Paul Girvan
South Antrim · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“On a point or order, Mr Speaker. I appreciate that my comments on the ministerial statement that was made prior to this motion have created some stir. I wish to withdraw some of the comments in relation my calling into question the judiciary on how they will expedite this inquiry.”
“Minister, I, too, welcome the inquiry. In doing so, I would like to know what is meant by a paragraph in your statement that you would have liked, and your personal preference was for, a time-bound inquiry. We have no indication of how long that could be.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. I have had occasion to speak to a number of prison officers who have indicated that they are under excessive stress and suffering from a lack of support. What mechanisms is the Minister putting in place to ensure that there is support to ensure that they are safe in their working environment?”
“That is, of course, very important. The Department has been working on a scoping exercise with the Strategic Investment Board that will make recommendations on how we can work together with our arm's-length bodies and voluntary and community sector organisations to promote and develop a culture of lawfulness in our society.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. The application is not being dealt with at a local level; it is being dealt with at departmental level. As a consequence, I would like to know the Minister's view on the inclusion of what are termed "passing bays" on third-party land that the applicant may not have control over.”
“I thank the Minister for her statement to the House and welcome it. I want to ask her about staff. On the previous Minister's announcement, the PPS had already made a decision and had taken the opportunity to either relocate staff or ask them to go under the voluntary exit scheme (VES).”
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“On a point or order, Mr Speaker. I appreciate that my comments on the ministerial statement that was made prior to this motion have created some stir. I wish to withdraw some of the comments in relation my calling into question the judiciary on how they will expedite this inquiry. I welcome the inquiry, and I withdraw some of the comments associated with how they might wish to elongate it or not expedite it as quickly as it could have been.”
“It will come out of the public purse and our block grant.”
“From what I can see, they tend to drag it out for extra money. I am not calling them into question. Why is there no limit on the spend on the inquiry? Given the evidence that is already out there, there should not be the amount of money to put forward —”
“Minister, I, too, welcome the inquiry. In doing so, I would like to know what is meant by a paragraph in your statement that you would have liked, and your personal preference was for, a time-bound inquiry. We have no indication of how long that could be. Unlike some people sitting in here, I have absolutely no confidence that the judicial system works expeditiously in trying to get something though as quickly as it can.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. I have had occasion to speak to a number of prison officers who have indicated that they are under excessive stress and suffering from a lack of support. What mechanisms is the Minister putting in place to ensure that there is support to ensure that they are safe in their working environment?”
“That is, of course, very important. The Department has been working on a scoping exercise with the Strategic Investment Board that will make recommendations on how we can work together with our arm's-length bodies and voluntary and community sector organisations to promote and develop a culture of lawfulness in our society. The Department intends to run a series of pilot programmes in early 2017 to test collaborative interventions that specifically promote lawfulness. We are also working through the joint government/voluntary and community sector forum to consider how that work can be factored into the existing partnership agreement between government and the sector.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. The application is not being dealt with at a local level; it is being dealt with at departmental level. As a consequence, I would like to know the Minister's view on the inclusion of what are termed "passing bays" on third-party land that the applicant may not have control over. Is it proper to do that in a major application?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement to the House and welcome it. I want to ask her about staff. On the previous Minister's announcement, the PPS had already made a decision and had taken the opportunity to either relocate staff or ask them to go under the voluntary exit scheme (VES). Is there any understanding as to what will happen to those staff? Will they be offered the opportunity to come back to their facilities?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. How many or what percentage of young farmers have received an advance payment?”
“I thank the Minister for his answers thus far. How is this being communicated to the wider public and those who have difficulty accessing the Internet and suchlike?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer thus far. What is your Department doing to ensure that venues and historic monuments within its remit have access for all, including those with a disability?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. I welcome the positive news, irrespective of some of the negative, large announcements that have been made recently. What does the register say about the wider labour market in Northern Ireland?”
“<BR /> <BR />This is one of the areas where in opposition is where you will be, and that is exactly where you should stay.”
“If you go back historically, it was long before the DUP took control of those Departments when such a rule existed in relation to the funding mechanism for the Housing Executive and how it has accessed the funding. So, putting that message forward is a ruse. It is totally wrong and that does not tie in with any decision by a DUP Minister. <BR /> <BR />As it stands, the housing associations do have the mechanism to draw down the money to deliver the social housing in the areas that we need it. I appreciate and welcome the Executive's early intervention — within hours of receiving the ONS report — in dealing with this matter, and not waiting until they could just get a sound bite and try to make themselves seem relevant.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the Member's intervention and the information that we do not have the detail in that report. <BR /> <BR />The Housing Executive is having some difficulty. In fact, it is wanting to engage in a transfer of assets to housing associations over the next number of years of properties requiring investment, upgrade and improvement. The Housing Executive says that the mechanism is no longer there for it to be able to fund that through the current process, and, as a consequence, it has no alternative but to allow housing associations to do that. <BR /> <BR />On the back of that, they do have the model —”
“There has been a certain amount of — I will not use the word "culling" — consolidation of housing associations in that a number of them have come together and pooled resources. <BR /> <BR />I appreciate that we are talking about £1 billion of debt associated with these housing associations. There is a massive asset and they are quite asset rich, so, on the back of that, we have to realise that the days of the Housing Executive as it stands are probably numbered. There is the difficulty of onward maintenance and delivery of that maintenance within the housing stock. <BR /> <BR />I, too, representing the south Antrim area, know those people who come to my door. Quite a heavy load of the office work —”
“Thank you. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion in the way that it is coming forward. I think that the Executive have made a sensible decision in asking for a derogation in relation to this matter. The ONS report that was submitted, on the back of what it is bringing forward, will create and would have created a major problem, both financially for the Executive and in the opportunity for further borrowing for capital projects that could be of great benefit. I do think that some of the housing associations are not without blame, because I do not believe that they have necessarily delivered in the past. I do not think that they have always been successful in delivering everything that was supposed to have been done by them.”
“I have already said that I am not giving way, OK? The point of the matter is —”
“No, I will not; I have only started. To be honest, the attitude is that the Opposition are just jumping over issues. We are wasting another hour and a half today discussing something that we have already dealt with.”
“I too support both the motion and the amendment, although I see this as people trying to make themselves seem relevant by putting down a motion on something that the Executive have already made a move to address.”
“It is about ensuring that we have a separation between those using equipment and pedestrians on public pathways. We should look at that as well. I support the motion, and I think that a review would be very helpful.”
“I think of the case mentioned here this afternoon involving the tragic death of Valerie Armstrong. I think that there is another area that people are maybe not aware of. Pedestrians are told to get out and take exercise. Likewise, young people are told that they need to get outside instead of playing on their Xbox and doing all those other things, and I think that that is vital. The problem is that those on mountain bikes are in the same predicament when they interact with pedestrians.”
“<BR /> <BR />There is also an issue about those who fall off scramblers and quads. If they are on private land, and even though the landowner has not necessarily given permission, he could end up becoming liable for a minor who gets injured on his land. That is very worrying from the landowner's perspective, and it is something we should look at. We should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. If someone breaks into your property and cuts himself, he might take a claim against you because your property is insured but he is not. That is where I think the law can sometimes be an ass, because it errs on the side of those perpetrating a crime or creating a problem. <BR /> <BR />I understand that a number of high-profile cases brought about the debate today.”
“I do not want to legislate so that the Health and Safety Executive gets the name, "Department of no Fun". There needs to be a little give and take on the matter. However, the Housing Executive has a responsibility to ensure that its land is not accessible and is not used for this purpose. That can be very difficult to police. Each of us has a responsibility for it. The individuals who live around the site that I am talking about phone the PSNI on many occasions about scrambling, but they hear the usual story: "Unfortunately, we cannot respond to this matter", or "We will be out at some stage, but we will not make it a priority unless they are causing a major problem." As a consequence, the police usually come out at 10.00 pm, when nobody is there, so it is not an issue for them. We must ensure that this does not happen.”
“We must ensure that parents who decide to purchase a scrambler for their child, without considering where they are going to use it or without instruction about how to use it safely, are held to account. Mention has been made of the personal protection equipment that should be carried or worn. Yet some people believe that, if you have a helmet on, you are invincible and can do whatever you want. <BR /> <BR />There must also be consideration of the landowner whose land is being used, sometimes without permission. I am thinking primarily of a site in my constituency that is owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. It is quite a large area and it has been used by scramblers and those involved in scrambling. <BR /> <BR />As a young boy, I thoroughly enjoyed anything associated with an engine and a bit of fun.”
“I also support the motion. I do not think there is anyone in the Chamber who has not been contacted by people with problems associated with scrambling, including the noise and nuisance. It is wrong to say there is no legislation. There is some legislation that covers many areas, and that is something that we have to be aware of. We must ensure that that legislation is properly enforced and knowledge of it imparted. <BR /> <BR />We live in a society in which, unless you legislate for something, people want to blame somebody. There is personal responsibility and parental responsibility and those two areas have a vital role to play in the problem.”
“— and prioritising where we spend on new roads.”
“— which does not necessarily mean that it stands today. We should focus on maintaining and upgrading our existing road network —”
“We should ensure that the cake is shared accordingly and prioritise what we spend our money on. It is great to add some new network, but we should not always focus on that. Sometimes, maintaining and keeping our current infrastructure in a good condition is better than adding additional miles of motorway. <BR /> <BR />People will say that they really want to see their dual carriageway or motorway built. We had a major investment in the A8, and a new dual carriageway was built linking Belfast to Larne. To be honest, the volume of traffic on that road today is probably less than it was 20 years ago because of the reduction in the number of boats coming into Larne. The case for that road was made 20 years ago —”
“In their work programmes, they are well aware that they will be upgrading the gas network or the water mains, and there is a lack of forward planning. There should be total joined-up government. It is all dealt with in one Department so it should be totally joined up. One person should not be saying, "That is to deal with claims. As long as we have money for claims, it will keep our legal team going". On many occasions, that is what we are doing: keeping people in the legal profession employed fighting claims. We are not necessarily diverting our resource. <BR /> <BR />I appreciate what was said earlier about budget flexibility. The budget is constrained, and we have difficulty in tying up everything that we have to do in government in Northern Ireland, never mind additional work.”
“You invariably hear about a lovely new surface being put down on a road and, three weeks later, somebody digging a track to put in a water main. Contractors had been told that the road was being resurfaced, and, as a consequence, they reinstate it. However, contractors do not always bring a road back to the original condition that they got it in. We need to focus on reinstatement to ensure that the contractors involved in the works reinstate the roads. Those contractors must not be allowed to leave a road in a certain condition and let Roads Service deal with it when it is resurfacing the road. We have to make sure that reinstatement is done correctly. Service providers who do not do it prior to a scheme coming forward should be made to foot the bill for proper reinstatement.”
“I am not sure of the exact figure, but quite a few thousand pounds were paid out in claims to motorists who had had wheel and suspension damage. We should look at that area to try to offset what we spend on claims. <BR /> <BR />We are in a very bad position as a result of the condition of our roads, and simply because of underinvestment. We are coming at it on the back of 40 years in which we were not able to spend much of our money on infrastructure. We were spending our money elsewhere because of a campaign of terrorism that was taking money from other areas. <BR /> <BR />Contractors add to problems on our roads. There is a lack of a joined-up approach among the service being put in, be it roads, street lighting, telecommunications, gas or water.”
“I, too, am in favour of the motion and the amendment. We have a deficit in the road maintenance budget, as identified in the motion. I appreciate that this is an ongoing problem that is becoming worse, year-on-year. However, there seems to be very little tie-up — I have difficulty with this — with those making claims for damage to a vehicle or whatever, with the result that quite a substantial amount of money is spent on paying out for claims. One example given to us was about what was deemed to be a pothole on a road. A few hundred pounds would have repaired that pothole, but, by the time it all came through, the Department had paid out not just hundreds but thousands of pounds in claims.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. A package of €350 million is available. What cut will Northern Ireland receive of the package for the exit programme?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer thus far, but the difficulties associated with the relief road mean it could take up to 15 years for development to take place. Is there any possibility that engagement could be taken on with the local authority to take the lead in the delivery of such a major project, but with some payback from the development as it goes forward?”
“I thank the Minister for his answers thus far. I appreciate the Committee's desire for the Minister to step aside to allow an investigation to take place, but that has not happened. On the back of that, regarding the NCA's investigation, would that be right? What is the Minister 's view on allowing that process to take place without political interference?”
“They believe that the railway stations in their villages should be opened again and used.”
“I do not know enough about the intricacies of the full rail network, but I ask those who have the expertise to look at this, because I see the Knockmore line as an opportunity to create a loop. Effectively, where we are talking about dualling railways along the route, given the opportunity, it can be dealt with. <BR /> <BR />I met the people of Glenavy and Crumlin, all of whom are requesting additional services.”
“<BR /> <BR />South Antrim is an area that I have a great love for. I represent it and want to pull as much into it as possible. I want to see that the networks there are not being lost. We had a fantastic rail network in Northern Ireland back in the 1950s, but it has been disappearing ever since.”
“Those who represent border areas such as Newry and the Mournes may say that Dublin is closer, but why should we not look at the infrastructure that we have in Northern Ireland to ensure that passengers use it and make the best of it? That is what we should be doing: making sure that our network is there. <BR /> <BR />I know that the freight aspect is something that the airport would welcome, because there is an opportunity there. We have slots available. There are difficulties with flying into Belfast harbour airport at night — I still call it "Belfast harbour airport". I want to see Belfast International Airport being the main way forward. There is an opportunity for us to designate an enterprise zone in the airport area, not just to build up distribution networks but to drive business into the area.”
“I have absolutely no problem with that, and that is one area that we should look at. Not just South Antrim but Northern Ireland as a region should be putting that forward. I know that the Minister will focus on that. <BR /> <BR />The line was closed in 2003, under the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP. They were aware of what was going on in pulling out of what was a potential jewel in the crown of having a rail link to our airport. In fact, it is not that long ago since a question was asked in the House on what help could be given to Dublin to create a rail link to Dublin Airport. That is just sucking the life out of what is here.”
“<BR /> <BR />Spending £1·5 million — what I call "putting a sticking plaster on" — is throwing money down the drain. We would be better investing money.”
“As well as mentioning what goes on from a Translink point of view on the roads, I must say that Templepatrick is a village that is being blighted by traffic all day, every day. As a consequence, it is vital that we try to remove some of those bus runs coming through what is a sleepy village every 15 minutes. I use the term "sleepy village", but it has become a place on a major commuting route to our International Airport. As a consequence, we need to look at other ways of dealing with that traffic. <BR /> <BR />The only quick fix that I see currently is to encourage a rail link. Ultimately, we would like to have the opportunity to look at having some form of link to the M2. If that is a possibility, it is something that we should look at. However, we currently have infrastructure that we should be locking into for the airport itself.”
“I see that as a vital point. We do need to see that complementing, not taking away from. On the basis that we have an existing railway running very close to the airport, it is vital that we make use of the land that is already zoned and bring a rail halt to the airport itself.”
“We should encourage that. To do so, the Executive need to make a decision not just to mothball the rail estate that we have but to actually make use of it and give another opportunity for additional links to Lisburn, Antrim and Belfast. That is on the back of what we have already encountered up to now, which has been to see nothing but the lack of a joined-up approach, both from Translink — I will use Translink as the overall head as it used to be — and the rail and bus networks not being totally joined together. That seemed to be a point —”
“I do not see the point when they say that they need 10 million passengers coming into the airport before they see the necessity of a rail network. I believe that we have to put the investment into the infrastructure and ensure that we have it there. I believe that if you have that, you will attract those routes to our area. <BR /> <BR />The other opportunity that we have is something that we have not made use of up to now. In fact, it has been mentioned in the Committee for Infrastructure. We have a rail network that is not being used for freight. I believe that we could establish the International Airport as a major freight hub, not just for Northern Ireland but for the whole United Kingdom, as a consequence of that. A very large area of zoned land around the airport has already been identified for potential growth of the airport.”
“The Knockmore line has been in place and to date — not from 2003, but from 2010 until now — has cost £1·5 million to maintain in a state of potential readiness. It is also used as a training link. <BR /> <BR />Our main angle in the motion is to bring another form of transport and connectivity to the International Airport. Unfortunately, our International Airport has not necessarily had the same help and assistance that Dublin Airport has. Dublin has managed to get round what I deem to be an excuse that we have used in relation to state aid to actually encourage that and suck the life out of our International Airport. In fact, it has done nothing but attract routes for which potentially we should become a hub. I want to grow the traffic to the International Airport.”
“I take this opportunity to bring the motion to the House on the basis that, since the closure of the Knockmore line in 2003, an area of Northern Ireland has been denied access to the rail network. In the past, it seemed to be the policy to close rail lines. The Bleach Green line was also one of the lines in question. It was reopened and is now one of the busiest routes. If you build it, they will come. I am taking the line that we have villages and towns along the route, such as Crumlin, Glenavy and Ballinderry, that have all grown dramatically. In fact, Crumlin has grown extensively since 1999 and would, in fact, be nearly double the size that it was at that time. As a consequence, it is an area that could and should have that rail link re-established.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement to the House today. Was the red tape and bureaucracy associated with the SEUPB and every other delivery body that seems to be associated with European funding ever discussed at such a meeting?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer, and I take this opportunity to congratulate her on her post and wish her all the best. In relation to the active farmer assessment process and those awaiting a decision on that, are there many in that process? What work is being undertaken to speed up the decision-making along that line so that those deemed active farmers get their payments?”