Gregory Campbell
East Londonderry · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I begin my contribution by thanking all the staff in this Assembly and in previous Assemblies, whom I found to be extremely courteous, diligent and helpful at all times. <BR /> <BR />I spent yesterday morning in the Senate Chamber at an event for victims, and I sat beside one of our youngest councillors in Northern Ireland.”
“We took the right decisions when it would have been easier to take the wrong ones, and, for that, we make no apology. For our stance, our statements and our comments since then, we make no apology whatsoever — none. <BR /> <BR />Over the last five years, people yearned for delivery, which has begun under the guidance of the DUP.”
“The Minister referred to the £6·7 billion that would be required over 30 years. He, obviously, had an exceptionally difficult task when determining whether an increase would be due in Housing Executive rents.”
“If a large sporting arena is close to a residential development, it is paramount that the organisers of the events liaise closely with residents, if there is a formal residents' structure in the area, to make sure that access to and departure from an event are done promptly and in a manner that does not give rise to concerns among residen…”
“The 9.00 pm threshold, which has been alluded to several times, was the subject of some scrutiny by the Committee, particularly in respect of the games — quite a few games — at the Kingspan Stadium that commence around 7.00 pm or 7.30 pm and therefore run close to the 9.00 pm threshold.”
“I will start where the Chair left off and append my congratulations to Carl Frampton. It was certainly clear on Saturday night that the Ulster boys were making all the noise everywhere they went. We wish him every success for the future.”
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“They were symptomatic of the success of the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games team. <BR /> <BR />However, what we are really endeavouring to do with this motion is not just to commend the team. We should do that, and it already has been done by the Department, the Minister, and the First Minister and deputy First Minister. It is right, proper and entirely appropriate that the entire country congratulates those who took part, particularly the medal winners.”
“It is with considerable joy that I move the motion. This is a moment of rejoicing across Northern Ireland, and it has been so since the Commonwealth Games took place because of the success of the participants. It was a substantial improvement on previous performances, and while I will not spend undue time naming each of them, they are worth mentioning. <BR /> <BR />The gold medal winners were Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlon. The silver medal winners were: at boxing, Michaela Walsh and Joe Fitzpatrick; and in the men's triples at lawn bowls, Neil Booth, Paul Daly and Neil Mullholland. The bronze medal winners were: in boxing, Alanna Audley-Murphy, Steven Donnelly, Connor Coyle, Sean Duffy and Sean McGlinchy; Lisa Kearney in judo; and, in the women's pairs in lawn bowls, Barbara Cameron and Mandy Cunningham.”
“The Minister has said that rural proofing is very important. She also said that she intends to legislate. Given that she has been in office for some time, can she outline what the change has been in rural proofing on her watch compared with previously?”
“I, of course, join in congratulating my honourable friend on his elevation. Both he and his immediate predecessor have indicated the scale of affordable and social housing that has been provided in recent years. Has he got any figures that he can supply for the immediately preceding four or five years? If not, perhaps he can write to me.”
“The Minister will know that my constituency extends from four miles from the border to 50 miles from the border and, while a very small number of people might want to extend their mobility to take advantage of classes in the Irish Republic, the vast majority do not. Will he give the House an assurance that whatever resource he deploys will not be at the expense of promoting mobility for students within Northern Ireland who are trying to avail themselves of classes that they will require to get themselves into full-time employment in this country?”
“The Minister will be aware of the long-running interest that my constituency colleagues and I have in the issue. I welcome his reference to a phased development. When the business case returns and he makes representations to the Department of Finance and the Minister thereof, will he ensure that the case is pressed very vigorously so that the phased development that he referred to can begin as quickly as possible?”
“Will the Minister outline the impact that he has had on the numbers of key staff in the local health service workforce?”
“On the issue of winners and losers in town centres, will the Minister outline whether there will be any hardship assistance for losers, particularly in urban centres — small traders and shop owners in those locations — that have lost out significantly?”
“That was agreed by a nationalist-controlled council with no opposition from any councillor, and Sinn Féin is the largest party on the council.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. When he is on the issue of Sinn Féin's embarrassment, would he agree that it must be slightly embarrassing that, last week in Limavady Borough Council, where Sinn Féin is the largest political party, a motion was passed that:”
“The First Minister referred to his comments about the institutions not being fit for purpose. Many people indicated that that was an accurate summary, but he was criticised by a number of political parties, including Sinn Féin. Yet, over the weekend, the former Minister and current MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Michelle Gildernew, said that the institutions were untenable. Does he see a distinction between the two comments?”
“Hopefully, everyone can play their part in that, and we will not have the position that some — namely Sinn Féin — adopt in which they complain when decisions are taken and then, when there is an option to try to change them, boycott the place where the changes will occur. So hopefully, we can move on. As I said, the Scotland referendum is now finished. It is done and dusted, and we now get down to the hard work of ensuring that people do not feel disaffected, irrespective of which part of this United Kingdom they live in and belong to.”
“The referendum was more to do with disaffection from central government and the sense of economic isolation from the south-east of England, and that can resonate with people in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Whatever the reasons, the people of Scotland have spoken and settled the matter. Now that they have, the issue becomes a UK-wide one, and the Prime Minister indicated his intention to proceed with changes throughout the UK. All of us must play our part in that, and, of course, to play our part in those changes, we need to be in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, where the table will be laid out for discussions about how and when changes will happen.”
“Like Mr Nesbitt, I join in recognition of the decision by the people of Scotland to vote in the way that they did. That said, I and others made it very clear throughout the campaign and even before it started that it was entirely and exclusively a matter for the people of Scotland to decide on. Now that they have done so, it is appropriate that we should comment on that and, more importantly, outline what we see as our vision for the way forward with Scotland as a part of the United Kingdom. <BR /> <BR />The voting in the two principal cities is no coincidence in that the relatively more affluent Edinburgh was 61% no and the relatively less affluent Glasgow was 53% yes.”
“The Member said "most of the speakers" have recognised the importance of the project. I have not heard anyone say that they did not recognise that. I got the distinct impression that there was unanimity on the project.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. He talks about the resources that have been made available for the radiotherapy unit. He spoke earlier about the truth. Would he agree with me that the truth is unlike what we heard from Mrs Dobson a few moments ago, when she indicated that the previous Minister did not have the resources to commence work on the radiotherapy unit? The present Minister managed to get those resources in his first week in office, and they were already there when the previous Minister was there. If we are talking about truth, people should stand up, put their hands up in the air and say that they were guilty of not proceeding with the unit when they had the opportunity to do so.”
“That was his life; that was what he knew he had to do. Once it came to the point in his life where some of his enemies realised that they could not bomb or blast his people, he was prepared to be as assertive in his magnanimity as he was in his opposition. Once he reached that point, he was prepared to go forward. People learned that, if you kept asking Ian Paisley the wrong question, you got the wrong answer. That is why they got the word "no" all the time. However, when they asked the right question, they got the right answer. <BR /> <BR />When we come to the point that we all reach of crossing the Jordan, we need to know that Ian Paisley's saviour is our saviour, too. I know that, in the corridors of glory today, there is singing a bit louder and shouting a bit louder than there was on Thursday.”
“Of course, that was in the days before mobile phones. We had to go to another home, because ours was sealed off as the army disposal officers tried to deal with the device under our car. Ian Paisley sought out where I was and phoned me to pray and to assure me of his support in the midst of the deepest trauma. <BR /> <BR />A few years ago, when a member of my family was nearing the end and I was in hospital, the phone rang. It was Ian Paisley on the end of the phone. He was a man of compassion, a preacher and a politician. He was a man who did not broach subjects with any stealth; whatever it was, he was full on. I have read some attempts to rewrite history over the past few days, and we shall deal with those in the next few days. He was very clear in his life and his ministry: error had to be exposed, and enemies had to be opposed.”
“I remember when, in 1984, the INLA planted a car bomb to try to destroy me, my wife and my family.”
“I join others in offering my sympathy to the Paisley family today. Of course, our best wishes go to the Speaker as well as he recovers in hospital. <BR />My mind is drawn to one of the first times that I heard of Ian Paisley, way back in the late 1960s, when the Troubles were afflicting our Province. I had heard that he was to speak at a meeting in Limavady Town Hall. I, in my naivety as a young teenager, thought that this was a political meeting, even though it was on a Sunday afternoon. I went along to hear about how Ulster's ills could be remedied. I did hear of a remedy, but it was not a remedy for political ills. The remedy was that someone like me, who was born in sin, could find a saviour. That is what he preached unequivocally and clearly that day. <BR /> <BR />I got to know him much better in the years that followed.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I thought that some of our contributions on this side were trying to show the extent of any similar analogy on the loyalist side, but the Member seems to have missed that. Is this not a rightful condemnation of people who say that the other side should "get out"? That is effectively what the speaker in the Druids band said from the stage — that we, people from Ulster, should leave Ulster and go to England. If anybody says that about people in the Irish Republic, it is equally wrong and to be condemned, and if any action can be taken by the police and the prosecution service, they should do that. Does the Member not see the equality there?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I am glad that he used that analogy, which was accurate and to the point here, because people are talking about music being played where it should not be. This was an attack and assertion that people should leave where they were born and where they live, and it was used in the context of a hate-filled speech. Does the Member agree with me that not only is the analogy that he paints correct but the condemnation, welcome as it is, needs to be followed now by action to ensure that it does not happen again?”
“I was never Minister for Social Development. I thank you for the opportunity to correct one of a number of inexactitudes.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. It relates to the debate yesterday on the 'Spotlight' programme. I do not wish to reopen any debating points that were made, but I have a copy of yesterday's Hansard, and, during a contribution by my friend the Member for North Down Mr Weir, Mrs Dolores Kelly from the SDLP made the following intervention:”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Does he agree with me that it appears that Mr Allister, who came onto the Committee only after being in consultation with the late David McClarty, did so for one purpose and one purpose only, which had nothing to do with saving £15 million? Having walked away from confronting Sinn Féin in 1987, he decided to come back in 2004. He spends more time asking about the price of mint imperials than he does about saving £15 million to the public purse; that is what he is concerned about.”
“— but it is very difficult to follow the extent and speed of the contribution.”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. This is an important subject. I do not know whether others had speed-reading courses in the Assembly, but it is exceptionally difficult to follow what is being said at the rate at which it is being said by the Chairman of the Committee. I do not know whether he is trying to cram 35 minutes into 15 minutes —”
“I welcome the Minister's assurance on that issue. Setting aside the funding, which I know that he will probably allude to and the support for the money that he needs to proceed with the scheme, which he will get, can he give an assurance that every step and measure that needs to be taken in advance of proceeding with the A6 scheme will be put in place as urgently as possible, because he knows that some businesses have already closed in anticipation of a road scheme, and they are now wondering whether it will ever be completed?”