Patsy McGlone
Mid Ulster · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“Limiting the power to dismiss charges involving the death of or serious physical harm to a vulnerable person will enhance the fairness and integrity of those criminal proceedings.”
“The SDLP welcomes the provisions for the long-overdue establishment of a statutory Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses of Crime. That is a significant step forward in the development of our justice system.”
“Putting the office on a statutory footing will ensure that the commissioner's role is legally recognised and accountable to the public and the justice system. The Minister outlined a number of the measures in the process of accountability.”
“OK. I thank my colleague — indeed, the Minister — for responding. It is, as the Minister said and my colleague highlighted, a sensitive area. People who are approached to give a reference should think long and hard about the implications of the references that they give: where they might wind up; the circumstances in which they give them;…”
“The SDLP welcomes the Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill and the opportunity to debate it, alongside the Chairperson — or should I say, "Mr Amendment" — at its Second Stage.”
“I accept that the Minister's Department, as she has stated repeatedly, does not have the capacity or resources to develop those legislative provisions during this mandate.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,995 lines we hold for Patsy McGlone, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 20 of 40.
“We have discovered that, especially for personal independence payment (PIP) and disability living allowance (DLA) appeal tribunals — DLA being for children — they have to prepare five copies of their medical records for the tribunal. It can be very difficult for anyone to get all that, and it can also be very expensive. Many of the people who are there with us, or on their own, have very limited means, so that in itself is a difficulty — how it is done, but also the cost of it being done. The people who are often on the lowest incomes are facing a surcharge to get their case heard at those social security appeal tribunals. <BR /> <BR />I wish to put that marker down here — I wish to raise the matter publicly — because anyone going in there on their own will find that extremely difficult.”
“I take the opportunity to sympathise with Peter Weir on the death of his mother. I offer my sincere sympathies to Peter and the rest of the family. I also wish Peter a good and fulsome recovery. <BR /> <BR />I will speak about social security appeal tribunals. For those of us who have been at a tribunal, they can be traumatic and stressful for individuals. Indeed, many of the people that we represent — and some go on their own, which is even more difficult — have mental health issues, anxiety and troubles. It can be a very emotional and stressful occasion for them. The social security appeal tribunals are starting to resurrect themselves post COVID and post the difficulties and problems that we had in organising them.”
“Minister, in light of the circumstances, it is a very prudent move to extend the scheme. I have a query here — sorry, I have 17 queries currently with your office, but another query has come in today, and I would appreciate your advice on it. It is about two elderly ladies with learning disabilities, and they work via an appointee. The appointee made the application for them, but they have been asked for additional information. Due to their circumstances, neither of them have documentation with their names on it. They do not have driving licences or passports. I seek your advice because they will not be on their own in circumstances like this: they have been asked for something that they cannot provide, because those documents are in the name of the appointee.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire fosta. Thank you, Minister. Can you explain why, given the growth in the numbers of older people and people with disabilities, only one social housing bungalow has been built in Mid Ulster in five years?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. A reply to a question for written answer from my colleague Cara Hunter showed a great disparity in waiting times between trust areas. What can his Department do to rectify those big disparities between the various trusts?”
“I thank the Minister for that. I go back to the question of making sure that the software on the terminals is being updated. Can he advise what facility there is in the Department if businesses require additional information in order to access the required updates?”
“What is the Minister's opinion of Lord Frost? Lord Frost is currently attacking what Lord Frost negotiated months after Lord Frost praised what Lord Frost negotiated: the protocol.”
“However, the British Government's unilateral declaration of an indefinite extension to the grace periods is certainly not a long-term solution. It can only allow time for further discussions, which, I hope, will take place. The EU is currently engaged in those discussions with the British Government, and that is the background against which we are having this debate. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP wants to see an agreement reached. We want to see positivity. Where there are difficulties and problems between the two sides, we want to see those ironed out. We want to move on in order to create what is needed for our entire community, which is stability and a positive way forward. The Assembly has an opportunity to indicate its preferred solution today. Sin an méid, a Cheann Comhairle.”
“I am sorry. I am running behind time, and I have a bit more to say. <BR /> <BR />That is why agreement between the EU and the British Government to align sanitary and phytosanitary standards for goods is a realistic and practical way to resolve concerns about the levels of checks and paperwork involved in importing goods from Britain. <BR /> <BR />The British Government's recent Command Paper from July leaves open the possibility of an appropriately designed SPS agreement, setting out where UK and EU SPS legislation provided for the same high standards. It allows for providing a means to identify areas of significant difference, where the level of risk-based controls might need to be higher. So, it is possible that agreement could be found between the British Government and the EU to align those standards.”
“The cheerleaders for Brexit in the DUP may not like it, but the reality is that the prospect of a divergence in standards between what is allowed in the UK market and what is allowed in the EU single market requires checks to be made on those goods. <BR /> <BR />There is a mechanism for working through the difficulties. There is a Joint Committee.”
“<BR /> <BR />The debate gives the Assembly an opportunity to demonstrate that the majority of elected representatives here do not support the position as articulated by the DUP, which, prompted by Mr Allister, is threatening the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement if the protocol is not abandoned. I suspect that that positioning has as much to do with its anxieties over its electoral prospects as it does a desire to resolve any outstanding issues on SPS checks. <BR /> <BR />That having been said, since the Brexit protocol was agreed, there have been ongoing disputes and delays over its implementation and the level of SPS checks and paperwork that are required. However, the SPS checks and paperwork are there to protect that EU single market not just in the present but in the future.”
“The EU and the British Government also have a duty and responsibility to protect the Good Friday Agreement, as do we. The Brexit protocol is an integral part of the withdrawal agreement that was negotiated between the British Government and the EU. It attempts to meet those duties and responsibilities. In the unlikely event of Boris Johnson reaching for the nuclear option of triggering article 16, those duties and responsibilities will remain. They will still require agreement between the EU and the British Government on how to manage the situation.”
“Just to get back to the debate, I welcome the opportunity to debate the need to resolve the ongoing dispute over the level of sanitary and phytosanitary checks and the paperwork that are required for goods being imported from Britain. Those goods include products of animal origin, plants, plant products, food and feed of non-animal products and high-risk food of non-animal origin. We should be clear, however, that the new checks and paperwork that are required for those goods are a direct result of that Brexit. The majority of people in Northern Ireland did not vote for that Brexit, and the majority of people in the North recognise the fact that the protocol is the direct outcome of that Brexit. <BR /> <BR />The EU, and this is reality, has a duty and responsibility to protect the single market on behalf of its member states.”
“I am sure that the Minister will pop up after a while and say that he is going to deliver a whole lot of money to those farmers to supplement that. I take it that is a nod, Mr Poots.”
“He should explain that to the people in England who cannot find goods on the shelves in the supermarkets, who cannot get petrol, who cannot get drivers, who cannot get butchers and who cannot get workers. The list is endless. <BR /> <BR />He, by his hand, and others signed up to and worked for the Brexit they are now delivering. They replaced what was there with Brexit and created their own living nightmare.”
“As the debate winds on, you would nearly think that we would want to be in a place where you had free movement of goods, people, capital and services. Do you remember those? They used to be there before the Brexit that people voted for. Let us not dupe ourselves into thinking that people do not live with the consequences of their votes. <BR /> <BR />Even today, I heard yer man Frost over in England. He is coming off with nonsense about — what did he say? — the:”
“<BR /> <BR />The Assembly may not currently have the power to affect the level of National Insurance payments, nor does it have the power to prevent the rise in VAT for the hospitality sector. As we all know, there are lower-paid workers in that sector. We do, however, have the ability to stop the cut to universal credit. I support the motion. Tacaím leis an rún.”
“In raising taxes through an increase to National Insurance payments — the so-called health and social care levy — the Tory Government are placing a further disproportionate burden of the cost of addressing pressures in the health service on those who are lower paid. <BR /> <BR />Previously, the Assembly stepped in and put in place mitigation measures to counter unfair cuts from London to the welfare system. It is time to step up again. It is time for the Minister, with her Executive colleagues, to live up to the title and work together to keep the uplift in universal credit in place, at the very least for the remainder of the financial year. The Minister should use that time to bring forward a long-term strategy to address poverty — Ms Woods referred to that earlier — and social deprivation, which remain rife across Northern Ireland.”
“Rather than tackling the obscene profits of a small number of companies and individuals who have benefited during the past 18 months, the Tory Government in London want to make those who are least able to afford it pay for the economic costs of the pandemic. <BR /> <BR />As well as the proposed cut to universal credit, the Boris Johnson-led Government are prematurely raising, to 12·5%, the VAT that is paid by the hospitality sector, which is still in shock and has many staff who are still not back at work from the pandemic, before there is any real evidence of a recovery in that sector. By the way, that rise will mean that the cost of eating out, which is already beyond the budgets of families who are on universal credit, is likely to rise along with the cost of food on the shelves.”
“They cannot afford to lose that money from their weekly budgets. The cut risks driving even more people into poverty and debt when society is still reeling from the double impact of Brexit and the pandemic. I implore the Minister for Communities, along with her Executive colleagues, to step up and step in to prevent that cut now. That has to be collaborative. The vast majority of people would welcome that, particularly those 134,000 people who will be hit by the cut. Indeed, it would be perverse if the Minister were to oversee a weekly cut to universal credit while an Executive colleague is handing out a one-off payment of £100 to every registered voter, regardless of their income or employment status. It does, however, fit the pattern of a trickster Tory Government.”
“Like all Members, I am sure, I am already receiving phone calls from people seeking advice and guidance about their entitlements. Some people had been furloughed and have found that they have no job, and others have had their hours drastically cut, and those people need support. <BR /> <BR />Energy prices are soaring, and the cost of living is rising. The predicted shortages on food shelves this Christmas and, indeed, to labour as a result of Brexit will place even greater pressures on the budgets of low-incomes families who are directly affected by the proposed cut to universal credit. Families with school-aged children are already feeling the pinch that accompanies the start of every school year. <BR /> <BR />Over 134,000 people across the North are currently in receipt of universal credit.”
“I support the motion. I welcome the opportunity to debate the decision to cut the £20 a week uplift from universal credit and the impact that that will have on many low-income families and individuals in the North. <BR /> <BR />The uplift in universal credit was introduced to help people who were struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. As we well know, that pandemic is not over by any means, and we have yet to measure the full extent of the economic fallout from that. Indeed, the possibility remains that we could see another spike in COVID-19 cases, along with increased pressures on the health service during the winter months ahead. The removal of the weekly £20 payment is premature, and the impact on those receiving universal credit will be devastating.”
“I hear some of what the Minister says; I am not sure what specifically he refers to. There have been some contentious areas that have not fitted well around communities. I made the point earlier that we have to bring communities with us. I welcome the fact that the Minister's Department, with the Department for Infrastructure, has carried out useful collaborative work on all this. I know that both Ministers have been working very positively on that. <BR /> <BR />Passing legislation on climate change is only the first step. We have a long way to go and difficult decisions to take if we are to meet our obligations under the global commitment on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Sin é.”
“The move away from petrol-driven vehicles will require additional investment in the single electricity market to ensure that the network can sustain the increased pressure of having more charging points on all routes. <BR /> <BR />On vehicles, roads, infrastructure, air quality and water quality, we need harmonisation of standards to help to drive down those emissions. The North/South Ministerial Council exists to facilitate that cooperation, which we will need. That is unquestionable. It is definite: we need that cooperation to see what we can do to ensure that we achieve those targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
“We would need to shape policy in order to meet the targets that are set and put in place support and incentives to help all sectors, particularly agriculture and the agri-food sector, to make those changes. <BR /> <BR />There will also need to be greater cooperation across the island of Ireland in areas where we have already agreed to work together. Even after Brexit, the agri-food industry continues to operate on an all-island basis. The latest figures on North/South trade show a 66% increase in trade that comes north and a 146% increase in trade that goes south in the first six months of 2021 when compared with the same period in 2018. That increase in economic activity obviously means more vehicles on the roads.”
“That is where science comes into it. <BR /> <BR />At the Committee, we have been discussing the measures that could be introduced via transitional support. Indeed, I championed the fact that that would not just be for farming but for some of the other subsidiary industries that are so dependent on farming — the linked industries of agri-food and other supply chains that are affected by it. That would include building social benefits into reduction efforts so that communities could see that working for them. Bringing communities with us as we reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors, including energy, transport, business and agriculture, is key.”
“Agriculture remained the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions for Northern Ireland in 2018, at 27%. That share is expected to increase to 35% in 2030 due to a combination of the effect of the improved performance of other sectors and an only 3% reduction in agricultural emissions. That is not sustainable, whichever target the Assembly sets. <BR /> <BR />Given where we are, it would be irresponsible for any Member to suggest that any sector of society would be able to carry on as it has been doing. To reach even the Minister's target will require support and incentives to ensure that the necessary changes are made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and other sectors. The aim must be to maintain the profitability of farms while encouraging the use of less-environmentally damaging methods and practices.”
“Those measures are expected because Governments have woken up to the realisation of just how serious the global situation has become. They have been helped in that awakening by the effect of more people's seeing the devastating impact of human-driven climate change on the environment and by the efforts of a younger generation who are justifiably angry at the damage that is being done now to the world around them. <BR /> <BR />To date, there have been successful efforts to cut emissions in some sectors such as electricity generation — what has been described as the "low-hanging fruit" — but the most recent NI greenhouse gas inventory estimates for 2018 show only a 20% decrease in emissions compared with the figures for 1990. Current projections estimate that there will be a 39% reduction by 2030.”
“That we have reached this point now is timely, given the imminent 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. At the UN assembly last week, many countries across the world, including China and the US, announced renewed commitments and further investments towards meeting the aims of the Paris agreement. The Climate Change Conference of the Parties may well result in a new declaration that recommits Governments to net zero emissions by 2050, as well as big reductions by 2030. There may also be specific pledges on ending coal, petrol cars, and further protections for the natural world. Developing countries will hope to see a significant financial package in the short term to help them to adapt to rising temperatures. That is often left out of the debate here.”
“With the addition of the Minister's Bill, there are now two climate change Bills before the Assembly. As a member of the AERA Committee, I can safely promise the Assembly that we will be equally rigorous in our examination of both.”
“The SDLP welcomes the Second Stage of the Minister's Bill. I thank the Minister for it. We are behind the curve in legislating for our responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is over 10 years since the UK Climate Change Act was passed, and we still do not have any Northern Ireland-specific climate legislation. It is over six years since my party colleague from Foyle, when he was Environment Minister, proposed a radical climate action Bill to limit the average global temperature increase to 1·5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
“My apologies if I misinterpreted the media briefings that were readily and often put out by different media outlets. If that is the case, that is the case. <BR /> <BR />On the practicalities, many older people who are not just as computer-literate and many people with learning disabilities will not be able to do the detailed computer work that is required for the scheme. Can you give us an assurance that there will be adequate telephony responders to help and facilitate those people to make their claims? Over the last year and a half in particular, many of us have had difficulty getting through on telephones, let alone via emails or on websites.”
“I will pick up on what the Minister has said. Is a strategy being prepared or is one in place? How long is it likely to be before there is a time frame for the development of the strategy? The shortage of vets is not a recent problem. It has been exacerbated recently through the likes of Brexit and the movement of labour, but it is not as if it has just come out of the blue for the Minister's Department or for DAERA.”
“You are going to have to tell Boris, too.”
“I thank the Minister for his comprehensive answer. Does he agree that shorter and more secure supply chains that have shorter transport distances and diminished costs, alongside the consumption of local and seasonal produce, are also essential to any efforts to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions?”
“It was a great victory, with great input from people from the lough shore and from the Tyrone team, but I record my sympathies to the Canavan and McLernon families on the loss of their son. Arís, mo chomhghairdeas le foireann Thír Eoghain.”
“I listened attentively as Mr Allister weaved his way through numerous issues. I thought for a moment that he had been lobbied by Mayo to raise the result of the All-Ireland with the EU-UK Joint Committee. <BR /> <BR />As someone who is married to a very proud Ardboe woman, I offer my sincere congratulations to the entire Tyrone team, its management, its membership, all the clubs throughout the county that contributed to the team and, indeed, to Ardboe, where two of the panel come from. I know a number of the members very well indeed, and I offer my sincerest congratulations to them on a wonderful victory to bring home the All-Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Very briefly, I have to add that the Ardboe parish is also tinged with some sadness, given the accident over the weekend that has left a family grieving today.”
“That process requires a commitment by all parties and the British and Irish Governments to truth, justice, acknowledgement, accountability and reconciliation. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion. Molaim an rún.”
“The current Finance Minister was there on that day. As with the latest proposals, the 2005 Bill would have provided immunity for both paramilitaries and members of the security forces from prosecution for Troubles offences. <BR /> <BR />The failure to make progress since then on the vital issue of addressing the legacy of the past has given the current British Government another opportunity to close the deal done in 2005. However, attempts to seal off the past are doomed to failure. The poison will not be contained, and it will continue to contaminate the present and the future until it is properly addressed. The way to properly address the past has already been outlined: a comprehensive legacy process through investigations with full police powers.”
“I thank the Member for his contribution and his very distinct knowledge of that atrocious incident. It is certainly right that the case is a prime example of why Troubles cases should not be closed. <BR /> <BR />While we may be in general agreement here today, we should not ignore the origins of the latest British Government proposals. The de facto amnesty that, the Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis, has confirmed, will apply equally to all Troubles-related incidents is a rerun of the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill in 2005. At that time, the SDLP was alone in consistently opposing that Bill, which was the outworking of a deal ostensibly between Gerry Adams and Peter Hain. The denial and spin from Sinn Féin around that Bill did not withstand the scrutiny of victims' groups, and it was forced to withdraw its support at the last minute.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is not just the innocent victims of atrocities by state forces, like Bloody Sunday and Ballymurphy, that the door is being shut on; it is the thousands killed, maimed, beaten and disappeared by the likes of the Provisional republican movement and their lackeys and by loyalist paramilitaries. The door is also being shut on Operation Kenova and its efforts to shine a light on the allegations of collusion at the heart of the Provisional IRA. <BR /> <BR />I hope that the family of Tom Oliver are right in their reported hope that the net is closing on those responsible for his murder in July 1991. I trust that Jon Boutcher is right when he says that his team has an understanding of who was involved in that murder.”
“The commission is of the view that the proposal to end current and future inquests shuts down the option of an inquest in getting to the truth, an option to which recent Supreme Court judgements have only just opened the opportunity for greater accountability, as in the Ballymurphy case. <BR /> <BR />The parties in the Executive Office have failed to make progress on the Stormont House Agreement, but that should not be used as an excuse by the British Government for the proposals. They shut the door on the prospect of truth, justice and accountability for victims and survivors. Without that prospect, we will not hear acknowledgement of past wrongs and there can be little hope for reconciliation.”
“That approach is abandoned in the latest British Government proposals. The decision to halt existing inquests and other civil action in no way addresses the concern expressed in 2014 that the legacy inquest process was not providing access to a sufficiently effective investigation within an acceptable time frame. As the chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission pointed out, it disregards the requirements for an effective investigation under article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights for victims of the conflict and their families and raises profound issues about the rule of law. Indeed, the commission has advised the NIO that a proposed statute of limitations was incompatible with international and domestic human rights standards.”
“There is, in fact, broad-based opposition — we hear it today — to the British Government proposals, and we have provided the Assembly with the opportunity to state categorically that the proposals do not have the consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly. <BR /> <BR />The New Decade, New Approach agreement was supposed to build on the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, which stated that:”
“I support the motion and welcome the agreement of other parties to our recall of the Assembly to debate the British Government's proposals for a Troubles amnesty. Our concern at the sudden announcement at the end of June of a framework for multiparty talks on Northern Ireland legacy issues has been shown to be justified. The proposals drive a wrecking ball through the previously published agreements between the parties and the Irish and British Governments. They breach the commitment given in the New Decade, New Approach agreement that the British Government would:”
“The Minister has just touched on his work with Minister Eamon Ryan. Can he update the House on current collaborations between the jurisdictions, particularly meetings that he has had with the current Minister with regard to cross-border waste crime?”
“Thank you very much for your comments, Minister. Does the Minister agree that there have been a number of assessments by different Chief Constables who have described the organisations represented by the LCC as "organised crime groups"?”
“I extend my sincerest sympathies to his wife, Gillian, to his children Andrew, Amy and Stephen, and to his extended family and friends. May God rest him.”
“I rise to pay tribute to the late Gordon Dunne. I got to know Gordon well at the Committees that we served on. In all his dealings with me, I always found Gordon to be a very respectful, honest and decent man who worked hard for his constituents, as many have said. We had many chats in the corridors of this place — a bit of banter, chat and humour. Indeed, we even exchanged advice about certain constituency issues, such as mobile phone signals, or other matters that came up in the Committees that we served on. It is a very sad day for the family, his colleagues on the Benches and those who worked very closely with him down through the years. All that has been said today reflects my experience of Gordon as well.”
“We have an opportunity here to start celebrating our differences and to recognise our differences in a respectful way. We need to seize that opportunity.”