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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“<BR /> <BR />To conclude, therefore, the Bill is chiefly aimed at modernising insolvency legislation and makes a number of positive changes to the law as it affects those who have the misfortune to be affected by insolvency and those charged with responsibility for administering insolvency procedures. I believe that these changes will be to the benefit of all concerned, and I commend the Bill to the Assembly.”
“<BR /> <BR />Finally, there are a number of other minor amendments that do not fall into any of those categories. There are provisions in various pieces of Northern Ireland legislation that disqualify individuals from holding offices or positions as a consequence of bankruptcy or becoming subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order. Current legislation allows Departments to have the discretion to create a right of appeal to such disqualifications. At the request of my colleague the Minister for Justice, provision has been included at clause 17 to give the Lord Chief Justice the right to be consulted where the right of appeal is to be to a court.”
“Clause 15 puts right the omission of power to make regulations to give effect to Part 12. A correction to article 185 will result in the principal place of business of any unregistered company being wound up in Northern Ireland being treated as its registered office. Paragraph 13 of the same schedule corrects a mistake in a provision barring companies entering administration, by providing for it to apply in the case of companies that have a principal place of business outside the United Kingdom. <BR /> <BR />Clause 16 gives my Department power to make orders enabling credit unions, registered under the Credit Unions (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, as well as ones registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, to enter a company arrangement or administration.”
“<BR /> <BR />Clause 5 does away with the requirement for nominees in individual voluntary arrangements, which do not involve the court, to send the report on the debtor’s proposals to the court. <BR /> <BR />Clauses 7 and 8 will give liquidators and trustees in bankruptcy the freedom to exercise their own professional judgement as to whether to reach compromises over payments of debts due to companies and bankrupts' estates without having to seek sanction from creditors or the Department. <BR /> <BR />Other provisions serve to clarify the law. Clause 9 redefines liability in tort in liquidations and administrations in line with a similar amendment that was made to the corresponding GB legislation following legal advice. There are also provisions to amend errors that have been discovered in the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989.”
“The Bill also does away with certain provisions that are no longer needed. Clause 10 removes references in the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 to a form of holiday arrangement that is now illegal. There have been no deeds of arrangements for over 20 years, and their place has been taken by individual voluntary arrangements. Clause 11, therefore, repeals the deeds of arrangements provisions. <BR /> <BR />Certain procedural requirements are also being modified to make them less burdensome. Clause 3 does away with the requirement to hold annual meetings in voluntary liquidations and provides instead for the issue of progress reports. <BR /> <BR />Clause 4 will allow the notice that has to be issued to creditors about meetings in a voluntary liquidation to be sent to them in ways other than through the post.”
“The outcome has been the repeal of the Great Britain provision for early discharge. The early discharge procedure has only ever been used twice in Northern Ireland, and I consider that there is no need to keep such a provision in this jurisdiction. Accordingly, the corresponding provision has been repealed by clause 12.”
“It was found that early discharge did not represent good value for money and that the cost of administering the scheme far outweighed any benefit to individuals through being discharged prior to their automatic discharge after one year.”
“Clause 13 of the Bill, therefore, removes trustees’ rights to claim against banks, except where they have served notice on the bank in relation to a specific transaction. <BR /> <BR />The UK Enterprise Act 2002 and the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 reduced the period for which bankruptcy lasts from three years to one year. However, both went even further by providing that discharge from bankruptcy could take place before the end of the first year if the official receiver concluded that the investigation of the conduct and affairs of the bankrupt was unnecessary or had concluded. <BR /> <BR />The early discharge procedure has been thoroughly reviewed in England and Wales.”
“That can create major problems for individuals who are bankrupt, as wages and benefits invariably have to be paid through a bank account, and much of modern-day commerce is conducted online. <BR /> <BR />Research in Great Britain has identified that a key factor behind banks’ reluctance to let bankrupts have accounts is concern that doing so could place them at risk of retrospective claims by trustees in bankruptcy. Current legislation allows trustees in bankruptcy to claim any assets that the bankrupt acquires during the period between becoming bankrupt and discharge. The Bill, therefore, restricts the circumstances under which such claims can be made against banks, with the aim of encouraging them to allow undischarged bankrupts to have accounts.”
“That will allow individuals to study and qualify only for personal or corporate insolvency examinations if they wish to specialise in one area. A consequence of that approach will render the option of authorisation limited to acting as nominee or supervisor in voluntary arrangements redundant. Article 348A of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, which provided for that, is accordingly repealed. <BR /> <BR />Another issue dealt with by the Bill is the difficulty undischarged bankrupts can encounter finding a bank that is willing to let them operate an account. Banks usually close a customer’s account on their becoming bankrupt and are, in general, very reluctant to let an undischarged bankrupt have an account.”
“The amendment made by clause 14 of the Bill is intended to ensure full compliance. That will clarify that a person is qualified to act as an insolvency practitioner in Northern Ireland if he or she is authorised to practise by the Secretary of State in the United Kingdom or by my Department. <BR /> <BR />The third main element of the Bill relates to the qualification of insolvency practitioners. The current legislation is framed in such a way that insolvency practitioners can only be authorised if they are qualified to take both individual and corporate cases. That obliges the aspiring insolvency practitioner to study and pass exams in personal and corporate insolvency. Clause 14 of the Bill creates the option of partial authorisation so that practitioners can opt to act only in individual or corporate insolvencies.”
“Arrangements will be made to accommodate the two practitioners currently authorised by my Department. Articles 351 to 354 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, which provide for authorisation of insolvency practitioners by my Department, are therefore repealed by clause 14 of the Bill. <BR /> <BR />Clause 14 also ensures compliance with the EU directive on services in the internal market. The directive requires individuals who are authorised to provide a service to be free to provide that service throughout that member state and not be limited to a particular region. Compliance with the directive has, up to now, depended on the fact that the majority of bodies responsible for authorising insolvency practitioners were recognised by the Secretary of State in Great Britain and by my Department in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />My Department, in its role as competent authority, can also directly authorise insolvency practitioners, and two are currently authorised in that way. I consider that it would be preferable for all insolvency practitioners to be authorised by the recognised professional bodies. Those bodies have available to them a tailored range of sanctions that can be used where the professional standards of insolvency practitioners fall below that which is required. <BR /> <BR />The sanctions available to my Department are limited to the issue of non-binding improvement notices or complete withdrawal of the practitioner’s authorisation, which, in most cases, would be a disproportionate remedy. I consider, therefore, that there is no need for my Department to continue to be engaged in direct authorisation.”
“Creditors with claims totalling at least 10% of the total owed and, in the case of companies, members with at least 10% of total voting rights will be able to insist on a physical meeting instead of a virtual one. <BR /> <BR />The second main element of the Bill deals with reform of the licensing system for insolvency practitioners. It is a legal requirement for individuals to be authorised in order to act as insolvency practitioners. Acting as an insolvency practitioner when not authorised to do so is a criminal offence that is punishable by a fine or imprisonment. The majority of Northern Ireland’s insolvency practitioners are authorised by one of seven professional bodies recognised by my Department for that purpose.”
“That will enable creditors and others entitled to take part in such meetings to do so from their own homes or offices and save them the expense and inconvenience of having to travel to somewhere else. <BR /> <BR />In making those amendments, I am mindful that not all citizens have access to electronic means of communication. There will, therefore, be safeguards for people who do not have access to computers or the Internet. Insolvency practitioners, for example, will be required to obtain the consent of the intended recipient before using electronic communications, and recipients will have the right to ask for hard copies of documents, free of charge.”
“That will be subject to a small number of listed exceptions where the use of electronic communications would not be appropriate, such as the service of a statutory demand for payment on a debtor. <BR /> <BR />In addition, the Bill will permit the use of two novel forms of communication. Clause 1 will give insolvency practitioners the option of communicating notices and documents by displaying them on a website. Those entitled to see the notice or document will be given a password permitting them to see it. The potential of modern communications will be further exploited by clause 1, which will, for the first time, permit the holding of virtual meetings in insolvency proceedings.”
“One of the key purposes of the Bill is to allow the increased use of electronic communication within insolvency procedures. At present, the validity of documents communicated by electronic means is recognised in law in only very limited circumstances. The Bill will extend that recognition and, by doing so, give the insolvency profession the opportunity to exploit new communications technology more fully, thereby driving down costs and increasing returns to creditors. <BR /> <BR />Clause 2, therefore, will give documents that are communicated and stored electronically in all types of insolvency proceedings the same status in law as paper documents.”
“There are several types of insolvency procedures available to individuals and companies. For individuals, there is bankruptcy or debt relief, and, for companies, there is administration, which is intended to facilitate company rescue, or liquidation, which is to allow for the orderly disposal of a company's assets if it has to cease trading. In addition, individuals and companies can enter into voluntary arrangements. Behind all those procedures, however, lies a complex, detailed and highly specialised body of legislation. The purpose of the Bill is, therefore, to update and amend some of that legislation. <BR /> <BR />We are all familiar with the way in which new technology has, within a short time, revolutionised the way we communicate and conduct business.”
“On a point of order, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. Is it not the normal practice in the Chamber that, when someone speaks in a language other than English, they translate into English what has been said, because that did not happen a few moments ago?”
“I do not know whether the Member has been in for all my answers, but I have been referencing the Employment and Learning Minister throughout my answers. I said that he and I had been asked by the Executive to go to Lisnafillan to engage with management, unions and staff. We will do that, and, therefore, yes, I do have plans to work with the Employment and Learning Minister.”
“We will see whether we can keep that company here, and, if not, we will see what we can do to help and support those workers in JTI Gallaher, who have, yes, a period of time. There are many other companies throughout Northern Ireland who announced that they were closing on a Friday and people did not have a job on the Monday. These people have at least got some time to try to find new opportunities, and we will do all that we can to assist them.”
“I do not necessarily agree with the Member that it is futile to look at the decision as to why JTI Gallaher has taken the decision to go into a 90-day consultation period. It is only by looking at the reasons behind its decision that you can try to deal with what is in front of us. If there are some reasons there that we can try to deal with, we may be able to keep some of these employees here in Northern Ireland. Therefore, it is important to look at the reasons behind why it has taken this decision, and that is what I want to explore with the company. Then we will be able to move forward and see whether there is something that we can specifically do in relation to keeping JTI Gallaher here as an entity. It is a very good entity, despite what Sinn Féin would say. It is a very good company to work for.”
“Somebody has to pay for anything that happens in relation to energy. That is true. The Members across the way, particularly the lady — well, the Member — continue to tut in the corner. Somebody has to pay, and that is the difficulty that Sinn Féin has with every policy initiative that it brings forward.”
“Yes, the facts are always very important in anything that we come to the House to discuss. Therefore, I want to tell the Member that the issue of energy has not come up in any discussions that I have had with this company. I accept that other companies have particular issues in relation to energy, and I am working proactively with those companies to give them an answer. It ill behoves the Member to raise an issue about companies and their costs when the Member does all in his power to cause difficulties in relation to energy policy in the House. Then, he cannot join the dots to know that there are continuing difficulties. If we are going to help businesses with their energy costs, somebody has to pay for it. I know that that is a problem for Sinn Féin, because, like with every good socialist, somebody else pays the bill.”
“Yes, again, those are the sorts of things we will be talking to the management about when we have that meeting later this week and, certainly, when we go to Geneva. To have gone to the parent company to see whether there was anything else we in Northern Ireland could do for the company was a good model. We were able to do work around shared services back offices, for example, with Caterpillar, when they moved to a facility in west Belfast. I think that that is something that we want to explore. A number of staff in Lisnafillan are engaged in research and development. Is there any reason why that could not continue, for example? We will want to have all those discussions, and I look forward to them happening towards the end of this week and, then, further into the next months.”
“However, as I say, Stephen Farry and I are hopefully going to meet the management before the end of this week, and we will get complete clarity in relation to those issues.”
“I will certainly tie in with any MEP who is prepared to work for the good of the Gallaher staff in Ballymena and elsewhere. Certainly, some of our MEPs, one in particular, have not been helpful for the future of those Gallaher staff. I think she should join the dots and realise that what she has engaged in has cost those jobs. <BR /> <BR />As I understood it, the Poland factory has the appropriate machinery to put forward the 40 gram and 30 gram packages that are required under the European directive, as it stands. If I am wrong, I stand corrected, but that is certainly the briefing I was given by the senior shop steward when he came to see us on Thursday. That is the message that I was getting from the MP for the area as well.”
“It is important to say that JTI Gallaher placed a very strong emphasis on creating transferable skills, and, because of that, we will, hopefully, be able to find accommodation in other manufacturing companies. As Mr Hilditch pointed out in his question to me during Question Time, we are dealing not just with people in north Antrim but with people in south and east Antrim and probably further afield. We will carry out a skills audit of all the employees and then approach other manufacturing companies to assess their needs so that we can match the skills of the people in Ballymena with the skills required across Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />In relation to the subcontractors and the supply chain, I have asked Invest Northern Ireland to find out the specific impact that this will have on local firms. We know that 200 local firms subcontract for, or are in the supply chain of, JTI Gallaher, contributing £20 million to the local economy. It is vital that we find out the impact that this will have on them as well.”
“I thank the Member for that supplementary. Let me say to him, first, that we will meet management, hopefully this week. I have said to the unions that I am more than prepared to go to Geneva to speak to the management in headquarters there. I am prepared also to go to Japan, if necessary. As it happens, the British ambassador to Japan was in Northern Ireland just last week. He met our colleague, the Member of Parliament for the area. It is hoped that the ambassador will raise the issue of Lisnafillan with JTI management when he returns to Japan in the near future. There is a little time. During the consultation period, we will meet senior management here, and I think that it is important to go to Geneva and speak to management there as well.”
“I did not think that the Member would join the Sinn Féin chorus for positive discrimination against Belfast, but there we are: we live and learn every day.”
“Of course, the Member is aware that I was recently on a trade delegation to the Middle East with companies from Northern Ireland, one of which was Wrightbus from north Antrim. Wrightbus has great manufacturing plans for Ballymena. We will continue to support it in that regard. That includes going to areas that the Member may feel that we should not go to, but I make no apologies for going to Saudi Arabia and places like that to try to secure new plans and new programmes for Wrightbus. <BR /> <BR />The Member mentioned our relationship with north Antrim and Ballymena. There have been significant announcements in north Antrim, not just Wrightbus but Moy Park. Although the Moy Park announcement was made in Dungannon, it has an impact in upper Bann and Ballymena. So, there are announcements being made outside Belfast.”
“They do not have to put in the capital investment that would have been needed at Lisnafillan, so they have decided to move ahead.”
“<BR /> <BR />Secondly, the Member is right to mention the European Union tobacco products directive, which bans the manufacture of all cigarette packs containing fewer than 20 cigarettes and all hand-rolling tobacco pouches of less than 30 grams from May 2016. The reason for that is that 40% of the plant and machinery at Lisnafillan deals with small packs, and they cannot deal with the larger packs that have been imposed from Europe. The company has regrettably taken the decision to move its production to Poland or Romania. <BR /> <BR />Members and people outside the House will say that Poland and Romania are in Europe as well. Those factories are already equipped with the machinery to be able to deal with the larger packs.”
“I have not had the opportunity to speak to senior management as yet. I indicated to the House earlier that Stephen Farry and I hope to be engaged at the Ballymena plant later this year. The management has said that it has various processes that it needs to go through, so it does not want to break protocol. <BR /> <BR />I have had the opportunity, as have other Executive Ministers, to speak to the senior trade union people since the announcement. However, I had spoken to management before the announcement, and it indicated two important areas. First, management indicated the growth in illegal trade, which has led to a significant contraction in the tobacco market in a number of key countries, most notably in western Europe.”
“First, I wish to express my sincere sympathy to all those workers who face a very uncertain future over the coming months as a result of JTI's announcement last week. The company has stressed that the decision is in no way a reflection on the manufacturing performance of the local team. In the meantime, Invest Northern Ireland continues to work closely with the company and with the Department for Employment and Learning to ensure that those employees who may be impacted by the outcome of the consultation are offered good advice, help and support at the most appropriate time.”
“I could give a very short answer and say yes. However, I will also say that Invest Northern Ireland offers very attractive figures for those who want to invest outside Belfast. If the Member looks at the figures that we have offered to some of the inward investors, he will see that.”
“There is, but, as the Member will know, Convergys has announced 333 new jobs for Londonderry, and I was very pleased to be present for that announcement. We are also engaging with others who are currently assessing the city and region for new inward investment. I hope that a good, positive message comes forward from all the representatives in that area to ensure that we can land that proposition and do not blow it away through negativity.”
“I am happy to work collaboratively with the Member and with DCAL in looking at some imaginative ways to help, but the principal funding, as she will understand, will still have to reside with the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. I hope that its Minister realises the importance of the Ulster Orchestra to Northern Ireland.”
“Like the Member, I had the great pleasure of listening to the Ulster Orchestra last Wednesday evening at a BBC concert. It makes a substantial investment in Northern Ireland through its cultural grasp. It engages in a wide range of activities. Actually, when I was looking at JTI Gallaher, it did not escape me that it has been the orchestra's principal corporate sponsor in recent years, so, not only is it facing difficulties with its government funding, it is also unfortunately now facing difficulties in its corporate funding. I am a great supporter of the Ulster Orchestra, and I very much want to see it survive.”
“As the Member knows, I can only cajole and try to influence BT on its commercial applications, but he is right to raise the issue of industrial parks. If we are to look at new ways of having inward investors look at industrial parks, then we must have a good offering for them to look at, and that includes having connectivity and broadband accessibility. It is something that I am looking at with Invest Northern Ireland to see whether there are any interventions that we can take.”
“In relation to that fund, we have already received indication that that work will take place in eight phases. I do not have the information in front of me about when east Antrim comes on line, but I am happy to share that with the Member. He is right to say that we have invested hugely in telecoms interventions in the past, and we continue to do so, but, as he will recognise, it becomes more and more difficult to get to those at the edge, if you like, who need help with their broadband.”
“The Gallaher decision was more about two huge issues: first, the illegal trade in tobacco items; and secondly, the implementation of the European directive, which has had a huge impact. I will return to that during the Urgent Oral Question, because I think that it is important that Members not currently in the House and the wider community outside understand why JTI Gallaher has taken that decision. Of course, it is up to us to try to work through the consultation process to see whether there is anything that we can do about that decision, but those were the two big impacts.”
“This is a real issue, and one that I know Members from North Antrim are particularly concerned about, given the news from Gallaher over the past week. I have been working with the Utility Regulator to do some work on energy costs. There is a very net area that I can look at. I cannot look at wholesale costs, and I cannot look at a whole range of other issues. However, in the area that I can look at with the Utility Regulator, we are looking at that at present, and I hope to be able to say something on that in the very near future.”
“Nobody can say that I have not been creating jobs in this economy over this last period. We had an Executive meeting on Thursday night to agree a loan from Her Majesty's Government to try to get us out of difficulties so that we can bring some sort of stability to the economy in Northern Ireland and avert crisis, and the SDLP did not support that. The SDLP felt it better that we should go into crisis rather than try to get stability into the Northern Ireland economy. I would rather have stability in the Northern Ireland economy than crisis at any time.”
“Sometimes, I wish that people would try to give confidence, because confidence is the important thing to give to our economy so that people will spend to go forward and create more new jobs.”
“I read the Ulster Bank monitoring paper this morning as I was coming up in the car. It said that, for the fifteenth month in a row, we are facing into growth, so I am not sure from where the Member is obtaining her information. I cannot say that Richard Ramsey is ordinarily the person who gives good news, but he continues to give good news from the Ulster Bank. Therefore, I can only take it as an objective analysis. <BR /> <BR />For the record — it is important to say this — the number of people claiming unemployment benefit has fallen by 12,600 over the last 20 months. That is a good-news story. As well as that, for the ninth consecutive month, we have had a rise in the number of jobs being created, so there is good news out there.”
“So it is a competitive process and while people may say that their funds have been cut, they do not have any funds any year until they apply to the fund.”
“This is about priorities and about making sure that we have the right priorities in place. I will be forwarding the priorities for my Department. I have heard some people say that the international funds should basically be robbed to try to assist the events funding. The first thing to say about that is that the international funds have a letter of offer and contractual commitments, and I am not in the business of breaking contractual commitments. The second thing to say about annual sponsorship is that people apply every year. They apply to the fund, and there is no guarantee of receiving funding every year. Everybody has to apply every year and be assessed alongside all the other applications that come in.”
“The budget discussions will be ongoing from now until the end of October, and, if I can count on the support of my colleagues to put in place, as a priority, the reinstatement of the events funding, then the events funding will be reinstated.”