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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“That will include support in key areas, especially in STEM. <BR /> <BR />The Careers Service also plays an active role in encouraging the uptake of STEM subjects and raising awareness of current and future job opportunities in STEM sectors, including for females. The Department is working to develop a central work experience website to provide guidance and information to pupils, schools, employers and parents on the benefits, selection and organisation of work experience, including opportunities in STEM-related careers. Under the higher education strategy, the universities have also committed to rebalance their profile of courses so that the subject areas offered more closely reflect the needs of the economy.”
“The new Northern Ireland strategy on apprenticeships, which was published in June 2014, highlights the importance of upskilling to raise productivity, increase social inclusion and help Northern Ireland to compete in the global marketplace. Apprenticeships will form a key part of a new skills landscape and underpin the STEM strategy. <BR /> <BR />A number of projects have been established to take forward the implementation of the strategy on apprenticeships, including one that will aim to support participation through a series of interventions to secure a greater gender balance across apprenticeships. A central service will also be established, informed through new partnership arrangements. The service will lead focused campaigns to demonstrate the value of apprenticeships to employers, young people and their parents.”
“The sharing of existing good practice by the STEM organisations is integral to the network. <BR /> <BR />To further highlight the issue of gender in STEM, the coordinator has worked with the three main daily newspapers to produce four 24-page supplements focused at crucial decision-making times of the school year. The supplements have highlighted the world-class opportunities available in the STEM companies across Northern Ireland and featured many female role models. <BR /> <BR />In my statement to the Assembly in June 2013, I outlined a number of departmental initiatives to address gender inequalities and increase female participation in STEM. These included the reviews of apprenticeships, youth training and careers.”
“The charter, which enables STEM organisations to demonstrate their commitment to equal opportunity for women in their employment, has recently had its thirtieth and thirty-first signature, by the NACCO Materials Handling Group and Fujitsu. Other organisations that have signed up to date include Allstate, Atkins, Asidua, Bombardier, Intel, Liberty IT, Magellan Aerospace, Michelin, Moy Park, Schrader Electronics, Seagate, Ulster University, Queen's University and the Open University. It is almost a who's who of the Northern Ireland economy. The coordinator has also established a STEM employers' equality network to help employers to benchmark their practice against the 22 good practice guidelines and identify areas in which they would like further support.”
“Recommendation 4 of the strategy, which falls under the responsibility of business to take forward, addresses gender bias. In November 2012, to help business to take this and other relevant recommendations forward, my Department funded the seconded post of STEM business coordinator. Significant progress has been made by the coordinator in the area of gender balance, in partnership with my Department and the Equality Commission. <BR /> <BR />In November 2013, a report, 'Addressing Gender Balance: Reaping the Gender Dividend in STEM', was launched. The report demonstrates the business case for gender diversity and contains several tools to help business to engage with the issue, including a STEM CEO charter, good practice guidelines and case studies.”
“My Department has led on the implementation of the strategy, which was produced in collaboration with five local Departments: Education; Enterprise, Trade and Investment; Agriculture and Rural Development; Culture, Arts and Leisure; and Health, Social Services and Public Safety.”
“The strategy details 20 recommendations to promote STEM and outlines how government and business intend to encourage more of our young people to study and pursue a career in those subjects and aspects of our economy.”
“<BR /> <BR />OFMDFM leads on the cross-departmental gender equality strategy. That is a 10-year strategy running from 2006 to 2016, and my Department has, over the years, contributed to that strategy by providing actions for inclusion in the overarching document and the gender quality action plan. Obviously, that will have to be renewed by the Executive after 2016. Members and the motion have made reference to my statement to the Assembly in June 2013. Following that, I asked my officials to take steps to promote gender equality and to set out a departmental gender action plan. That plan has now been drafted and it outlines actions to address gender inequalities that fall under the remit of my Department. This is a matter of ongoing further development, in particular to reflect the challenges of retention and progression in the workplace.”
“Some may say that this is natural and should really not matter, but it does matter when you consider some of the most important and fastest-growing areas of the economy. There is a moral or ethical aspect to this in terms of ensuring equality of opportunity. It is important to ensure that people have the chance to compete and operate in some of the most fast-growing and innovative aspects of the our economy. There is also a strong economic imperative. We need to maximise our local skills base to the full. Businesses and other organisations will not be maximising the potential of local talent if at least one half of the market in skills is constrained. Put simply, we cannot hope to compete in the global marketplace if we cannot make best use of the local marketplace of skills and talent.”
“Investing in skills is the most effective way of transforming our economy, including increasing productivity and wage levels. STEM subjects are of particular relevance to many of the fastest-growing sectors in the economy. The skills strategy, 'Success through Skills — Transforming Futures' is the governing document for skills in general and has some specific targets in relation to STEM. The STEM strategy itself, 'Success through STEM', is the cross-departmental Executive strategy document that focuses directly on STEM. <BR /> <BR />Female participation is important for equal opportunities and for mobilising all of our talents. Members have already commented on the stronger educational performance of women and on the strong segmentation of people in different areas by gender.”
“I strongly welcome the motion, which acknowledges the existing work of government and other stakeholders in society. In particular, it reinforces some of the themes that I have sought to pursue and address during my period in office. The debate reflects two overlapping objectives of developing skills and maximising economic participation. The first is that of investing in higher level skills in general and, in particular, delivering a critical mass of people with skills in the STEM areas: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The second is that of achieving a greater balance of gender participation in our workforce. <BR /> <BR />The need for higher level skills, especially those in the STEM areas, is increasingly well understood.”
“<BR /> <BR />Sadly, the remit of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains is prescribed by law and by treaty, only covering the period up to 1998, but one possible route might be to encourage the British and Irish Governments to consider extending the commission's remit to include Lisa Dorrian's case. That would provide one more mechanism by which information leading to the recovery of her remains could be pursued. Doing that would never take justice itself off the table, but, as Mr Weir pointed out, there are two different aspects here: one is the closure that would be given through the location of the remains; while the other, in due course, is that of justice.”
“Hopefully, over time, the circumstances will change in the head of those with information that will lead to that information coming to light. <BR /> <BR />Others have made known the different avenues that exist for bringing information to light. I want to make a further point, which is that Lisa Dorrian is perhaps as much one of the disappeared as the victims of republican violence who are more traditionally associated with the concept of the disappeared. We have had many debates in the House over the past number of years about the disappeared and talked about the importance of information leading to the recovery of remains. There have been some successes that have brought a degree — I stress the word "degree" — of closure for many families who have been suffering for many years.”
“In doing that, not only would they give huge comfort to Lisa Dorrian's family; I suggest that they would benefit from getting what is, no doubt, a very important thing weighing on their conscience into the proper light to ease their own burden, even if that person is a perpetrator in the case.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are two points that I want to make to build on the comments that have been made to date. The first is to reinforce the point that there are people out there who know fully what happened to Lisa Dorrian and where her remains lie today. Hopefully, with the passage of time over that 10-year period, the perspective and attitudes that maybe pertained in the head of someone 10 years ago have moved on significantly and one or more people out there today have this case very much preying on their conscience. They have many avenues through which they can make that information known.”
“I thank my colleague Mr Weir for arranging this Adjournment debate to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the very sad disappearance of Lisa Dorrian. I echo the comments that were made by both of the Members who spoke previously. I also share in the comments that, no doubt, will be made by others during the debate. <BR /> <BR />Obviously, our thoughts are very much with the family of Lisa Dorrian, who have gone through a tremendously difficult decade with a huge degree of dignity. They have also been very tenacious in ensuring that they have kept the case of Lisa Dorrian very much in the public eye. They have always sought and continue to seek the truth and, following that, in due course, hopefully, justice in relation to her disappearance and, sadly and inevitably, her death.”
“I dare suggest that, if we were to jump through unnecessary hoops in relation to equality processes, the effect of that would be to delay this process beyond the beginning of April and would create a situation where we could not allocate funds and would end up with the discontinuation of programmes, with staff being made redundant. No doubt, that is outcome that the Member wishes to avoid. <BR /> <BR />On his first point, no doubt the Member has acted to try to dampen those misperceptions rather than feeding them. There has not been any skewing of this process to favour any particular organisation, any size of organisation or organisations from any particular sector, never mind any individual organisation. This is an entirely above board, fair and objective process that will have an outcome that is based entirely on merit.”
“I am not standing by any officials. I am here to set out the position of the Department on the approach that we are taking. I am not going to entertain notions that the process has been somehow farcical. We have made comments about the point around management accounts, and, if Members have wider concerns about other aspects of the process, please set those out to me rather than making unfounded claims without any evidence to back up what they are saying. <BR /> <BR />Again, I stress that there has been a process under way. The process is fair and objective. Where there has been some cause for concern that we may not be able to maintain full objectivity in the process, we have acted in a corrective manner to ensure that we have restored the integrity of the process.”
“I again stress the importance of the European social fund to Northern Ireland. In the absence of the European social fund, we would struggle, with only our local resources for the degree and depth of coverage in employability and skills interventions. The ESF allows us to provide and resource on a much bigger scale, so it is an advantage that comes from our membership of the European Union. We have to appreciate that it is not our money, and we must ensure that we act in accordance with the rules that it sets out.”
“All applications will be assessed on their individual merits. As the Member will appreciate, there are a number of subcategories through which funds will be allocated. We will be mindful in ensuring that we have a reasonable and proportionate outcome that reflects all aspects of how people can better access the labour market or overcome barriers. I very much appreciate the work of a number of women's groups across Northern Ireland. While I cannot give commitments to organisations that they will be in receipt of funds, I am seeking to endeavour that we have proper coverage to support the women's sector.”
“It would be inappropriate for me to make comments in the Chamber about an individual application. People have made points about delays, and we are behind with different aspects of the assessment process because we have a revised process for the receipt of management accounts. However, there is no delay in our target date for taking decisions on the allocation of funds, which remains the end of March. That was our timetable at the beginning of the process, and it remains our timetable. In that respect, there have not been delays in the awarding of funds that would give people any credible reason to be distressed by the pace of the decision-making process in the Department.”
“If anything, the EU stressed the importance of checks and balances and the audit requirements for the programme. We do not have discretion over those things; if we want the money, we have to adhere to those requirements. That is why there has to be such discipline with management issues and financial capability assessments.”
“Members are making comments about the process not being properly handled. I must stress that that is a perception that has been fed by many people rather than being addressed by many people. There has been a particular discrete issue about understanding management accounts, but Members are not giving specifics to me so that I can address their wider concerns with the process, albeit that we have heard comments about breaches in coverage, which I have already sought to address. I made the point that we are doing better than other regions. <BR /> <BR />I have discussed our outgoing programme and our new programme with the European Commission. This is European Union money that is coming to Northern Ireland, and it is based on EU rules.”
“It will meet over the coming days to assess the appeals that are taken forward. The grounds for appeal will be as follows: the outcome was a decision that no reasonable person would make on the basis of the information provided in the application and/or there was a failure in adherence to procedure or systems. In terms of the timescales, we anticipate that appeal panels for phase 1 will be convened between 20 and 23 March. We will then issue notification in relation to phase 2. The closing date for phase 2 appeals will be in the region of 21 to 25 March. It is likely that appeals in relation to phase 2 will be convened on 25 March and notifications issued as soon after that as we can.”
“<BR /> <BR />Let us be clear: my officials are working tirelessly to ensure that we can deliver a refreshed programme from 1 April this year and that, where groups are continuing, there is no break in coverage or what they do with participants or staff. The situation in Northern Ireland stands in sharp contrast to that in many other regions across the European Union, including England, where they have yet to receive approval from the European Commission for their operational programme, so they will see a break in coverage. That will not be the case in Northern Ireland, subject to us being able to complete all phases of the process by the end of March, which is our intention. <BR /> <BR />In terms of the appeals process, there will be an appeal panel of departmental and independent representatives.”
“Again, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, there is a lot in there. I will do my best to cover the points that have been made. <BR /> <BR />There was a discrete issue in relation to management accounts that has been addressed. If we find a situation where groups are uncertain of funding or of the ability of participants to continue, that is, regrettably, a product of the fact that we are going through a competitive process in relation to European funding. Groups should have been clearly aware that the current programme was coming to an end on 31 March and that there would be a fresh process for the next round of ESF funding. Sadly, it is part and parcel of the process that groups will have to place staff on protective notice.”
“<BR />There has been a particular and discrete issue in relation to understandings around the submission of management accounts that has been addressed. I think that the issue of fear and disorder in applicants is way off the mark. We have a process that is live and ongoing according to the process that was set out and explained to all groups. I dare to suggest that, if that is the situation that is emerging in the eyes of some Members, everyone has a duty to act responsibly and not to feed the misunderstandings but to act in a manner to correct those misunderstandings.”
“Mr Ramsey packed a lot in there, but I do not recognise many of the characteristics that he has described for the process. Let us be very clear: this is a live, ongoing application process. There is no absolute guarantee that any organisation will be funded. Indeed, we are 1·8% oversubscribed in terms of the value of the value of bids compared with the money that is available. Processes are still ongoing, and no decisions have been made on who will be funded and who will not. That will happen at the conclusion of phase 2 of the process. There is no immediate threat to any organisation, nor is there any guarantee of continued funding. Just because an organisation has delivered in the past, that does not necessarily mean that it will receive funding in the future <BR />.”
“It is anticipated that the appeals process for phase 1 will be concluded by 23 March. The aim is to complete the assessment process by the end of March to allow funding to be made available to the successful applicants by 1 April.”
“The assessment of applications for funding to the Northern Ireland European social fund programme for 2014-2020 has been continuing. A total of 134 applicants entered the phase 1 assessment process. Of those, 101 will progress to phase 2; 24 applicants will not progress at this stage; and a further nine are providing clarification on the information that they have submitted in respect of the financial capability assessment. Any applicant who has been rejected will be allowed five working days to appeal the decision. <BR /> <BR />The Department will be issuing letters this afternoon to notify applicants of the outcome of the phase 1 assessment process. Appeals will be considered by an independent panel comprising three individuals who have not been involved in the selection process.”
“Very briefly, I cannot answer on behalf of the Executive; it is more for the First Minister and deputy First Minister to set out the broad remit and rationale for that. Suffice it to say that I am happy to play my role. Obviously, the issue around investment in university facilities in Derry is a key aspect of that, but economic inactivity is also critical. <BR /> <BR />We have been joined by the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. The Member will be pleased to know that we have now formally submitted the final strategy to the Executive for approval. I am sure that he will encourage his Minister to give that strategy its full endorsement when it comes up for discussion at the Executive. Hopefully, that will be this week, but, if not, it will be within the rest of this month.”
“I made the point about England to make the point that we are being far more proactive than others in ensuring that that is the case. Issues of coverage regarding the women's sector may not necessarily be the outworking of the final decisions, but, if that were to be the case, there may well be different ways in which we can reassess the distribution of funds to ensure that we invest in the policy objectives of the Department and that we have proper coverage not just geographically but across the different aspects of engaging with those who are most marginalised from the labour market.”
“There were probably four or five questions in there. I will do my best to pick them up. The Member said that this has nothing to do with England or Europe. It is very much everything to do with Europe given that it is European money that is coming down. We have to abide by the rules coming from the European Union. If the Member wants to do a UDI on this, that is fine; we would have to find the resources locally. We simply do not have those, so let us be sensible about this and use the opportunity that comes from our membership of the European Union to invest and extend what we would otherwise not be able to do with our available resources here in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />No particular guarantees can be made to any organisations. Our officials are working tirelessly to ensure that we can have decisions made by the end of March.”
“We are, at this stage, trying to pull out all the stops to ensure that we make decisions on funding before the end of April so that the work of many organisations can continue. <BR /> <BR />To put it in context — lest people accuse us of running very close to the deadline — we put a lot of focus on getting our European social fund operational programme cleared by the European Commission. We achieved that back in 2014. Our counterparts in England have yet to have their operational programme cleared by the European Commission. We are now in the context where we have the option of ensuring continuity between programmes. In England, that will not be the case; there will be a break for many organisations, which will have a devastating impact on staff and the participants with whom organisations engage.”
“The Member is wrong to assume that it is not a priority for me. Indeed, we have probably spent more time on this issue over the past number of weeks than on anything else. To be very clear, one round of funding is coming to its natural end, and the duration of the funding was made very clear to every group bidding in the outgoing round. I am not aware of the precise context of any fresh bid by the organisation that the Member referred to, but no funding decisions have been made; nor will they be until we have the full picture, having scrutinised all the applications. We are oversubscribed by 1.8 times the amount available, so some organisations will be unsuccessful and, no doubt, very disappointed. Others, however, will continue to receive funding for their projects.”
“If the Member and his party are reconsidering their position, I would be very pleased to meet them to discuss their change of heart.”
“I have not had a direct meeting with Stranmillis in the couple of weeks since the Executive took their decision. We are, however, continuing to engage with other stakeholders about the future system because the process of reform, and seeking consensus on reform, has to continue. I have received correspondence from Stranmillis about its emerging thinking on the way forward, and my officials continue to work with it. The possible merger of Queen's and Stranmillis, which the Member seems to advocate be reconsidered, was on the agenda in 2011. However, at that stage, his party was very clear that it was not prepared to contemplate such a merger outside wider reform of the teacher training system. In that context, if I had moved the legislation to facilitate the review, it would have tabled a petition of concern to block it.”
“Thirdly, the Department of Education essentially increases the teacher demand model to an artificially high level by giving the colleges more business than the local market can sustain. Even with those subsidies, the colleges' financial sustainability will gradually erode over time. The restoration of the premia will lengthen their future prospects, but we cannot escape the issues and the need for reform.”
“The Executive have, regrettably, overturned my proposed decision on the premia. The teacher training system in Northern Ireland, however, remains financially unsustainable. There is a pressing need for reform, but reform does not need to be based just on finances. We have to look at how we can ensure that we deliver to world-class standards, address equality issues and teach our students in a shared learning environment. The current system is not delivering on all those points as it should. <BR /> <BR />The two teacher training colleges are heavily subsidised in three ways. First, they are the only teacher training colleges in the UK to receive premia payments. Secondly, they provide non-initial teacher education subjects as part of a conscious decision to give them other business to maintain their viability.”
“We are very keen to ensure that we have proper coverage across Northern Ireland in access to vocational training and further education. That does not mean that we will have a college in every town, and, sadly, Antrim is one of the towns where there is no college currently. That is replicated elsewhere in Northern Ireland. However, there is provision elsewhere, particularly in Ballymena, and, as part of the emerging business case for the Northern Regional College, that will be a priority area for investment. We also have a good college in Newtownabbey. We will look to see how we can continue to invest in community-based facilities in Antrim, and if the Member has any concerns in that regard, please drop me a line and we will look at the issue in more detail.”
“At this stage, my understanding is that the land is still in the ownership of the Northern Regional College and is available for potential purchase. Apart from that, I am not sure whether I can say much more to the Member, though I am aware that there are some issues around the potential use of the site and some different interpretations of what should happen among the local community in Antrim.”
“We need to break down the stereotypes around a lot of the STEM subjects. That is probably the critical issue. We can also work with employers, and I am pleased to see that NACCO signed up last Friday to the STEM charter. A lot of businesses are seeking very overtly to address gender issues in their employment, particularly around STEM. They are looking at how they can do better in attracting more female staff and are working through retention and progression in the workplace.”
“The Member is quite right to identify that as a particular challenge that faces not just Northern Ireland society but those of many other advanced economies. We see a situation where girls and women are progressing better in education generally than boys and men. For example, we have a higher participation rate in higher education among women than men. However, we are seeing a segmentation in the type of subjects that people are choosing. As we look to the future and see, for example, IT, advanced manufacturing and engineering and food science being some of the high-growth sectors in Northern Ireland, it is important that we draw as fully as possible from the talent base that we have. Unless we draw fully from that across both genders, we will not maximise our potential. <BR /> <BR />How do we address that problem?”
“<BR /> <BR />As Members will know, the Department was a major funder of the science festival, and, after we do an evaluation of the event — I said to the Member how pleased we were with the number of participants — we will look forward again to potentially funding a second science festival in 2016 and see it become an established part of the calendar of events in Northern Ireland.”
“It is fundamentally about engaging with the people of Northern Ireland, including young people, on the importance of science to our everyday lives and encouraging people to pursue careers in STEM. The two masterclasses that the Member refers to were about crystallising the best practice in that regard, and we were very pleased that we had visitors from the United States: Dr Yvonne Spicer from the Boston Museum of Science and Dr Sue Sontgerath from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. That aspect was facilitated by the US State Department, which was also very keen to see how we are getting on with the science festival.”
“That is a real indication of the level of organisation and commitment of the organisers. I give particular credit to Chris McCreery, the director of the festival.”
“The Science Festival has been an outstanding success. This is the first time we have had a science festival in Northern Ireland, and the number of people attending the events over the 10-day period has far exceeded the targets that were set.”
“The Member is very good at peddling suspicions and innuendo but not very good at checking the facts before making such comments directly. Let me be very clear: everything the Member said is utterly incorrect.”
“I understand that groups may feel aggrieved at a sense of the goalposts being moved, but it is the European Union's money, and it is entitled to set the rules. I welcome the fact that we have access to draw that money down, but in doing so we have to fulfil the requirements of the fund.”
“First of all, a number of groups were rejected in relation to financial capability assessments. However, some of those groups, due to the fresh opportunity to resubmit management accounts, will go through a second financial capability assessment. That process is ongoing and will hopefully be concluded shortly. <BR /> <BR />Obviously groups are entitled to make complaints, whether it is directly to the managing authority in DEL or to the Commission. I am satisfied that what we have been doing as a Department has been consistent with the requirements of the European Commission. It is important that Members are aware that, in terms of the rules about access to money, the nature of the forthcoming round of the European social fund is different from the outgoing social fund. It is important for rigour that we have that different approach.”