Seán Rogers
South Down · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“I welcome the opportunity to speak at Final Stage. Coming from South Down, which has ports such as Kilkeel, Ardglass and the neighbouring port of Portavogie, I think that we should not underestimate the importance of the fishing industry, not alone for those areas but for the wider agrifood industry and our economy in general.”
“It quickly became apparent that the Committee did not have the full authority to interrogate the Bill and, due to that, there would be no time to scrutinise the Bill in its entirety.”
“<BR /> <BR />The issues that the Bill initially tried to tackle that could not be tackled due to time constraints and relevant Committee remits still affect our current practices.”
“<BR /> <BR />Finally, regardless of what the Fisheries Bill initially intended, or what it finally became, it will still deliver a better outcome for Northern Ireland at the end of this mandate. In the end, it may not be the catch of the day, but it is a good supper.”
“Maybe that is a model for us today. <BR /> <BR />Reference has been made to the work of the AERC, its various visits and work on women in politics. The key message for me, whether it is the Assembly or local government, is that we need to be a lot more family friendly, not just for the women but for the men as well.”
“They have made a major contribution to building bridges in this land. <BR /> <BR />On a day like this — the Member opposite spoke about this as well — we have to think of women who are suffering today. We think of the women in Nigeria who were kidnapped by Boko Haram, or in refugee camps in Syria, Calais or wherever.”
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“Clear progress has been made on the poor beaches, and it would appear that, through the better beach framework, we can get even better. I acknowledge the work of Northern Ireland Water, particularly at Ballymartin, where the new treatment works has improved water quality. We have a problem in Annalong, along the lines that Mr Hazzard mentioned, with all kinds of things going into the sea and people not being able to swim. <BR /> <BR />I do not want to dismiss concerns about the state of our beaches or the impact of littering, but it is worth noting that Northern Ireland beaches have met stricter standards for water quality.”
“<BR /> <BR />The maintenance of high standards at Down's beaches is crucial to maintaining and expanding our water-based tourism and leisure industry. Unfortunately, the Minister of the Environment cannot be here tonight because of a prior engagement, but he has indicated that he remains fully committed to the ongoing development of our beaches, and I believe that Down's record of excellence will continue. As Mr Hazzard said, we have such potential in our tourism, but the question is how we develop that potential. <BR /> <BR />I have highlighted the positives, but we also have to think of the negatives. We have to raise the bar. I concur with the Member's sentiments that all beaches in Down should strive for better levels of cleanliness, as should all beaches in Northern Ireland, but I do not agree that nothing has been done.”
“<BR /> <BR />Last month, the Department of the Environment released its report on better beaches, revealing that all 23 of Northern Ireland's bathing beaches have passed new stricter European standards. Of the 23 beaches, 14 were classed as excellent, seven as good and two as sufficient, which means that none of the bathing beaches in Northern Ireland was classed as poor. Northern Ireland is now home to some of the best bathing beaches in Europe, a fact that is clearly reflected in Down, as four of the excellent beaches are at Crawfordsburn, Tyrella, Murlough and Cranfield. Beaches represent a vital part of Down's tourism economy, and all these beaches are high on the lists of top places to visit in Northern Ireland.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on the topic and thank the Member for securing the Adjournment debate. South Down is widely known for some of the best beaches in Ireland. The outstanding beauty and excellence of our beaches is internationally recognised. The blue flag award, for example, is a voluntary eco-label awarded to over 4,000 beaches and marinas in 49 countries, and it seeks to promote sustainable development. In 2015, blue flags were awarded to 12 beaches in Northern Ireland, four of which are in County Down: Crawfordsburn, Tyrella, Murlough and Cranfield. The success for Down beaches was replicated in the Northern Ireland seaside awards, in which three of the six resort beaches were in County Down: Crawfordsburn, Tyrella and Cranfield. Murlough was awarded as a rural beach.”
“The Chamber is the place to debate and argue out this issue so that we can get a Bill, even though it may need a few amendments. Let us debate it here to ensure that we have something meaningful for our community that we can pass on to future generations. <BR /> <BR />I fully support the Bill and believe that rates relief should be introduced in full and not be discretionary. I commend Daithí McKay for introducing it. Like my colleague Dominic, I support the Bill moving to Committee Stage for further scrutiny.”
“Those include teamwork, loyalty, selflessness and volunteering, which can be transferred to others in the family, school, workplace and community. <BR /> <BR />It is impossible to place a monetary value on the benefits that we can gain from sports clubs. I think of the great work of the volunteers right across my South Down constituency who run the soccer, athletics, rugby and the GAA. Who could do it without the volunteers? <BR /> <BR />The Bill calls for the rates relief afforded to CASCs to rise from 80% to 100% to ensure parity with equivalent clubs in other parts of the UK. We all recognise that the provision of 100% rates relief in the UK is discretionary and that it is up to the local authority to decide whether it should be awarded. <BR /> <BR />I, too, regret the petition of concern.”
“If it were not for sports clubs, and the volunteers keeping them open by collecting that £1 or using Gift Aid to keep the electricity and heating on, this would not happen in our communities. <BR /> <BR />Physical activity contributes generally to health and well-being. It saves society millions of pounds annually, and it saves hundreds of lives. On the other hand, physical inactivity costs us millions year-on-year. <BR /> <BR />Sports and physical activity improve people's mental health and create social capital, which is the cement that binds society together and creates a more cohesive society. Those who participate in sporting activities provided by sports clubs not only benefit from the physical activity but learn other important skills.”
“Others have spoken about the Bill, and, in the interests of brevity, I will leave that part of my speech out. <BR /> <BR />Let us go to some of the health-related benefits. The legislation is about much more than saving money. Sport and physical exercise improve people's lives in so many ways. As other Members said, sports clubs do not facilitate just young people; our clubs look after all ages. I should have declared my lifelong interest in and support of the GAA, but, irrespective of the sport, whether you are eight or 80, there is a place for you and something meaningful that you can do. Others referred to mental health issues, particularly among the older generation who have retired, and they mentioned the "man shed" and other ideas that keep people gainfully occupied.”
“There is a lot of collecting, and that is down to a lot of volunteers. <BR /> <BR />Community amateur sports clubs must be open to the whole community, organised on an amateur basis and have as their main purpose providing facilities for, and promoting participation in, one or more eligible sports, while meeting the location requirements and management conditions. <BR /> <BR />Amateur sports clubs have had their income severely reduced in recent years. That is for many reasons, including the economic downturn that has led to less support from local businesses and the emigration of members. <BR /> <BR />In 2011, the Assembly debated a motion calling for rates relief for amateur sports clubs to be extended from 80% to 100%. The Assembly agreed to call on the Finance Minister to examine the rates relief afforded to those clubs.”
“Yes, I do. One thing that I learned from Mr McElduff's contribution is who will not be sponsoring the Tyrone GAA team next year. <BR /> <BR />Under schedule 4 to the Valuation Act, 2001, the rest of Ireland is exempt from paying commercial rates if the land is developed for sport. Like us, Scotland, England and Wales receive 80% rates relief, but local authorities have the discretion to increase the relief up to 100%. Community amateur sports clubs relief was introduced by HMRC in 2002, enabling many local sports clubs to register with HMRC and benefit from a range of tax reliefs, including gift aid. We all have people calling at our door, collecting £1 for their lotto and so on, but one sports club in my area, even with rates relief, has to pay £1,000 a year in rates. There are a lot of £1 coins in that £1,000.”
“I can think of the volunteerism and work that has brought people along, including people of the calibre of a past pupil of mine, Kerry O'Flaherty, who represented Ireland recently in athletics.”
“Currently, all amateur sports clubs can avail themselves of 80% rates relief, which is legislated for under the Rates Order 1977 and was introduced to support grass-roots sports. <BR /> <BR />Mr McElduff talked about sports clubs promoting health in the community. I will go further than that and say that, in many of our rural communities, it is the glue of those communities. If you travel through north Antrim, you will see young people out with their hurls. If you are in south Down, you will find them playing football. In other parts, they will be there with a rugby ball, a soccer ball or whatever. Some sports organisations provide fantastic opportunities for the disabled. I can think of a group in my area that does sailing for the disabled. As I go through Newcastle tonight, Newcastle Athletics Club will be out running the roads.”
“It is important to speak on the Rates (Relief for Community Amateur Sports Clubs) Bill. As legislators, we have a responsibility to everyone out there and a particular responsibility to our young people. I come from an educational background, and we always talked about developing the whole person. Sport is very much part of that. Young people spend only a small part of their day in school, but the opportunities that they have in sport develop a lot of skills, whether teamwork or, as other people referred to, health and fitness, getting involved in volunteering and so on. All those things are very important. As others said, amateur sports clubs make a huge contribution to our society. Amateur sports are about participating without getting paid.”
“You guessed right. Do you believe, Minister, that effective early intervention in the home and school would have a significant impact on the spend of your budget and that you could spend it in other ways, rather than having so much spent on education?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. Given the Secretary of State's statement today, which says that members of parliamentary groups continue to be engaged in violent activity that is directed by local leadership and conducted without sanction, will the PSNI be able to work with the NCA to deal with this problem?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. I acknowledge the work that you have done to get broadband out to rural areas. As you know, in your constituency as well as mine, certain areas are miles away from the green box or the possibility of that green box. Is there any possibility of grants, so that those people could have satellite broadband to ensure that they can get on to etendersNI as well?”
“The SDLP remains resolute in its commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and supports the principles of the Bill as it stands. We look forward to engaging on the Bill at Committee Stage.”
“They are the standards that the people of Northern Ireland demand of their Government, and they are areas in which the current regime has failed. At this point, I would like to quote one the architects of the Good Friday Agreement and a good friend of ours Seamus Mallon, who said:”
“<BR /> <BR />To this effect, we had hoped that the opposition would not consist of two parties of the same denomination but be a compromise of two separate outlooks. When considering the historical and ongoing difficulties between Northern Ireland's main communities, we remain apprehensive about the call of schedule 1 to remove the current community designations. Still, we are prepared to engage on this aspect as the Bill moves forward. We also have reservations about the size of the technical group, which, with only five or six members, seems quite small. <BR /> <BR />Ultimately, the SDLP hopes that all provisions for an official opposition will be guided by power-sharing, reconciliation, equality, partnership, prosperity and, above all, accountability. These are the principles of good faith and good government in Northern Ireland.”
“As previously recognised by the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, opposition must be consistent with the principles of inclusivity and power-sharing that are central to the Belfast Agreement. <BR /> <BR />The Bill, as it stands and as it will be implemented, must reflect Northern Ireland's unique situation as a post-conflict society while further reflecting on the historical power-sharing nature of our institutions. Therefore, the SDLP welcomed Mr McCallister's previous recognition of the importance of review mechanisms built into strand one of the agreement and the ability of an official opposition and power-sharing to exist as complementary to each other.”
“<BR /> <BR />If parties are given the practical recognition and sufficient funding, they will be enabled to scrutinise the Executive to provide a viable alternative to the Government. As agreed in the Stormont House Agreement, we believe that funding the party-appointed research and assistant posts is critical. Legislative scrutiny must also be vastly improved by Assembly-appointed legislative drafters to assist the opposition parties with the scrutiny of amendments to the drafting of Bills. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP would expect to see the reforms of the institutions proposed by Mr McCallister to remain faithful to the tenets of the Good Friday Agreement. The SDLP will not support anything that erodes or dilutes anything in the Good Friday Agreement. Bearing that in mind, the thresholds seem quite high at the moment.”
“<BR /> <BR />We welcome the Bill's provision that seeks to empower an official opposition. We welcome the proposal that, under clause 7, the first and second topical questions put to OFMDFM during Question Time would belong to the leaders of the opposition. We further welcome the enhanced speaking rights for the opposition, under clause 8, and the minimum guarantee of 15 days a year for opposition business. <BR /> <BR />In an Assembly with a functioning opposition, we would expect Assembly Committee memberships to be altered and appropriately weighted to reflect the opposition parties. We welcome clause 3, which would create the provision for the rights of the opposition to chair the Public Accounts Committee, as is the case in other jurisdictions.”
“<BR /> <BR />In previous discussions on opposition, the SDLP has argued that an official opposition should be open to parties that are entitled to take a seat in the Executive and choose not to. If more than one party makes that choice, we would, naturally, expect the two largest of them to form the official opposition. For an effective opposition, the SDLP believes that it is crucial that the privileges afforded to the parties forming an official opposition in the Assembly must seek to empower it to hold the Executive to account. An official opposition must be able to hold the Executive to the highest level of scrutiny in order to serve its role as a genuine alternative to the Government and, therefore, must be sufficiently funded in order to do so.”
“We will wait and see at the next election. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP has been consistent on the nature of an opposition and our overall support for its implementation. If you allow me, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will reiterate, once more, our position on the general principles of the matter. We in the SDLP believe that an opposition should be built into the structures of the Assembly, but that opposition should remain optional. We have argued that there should be no mandatory opposition and that, if one should exist, there should be guarantees. I was glad to hear Mr McCallister say earlier that the d'Hondt entitlement would be guaranteed under power-sharing arrangements, if a party chose to claim that entitlement.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the Second Stage of Mr McCallister's Assembly and Executive Reform Bill. In his opening remarks, Mr McCallister said that this was a vision for genuine power-sharing. I do not think that anyone could disagree with that. If the Bill is part of a mechanism to build on the Good Friday Agreement and ensure better government, we will be supportive. <BR /> <BR />I want to challenge Mr McCallister on one point — his mathematics. I thought that an announcement was coming that some of the technical group had joined the Ulster Unionist Party again. I know that it is a hypothetical situation, but we would be the largest group in the opposition. Maybe an announcement is coming in south Down.”
“Claire Hanna quoted the damning statistic as well. Finally, I would like to thank everybody for their contribution. I think there is a message going out from around the House to the Minister today that autism needs to be addressed properly and quickly.”
“He talked about the great disparity between the different boards, the level of intervention and so on. I will take one example —”
“He made a very relevant point about a statement following the pupil, I would say irrespective of where they go, because, very often, our post-primary children decide at 16 that maybe the best place to go is a further education college. There is a different set of provisions altogether within a further education college. If the statement followed the child, it would be very appropriate. <BR /> <BR />Jo-Anne Dobson talked about the total lack of a joined-up approach. Parents want the best for their child, just as I want the best for my children. Parents are totally exasperated about the whole situation. The process just grinds far too slowly. We are letting down a generation of children. <BR /> <BR />Jim Allister said that, if there was the right intervention, every child could do well.”
“The parents have frustration as well. He also mentioned the damning statistic. He spoke about a child in his constituency named Adam, who waited six months for an appointment before anything could be addressed. He used the words, "tearing her family apart". We could think of our own children and our own families. Let us get into the shoes of those parents. Really tearing the whole thing apart — totally frustrated. <BR /> <BR />Chris Hazzard talked about empowering both Departments to provide a duty of care. That is coming across very strongly from a lot of people. It is very regrettable that we do not have a Health Minister here today. It would also have been useful to have our Education Minister here. He holds out hope for the SEND Bill. The pooling of resources and sharing of funds will be very important.”
“Michaela Boyle focused on the associated bureaucracy. Whether that is the teacher in the school or the parent, they are just so frustrated with the amount of bureaucracy. She also said that recommendations are not being thoroughly implemented. There need to be evaluations. Having an evaluation or review every three years? No use. It needs to be at least every year. She also stressed that we need a mechanism to reduce the waiting times. She said that further training and development is necessary for our teaching and support staff, which I agree with. <BR /> <BR />My colleague Fearghal talked about autism as a developmental disability. Diagnosis is key. Without diagnosis, we cannot have early intervention. If that diagnosis and getting those appointments is going to take a year, what is happening inside that child's mind?”
“I agree wholeheartedly with Kieran. We are sending out a united message that we really need the Department to act. If we were to compare services pre and post legislation, I think it would be very interesting. I think we would know what the answer was. With limited finance from the learning disability budget and an increasing number of children with autism, 70% are waiting for over a year. How good is that in the modern age? It is notable too that much of the innovation and development work that has been done around autism has come from the voluntary sector. The statutory side is very much lagging behind in that developmental work.”
“Two or three parents arrive at her door every week, and the parents' stress is stress for the children. <BR /> <BR />Kieran McCarthy, who is a long-standing member of the all-party working group, rightly congratulated the work of Autism Northern Ireland. At this stage, I want to refer to the Autism Act, because a lot of people mentioned the Autism Act today. When the all-party group met today, it stressed that two very important parts of the Autism Act never got anywhere — an advocate for autism and an autism budget. There is no independent scrutiny of the Autism Act, and there is no separate budget; it depends on money from the learning disability budget.”
“She said that much of the delay lay at the door of Health, but there is certainly a big delay with Education as well. She also quoted many statistics. Many people talked about a six-month delay or a year's delay. Think of what that means to a four- or five-year-old child. It might be six months or a year in their chronological age, but what about their educational development and their educational attainment? What is lost during that time? Maybe two years or longer. It may be something that they will have great difficulty ever catching up on. <BR /> <BR />Like all MLAs here, Sandra Overend, the vice-Chairperson of the Committee, is inundated with complaints from frustrated parents. She talked about the wonderful protocols, but those wonderful protocols are not borne out in reality.”
“He said that we need equality for all our children; a child with autism should have the same access to the whole education system as any other child. He put a strong emphasis on early intervention, diagnosis and statementing. <BR /> <BR />Many Members spoke about the Minister. Again, as with the debate on cancer services yesterday, we have no Minister across the Chamber. That is a real shame for the children with autism, a real shame for the waiting lists and a real shame for the parents out there. We need somebody at the helm. <BR /> <BR />I agree with Maeve McLaughlin, who said that we need a more formal duty between Health and Education to address special educational needs. Maeve said that clause 4 needed to be much stronger.”
“That is particularly important. The issue cannot be tackled by either Health or Education alone. It needs the joint approach that will be necessary to drive down waiting lists and promote early intervention when educating and caring for the child with autism. <BR /> <BR />Furthermore, as reflected in today's debate, funding is a key issue in driving the autism strategy, along with the broader special educational needs legislation that I hope to see passed this year. <BR /> <BR />I thank Members for their contributions today. As Chair of the all-party group and a strong advocate for autism, Dominic stressed the need for a cross-departmental approach. He said that it was a development disability and that we needed joined-up work.”
“Parents need to be supported through the diagnosis and the subsequent process for children and young people with autism. That comes not just through Health and Social Care but, crucially, through the school. We need to make sure that all teachers and classroom assistants have cognisance of the challenges facing them and that they always act with the best interests of the child at heart. <BR /> <BR />The third and fourth points are to:”
“There are multiple issues that arise when considering this point. Can we say that, currently, our capacity for dealing with special educational needs in our schools is appropriate and fitting? We cannot. In fact, in many rural schools with a small number of children, there is under-provision. I am aware of situations where a school has been allocated eight hours a year in which to see an educational psychologist. How does that address the special educational needs of a school that has 70 or 80 children? That is outside the spectrum of Health, of course, as those assessments are provided by the Education Authority. How can children benefit in a tangible way with so little help? <BR /> <BR />The second point is to:”
“These statistics are crucial, as professionals and researchers agree that early intervention and diagnosis is essential to improving the developmental and educational outcomes of children with autism. <BR /> <BR />Many Members have also referenced the autism strategy, which states that education should:”
“I welcome the opportunity to wind on the debate and reflect the concerns outlined by my colleagues and by the House as a whole. <BR /> <BR />At the outset, I would like to acknowledge the great work that the Middletown Centre does on autism; but, first, I want to comment on the educational aspect of treating a child with autism. I am aware, as an educational spokesperson, of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill that many other Members have spoken of today and that is making its way through the House. I hope that that Bill can in some way help with some of the broader educational deficiencies associated with special educational needs and autism in particular. <BR /> <BR />Many people have quoted statistics today. It is estimated that over 3,500 children of school age and over 20,000 adults in Northern Ireland have autism.”
“I thank the Minister for his response thus far. What steps are being taken by the Department to ensure that all students and teachers have greater access to the certificate in religious education?”
“We are very aware of what the GAA has contributed to society right across this land. Will the Minister tell me what action her Department is taking to ensure that the GAA has the right facilities to safeguard the longevity of the sport in an ever changing, modern society?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Has OFMDFM had any further discussions on Barnett consequentials from the implementation of the 30 hours of free childcare in England?”
“We have a strong tradition of evaluating and readjusting cancer services for the betterment of our people, and it is clear that much more is needed now. The Minister needs to get back in post. We need to do something urgently to address swelling waiting lists and to keep the quality of cancer services high and to keep them prompt. <BR /> <BR />Bear in mind the statistic that, every day, 25 people in Northern Ireland are told that they have cancer. Believe me, you feel your life disintegrating before you when you get that news. Cancer need not be a death sentence. I am a living testimony, as are others, that it can treated, but you cannot have delays when it comes to treating cancer. Time is of the essence. Minister, cast aside the politics and think of your cancer patients.”
“In fact, we learned recently that the Health Minister resigned four times in the past three weeks. The Minister announced £1·5 million for NICE-approved cancer drugs when he was recently in office. That is further proof of the positive impact that he can have when he is in post. Unfortunately, that only highlighted the severity of the problem here for cancer drugs. The extra money allocated was for routine drugs. We should not need an announcement of extra money to solidify access to those drugs. We, among others, have been involved in the Equal Access campaign for Northern Ireland. Some 40 drugs that are proven to help to ease the suffering of those with cancer are available in the rest of the UK but not here. That is a fundamental inequality that remains unaddressed without a Minister.”
“We know, of course, that the problems with cancer waiting times are merely symptomatic of a wider and more severe crisis in waiting times across our health service. As my colleague Mr McKinney pointed out last week, Nigel Edwards from the Nuffield Trust injected a dose of reality into the situation here on waiting times. It is one thing to meet a target for 60-something days; it is another thing entirely to put patients' lives at risk. Our health service is in disarray. I agree with Mr McKinney's assessment that the figures on cancer waiting times are but another layer of dysfunction in our health service. <BR /> <BR />It is most unfortunate that, during the most acute crisis in waiting times for quite a while, we do not have a Minister to lead and direct.”
“That paints a picture of not just a momentary lapse in waiting times, perhaps caused by an immediate factor, but a gradual slippage over the previous few years that is extremely worrying.”
“The drugs research industry here, evidenced by the work of Queen's University and Almac, among others, provides hope and example for those who are suffering from cancer and for their families. The rapid development of cancer services that characterised the 1990s and the early 2000s here has stalled somewhat in recent years. If we look at cancer waiting times statistics and comparisons from this year, we see that the percentage of patients first treated for cancer within 62 days following an urgent GP referral for suspect cancer decreased from 77% to 69% in June 2015. <BR /> <BR />Many other people have quoted statistics, and there are lots out there. Three years ago, 100% of breast cancer patients were seen within two weeks of an urgent referral. By March 2015, this figure had fallen to 53%.”
“I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on a very important issue. It is something that I feel very passionate about because, like Mr McMullan, I am a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed 10 years ago, and after surgery and intensive treatment, I made a good recovery. I would like to pay tribute to all those involved in developing cancer services here since 1990. Quite simply, I owe my life to the health professionals at a local level in Daisy Hill Hospital, Craigavon Area Hospital and the cancer centre. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland has gained a good reputation for treating cancer and developing the drugs and treatments that help to pioneer the fight against this age-old disease.”
“I, too, thank the Minister for his statement. I am taken by its sixth paragraph. Disabled young people start with the same hopes and desires as everyone else, but, by the age of 26, they are four times more likely than their non-disabled peers to be in unemployment. <BR /> <BR />If young people stay in the education system and get the level of support that is associated with their statement, how will you ensure that those young people in training and employment get a similar level of support? Who will provide it? Who will make the decision, as the statement indicates:”
“If services at Daisy Hill were made more readily available, North and South, it would contribute to making the hospital even more sustainable in the long term. The trust must realise that a health service must operate on the basis of a community's best interest, not strictly on the basis of the financial bottom line.”