Stephen Moutray
Upper Bann · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Given the recent figures published by the National Pig Association that indicate that, typically, only 30% of the gammons consumed in the United Kingdom at Christmas are of British origin, do you feel that your Department could do more to help to exploit this area?”
“As provided for in Standing Order 33(1), on 12 October 2015, the Assembly and Executive Reform (Assembly Opposition) Bill was referred to the AERC for Committee Stage. The Committee was asked to consider and report to the Assembly no later than 30 November 2015.”
“At its meeting on 13 October, the Assembly and Executive Review Committee agreed to issue a call for evidence to invite interested parties to submit their views on the Bill.”
“I thank the Minister for his response. He will be aware, no doubt, of the angst that often comes to families of children with special needs when they turn 19 and have to leave their special school. Has he consulted schools such as Ceara in Lurgan and Donard in Banbridge, both in my Upper Bann constituency, on issues like that?”
“I rise on behalf of the DUP to support the Final Stage of the Children's Services Co-operation Bill as introduced and brought to the House by Mr Steven Agnew and the subsequent changes at each stage throughout the process.”
“I believe that, with the amendments and the reworking of the Bill since its initial form, we have been able to ensure that we, too, in Northern Ireland are able, like our Scottish counterparts, to connect sector providers with government so that people work collaboratively to deliver.”
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“I thank the Minister for bringing the statement to the House this morning. How important does he believe it is to move from our current model of intervention to preventative spend?”
“I thank the Minister for his responses so far. A recent survey indicated that eight in 10 of those surveyed had seen people using their mobile phones in the vicinity of schools. Given that serious and alarming level, is he prepared to work with his Executive counterparts and the police to tackle that very serious issue?”
“I thank the First Minister for his answer. What measure of success has the Department been using? If the scheme is successful, is it not a priority that it should continue?”
“Thank you. I agree with my colleague's sentiments. We need to be more flexible: people have busy lifestyles and work long hours, and we need to work more to tailor schemes around that. I feel that such schemes and the Active School Travel initiative should be further enhanced and expanded. I look forward to seeing how the Minister and the Department will work alongside the rest of the Executive to implement and build on the recommendations of our inquiry. <BR /> <BR />After many years, I recently started to cycle again. While I may never be a Chris Lyttle or a Sammy Douglas, I hope to do the Westport to Achill cycle trail this year.”
“As cycling is one of the most accessible activities for people of all abilities and ages, we should not underestimate the role that it can play in a healthy lifestyle. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I feel that the work undertaken by groups such as Sustrans, the Cyclists' Touring Club and Outdoor Recreation must be recognised and praised, as they have played an important role in education and the development of cycling in Northern Ireland. The bike to work schemes introduced by public bodies and other organisations have also proven to be a catalyst in encouraging people to take up or return to cycling.”
“<BR /> <BR />Cycling tourism has many economic benefits, such as providing support to local businesses and attracting more people to visit different areas across our Province. Additionally, the further enhancement of cycling tourism offers the potential of business start-up opportunities, such as those for businesses involved in bike-hire schemes, particularly in rural areas. It must also be noted that cycling can play a major part in building exercise into our lifestyles, allowing us to become more healthy and reducing our risk of developing conditions and diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes and obesity. Improving our health through exercise, such as cycling, benefits society at large. A healthier population means that less needs to be spent on tackling problems like obesity.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Committee believes that, although the Department is experiencing a restrained budget, DRD should aim to produce imaginative proposals and appropriate bids to improve the cycling experience in Northern Ireland, because cycling not only brings notable benefit to the economy overall but enhances the tourist market in particular. Only last year, we witnessed the outstanding success story that was the Giro d'Italia. This was a significant cycling event, which positively portrayed Northern Ireland on a global stage and showed yet again that we are more than capable of hosting international events and doing so successfully. Praise must go to the efforts of the Executive and others for attracting this event to Northern Ireland and also for their work in attracting the Gran Fondo of 2015-17.”
“I believe that this report includes significantly useful information that the Minister should analyse and use as he seeks to implement a policy to encourage further interest and community involvement in cycling. I feel that it is important to note a widespread acceptance of cycling and the enhanced cycling infrastructure can make a notable contribution to our local economy. When it gave oral evidence to the Committee, the Cyclists' Touring Club claimed that the economic contribution of cycling to the UK economy was just below £3 billion. On a pro rata basis, the contribution to the Northern Ireland economy is believed to be in the region of £300 million to £400 million. While these figures are positive, the value of cycling to our economy can be grown in the years that lie ahead.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I take on board what my colleague across the way says. However, I will continue. Discussion and debate on these issues should be welcomed, not closed down and rejected outright, as the Alliance Party is suggesting. I am calling on all parties around this Chamber to engage in a positive discussion on how we protect our citizens and how we balance these rights. It is not sustainable or acceptable that Christians and others of faith continue to be discriminated against and maligned.”
“Rather, the primary aim of the proposal was to address the lack of protections for faith in our community. <BR /> <BR />This is not a challenge that we alone face. This clash of rights has occurred elsewhere, including across the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland. Many people hold strong religious beliefs. This is not a choice but often a matter of genuine faith. This must also be respected in our society. This proposal is not about dominance but about protecting yet another of our minority groups in society. I wish to highlight the fact that the proposal by my colleague is about consultation. It is about taking on the views on how to better protect people with genuinely held religious views. Discussion and debate —”
“The issue of rights and the balance to be found between them is not black and white. In our society, rights compete against each other frequently. At times, these rights are not compatible. The key to a successful society is the ability to balance these rights and to ensure fairness and equity to all parties. However, there seems to exist a form of human rights fundamentalism that allows for no other interpretation or approach or shows no tolerance for other views on the issues of rights. That is exactly what we have seen from the Alliance Party in this motion. I am strong believer in human rights and the protection of these rights. That is wholly different from saying that only one interpretation is the correct one. The proposal put forward by my colleague was not an attempt to attack or demean anyone on the basis of their sexuality.”
“I thank the Minister for his response. As he is the Minister responsible for local government, is he content that the amount of training that has been allocated is sufficient? Going forward, is he confident that it will be successful?”
“I believe that the Northern Ireland Assembly, political parties and the Executive should strive to ensure that women get the chance to compete. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly and Executive Review Committee now request that the Assembly approve the Committee's report.”
“<BR /> <BR />Increasing the number of women in politics will require the recommendations of this report to be turned into meaningful actions by the Assembly, political parties and Departments to address the lack of women in politics in Northern Ireland. With a joined-up approach, it can be achieved. <BR /> <BR />Finally, in the words of Madeleine Albright, Chairperson of the National Democratic Institute:”
“<BR /> <BR />As you have heard in the Chamber today and in the conclusions of this report, women face abundant barriers. Institutional barriers such as adversarial style of politics and unfriendly working hours; socio-cultural barriers such as childcare and caring responsibilities; political barriers such as the selection processes; and psychological barriers faced by individual women. <BR /> <BR />As noted in the report, and as we heard today, the Committee considered and put forward recommendations aiming to remove these barriers, including the establishment of a women's parliamentary caucus; a review of the voting times in the plenary sitting; greater engagement with young women and schoolgirls; and recommendations for political parties to review their membership and candidate selection strategies.”
“As Chair of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee, I rise to make the closing remarks on this debate on the report, 'Women in Politics and the Northern Ireland Assembly'. I do not propose to summarise all Members' contributions to the debate; they speak for themselves and will be available in the Hansard report. However, what I have heard today indicates that what this report has identified as key barriers and challenges need to be addressed with robust actions to encourage more women into politics. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly, political parties and the Executive cannot truly deliver for all their citizens if half the population remains underrepresented in the political arena. The participation of women in politics and government is essential to building and sustaining peace and democracy.”
“I thank the Minister for his response. Is he aware of the percentage of people who do not complete the programme for whatever reason, and is there a penalty for failure to complete the programme?”
“I thank the First Minister for his statement. Can the First Minister indicate what the rationale is for a single name for most Departments?”
“One of the priorities of the Minister's Department is to promote equality and to tackle poverty and social exclusion. Will she therefore accept that many bands draw members from areas of social deprivation and acknowledge that funding for musical instruments helps to address that priority?”
“I thank the Minister for the update. This indeed has been a long and protracted issue. This is a relatively small scheme, Minister. Will you go down in history, Minister, as the Minister who delivered nothing for Lurgan or will you go down as the Minister who delivered Lurgan's own Kennedy Way? The choice is yours, Minister, and I would like an answer.”
“I thank the Minister for his response and appreciate that he has sent out a press release to encourage places of worship to avail themselves of the fund. Through his Department, will he look at ways of being more proactive so that churches can avail themselves of the fund, especially as many churches do not want to take money directly from the lottery fund?”
“On a point of order, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. Is it in order for a Member of the House, let alone a Deputy Speaker, to refer to Her Majesty The Queen as Mrs Windsor? Will you have that investigated, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker? My party and I find it grossly offensive.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. What does he intend to do for the pupils of Lurgan College, Portadown College and the Lurgan campus of Craigavon Senior High School, who for years have been in outdated accommodation that is not fit for purpose?”
“Minister, I have been contacted this morning by prison officers' families who are deeply concerned that they were, in fact, allowed to drive into a hostile protest last night, when going on to night shift. They were verbally abused and, in one case, one had their car attacked. What will you do to assure us that prison authorities will never let this happen again?”
“I do not want to say much in relation to this motion today, only that, ideally, we would not need this extension. I feel that we must listen to the clear advice from the chairman and accede to his request for it. The chairman is in the best position to be able to project what time is required to ensure that all victims and survivors can be given the opportunity to have their testimony heard. He has based that judgement on his experience of previous modules, and I am satisfied that his expert judgement in this matter should prevail. I am confident that Sir Anthony Hart would not have made the request unless he felt it absolutely necessary. I agree with him that we should not deny the victims and survivors their opportunity to speak to the inquiry. Therefore, I support the motion.”
“I thank the Minister for his response. Does he find the timescale of over three weeks for replacing a grit box on Wood Lane, Lurgan acceptable? If not, will he investigate it, given that several minor accidents have taken place at that location since 5 January, when my office reported the box missing?”
“That was well discussed at our Committee, and I believe that a significant reworking of the Bill needs to happen in that regard to make it workable. <BR /> <BR />Also, cognisance needs to be given to the fact that many Departments are already working towards tackling some of the fundamental issues the Bill is aimed at tackling. Therefore, additional work needs to be carried out to ascertain what initiatives and programmes are being carried out and what is best practice so as not to create additional layers of bureaucracy. <BR /> <BR />As I said at the start, I agree in principle with the Bill, and I have no doubt that the Bill will, and should, look significantly different when it reaches its final stages, but I wish the Member well.”
“The Bill does not go far enough concerning collaboration and the need to work collectively as an Executive. The onus is too much on OFMDFM, which in itself is fine, but ultimately, children and young people's progression cuts across DE, the Department of Health, DEL, DRD and others. There is no one Department that can bring about change in isolation. <BR /> <BR />I am also concerned that Mr Agnew has not been succinct enough in garnering information from best practice across the world. To that end, it is difficult to ascertain whether this direction of travel will have measurable outputs. The Bill lacks tangible outcomes that can be measured for success. <BR /> <BR />Another concern is the choice of words and the consequences and outworkings of pooling budgets.”
“It needs to connect sector providers with government so that people work collaboratively to deliver. My fear is that the Bill, as it sits, pays lip service to joined-up working but would in no way legislate for or force such working. <BR /> <BR />As children and young people progress through life, some may have temporary difficulties, live with challenges or experience more complex issues. It is important that we as a government work seamlessly to assist them to reach their potential. <BR /> <BR />I want every child and young person, as it says in the Bill, to be healthy; enjoy learning and achieving; be able to live in a society with stability; experience economic and environmental well-being; contribute positively to community and society; and live in a society that respects their rights.”
“I am broadly in support of the Bill. However, I, along with colleagues, have concerns about some of the drafting and the potential increase in bureaucracy should the level of reporting referred to in the Bill be enacted. <BR /> <BR />As I started to research the Bill and analyse its contents, I took the time to look at other jurisdictions and their take on children and young people. I was somewhat taken by Scotland's Getting it Right for Every Child approach, the aim of which is to promote working across organisational and departmental boundaries in order to put children and young people at the heart of decision-making and give them the best start in life. That is, I believe, the sentiment of the Bill that is before us, but more work needs to be done to ensure that it delivers what Mr Agnew is hoping for.”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Given the proactive role that Invest NI has played in Craigavon in the recent past, is she confident that that can be sustained in future years, given the enormous potential for Craigavon, not least in its considerable land bank?”
“Therefore, additional assistance should be sought at times when it is required. However, there needs to be a realisation that Northern Ireland must continue to make strides to make it viable. The way in which to do that is to grow the private sector. I have no doubt that the recent commitment on corporation tax will go some way to assisting with that.”
“Shame on them for ultimately denying their Department financial help. Shame on them if they step out today following the statement on the Budget and claim that they have ensured that bus services are not cut and that front-line policing is getting additional spend to help curtail crime and stamp down on the dissident threat. Shame on the Alliance Party if it takes credit for any additional spend in its Departments. We have witnessed its usual head-in-the-sand approach. It voted against the Budget, yet its two ministerial portfolios are set to benefit from one third of the additional spend. <BR /> <BR />We will continue to lobby for additional financial assistance from the British Government. Having emerged from very difficult, dark days, there is no doubt that the country is in a unique position.”
“Services utterly essential for the economic growth and prosperity of any country were going to be wiped out. Services such as bus routes would have been cut. Teachers would have been redundant. There would have been a slash in further education places and a loss in front-line policing, causing the potential for an increase in crime and dissident activity. <BR /> <BR />I will say it again: this country was facing further financial crisis until our party demonstrated clear leadership by ensuring that welfare reform was sorted and that those whose position was diametrically opposed were brought to a point of realisation on the matter. It was our party that, against the odds, negotiated and formulated a Budget that would see additional spend go to every Department. Today, I say shame on the Executive members who voted against it.”
“I am broadly in support of the motion, but it has been ill thought out and hastily put together as a token measure by those across the Chamber, who believe that they have to pay lip service to the protection of services. <BR /> <BR />The DUP has been and remains committed to the protection of core public services. In fact, we were the party that recently called for the Stormont House talks. We are the party that has gone the extra mile to negotiate with the Chancellor and the Prime Minister. Frankly, our public services, be they for health, education, roads or justice, were in dire straits. Front-line services were going to be severely affected, which, in turn, would have gone right to the heart of our society and caused another dip in our financial recovery as a country.”
“I thank the Minister for his very welcome response. Can he ensure that discussions will take place with local businesses — namely, those from the manufacturing, agrifood and life sciences sectors — so that courses at the new centre are tailored to meet their needs?”
“I thank the First Minister for his response. Will he inform the House why we have to wait until 2021 to see a reduction in the size of the Assembly?”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Tollymore Forest Park is one of the most utilised outdoor forest parks in Northern Ireland. Will the Minister do everything she can to see that there is some food provision for this summer, given the number of local and international tourists who visit?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. Will he give a commitment to the House today that he will see that the cost of legal aid is reduced before it impacts on services such as policing and the Prison Service?”
“That section of the road has a health centre, a post office, a library and an ambulance station — a textbook example of what should be shared — yet the Alliance Party acts as a cheerleader for each and every decision of the Parades Commission that entrenches segregation. Perhaps, in the spirit and letter of the motion, it will audit itself and end its support for the atrocious decisions taken by the Parades Commission.”
“Facilities, services and goods, including schools, GP surgeries, job centres, Housing Executive offices, community centres, leisure centres and, as was said, even bus stops, are duplicated to accommodate separation. It is normal and appropriate for all children to go to a local primary school together, as they do to preschool. The opportunity to be educated together can play an essential part in a reconciliation process here. <BR /> <BR />We support the concept of shared spaces, but, as we saw in Portadown yesterday, shamefully, shared space has been denied for 6,000 days to the No. 1 District Orange Lodge by the Parades Commission. In north Belfast, the Protestant/unionist/loyalist community is told that it can use the arterial route to leave the area but not to return home.”
“While we believe that that figure might be inflated and is realisable only in the longer term, clawing back even a fraction of that sum could have a massive impact on our shrunken budgets in these tough times.”
“<BR /> <BR />Immense savings can be made across the public sector by greater integration and tackling historical divisions. We believe that savings resulting from greater sharing should be reinvested in communities to make real differences for future generations. The 2007 Deloitte report, 'Research into the financial cost of the Northern Ireland divide', suggested that Northern Ireland could be spending up to an additional £1·5 billion per annum on its public services.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate this afternoon. The DUP will continue working to break down the barriers that still exist between Northern Ireland's two main historical traditions. We will also strive to prevent new ones developing with our minority ethnic communities, who are an integral part of building a new Northern Ireland. Indeed, the House will be all too aware of the ongoing discussion this week at a high level to try to bring about real progress on the thorny issues that exist in Northern Ireland, and I sincerely hope that the efforts will not be in vain and that an agreed outcome will be achieved. I believe that the cohesion, sharing and integration strategy was merely a starting point and has been built upon by the Together: Building a United Community initiative in this Assembly term.”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Can she give us an update in relation to the amount of business that Invest NI has carried out in the Upper Bann constituency over the past two years?”
“The focus of my question is on the importance of maintaining the trust and confidence of the victims. Given the role that you have played over the past number of weeks in relation to sexual abuse and the comments of the deputy First Minister in the debate last week, how can victims have any confidence in you to deliver?”
“In addition, I want to ensure that protection is offered, in so far as is possible and reasonable, to any parents who may be in the group who will not benefit as much from the new scheme when compared with the voucher scheme. We will examine those issues closely as the scheme continues to be rolled out. At this point, we support the motion.”
“In addition, it will not be dependent on employers offering it and will be targeted towards those lower-income working families who most need financial support for childcare. <BR /> <BR />Our analysis at this stage is that the new scheme has significant potential to enhance and support affordable childcare. Importantly, the scheme is being funded centrally from London and will add no additional Budget pressure on Northern Ireland while bringing new financial support for many families. There are things that my colleagues and I would like to see changed. I would like the support in the new scheme to extend to young people aged up to 16 rather than to 12, as currently proposed.”
“A considerable amount has already been said on this issue in the context of the debate of just a few weeks ago. I do not intend to go into all those details again; rather, I will touch on a few for the purposes of addressing the motion. <BR /> <BR />The childcare voucher scheme was extremely complicated and suffered from low uptake in Northern Ireland and across the United Kingdom. Organisations such as Employers For Childcare played a constructive and positive role in ensuring that parents could navigate this complex system. However, it remained challenging, and the uptake was too low. It needed to be reformed. I therefore welcome the moves towards this new scheme, which aims to widen the scope of who can qualify and to simplify access for parents.”
“I also thank the Minister. Will he outline what the draft Budget means for welfare reform?”