Stephen Farry
North Down · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Speaking for a party that has a longer pedigree in advocating a public inquiry than both the DUP and Sinn Féin, I nonetheless welcome this announcement, despite the torturous path that we have had and, indeed, the missed opportunities.”
“The first was a reform of the petition of concern to take it back to the original intent when it was designed in 1998. It was clear at that stage that Arlene Foster banged the table and said, "No, never. We are not doing that. That is a way whereby we are going to have to fold on equal marriage: it's not happening".”
“<BR /> <BR />The main points that I make concern the substance of the order. There are probably three aspects that the Minister needs to address properly before the Assembly, and they really relate to what other options he has.”
“That raises the question of why they want to go as far as 2022, especially when I am not sure — I would welcome any clarification to the contrary on it — that there has been formal Executive approval of this.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are three major substantive issues that I do not believe have been properly aired on this: VAT; European Commission infraction proceedings; and, most important, the opportunity foregone to revisit the classification of Northern Ireland Water and the ability, through a separate water charge, to allow it to borrow commerc…”
“While my party was supportive of the Good Friday Agreement back in 1998, at that time, we expressed some reservations around the very detailed nature of the proposals and how those could, in due course, destabilise Northern Ireland and prevent us from realising our full potential. We have been very much vindicated in that analysis.”
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“— but let me stress that we are processing the business case and waiting for revised information to come forward from the strategy group. If we are to see the expansion of MaSN, we need to have the funding to do that. I am happy to bid for that, but we have to have a sense of reality about it. I mean —”
“First, I concur with the Member that there are major structural issues in relation to unemployment and economic inactivity, which is the hidden form of unemployment, and that both are particularly high in the Foyle constituency. It is a bit of a stretch to jump into the issue of MaSN and the potential expansion at Magee —”
“If they have not invested in skills, they will very quickly be overtaken by other cohorts of young people coming through. They would then face a life of unemployment or economic inactivity, so it is very important, for a whole range of reasons, that we encourage people on that journey.”
“We are happy to come back to the Member with the precise figures, but it is important to bear in mind the range of different job opportunities out there for young people. Some will be of a permanent nature and some will be of a temporary nature. All are of worth, and it is important that we do not create some sort of hierarchy or dismiss opportunities. It is very important that we encourage young people to get that experience because it allows them, in turn, to progress to other opportunities, or to go back into further education or higher education. The worst possible situation is that we get defensive about opportunities and end up with young people being left on the shelf so that their education or training goes rusty.”
“Sadly, given the context around the Budget, it was never going to be viable for the Executive to renew that particular pot, so we are now in a situation where, from existing resources — there is even a question mark over those, as the Member will be aware — we are trying to offer a more limited package of opportunities in direct interventions to help young people.”
“We have certainly encouraged other Departments to offer opportunities, and I am pleased that all my ministerial colleagues understand the logic of that. We have also spoken to arm's-length bodies and to district councils about offering placements. However, in the current financial context, we have a situation where there is an inevitability about a lot of the public-sector organisations wishing to shed staff. In that context, opportunities in the public sector are going to be very limited or, indeed, next to impossible. We have to have a wider discussion around the continued problem of youth unemployment. The Member will be aware that, in 2012, the Executive came forward with a major package of funding over three years to fund the youth employment scheme.”
“It is planned that the new proposed youth training system will be available to all young people aged between 16 and 24, facilitating progression into an apprenticeship, further education or sustained employment. A series of pilot initiatives will be implemented during the current financial year, prior to implementation in full in the next year.”
“Steps 2 Success is available to all eligible jobseekers, irrespective of their employability need or age. Clients who are in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance and aged between 18 and 24 will be mandated onto the programme after nine months on benefit. <BR /> <BR />I recently introduced Into Work Training Support, enabling clients to undertake short training courses to improve their employability. In addition, enterprise allowance, a new measure of support for clients seeking to start their own business, was made available from April. <BR /> <BR />The Department is leading in the development of the United Youth programme. The target group for the pilots beginning in 2015-16 are those aged between 16 and 24, who are not in education, employment or training. <BR /> <BR />We are also undertaking a review of youth training.”
“My Department has a wide range of measures to address youth unemployment in Foyle and will be implementing the new initiatives from 2015-16 to improve opportunities for young people across Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />The youth employment scheme was introduced to help those aged between 18 and 24 to develop skills, compete for jobs and sustain employment. In the Foyle and Lisnagelvin jobs and benefits offices' catchment areas, a total of 1,200 young people participated between July 2012 and March 2015. To date, over 400 participants have moved into subsidised or unsubsidised employment. A refreshed youth employment scheme will be introduced from June 2015, subject to funding being available. <BR /> <BR />The main employment programme, Steps 2 Success, is delivered by EOS NI in the Foyle area.”
“The issue probably predates the red flag; people were transporting things before the motor car was invented. We have historical provision. The situation is evolving, and I have explained why that is the case. At the same time, under my watch, we are developing a new approach to vocational training, in the apprenticeships strategy and the strategy on youth training. If the Member wants to go down the avenue of asking, "Why is this only being done now? This is not rocket science", I would remind him that his party held this Department in the first mandate of the Assembly, from 1999 onwards, and there was no revolution in vocational training — if I can use the term "revolution" when we talk about transport — at that particular time, but it is now being addressed.”
“I would be very happy to take a look at the issue, if the Member could drop me a line or an email to set out some of the issues. Some of the factors will be whether we are talking about an entirely private sector situation or about some degree of public-sector involvement. The potential way forward, the Member suggests, would be set in the context of the contracting of a lot of the skills offer that we have and the provision within FE and higher education. I am more than happy to look at the points that the Member has raised.”
“We are in discussions with the sector, and opportunities may well emerge to address those particular high-skilled demands. In particular, I draw your attention to the apprenticeships strategy and the fact that we have money under the change fund for pilots. To my estimation, that type of course, particularly given its vocational nature, would lend itself very readily to a higher-level apprenticeship. Through that course, we may actually see the needs of the sector being not only addressed but addressed in a more efficient and effective manner.”
“As I said to Mr McCann, a moment ago, a whole host of things, which, on the surface, seem very short-sighted and nonsensical, are happening, but we are in a situation where, in the forthcoming year, we will be taking £16 million out of higher education and £12 million out of further education. Universities are going to have to take some very difficult decisions. The decisions that were taken were those for Ulster University to make. It is its job, not the job of the Department, to determine which courses are offered and which are not. The universities are seeking to rationalise the courses that are on offer. In that way, they are better placed to maximise the number of opportunities for students in Northern Ireland. I appreciate that there are particular consequences for the sector from those decisions.”
“The university is also planning to introduce a specialism in logistics/supply chain management as part of its business studies programme. The Northern Regional College provides two courses at level 3 for transport managers. In the academic year 2013-14, there were six enrolments, and there were nine in the current year. That course will be available for the forthcoming academic year as well. <BR /> <BR />Recently, my officials met representatives from the sector to discuss how they can work more closely together. That includes liaising with the employment service to assist in filling some current vacancies, and with the Careers Service on the promotion of the sector within schools. The Department is willing to work with and support the sector, wherever possible.”
“The relevant training and skilling of the workforce is vital for local economic development. That applies not only to the transport and logistics sector but to all sectors of our economy. My officials work with businesses, universities and colleges to identify, plan for and meet workforce development needs though a range of curricular provision, from entry level to foundation degrees. <BR /> <BR />I have commissioned the Northern Ireland Centre for Economic Policy to develop a Northern Ireland skills barometer. That will indicate where there are skills gaps, where they are emerging and where they are forecast to emerge over the medium and longer term. The barometer will help to shape all areas of skills provision. <BR /> <BR />The Ulster University delivers a BSc(Hons) in transportation and a master's degree in transportation planning.”
“People should visit Bangor. Indeed, I think, 20 students took the opportunity, only this past weekend, to go down to talk to local staff, view the emerging facilities and see for themselves the real value of the investment that is being made in students for everyone across Northern Ireland.”
“The singular approach around welfare has already had major knock-on consequences. Unless we have a change of course, we are going to see this situation deteriorate even further and end up with people asking similar types of questions but not actually joining the dots as to why certain things are happening.”
“I am happy to write to the Member to give an indication of any figures that we have on file from the employment service on some very particular vacancies that may exist. We are also developing in conjunction with Ulster University a skills barometer that will give us much better real-time information on where there are emerging opportunities in the economy. I am not diminishing whatsoever the importance of performing arts to the future of our economy and, indeed, the wider creative industries. They are of absolute importance, as are many other subjects. <BR /> <BR />I say particularly to the Member, given that he is from Sinn Féin, that the answer to the dilemma that we find ourselves in very much lies within the power of his party and the SDLP to adopt a different approach to the Budget madness that we are facing.”
“I would not like to see any courses being cut, but the sad reality is that we are passing on a £12 million cut to the FE sector this year. I know that the Member is not responsible for the Budget mess that we find ourselves in, but I would like to think that he would at least acknowledge the context in which the colleges are operating and their need to take some very tough decisions. The fact is that this particular decision by Belfast Met has a very clear mitigating factor in the context that we have a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility coming online in Bangor in September. It is 13 miles from Belfast. If we are suggesting that, if it is not on people's doorstep, they cannot function, we are in very real danger of missing the point, not least given the fact that we have a Northern Ireland of six counties and six FE colleges.”
“The first remark to make is that we are getting very close to a sense of parochialism in that, if it is not in Belfast, it does not work. I am surprised that a Member for Lagan Valley, who actually has performing arts offered in his constituency in Lisburn, is buying into the argument that, if it is not in Belfast, it cannot work. We have colleges across Northern Ireland delivering performing arts courses very successfully. If you take the logic of what is being said to its conclusion, if it is not in Belfast, it does not matter. That is a terrible message to send to the other five colleges and, indeed, students who are functioning there. <BR /> <BR />I am sure that the Member is very much aware that we are going through an unprecedented level of cuts in Northern Ireland.”
“Other colleges, including Northern Regional College's Ballymoney and Newtownabbey campuses, offer a range of performing arts courses from level 2 through to level 5. Students will be able to apply for courses commencing in September.”
“Belfast Met has been working closely with South Eastern Regional College (SERC) on options that might be offered to those wishing to commence performing arts courses from September 2015. The £12 million investment in the new SPACE facility at SERC's Bangor campus will offer students wishing to pursue a career in this area a wide range of high quality courses that will be delivered in a world-class learning environment. The courses will mirror those currently delivered at Belfast Met. SPACE includes rehearsal and production studios and a theatre that can permit the staging of professional productions. Performing arts courses will also continue to be provided at SERC's Lisburn campus.”
“Preparing our young people for the jobs of the future is a priority for my Department and the Executive's Programme for Government. That includes the provision of training in the performing arts. Although Belfast Met's Tower Street campus will no longer offer dance and drama courses beyond the end of the current academic year, students currently enrolled at Tower Street will be able to continue and complete their studies at the college.”
“However, we also have to be very mindful of offering opportunities for local students. There is a very real danger of the displacement of students out of Northern Ireland to Great Britain or the South of Ireland, or, indeed, people not going to university at all. <BR /> <BR />For sure, we can do a lot more around scholarships. If more scholarships come forward, including from local businesses or major investors in Northern Ireland, that will, in itself, create opportunities. For example, we have a new scholarship programme in computing and engineering that has about 20 places on offer. That is moving in that direction, but we need more of it. However, scholarships, in and of themselves, cannot make up the shortfall and the pressures that the sector is, very sadly, facing at present.”
“First of all, I very much welcome the appointment of Tom Moran. It is an excellent appointment. I have already written to congratulate him in that regard. Our universities have to be very much outward-facing. They are not here as universities servicing a local market; they are part of Northern Ireland's wider outreach to the world. They should be seen as global players in their own right. <BR /> <BR />We have some very particular challenges at present with the very regrettable cuts that we have had to pass on to universities. We are seeing a situation where we are losing places. Our universities will be very keen to encourage more and more international students; that has been a long-standing commitment, not least in terms of our current higher education strategy.”
“I very much welcome the introduction of the John J Sweeney scholarship at Ulster University's international conflict research institute. The scholarship is open to all US citizens who have been offered a full-time place on Ulster University's MSc in applied peace and conflict studies and who are members, or have a familial connection to a member, of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). This fully supports my Department's stated aim to increase the numbers of international students studying in Northern Ireland. It is a coup for Ulster University which will further enhance the institution's international standing. This is the first year of the scholarship, and my officials have been informed that there are already 18 applicants for this year's intake.”
“We are looking a range of different provision. One of the interesting developments that will be coming forward shortly is the outcome of the review of youth training. In particular, we will be looking to see how we can support and incentivise training for people leaving school at 16 or other young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who have not accessed employment or do not yet have the qualifications to do so. There will be particular opportunities under that strategy in the field of childcare.”
“I thank the Member for her question. That is a slightly broader issue than our approach to supporting training for childcare. However, looking at some of the different programmes that we are bringing forward, we are very conscious of the issues that participants may be facing, and childcare may well be one of those. Perhaps the most recent example that we can cite is the economic inactivity strategy, where we have recognised that, in terms of the inactive population, one of the target groups is those with family commitments. Often, that will predominantly be females with childcare responsibilities. We are looking to see how we can provide innovative solutions to encourage people who are interested in working but perceive barriers to overcome those barriers and participate fully in the labour market.”
“The Steps 2 Success programme is for people who are unemployed. We have a number of contractors who, in turn, appoint subcontractors. They are there, based on an outcome-focused approach, trying to getting people into employment. They will be looking for every opportunity that exists and will provide the relevant training and encouragement to people to take up those opportunities. No doubt where they see growth in opportunities they will be incentivised to move in that particular direction.”
“It is worth stressing that all our opportunities are open to people across the community irrespective of their gender or their ethnic or religious background etc. Obviously, where there are particular areas of under-representation we are always very keen to encourage more applications. We often talk about the under-representation of females in certain areas, and the Member has asked questions on that particular theme in the past. The reverse also applies in other areas. We want to make sure that we maximise the talent pool to our best advantage as a whole. There are also particular opportunities through the apprenticeship strategy and the forthcoming youth training strategy. Again, gender considerations will be built into those areas to ensure that we have a balanced representation of people coming forward into new opportunities.”
“Vacancies in the childcare sector are regularly advertised on our recruitment website and employment service staff have recently worked with childcare providers Employers for Childcare in the delivery of job fairs. These events promoted childcare as a career and offered opportunities for industry-related training and employment opportunities. In the past year, my Department's Bridge to Employment programme has assisted 19 people into employment in the sector through customised training related to the skill requirements of specific vacancies. The careers service can also provide advice and guidance for those who wish to work in the childcare sector.”
“<BR /> <BR />All further education colleges provide a range of high-quality full-time and part-time childcare courses at a variety of skill levels. In the last academic year, childcare-related provision accounted for over 2,500 enrolments across Northern Ireland. In addition, Stranmillis University College provides a degree course in early childhood studies and the Open University in Ireland provides a range of degree courses in early years and in childhood and youth studies. <BR /> <BR />My Department's employment service supports clients seeking employment in the childcare sector and offers a range of services to meet employers’ recruitment needs.”
“My Department plays a full and active part in the delivery of the Executive's Bright Start initiative, particularly in relation to the recruitment and development of the childcare workforce. Since 2011, my Department has provided funding support for 355 employees to commence training in childcare learning and development qualifications across 205 settings at a cost of over £300,000. Level 5 training for managerial staff in childcare settings will become a mandatory requirement in 2016 and, as a result, my Department will no longer provide funding support. This is because increasingly limited resources are targeted at encouraging employers to upskill their staff beyond the legislative or mandatory requirements that they must meet.”
“<BR /> <BR />Again, I stress to Mr Weir that the legacy in terms of discussions around bills of rights and how central they have been to the political discourse in Northern Ireland goes back, I think, to Sheila Murnaghan, who first introduced the issue into the predecessor of this Assembly in the 1960s. The issue has been well discussed for over 50 years. We need to be careful in throwing out that issue. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I come to the comments made by Mr Allister, which were essentially about putting national sovereignty first. Mr Agnew adequately addressed those points when he said that this is about a wider international and European context. We should be a beacon for the rest of the world and set extremely high standards. We all benefit from those high common standards being applied across the piece.”
“In the context of wider human rights legislation, it was not primarily a human rights case that was taken. Again, he talked about a written constitution: an important element of a written constitution is checks and balances. It is not about pure majoritarianism. <BR /> <BR />Mr Givan's comments were very disappointing. He talked about courts subverting democracy, entirely missing the point that democracy is not simply about majoritarianism and what happens in legislatures; it is also about the rule of law, human rights and the role of the courts. The courts are part and parcel of democracy. They are not someone outside democracy who comments on what happens; they are an integral part of the democratic process.”
“I am also concerned that, given the clear commitments in the agreement, the Ulster Unionist Party now seems to have completely abandoned all the commitments that it made back in 1998. Again, there seemed to have been a bit of confusion between the Human Rights Act and the European Convention itself. I reiterate the point that a number of parties in the Chamber have made great play of citing the European Convention when they are proposing reforms in relation to the contentious issue of parading. When it suits people, when they have a particular political issue to pursue, they are very happy to cite the Human Rights Act and the European Convention. <BR /> <BR />Let me clarify for Mr McIlveen that the Ashers case that he cited is primarily an issue in relation to domestic equality law.”
“<BR /> <BR />Nelson McCausland got rather tied up in the issue around the CAJ. Without going into too much of that, it is worth putting it on record that, if there was a comment about the inappropriateness of a British bill of rights, it was not, as the Members may seek to suggest, because of an objection to the concept of Britishness; it was a comment about regression away from having a Human Rights Act and enforceable European standards in domestic law. That was the context in which that point was made. <BR /> <BR />Like others, I was disappointed by the contribution from Tom Elliott, who, very quickly, seems to want to throw his lot in with the Conservative Government.”
“The Good Friday Agreement itself is very clear on the issue. It is about the European Convention being directly enforceable through local courts and the power to challenge legislation. There is no ambiguity in that regard. There is a separate debate — I recognise that it is entirely separate — on whether we should build on the European Convention through a further Northern Ireland bill of rights. No doubt, we can return to that at another stage, but it is not the direct item for discussion today. <BR /> <BR />My colleague Stewart Dickson set out the context of the debate and cited important case studies. It is worth putting it again on the record that those were not about situations where human rights were being abused by criminals and terrorists, given the narrative that primarily comes from a certain quarter of the House.”
“I am glad that Mr Weir has now joined us. He may dismiss the importance of bill of rights considerations at the time of the Good Friday Agreement itself, but it is important to recall that, over the 20 years prior to the agreement, when people were talking about the potential for a settlement in Northern Ireland, a bill of rights for Northern Ireland or indeed a bill of rights for the UK as a whole was always at the cornerstone of those discussions. It was not a bolt-on at the last minute in the agreement; it was recognised by many parties as being of absolute core importance.”
“It is worth referencing the commitment in the agreement:”
“There are particular commitments in the Good Friday Agreement that we need to be extremely mindful of as an Assembly. We also have to bear in mind the particular implications for the new beginning for policing. I see that the DUP has entirely deserted the Chamber. However, it is worth stressing that the rather silly argument was made that, if we do not have the Human Rights Act, the police will not, all of a sudden, start breaching human rights. Of course, that will not be the case. The important point that has been lost is that the presence of the Human Rights Act and the human rights approach to policing is a very important confidence-building measure in the new beginning. That is the relevance of the point. It is not a comment on the police or, indeed, their intention, if they did not have this safeguard behind them.”
“Very few people who were around in 1950, when the European Convention was being put together, would have envisaged the range of social, economic and political issues that governments and citizens around the world are confronted with today. The world moves on, and the way in which conventions and, indeed, domestic bills of rights, are interpreted changes as well. That is a perfectly natural process and part of a democratic process. <BR /> <BR />There is also a danger that we will send a very damaging message around the world and, indeed, to Europe, in particular, especially in the context where, regrettably, human rights continue to be contested and unsecured in some societies. <BR /> <BR />There is also a very direct implication for Northern Ireland, given our circumstances with continued divisions and the legacy of our troubled past.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Human Rights Act allows the courts to challenge primary legislation and, indeed, to overturn secondary legislation. I do not think that we should see that as a threat in any shape or form. The Act also allows the courts to take into account judgements of the European Court. Again, we should not see that as a threat. It is also worth stressing that the convention and, as a consequence, the Human Rights Act, is a framework of rights. Very few rights, in themselves, are absolutes, and, in most cases where rights are cited, balance and proportionality have to be applied to the situation. <BR /> <BR />I come from the perspective that rights are natural and universal. Through conventions, we recognise rights and ensure that they can be enforced, but those documents were written at a particular time and in a particular context.”
“It will mark a regression on human rights; it will risk clouding the commitment of the UK to the European Convention; and, indeed, it may be part of a slippery slope where the UK attempts to withdraw from the Council of Europe and from the convention itself. We will see a weakening of enforcement mechanisms in relation to the domestic route for human rights, and it may mark a return to the status quo ante that some of us may recall before the Human Rights Act, when people had to go directly to the European Court for redress for their human rights abuses. That process was very lengthy, very costly and, indeed, very selective. I am not sure that that is entirely something that we should be aspiring to as a society.”
“To be ever so slightly optimistic, I think that there may be some appreciation of the complexity of what they are presenting, of the fact that they have not thought through properly what they are committed to, of all the implications that will flow from it, and of the difficulty, as Mr Maginness outlined, of, if you wanted to do so, disentangling yourself from the jurisprudence in case law that has been built up over the intervening 17 years. <BR /> <BR />There is a number of core themes and, probably, three arguments in relation to the motion. The first is that the repeal of the Human Rights Act and its replacement with a so-called British bill of rights is something that is wrong for the UK as a whole. We should be clear in saying that.”
“Today should be an opportunity for the Assembly to unite and, indeed, to send a very strong message to the UK Government. The message is one of particular significance, coming from a devolved Assembly. I suppose that the jury is still out on exactly how the Assembly will vote in a few minutes' time. While we note that the item has been dropped from the Queen's Speech, that there will not be an immediate rush to legislation and that there is a fresh commitment to consult, I do not think that there should be any room for complacency, because the Prime Minister is clear that this is an issue that they intend to address by one means or another during the course of this Parliament.”
“Does the Member agree that democracy should not be conflated with simple majoritarian rule? Democracy is not only about elected representatives making decisions but about having courts to uphold people's rights. Human rights and the rule of law are also cornerstones of democracy in the widest sense of the concept.”
“The Member is, to an extent, conflating the Human Rights Act with opposition to the European Convention on Human Rights. Given that the Ulster Unionist Party has been keen to cite clauses of the convention in its submissions on parading, does he not feel that he is in danger of losing the point that his party is trying to make for its own political self-interest, never mind the good of the community as a whole?”
“I agree very much with what the Member said. The stark reality is that political stability is fundamental to creating a good investment location, so the point makes itself. With that, I will conclude.”
“Job opportunities will be compromised as well. The cost is there and clear to everyone. When we vote tonight, people should be in no doubt about the consequences politically, financially and directly for people.”