Mervyn Storey
North Antrim · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his statement. It will be noted that there are those who cry much about the environment and purport to be the champions of the environment who did not have the courtesy to come to the House and be present when the statement was being made.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Clearly, there are some in the House who want to continue with the same old, same old and get the same outcomes at a huge cost to the public purse and to farms in Northern Ireland. The Minister is absolutely right: it is a scourge.”
“I am sure that the Minister will be aware, having listened to the Member who spoke before me, that the farmers of North Antrim will make an informed choice about who best supported farmers during this mandate of the Assembly.”
“A pilot scheme has been operating with the Education Authority, the PSNI and the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust across 60 schools in the south Down area since September 2021 and was extended to a further 77 schools in the Newry and south Armagh areas at the start of February 2022.”
“As Chair of the Justice Committee, I am pleased to welcome the motion. It implements the provisions taken forward by the Committee in the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021 to establish an Operation Encompass model in Northern Ireland, which is, as the Minister has outlined, a police and early intervention pa…”
“We had our final meeting of that Committee this morning, and I want to place on the public record our appreciation and thanks to our Committee staff of for all the work that they have done.”
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“<BR /> <BR />When consideration was given to additional information provided by the Department at the Committee meeting on 8 October 2020, members noted that, before an application is made for a deduction order for payment of an outstanding fine, efforts are made to engage with the defaulter and to agree the best way to recover the fine. When deductions are considered to be the best option, an application is made to the Department for Communities, which then decides whether to make a deduction order and the level of those deductions. Officials in the Department for Communities also confirmed that deductions from universal credit can be made only in respect of the standard element of the benefit and not any additional amounts for individual needs, such as housing, children and disability.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Committee first considered the proposal for the statutory rule at its meeting on 10 September 2020 and requested further information on a range of issues, including the legislative safeguards that are in place with regard to the levels of deduction from benefits, the criteria used to evidence hardship and the position if deductions are already being made in respect of other matters, such as the repayment of a loan. Members also asked for information on how the addition of universal credit to the list of benefits from which payments can be taken will be communicated to applicants and the advice sector.”
“I thank the Minister for outlining the reasons why this is being considered by the House today. I will make a few comments on behalf of the Committee. This is the first occasion on which I have spoken as Chair of the Committee. <BR /> <BR />As the Minister outlined, the statutory rule will add universal credit to the list of benefits from which deductions may be made under a collection order for the payment of a fine or other penalty. Universal credit was under development but had not been introduced when the Justice Act was passed in 2016, and it now needs to be added to ensure that the arrangements under the Act will be able to continue as universal credit is rolled out.”
“What will take precedence in determining the outcome, and who will have the final say? Will it be the GP's history of the individual or — this is my worry — the medical assessment that will be driven by Capita? Given its assessments in the past, we have much to be concerned about.”
“I urge and encourage the Minister to listen to the clamour, concern and worry out there about this. The medical assessment service will be established, but, Minister, you also said recently:”
“However, miscarriage leaves a scar and a pain. I therefore ask the Minister to consider the requirements of families who suffer miscarriage. Given the staggering number of miscarriages in Northern Ireland, that would be particularly welcomed. I wish the Minister well. I look forward to further work on this legislation.”
“In conclusion, I come to an issue that is personal, and it would be welcome if this were considered. Some 30 years ago, while working for a previous employer, Lovell and Christmas, in my hometown of Ballymoney, I got a call from my line manager to say that I was to immediately go to the then Route Hospital in Ballymoney. I left my employment that morning, along with a colleague who got a call at the same time to go to the same hospital. Both of us went through the security hut and out into the car park to go to our cars. My colleague, who is still a friend to this day, was going to rejoice in the birth of his baby girl, and I was going to visit my wife Christine, who had lost our first child. Miscarriage brings an awful pain. Thankfully, yes, we successfully had three other children, of whom, as a parent, I am rightly very proud.”
“There are, however, many working families in society who feel that this place has, by and large, neglected them and that the legislation that we enact does not fairly reflect their needs. The Bill will, hopefully, address that in a very practical way.”
“Let us remember that we have broad welfare support provision for families who fall into challenging and difficult circumstances — I often repeated this as Minister in the then Department for Social Development, now the Department for Communities — and it is called "social security" provision. It is a security for families. It is a help to families.”
“There is an issue about the consequential implications for other Departments. Reference has been made to the Department for Communities, and it has a responsibility for elements of the employment regulations. The Member who spoke previously referred to the reasons for which HMRC had raised concerns about the day-one implications. The Member for Foyle, I think, made the valid point that this is our legislation. If that is the case, albeit it is a small Bill, there is an opportunity to do something with it that moulds and shapes it to fit the needs of circumstances in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />It is to be welcomed that we are reflecting the importance of working parents.”
“An employer does not have to pay an employee for that time away from work, but, as we have said, many employers offer paid special or compassionate leave. <BR /> <BR />The issue of consequential implications has been mentioned, and I would appreciate it if the Committee were to consider it. My colleague will know and, if he does not know, he will certainly know over the next few weeks the challenges that will face him in the briefing notes that he will get. I am sure that he will be shown compassion as he heads home to Ballymena this evening and that there will be no briefing papers or questions for him to sign off in his ministerial car. I am sure that he will be given some considerable leeway. I doubt whether that is the case, however, because the system has not changed that much since some of us were in his position.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is also right to make some comment in the House, and I am sure that contrary comments will be made, about the employers that currently show good working practice and have compassion and care for their staff. I pay tribute to some employers in my constituency that have demonstrated by their actions, not merely by their words, the concern that they have for their staff and the way in which they reflect the value of those staff to their organisation. <BR /> <BR />It is true to say that, at present, there is no corresponding or dedicated parental bereavement legislation in Northern Ireland. The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 gives a day-one right for an employee to have reasonable time off work to deal with an emergency such as a bereavement involving a dependant.”
“Sadly, there is legislation that the House has enacted or that has been enacted on our behalf that shows little care and compassion. I think of the many thousands of children who will never see or have a parent because of legislation that was enacted against the will of the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />The purpose of today's debate, however, is to focus our attention on legislation that does reflect care and compassion. Members have made a variety of comments on the two elements in the Bill. The Bill will lead to regulations that will undoubtedly set out the eligibility criteria, how and when leave and pay can be taken and the employment protections.”
“I welcome my colleague and friend Paul Frew to his ministerial role, and I pay tribute to our colleague Diane Dodds. It is a point well made that the previous Minister can take some comfort from the fact that she saw this legislation introduced. I also pay tribute to the Member who spoke before me. It is not often that I am in agreement with a lot that the Member says, because he and I can have many differences on many issues, but he set out very clearly some of the issues in the Bill. <BR /> <BR />Many's a time I come to the House and wish for the care that is reflected in this Bill — compassion is the word that a couple of Members have mentioned — to be shown.”
“I congratulate my North Antrim colleague and friend Paul Frew on his appointment. I also pay tribute to the outgoing Minister, Diane Dodds, for the work that she did. <BR /> <BR />Obviously, Minister, given our geography, connectivity, as you rightly said, is important for Northern Ireland, and you mentioned the kick-start programme, but could you comment on the abolition of short-haul air passenger duty (APD) and how that would secure connectivity in the future?”
“I welcome the Minister's comments, particularly those on the important role that the Robinson and other facilities such as Dalriada in our North Antrim constituency play in the delivery of healthcare. Will he ensure that, in the plans for the overall provision of acute care in Northern Ireland — he faces some challenges in that — the Robinson, Dalriada and other cottage-type hospitals will play an important role and that they will be there in the future for our constituents?”
“Just on that point about cutting the ribbon for a new shiny road, six months later a utility will come in and dig up the road. There is an issue about not just the finance but the legal framework in what some would describe as the very draconian way in which utilities, after money is spent on resurfacing or fixing a road, come along within six months and destroy what was there and had been repaired.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. No one will be surprised to hear that I find what he is saying to be as much hot air as some of the rest of the hot air. Has he not read the Northern Ireland Audit Office report that is a damning indictment of this Assembly? We have received £900 million of funding, and we have not addressed the needs in socially deprived areas. There is a crisis. Throwing money at it has not worked. There is a real problem, so how are we going to address the Northern Ireland Audit Office report's finding, given that £900 million since 2005 has not done it?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. I thank the Minister for his comments in relation to the strategic priorities. For a long time, I have had the view that we need a priority framework. Members will have heard me say this in the House before: this place seems to want to do everything and does not know how it will fund it all, particularly in relation to health. What is it? Is it Bengoa, or is it a restructuring of health? The reality for all Members is that, if it is Bengoa, that means that there are services in each of our constituencies that will not be there. I would like to have some insight from the Finance Minister's point of view. Is he prepared to fund the Bengoa report, which basically means that we go from 11 acute hospitals to six? Is that the trajectory of improving services that we are looking at?”
“— than the livelihoods and health and well-being of us all.”
“Some of us take the view that it is probably over-scrutinised on those matters. Whether it be a protest or a funeral, no one should try, as some have done, to circumnavigate the law to say that their issue, whether it is the events concerning the death of George Floyd or the funeral of Bobby Storey, is more important —”
“I met representatives of the Black Lives Matter organisation from Londonderry some months ago, and I underlined that there is no institutionalised racism as they described. <BR /> <BR />It is shameful that are those who have used the system to attack the police, verbally or physically, in the circumstances that we have found ourselves in over the past number of months. No one should be above the law. Surely, in attending a protest against an action that they rightly felt very concerned and aggrieved about, those people should have observed the parameters that exist for us all. There is no equivalence between the actions of the police services in the United States and what happens with our police service in Northern Ireland. The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the most scrutinised police service.”
“No one should be surprised that the Matter of the Day has come to the House and is cloaked in a sense of injustice. However, it also gives an opportunity to attack the police. <BR /> <BR />In the last year, the police have had the most difficult of jobs to carry out, not least because of the pandemic that we endured. I am amongst those who have been critical of police actions. Where I am critical, I always set it in the context of saying, first and foremost, that there is only one law and order and only one organisation that is legally bound to uphold the law, and that is the Police Service of Northern Ireland. There is no institutionalised racism in the actions of the police.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. The Minister will be aware that this has been on the cards since 2009 and that limited progress has been made. When I was Minister, we had the successful revitalisation scheme, which brought 200,000 people into the area's shops. Will the Minister give a commitment that the concerns of the residents, particularly in relation to the seafront and the ferry terminal, which supplies and is important to Rathlin Island, will be taken into consideration? Will she also commit to a financial package for the strategy? Will she agree to meet me and local businesses to discuss the development plan as it unfolds?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. He talks about reform of public services. I first came to the House in 2003, and we have always talked about the 60:40 split and how we should turn that around. Does the Member accept that, if we do that, people will lose their jobs? The voluntary exit scheme cost us millions and we have not changed the 60:40 split, so it really was not a success.”
“The difficulty I have when I come to the House is that we want to do everything. Here we go; here is another party that castigated my colleagues and the scandal of RHI, but now we are talking about another subsidy. When are we going to have an honest debate about subsidies and the amount of money that we pump across government? Yet, when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, we are closing down one of the very schemes that contributed to that.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Let us remember that the House said that RHI was a bad thing, was too costly, was a scandal, and was an awful thing that should not have happened. How will we pay for making that transition? Will we be put in the same position of having a scheme that is not fit for purpose and ends up with everybody crying foul and our having another disaster on our hands? How will we square that circle?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I am listening to claims about climate justice, whatever that is, and I have to say that justice seems to creep into every discussion. What justice is there for the farming community in North Antrim, which makes an invaluable contribution to the husbandry of our constituency and whose lives and livelihoods are now being put in jeopardy? In fact, as has been the case with some previous attempts, they are being blamed for the problem. For those families and for the future of their young people, can the Member therefore explain to me how he will support farming in our constituency of North Antrim and achieve his goal of saving the world?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Not for the first time, the party opposite takes every opportunity have a go at the Tories and the Economy Minister, but the Executive are never mentioned. Will the Member clarify for me whether the Economy Minister's deal was approved by the Executive, or is the Economy Minister on a solo run? Do the Executive pick and choose when they are in favour of something? That would have serious implications for what will happen over the next few months.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. He raised a valid point about hydrogen and the use of wind. In some cases, there is an inherent contradiction in those who advocate a green new deal, new energy and so on. They are sometimes the ones who champion opposing planning applications for installing some of those facilities. How do we ensure that they appreciate that they cannot have it both ways if we are to move forward on the issue?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Will she accept that one of the things that have created such a problem is that, every time the party opposite is involved in negotiations, the first thing is not deprivation in west Belfast or education but what dirty deal it can do to get letters of comfort and have no ballistics from decommissioning so that no one can be taken to court. That is what we are dealing with, and that is the problem that has corrupted the process of truth and justice in Northern Ireland. They come to the House today and want everyone to open their cupboards and tell everyone else's secrets apart from theirs.”
“<BR /> <BR />If we are going to get the truth, and if we want to know the truth, why did Martin McGuinness not tell the truth to the Bloody Sunday inquiry? Why do we not know the truth about Stakeknife, Fisherman and all the secret agents who were in the republican community? Let us have the truth — not part of the truth, not some of the truth — so that Northern Ireland can move on. I want this country and its people, from wherever they come, to live in peace, but we will not be able to achieve what we want to achieve when there are those who want to continue the dirty war in which our people were massacred by terrorist organisations. Let us have the truth; let us have it all.”
“Thank you. <BR /> <BR />Sadly, we could go down a list. There is a call today for a public inquiry. Let us remind the House of the most expensive public inquiry that we have had in these islands — the Bloody Sunday inquiry. Let us remember that when that inquiry was held and people wanted to get to the truth, what did the late Martin McGuinness do when he went to the inquiry? He invoked the IRA code, the code of an illegal terrorist organisation that has created orphans and widows and destruction. They were no freedom fighters. <BR /> <BR />The party opposite wants to sanitise the past. Some of them, sadly, go to commemorations and eulogise, and then they come to the House and give a bland, "We're sorry". They do not do that when they put on paramilitary garb and commemorate the IRA, which was a terrorist organisation.”
“We now know that a letter was sent from prison, and I am sure that the Member opposite, Mr Kelly, who was in prison, could tell us more about that. What did that letter tell us? That Bobby Sands's dying wish was that he not be buried in Milltown. Yet the republican agenda was more important.”
“I had not intended to speak, but having listened to contributions from the party opposite, I want to make a public plea in the Assembly today. When are we going to get the truth about the IRA? The murder of Pat Finucane — and that is what it was. Let us not try to equivocate; that is what it was. But there are families in Northern Ireland today who know who pulled the trigger and who committed the crime but, because of deals that have been done, whether for on-the-runs (OTRs), letters of comfort or royal pardons — let us think about the magnitude of this. Republicans who claim to be the real champions of the cause get a royal pardon from Her Majesty The Queen. That is how brave members of the IRA were. <BR /> <BR />Let us talk about truth. I mentioned it in the debate earlier today. The iconic figure in republicanism was Bobby Sands.”
“Keeping things in North Antrim, it is good to see that the five-party mandatory coalition is working well when the Minister is making a bid already for additional finances. What planning is going into making up those multidisciplinary teams? Long COVID will be with us, if you will excuse the pun, for a long time. Will you ensure, Minister, that facilities such as Dalriada Hospital in Ballycastle, Robinson Hospital in Ballymoney and our local health centres will play an important role in those teams, given their strategic location and importance”
“I am glad that those concerns were recognised by the Chief Constable yesterday. We will work with the police and our communities to ensure that there are no double standards when it comes to applying the law.”
“<BR /> <BR />The PSNI's handling of the events and its engagement with the organisers, which the PPS and Her Majesty's inspectorate have concluded provided a reasonable defence from prosecution, have contributed to long-standing concerns and the lack of confidence in policing, particularly in the unionist and loyalist community.”
“Let it be remembered that my colleagues and I on the Policing Board — I declare an interest as a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board — supported bringing in HMICFRS to carry out this review. Therefore, we will not shy away from addressing the issues that it has raised or the commentary that it has made. We will now apply ourselves to ensuring that everything is done to address the concerns raised. <BR /> <BR />We should also remember that we still do not know the outcome of the review of the decision of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) or whether the Police Ombudsman will carry out an investigation. Therefore, there is some way to go in bringing this matter to a conclusion.”
“No respect, no regard, no restraint. The movement was more important than any other consideration. <BR /> <BR />How different were the actions of many across Northern Ireland who had to bury their loved one alone, isolated and within the law. It all stands in stark contrast to the way in which our gracious Majesty The Queen laid to rest her beloved husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Yet, at the same time, the deputy First Minister and other Sinn Féin Ministers were calling on us all to heed the advice when they were devising means whereby they would apply a different standard.”
“I welcome the opportunity to make this statement to the House on the findings of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary that were published yesterday. The scenes that were witnessed at the funeral of Bobby Storey, when thousands of people were brought on to the streets by Sinn Féin, were in breach of the spirit and the letter of the COVID regulations. Their actions cast a dark shadow over the culture of lawfulness and were an embarrassment to law and order in Northern Ireland during the pandemic. Not for the first time in the history of Sinn Féin have we seen it use the dead or the dying for its own agenda. If it was prepared to ignore the dying wishes of Bobby Sands, one of its republican icons, encouraging and organising thousands of people on to the streets of west Belfast would be seen by it as what needed to be done.”
“I thank my colleague from North Antrim for giving way. Will he and those who were vociferous in the House yesterday accept that the greatest custodians of the environment, peatlands and forests are the very farmers whom they, with their Climate Change Bill, want to actually put out of business?”
“I thank the Minister for the work that he has endeavoured to carry out in relation to the needs of children with special needs. There has been success by way of a reduction in delays. What actions have been taken to ensure that the assessment process has improved so that the ultimate outcome is child-centred and parent-led?”
“The Minister will be aware of another devastating event that took place some 22 years ago in my constituency, with the destruction of the then Lovell and Christmas bacon plant. That was my former employer. It had a huge impact on the mental well-being of the business community and, particularly, the farming community and on the pig industry in my constituency. Will the Minister join me in welcoming the fact that Bann Side Foods submitted a proposal of application notice (PAN) to the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council on Friday, with the potential for 400 jobs and a £75 million investment? Surely, that will be good for the mental health and economic prosperity of the farming community in my constituency.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I notice that the tone and the tenor of language are beginning to change again. It does not take the House long to forget what was said in the Chamber last week about respect and the way in which we use language. The Member is using language that is not helpful. He made accusations about us not hearing, about brigadiers and all of that. There are no brigadiers in the DUP. You may have to look in other places to find them. <BR /> <BR />Does the Member accept that the one thing that he keeps forgetting is that this was a democratic decision by the United Kingdom, of which we are a part, and that that democratic mandate gave the UK the right to leave the European Union? Sinn Féin is a party that always talks about "one man, one vote", but it seems that that applies only when it suits it.”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I apologise to the Minister and to the House for the rude interruption of my phone. If only I could be silenced as quickly as the mute button on my phone works, some would think that that would be of great benefit to many people. I apologise to all concerned in the House.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I make the plea to her and to colleagues around the House that when some of us come to the House with genuine concerns about problems — things that we will disagree on; I will not list them, because that is not for today — we are not dismissed and seen as dinosaurs. We genuinely represent people in our community who hold those views, and we should not be dismissed. If today is to achieve anything, surely to start by putting that respect into action would be a step forward.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. He has made a very powerful point. I remember, when I was Minister for Social Development, asking for a breakdown of all the money spent in certain areas. It was stark. Money was spent in the very areas that we are seeing engulfed in violence and trouble today. Is it because there has been a tendency to feed some others and give priority to some other people in those communities? Maybe that is part of the problem as well.”
“— who were justifying murder and mayhem. Now the time has come to show respect, not only by your words but by your deeds, do what you said others should do and dial down the rhetoric and give leadership to your community, as well as respect to mine.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Whenever any call comes from my office, it is wrong. <BR /> <BR />I want to return to rhetoric. The Alliance leader was on the radio this morning and rightly said that we need to consider our language, but she then said that we had been lied to about Brexit. As we leave the Chamber, if our starting point is to take the advice of the Speaker and the comments of some Members who have already spoken to mind our language, let us be consistent in that. <BR /> <BR />I said this morning that I have suffered politically and personally because we went into government with Sinn Féin in 2007. People have stopped speaking to me and have stopped socialising with us, but we stretched out the hand to those —”