadership must come to an end. That is why, when we are privileged and, indeed, honoured to hold such a position, we must not waste a moment in frivolous brinkmanship but forge ahead on behalf of those whom we represent.”
“The recommendations of the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (FICT) are to be taken forward as well. I encourage all of you to do all of it, to take it forward in its totality and to speak of and implement it as one complete, independent package: a new cultural deal for Northern Ireland's new century.”
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“Unlike Northern Ireland, the Welsh have not had the same long public debate around the merits of devolving corporation tax, nor have they developed a plan to use such powers for a very clear economic development purpose. It is therefore unsurprising that the Silk commission concluded that income tax was more appropriate to devolve to the Welsh Government than other major UK taxes, including corporation tax. <BR /> <BR />The case for reducing corporation tax in Northern Ireland is very different from that in Wales. The Silk commission acknowledged that in its report and described corporation tax as a useful policy tool for us because of the fiscal competition that we face from sharing a land border with the Republic of Ireland.”
“As he knows, we have consulted the Utility Regulator on that very important issue. Of course, 60% of the cost of energy for large energy users is the wholesale price. As I said, that is moving in a downward direction at the moment, and I hope that that will come through to those large energy users as their contracts start to change in the future. It is important as well that we deal with constraints on the single electricity market, and that includes the North/South interconnector. It is important that we have that in place, because, at the moment, that is costing consumers on the island of Ireland around €20 million. I am sure that he would agree that it is unacceptable for us to proceed in that manner.”
“I am waiting on an intervention. If there is a spat going on between the Member and the Member for East Antrim, I will allow that to take place elsewhere. <BR /> <BR />We are looking at a cost-benefit analysis of the strategic energy framework. We are doing that in the context of electricity market reform that is coming at us very quickly and that will cause a huge change in the way electricity comes to us over the next period. The House should be very much aware that electricity market reform will provide a huge challenge for us in Northern Ireland, not least because we are in a single electricity market on this island and will have to bid in for contracts for difference, and renewable obligation certificates will be no more. A lot of change is coming, and the House will need to be very much part of that.”
“I can talk to the regulator and try to point her in the right direction, but, at the end of the day, pricing is a matter for the regulator. As I say, we are having a round-table meeting on grid connection, and I have no doubt that the interconnectivity that we need with the rest of the island and with Great Britain will come up. Unfortunately, neither operates to full capacity at the moment. The Member knows that we need a second interconnector, the North/South interconnector. We also need to ensure that the Moyle interconnector is up to full capacity again, and we hope that that will be the case by next year.”
“I have ongoing discussions with my Westminster counterpart, Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary. Indeed, I had a meeting with him very recently on electricity market reform, which is ongoing, and some very difficult decisions will have to be taken on that. <BR /> <BR />I have also spoken to the regulator on a number of occasions, most recently just today, about the pricing for large energy users. I hope that there will be some developments from the regulator on that before the end of the month.”
“I hope to attend an information event tomorrow on Gas to the West, which will provide up to 40,000 energy consumers, including businesses, with a more efficient, lower-carbon and potentially cheaper choice of fuel.”
“I have received representations from and discussed a range of energy issues, including pricing, with a number of local businesses and their representative bodies. I continue to support businesses through the promotion of competition, innovation and investment. <BR /> <BR />The recently announced reductions in electricity tariffs is good news for our small business consumers and means that, from April, prices will be lower than the EU 15 median, approximately 5% lower than the Great Britain average and around 19% lower than those in the Republic of Ireland. Large energy users negotiate requirements directly with suppliers. I understand that some of our larger users may already be benefiting from falling electricity bills. Of course, motorists and those using oil for home heating will also have benefited from falling prices.”
“There are a number of funds out there at the moment, which, if I am honest, I find a wee bit confusing. I may put in place an A4 sheet that details all the different interventions that are ongoing, and, hopefully, that will be of assistance to MLAs.”
“There are a couple of things there. First, I do not know whether the Member has furnished me with the postcode to see whether the company will be covered under the Northern Ireland broadband improvement programme that is still ongoing. Secondly, the new super-councils will be able to apply for SuperConnected Cities money, and I hope that that will make a difference locally as well. <BR /> <BR />I asked Invest NI to audit not towns but business parks to try to establish their connectivity. Of the 80 business parks supported by Invest Northern Ireland or Enterprise Northern Ireland, 66 can get superfast speeds. Of the 14 that cannot, 10 are in the intervention area for the superfast roll-out programme; two are in the Belfast City Council area and so can apply to the SuperConnected Cities fund; and two get between 15 MB and 23 MB.”
“That relates to the first of the schemes, the UK superfast roll-out programme, which is a UK scheme, so it is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, us and, indeed, BT. It is envisaged that the project will begin with the survey and design process, which will take place over a number of months. BT will then begin to re-engineer the infrastructure into a fibre-rich open-access network, enabling more people to enjoy superfast broadband. At the same time, there is also the work of the Northern Ireland broadband improvement fund. I know that Members may say, "Never mind superfast, what about a good broadband service?". The other broadband intervention is still ongoing and does not finish until near the end of this year.”
“I just mentioned two schemes. The first is the UK superfast roll-out programme, and the second is the SuperConnected Cities programme. I think that the super-councils should look at the second programme in particular. It was initially rolled out in Belfast, then it was extended to our second city, and now it is going to be available across Northern Ireland. Given that the super-councils will have new powers in April, they should look very closely at doing something together on those voucher schemes. It is a great opportunity to try to infill what has not been filled to date.”
“That presents an opportunity for our new super-councils to apply for a voucher scheme similar to those that exist in the Belfast and Londonderry council areas.”
“My Department has just awarded a contract to BT for a new project under the UK superfast roll-out programme, which will further extend access to superfast broadband across Northern Ireland by 2017. The majority of enterprise and business parks in Northern Ireland of which my Department is aware already have access to superfast broadband services, but there remains some in areas that do not. I have indicated my desire that business parks be prioritised under this new service. <BR /> <BR />Under the SuperConnected Cities programme, which is being led by the UK Government, business premises, including those in business parks in Belfast and Londonderry, are eligible to apply for vouchers with a value of up to £3,000 to cover the cost of high-speed broadband installation. That programme is now being extended to include other areas.”
“I will be concerned, of course, just with security of supply in my own jurisdiction. As the Member will know, in consultation with the system operator and the regulator, we recently put out a contract for more generation because we felt that, in future, there may be a gap. Some have criticised us for that, but I certainly felt that there was a need to make sure that we have security of supply. That is hugely important for the population of Northern Ireland, which is why we took that decision.”
“If we cannot deal with the matters around the table in a voluntary way, I will have to look at other measures to deal with the issue.”
“That is an issue that is becoming more and more of an issue. At a constituency level, I have had delegations in of farmers from Fermanagh and west Tyrone who cannot get onto the grid. The Member who asked the question has written to me on numerous occasions in relation to businesses in her constituency. To be quite blunt, I am fed up with the merry-go-round that is going on in relation to grid connection. We have NIE saying that it is not their issue but a System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI) issue. SONI will say that it is a regulator issue. The regulator will try to pass it to somebody else. Frankly, it cannot go on, so I have called a meeting of all of the parties involved to discuss those issues and to try to get to the bottom of the grid connection issues.”
“Certainly, if the Member is asking if we can make it more amenable so that everybody knows exactly what number to call, yes, I think that there is always more that could be done in respect of that, but apparently they have provided me with some satisfaction ratings. They say that there is 99% satisfaction with how quickly the calls are answered, 97% satisfaction with the accuracy of information provided and a 99% competency of call handler. I worry that, if we are going into a central call system within the whole of the UK, we might lose a little bit of that.”
“I understand, absolutely, where the Member is coming from in respect of that question, but I say to him that, if you go into a national number like that, you go into a call centre, and there is always the risk that people do not know where you are talking about when you ring up and say, "I have a power cut in Derryloman". Are they going to say, "Where is that?" It causes all sorts of difficulties in that regard. <BR /> <BR />NIE, given that it is the sole operator of the grid and the network in Northern Ireland, believes that its customer helpline is the one that should be familiar to people.”
“Northern Ireland Electricity has no plans to change its dedicated customer helpline number. The rest of the UK is made up of multiple network operators, whereas, in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Electricity is the sole network owner through which all power cuts are reported. Northern Ireland Electricity continues to promote its contact number through a range of channels.”
“At the weekend, we had a marvellous victory over England, and we look forward to the grand slam.”
“In relation to sport, I think we are already exploiting it, but there is always more that we can do, particularly around golf and the fact that we have the Irish Open coming to Northern Ireland — to Royal County Down — in May this year. I know that Tourism Ireland, along with Tourism NI, is working very hard on how they can promote Northern Ireland, particularly in relation to that fabulous event. <BR /> <BR />The Member will know, of course, that we are working on a joint bid for the Rugby World Cup. Again, we are pushing ahead with that. We are garnering support for that bid. We believe that to bring the Rugby World Cup to the island and to have events up here in Northern Ireland would be a marvellous thing to achieve. I send my congratulations — I am sure that I speak for the whole House — to the Ireland rugby team.”
“I had the great pleasure of being with some colleagues at the Circuit of Ireland rally launch, which Lisburn City Council hosted just last week. Again, we are hoping for a very good Circuit of Ireland, particularly because it is part of the European rally championship, which allows us to publish in media outside Northern Ireland and show off our beautiful scenery across the world. We know that there are many enthusiasts for rallying, not least the Member who asked the question. <BR /> <BR />Tourism Ireland is promoting this year's event through its commercial relationship with Eurosport. In recent years, it has secured an invitation for the Circuit of Ireland rally to stage and provide footage of the UK and Ireland leg of the European rally championship. As I said, that will allow us to get that global television exposure.”
“I thank the Member for his question, which is sport related — to answer the Member who is sedentary across the way and who I can hear mention that.”
“I know that there was some commentary last week about the fact that, if you light it up green on St Patrick's Day, other days would also need to be marked.”
“Indeed, and we are still hopeful that we can get to the quarter-finals. We are very much behind the team, particularly those members who are from Northern Ireland, including the captain. We send them all our best wishes. <BR /> <BR />In respect of the greening of this Building, Tourism Ireland is, of course, concerned with promoting Northern Ireland and the rest of the island outside of the island of Ireland. It has approached many iconic buildings across the world. They light them up green, and it has become an attraction for St Patrick's Day. As regards this Building, which is in Northern Ireland, it is entirely a matter for the Assembly Commission whether it decides to go down this route. I know that it has had discussions about it.”
“It is a good jump from Ireland's cricket World Cup chances to the —”
“The ICC Cricket World Cup, which is taking place in Australia and New Zealand, is one of the world's biggest sporting events in 2015. It has a global viewing audience and is being televised in 220 countries to a potential 2·5 billion viewers. May I say that they are being treated to some thrilling exploits by the Ireland team, which, after winning its opening two games, including a victory over the West Indies, came up short in its match against South Africa earlier today?”
“The aim of Tourism Ireland's sponsorship is to leverage the popularity of the Ireland cricket team, whose profile has grown in world cricket in recent years, and to support tourism growth from Australia and New Zealand, as well as other key cricket-loving countries, including England, India and South Africa. <BR /> <BR />Sport-related tourism has emerged as a very significant element in world tourism in recent years. High-profile sporting events such as the ICC Cricket World Cup provide Tourism Ireland with a unique opportunity to highlight the island of Ireland as a holiday destination as well as a top location for sporting events.”
“Will the Minister also acknowledge that not only will we secure more jobs through the reduction of the corporation tax rate but there will be growth in the economy generally? In fact, commentators indicate that the economy generally will grow by at least 10%.”
“In that city, we are also looking at Digital Derry — yes, I did use the word because that is what it is called. We are dealing with those much wider issues. Is the glass half full or half empty? I prefer to see the glass as being half full, to view it in a positive way and to move forward. I hope that the Member will move forward with us to seek new jobs for those areas.”
“I thank the Member for eventually giving way. It is not just about bringing new jobs to places that have significant difficulties, such as west Belfast. He will recognise that there is a need to go much deeper and deal with the underlying issues that present themselves in areas such as west Belfast. That is why the Minister for Employment and Learning and I have brought forward to the Executive an economic inactivity strategy to deal with the key underlying problems. His colleague in Londonderry will tell him that we have engaged very well on what we are trying to do. He will know that we have set up an Executive subcommittee to deal with regional opportunities. I do not like regional disadvantages; we need to look for regional opportunities.”
“I thank the Member for his very apt description of me. Does he join me in being rather bemused this evening to hear the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party raise issues about the Stormont House Agreement with my friend the Minister for Social Development? He challenged him and said that he did not have a copy of the Stormont Castle agreement that actually said it was the Stormont Castle agreement and, in some way, tried to say that he had not signed up to that agreement.”
“The trade mission was a hugely successful one. We had a number of companies out with us for Arab Health, which is a very large trade promotion from the health industry. We were also with Queen's University when it signed an important contract with Dubai Healthcare City that allows Queen's to develop the Dubai Healthcare City campus. That is going to be really fundamental for that area. We also took the opportunity to work with some other sectors, such as food and, as I already indicated, manufacturing, through SDC Trailers. It was a hugely successful trip, and I was very pleased with the number of people on it.”
“The super-councils will provide us with an opportunity to look at the 11 parts of Northern Ireland and their plans. Obviously, how they wish to see their area develop economically will be part of their new community plans, and, because of that, there will be more collaboration with Invest Northern Ireland. I plead again with Members to work proactively with their council and Invest Northern Ireland to find a unique selling point for their area, which we can then sell across the world and use to bring in inward investors.”
“The chief executive was following up on a very successful visit that I made to the city a couple of weeks beforehand, when I met with business leaders. I was very impressed with their very positive approach to developing the region. They, of course, welcomed the fact that we had set up an Executive subcommittee to look at regional opportunities. It is going to be a good vehicle, not just for Invest Northern Ireland and my Department but for a number of other Departments, particularly when it comes to infrastructure and skills.”
“I understand that there is still potential and that an application has been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £5 million towards the restoration of the historic building and its conversion into a boutique hotel. Negotiations are under way with the private sector regarding the remainder of the money. That would really open up the building, because, unfortunately, it is accessible at the moment only as part of a walking tour or organised event. It would be marvellous to see that building opened up to the public so that we could benefit from the fabulous heritage and, indeed, architecture.”
“I believe that there is still room, as does the market. A number of developers are looking at hotel opportunities in the Belfast area. There are currently 29 hotels in the Belfast City Council area — there are probably more in greater Belfast — providing over 6,500 rooms. We would like to encourage more hotel space. Obviously, we have benefited from not having the over-provision that there was in the Republic of Ireland. That is good, because, now that we are in a more stable environment, we can have sustainable growth. I certainly hope that that is what is happening.”
“It has to provide the appropriate level of Internet speed to a certain number of houses. It is a black-and-white issue. It has to supply Internet speeds at that level. That is why I talked about figures in my answer to Mr Craig and outlined the number of houses and businesses that will be connected. That is how it is monitored. I can accept that the Member is frustrated about pockets in her constituency, but, as I say, I am happy to discuss those with her.”
“Often through Members addressing me in the House in relation to their constituents reflecting that they do not have the appropriate level. We have come a long way with broadband in Northern Ireland. We are often held out as an exemplar region in the UK for how broadband has been rolled out. As we reach those harder-to-reach areas, it will become more and more difficult to provide the service that those people want. I had an instance in my constituency where a business was located very close to the motorway but, because it was attached to a different cabinet than the cabinet just up the road, it was not getting the appropriate speed. A re-engineering solution is often needed, specifically to ask BT which cabinet the customer is connected to. Again, I am happy to have any conversations or receive any representations in respect of that.”
“I cannot force BT to acknowledge that because it is a commercial organisation, but, in the contract under which it operates for government funding, yes, we can certainly encourage it to look at those areas. The Member is right to mention the industrial parks, because we need to look at our industrial parks to make sure that we have the correct telecoms and roads infrastructure. Electricity infrastructure in our industrial parks is another area that I think we very much need to look at because — this is a big issue — if an area does not have the appropriate level of electricity supply, that can very much put somebody off investing in that area. We need to look at that, and I have been talking to Invest Northern Ireland about how we can bring all those issues together and try to address them.”
“I am sorry to tell the Member that I do not have the total amount here, but I will, of course, write to him with the total amount that we have funded because, over my time, we have made a number of interventions in the telecoms infrastructure and the broadband infrastructure. I know that he is frustrated about some of the areas in East Antrim, but the Northern Ireland broadband infrastructure project will roll out across East Antrim as well. It may not be in the early stages of the project, but, as I indicated, there are eight phases to the project and, therefore, his area may be in a later stage.”
“Absolutely, because, of course, 'Boogaloo and Graham' was funded by Northern Ireland Screen. Invest Northern Ireland is the single largest funder of Northern Ireland Screen. The Member is probably aware of the fact that, last March, we launched the Opening Doors strategy for Northern Ireland Screen, and, through that, we intend to continue to grow our creative industries, for the sector itself and also for the tourism benefits that we receive from the creative sector. I will, of course, mention the impact of 'Game of Thrones' on the tourism sector. That continues to grow month on month, and I very much welcome that.”
“Let me send my congratulations, first of all, to those behind 'Boogaloo and Graham'. From what I have seen of the two chickens, I very much want to see the rest of the film, which had such success at the BAFTA awards for best short film on Sunday. It was a tremendous endorsement of the creative industries here in Northern Ireland, and I understand that the short film has also been nominated for an Oscar at the Academy awards. Just today, we learn that Sixteen South, which is a Belfast-based animation company, has won a television award as well for its preschool children's series, 'Lily's Driftwood Bay'. It took the best preschool programme category in the American broadcast awards this week. So there has been a tremendous international endorsement of our creative industries in Northern Ireland.”
“Such as east Antrim? Yes. Obviously, we pride ourselves on being able to do business across the world, but to be able to do that we have to have a presence online. I have been to many small businesses that are growing at a very fast rate and that is down to their telecoms infrastructure. When I talk about infrastructure and the need for good infrastructure across Northern Ireland, I do not just talk about roads infrastructure, although that is of course critical; I talk also about telecoms infrastructure, because it is important that we communicate with the rest of the world, and we are hoping that this will enable many businesses to do so.”
“It has been a good intervention to try to help those people who have not, to date, been able to access the appropriate level of broadband support.”
“I thank the Member for his question and for letting me know that he wanted to address this issue. It is important that I give the House an update on the broadband improvement project. The project is being delivered in eight phases with the objective of providing basic fixed-line broadband services of at least 2 megabits per second, in areas that previously have had no service, and improvements in the availability of superfast fixed-line broadband as well. By 31 December 2014, over 17,500 premises had benefited from the improvements being delivered. The project is on track to deliver benefits for 30,000 premises by 31 March this year, and we anticipate that in excess of 45,000 premises will have benefited by the completion, as of 31 December 2015.”
“We were given the assurance during the event that there would be the appropriate telecoms in place to deal with such a major event, because one thing that we wanted to ensure was that people did not leave the event feeling that they were in a backwater and were not able to use the telecoms there. That worked very well indeed, through BT and other providers. I have been somewhat disappointed by the level of infrastructure that was left after the G8 summit. I am hoping that the mobile infrastructure project, which of course is a national project, will enhance that coverage again. We will keep a very close eye on that project to ensure that it delivers for us.”
“The G8 summit provided Northern Ireland with the opportunity to reach a new and diverse global audience with an entirely new message about Northern Ireland and its people, landscape and economy. The benefits associated with an event such as the G8 summit are focused on the increased investment, tourism and trade opportunities that the global exposure might present. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland immediately capitalised on the exposure generated by the G8 summit by hosting a very successful investment conference in October 2013. I was also encouraged to note in the final evaluation report that 71% of the Northern Ireland tourism industry believe that the G8 will impact positively on the future growth of tourism in Northern Ireland.”
“As the Member knows, Invest Northern Ireland deals with tourist accommodation grants. Of course, it is ready and willing to work with any private sector company that comes forward with a tourist accommodation programme. Unfortunately, there have not been any to date. I did notice that my ministerial colleague has been doing some work in and around Portrush on tourist accommodation. I have not had the opportunity to speak to him on whether he intends to look elsewhere as well. Maybe that is something that the Member would like to follow up with him.”
“Yes, absolutely. It is appropriate, when the Member asks me a question, that I mark today the passing of one of tourism's great ambassadors in Northern Ireland, Martin McCrossan. Let me pass on my deepest sympathy to Martin's wife Sharon and his family. He was a great ambassador in the Member's city and brought many tours around the city's walls. We will miss him dreadfully from tourism in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Work has already begun on the infrastructure for the Open. Indeed, some money is set aside in the budget this year for infrastructure works. That will continue, and then we will look to build on that. I hope that it is not a one-off, Mr Campbell. I hope that it is the start of our being on the rota for a good number of years. I have every confidence that Royal Portrush will be able to deliver that.”