Trevor Clarke
South Antrim · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“For recruitment to the current Youth Assembly and on the basis of research on the youth demographic in Northern Ireland, a minimum of 10 young people with disabilities were sought in order to be representative of the data. Of the 90 young people appointed to the Youth Assembly, 18 have a disability.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Youth Assembly regularly uses social media to promote its work, and, when preparing for a new mandate, targeted multimedia recruitment campaigns are used to engage young people and encourage participation.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission also has an apprenticeship and placement framework that provides the opportunity for people with a disability to avail themselves of short-term supported placements.”
“In 2025, 770 tours were delivered and the number of events hosted in Parliament Buildings almost doubled to 583. <BR /> <BR />Our Education Service promotes its programmes to schools and colleges through an annual September mail-out, outlining provision for the relevant Key Stages, including a focus on inclusive engagement for children wi…”
“Mr Speaker, I may require an extra minute to answer the question. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Member for her question. The Assembly Commission's school work experience programme is facilitated through a partnership between our internal education services team and an organisation called Futures For All, a social mobility charity.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, with your permission, I may need an extra minute to answer the question, and I thank the Member for it. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission's public engagement strategy 2025-27 aims to increase awareness, improve understanding and enable participation in the work of the Assembly.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,151 lines we hold for Trevor Clarke, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 12 of 24.
“I will follow what some Members have said about the report. In Jim Allister's words, it was a "whitewash". Reference was made to bias: none of the Members has indicated that there was a bias towards one community over another. Reference was made to, I think, 2,000 funerals by Mr Allister and others, but those were the 2,000 funerals for people with the coronavirus: there were many other funerals for people who died a natural death. <BR /> <BR />I do not take away from the grief of this family, but something has been missed. There were 2,000 people recorded on the street that day, but the Member opposite, who declared an interest as being one of the organisers, indicated that they were expecting up to 10,000.”
“I do not think that I will need it. The Member who intervened made the point, which I had written down, much better than I could have. He makes a very interesting point. You could expand on that. In the RaISe pack, there is reference to the need for the certificate and what purpose that has been designed for in relation to the ethos of the Catholic Church in particular. That could equally be said of the Protestant faith. For people who practice that faith, there are particular things, but there is nothing to impede anyone else from teaching in that sector. It is as if the exemption has been created as an article of positive discrimination. Rather than rehearse everything that has been said, I welcome the motion, and we on these Benches will support it.”
“However, when we look at how this plays out, we see that there is positive discrimination, particularly against people who come from a Protestant faith background. That should not be the case. Everyone should be treated equally. Education should be equal, and some of the religious aspects should be taught in churches as opposed to schools. As the proposer of the motion laid out, this has been well and often debated, going back as far as 2013. It is disappointing that we are still having the conversation today. I look forward to hearing others' comments to see if we can right what has been a wrong for so long.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. You caught me on the hop there. I thought that it would have been the other side first. <BR /> <BR />I commend the proposer of the motion. Given that he has gone through so many of the statistics, it is hard to follow him other than to lay out our support for the motion. I would like to echo his comments about the teaching staff, regardless of what background they come from. Teaching is a vocation that these people go into. I am sure that, when they chose it as a vocation, they did not see the discriminatory part that we want to debate. I am sure that that was always far from their minds. <BR /> <BR />When I thought about this debate, I thought about a young teacher who is setting out. People shape the idea of their career at a young age. We hear about the oversupply of teachers.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. I can hear Mr Humphrey's enthusiasm from the Back Benches. As we all know, he has long since left the Scouts but is still very involved. <BR /> <BR />The funding is very welcome. Will the Minister indicate how much each of these groups will be able to apply for, or what size the fund is for each group?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Will the Minister outline when he foresees the consultation being launched, and a way forward agreed, in relation to what is widely known as a costly disease for animal and human health, never mind the cost to the taxpayer?”
“I welcome the Minister's answer. I am sure that she will appreciate that many small businesses suffered greatly because of the loss of opportunity to take cases to the Small Claims Court. I welcome the fact that some provision has been made, even though it was only from 12 April this year. Will she outline when she thinks all avenues of provision will be open as they were pre-COVID? For many, the small claims route is their only hope.”
“<BR /> <BR />We need to be sure that people and their families are cared for in a dignified manner and that they get the best care possible at that time. I commend the motion.”
“The dignity and the care that those people give is unquestionable. It is concerning that some people do not get the opportunity for that intervention. Some people die at home in pain and agony because they never got that level of care. That is shameful. <BR /> <BR />Reference has been made to taxes and death. That is true. However, I want to say briefly that, before you pay taxes and reach death, there is life. There is also perinatal care, and we are failing there as well. I know that the debate is not about that, but that is an issue that it will be important to come back to. We will never avoid taxes, but, to get to taxes, we have to be born. If we are born, we will have our taxes and our death.”
“Like a lot of people, I, in my ignorance, associated end-of-life care with cancer. My mother did not have cancer. I remember the Macmillan nurses being brought to me a few days before my mother passed. I said to the nurse, "But my mother has not got cancer". I was ignorant to the fact that end-of-life care is not just about cancer. Macmillan is not about cancer. Marie Curie is not about cancer. <BR /> <BR />I remember when they were administering the medication my mother needed a number of days before she died the nurse on the general ward telling us that Macmillan, or it could be Marie Curie depending on the setting, knows the appropriate time to give that level of treatment and that the general staff do not. That is no reflection on them. Again, my view is that they are there to nurse people to get better, not to nurse people to die.”
“The call that it makes is appropriate, long overdue and should have been included in the Programme for Government before. It is very touching that everyone signed the motion so easily. We have to bear in our hearts that many people have not gone through this situation and do not understand it. Until people are thrust on that journey of death, are they prepared? Do they know what is going to happen? <BR /> <BR />Reference has been made to the charities and the work that they do. They have stepped up when people get those diagnoses. Many people survive, but those charities have given them care and support, which is also very important. We need to be sure that all those charities and the service are properly funded. <BR /> <BR />Another thing strikes me; I remember this from when my mother passed.”
“Having dignity is very difficult for a family. My mother spent 11 days on a general ward with six patients and a curtain around her. The family spent precious time with her in the full knowledge that she was not coming home. It was difficult for us. It was difficult for the other families on the ward. Where was the dignity for the other five patients, not just for our family? I ask that because there was a lack of provision. There was, dare I say, competition for accessing the capacity of the 12-bed unit. That is no reflection on Macmillan and the work that it does, but there was competition for those beds. My mother's dignity was removed because she had to die on a ward with five other patients. She was not allowed the close family network that you would get in a normal setting. <BR /> <BR />I fully support the motion.”
“I remember that my father was transferred from Antrim hospital to what was described locally as the workhouse, which was then in Braid Valley in Ballymena, where he got excellent care from the Macmillan team. That was a comfort to us. Like many patients, he suffered in silence. The nurses went above and beyond in providing excellent care. I had conversations with nurses and asked, "How do you do this job?". We always assume that a nurse is there to help you get better, not to help you pass. The professionalism of those nurses was unquestionable. I remember that, at that time, they were talking about a Macmillan unit in Antrim hospital, which, thankfully, came some years later. <BR /> <BR />Roll forward to 10 years ago, when my mother went onto a main ward in the hospital and was never to come home.”
“When this motion was put forward, I was, like others, very happy to sign it. It reminded me of what I went through 16 years ago, when my father, a healthy man working with me at home on a Friday, went into hospital on the Sunday, with no diagnosis or prognosis to indicate that that was his last journey. It was thrust upon us. My father was in hospital after an operation when we were told the news reflected by the contribution from the previous Member to speak. It was difficult for us as a family, because we had no understanding of it. That was pre-devolution. There have always been shortcomings on end of life. This is not an attack on the current Minister or the Ministers before him. It was pre-devolution.”
“In essence, the First Minister has answered my supplementary question. For many, it has been a difficult, long journey with a lot of waiting. It is inevitable that any conversation that they have will revisit the past, so I welcome the fact that she will look at that. Can the First Minister give us any idea of what could be done to soften that for the individuals involved?”
“<BR /> <BR />We can dial down the rhetoric today and calm things down but we must go back and look at every one of those issues with an open mind and get a resolution to bring as many people as possible with us. We will never satisfy everyone, but there is real, palpable anger out there today. I agree that it could be any one of those issues; it may not be one issue but multiple issues. The sooner that we get to the position to dial down and find out what they are and address them, rather than dismissing people and their genuine concerns, the better.”
“I concur with that absolutely. I put it on record that I grew up on a working-class estate as well. I may not live in that area now, but I say to many people that I would not think twice about having to go back. It would not cause me a problem to go back because I enjoyed my time there. What I really deplore is seeing our people, people I grew up with, getting themselves criminal records for no reason. <BR /> <BR />We do need to dial down the rhetoric, but we also need to get to the solutions and fix the problems, change the perceptions and give people hope. As Minister Long said at the outset, there is a list of things that we could pinpoint as reasons, but we cannot dismiss those reasons. I am not saying that the Minister said that we are dismissing them; I am saying that we cannot dismiss them.”
“I will in a second. I want to see an end to the violence because it serves no good for no one other than giving people criminal records. I think that Mr Storey touched on this: Members across the Chamber need to listen to the genuine concerns that we bring because we speak and listen to people. Those are genuine concerns, and you must listen to them.”
“I absolutely agree. We are waiting on two things. It is right that the board did unanimously agree to the HMIC investigation. I support that and am looking forward to the outcome of that. Also, some members wrote privately to the ombudsman for an investigation, and I am also looking forward to that. Those, I think, will bring answers. <BR /> <BR />I have listened to what the Speaker said, and I want to keep the tone right because I want to see an end to the violence.”
“I will give way in a second. There was no other way to read it, other than as a facilitated funeral. <BR /> <BR />Sorry, I should have declared at the outset that I am a member of the Policing Board. <BR /> <BR />I raised with the Chief Constable last week the fact that the police had the plan for the funeral: 30 people attending with provision made for another 94 to participate. That was in absolute contrast to the rules, so they broke the rules. They facilitated Sinn Féin to break the rules.”
“However, the PPS's answer in relation to that says it all, and I think it was my colleague Joanne Bunting who read it out. There is no way to read it other than that the PSNI facilitated that funeral.”
“I will in a second. The funeral has already been touched on today. It is terrible that we must continue to rehearse the funeral.”
“It is difficult for us to support the leadership of the police until that perception changes.”
“When I read the motion, I had no difficulty supporting it to condemn violence. I have never supported violence. <BR /> <BR />What I want to say has probably already been said by many Members, but I want to pick up what the last Member to speak said about us changing our rhetoric about two-tier policing. More people than the Members on the unionist benches are saying that of policing. Members of the police, possibly including one of the 55 officers who have been injured, are themselves saying that. My thoughts go to each and every one of those officers. Those men and women have been sent out to do a job, and not every one of them agrees with what they are being asked to do. They also have the perception that their job is in a two-tier police force.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. You followed on from what Mr Nesbitt and others said about not getting into the detail and about the fact that we are here today to try to calm down the rhetoric, but, do you accept, given your contribution and what Mike Nesbitt said, that there may be an opportunity after this debate to get into those issues and find out what the core problems are in all those areas?”
“I see that the Member is probably running out of time for his speech but will he touch on some of the comments where Sinn Féin threatened violence if there had not been a border in the Irish Sea?”
“If she had read the Hansard report, she would have seen that I said that, in my area, I worked with loyalist paramilitaries to move things forward. <BR /> <BR />I would like you to rule on that, Mr Deputy Speaker.”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. A point of order was raised about me in my absence this morning. Is it in order for a Member to mislead the House about what another Member said and to make disparaging comments about that individual when he was not present? If Ms Dillon had looked at the Hansard report, or if she had been at the debate yesterday, she could have reflected exactly what I said. Is it in order for a Member to suggest that I was breaking the law? That same Member attended the IRA funeral in July last year of a man who was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment and was involved in the Maze breakout. Is it in order for her to suggest that I am currently working with paramilitaries?”
“We can also get back to normal practice in the Building, with Members being able to dine without any difficulties.”
“I thank the Member for the answer. I put on record that my question in no way reflects on the staff. The staff have been professional in what has been a difficult 12 months for them. However, there is uncertainty for staff about their hours and contracts. On some days, it is difficult for Members to go down to the canteen to eat because of the seating arrangements. There were other facilities in the Building for use by Members at unsociable hours. Rolling all those things together, when will the Commission make a decision to try to bring the contract back to as near normal as possible? That would give certainty to staff, who would know, when they come in in the morning, what time they will be working to. They will also have some job security and know that their jobs are safe.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer and for some of the work that she has done to bring forward the projects to which she referred. You have made the bid, and you said that you cannot direct the Chief Constable, but if we cannot hold the Chief Constable to account on the 7,500 new officers, that calls into question the purpose of having a target. <BR /> <BR />Will you also address the old commitment to 2,500 Reserve officers, which I referenced in my question? Those officers would pick up the slack for some of our officers on full-time duty. I have listened to the tenor of the questions today, and most of the issues raised will eventually fall back on the police and be an additional burden and workload for them. I welcome the work that the Minister has done, but can she answer specifically about the 2,500 Reserve officers?”
“The Member who asked the initial question talked about the effects that COVID-19 is having on families, including unemployment. The Member who spoke previously asked about furlough. The thing that is directly involved in both of those is businesses. If we can get businesses open again, unemployment will reduce and furlough will end. Are there any plans to speed up the strategy, to prevent both unemployment and furlough, and to let those businesses get back to operating as normal, which we will see right across the rest of the UK?”
“We are going down to 6,800, which is 800 officers fewer than we require. Let us not cherry-pick parts of NDNA; let us implement it in full. When we get it in full, we can talk about some of the pet projects of the Members opposite.”
“That is like many other examples that could be mooted. It is a sad reflection. <BR /> <BR />We are back here because of the NDNA agreement. However, there are many aspects of that that have not been resolved or settled. It seems that the Members opposite want to cherry-pick those. There are many aspects of the NDNA that are beneficial to everyone. <BR /> <BR />Hopefully the party that tabled the motion recognises the harm that it did at Belfast City Hall. Maybe the Member who moved the motion could have a word with the Minister of Justice to see what she is going to do about the 7,500 police officers. If we are going to do this without consent and bringing people with us, we will see more problems on our streets unfortunately. In the Minister of Justice's police settlement, she is reducing the number of police officers.”
“What was wrong with Massey Avenue? <BR /> <BR />I have to say that the argument put forward by the Member opposite and the temper and arrogance of the Member opposite worry and concern me. He can smile all he likes. We want to bring peace and stability to Northern Ireland, but he can get offended by street names. He did not mention once the terrorists who murdered people in his constituency and the glorification of those people on walls, which people like me find offensive, if I have to drive through west Belfast. Not one mention.”
“I could say to the Member, who is in a sedentary position, that, if he had taken the seat after the Member left, he maybe could have heard this point and I might have given way. However, like the other Member, he was not here for the debate. <BR /> <BR />The only way for the argument to go forward on all the points is with respect. However, listening to the Member from West Belfast talk about his parade from his home to here, he omitted to mention all the memorials and murals for terrorists. He forgot about those. He belonged to a terrorist organisation; indeed, he was a POW, if he wants to call himself that, rather than the Prince of Wales. Like many Members opposite, he went out of his way to be offended. They go out of their way to be offended by our tradition — my tradition. I do not know why he had to go up Prince of Wales Avenue.”
“No, I will not give way. I will hear enough when you are on your feet later. <BR /> <BR />It was poor that the Member could not stay to hear the contributions if they were so concerned.”
“It was welcomed by those who lived in the community and did not want to see signs of paramilitarism but were content for the flag of our country to fly for the marching season. It is examples like that that show leadership. <BR /> <BR />It reminds me of the debate when they took the Union flag down from Belfast City Hall. The Alliance Party has tabled the motion nearly as if to stoke the argument when tensions are already high in our communities. However, it is ill for the proposer of the motion to come here today and not stay in her place until the second or third speaker after her had finished their contribution. That was more about them coming in to make some big point as if they are the champions of democracy and trying to lead things.”
“I thank the Member for that point, and I will come back to it. <BR /> <BR />It concerns me that we have victim makers' memorials and that those who are involved in the commission obviously did not want to have them, but they came here today to give us lectures on other aspects of rights. <BR /> <BR />I will go back to my colleague's comments on the work that was done in Ballynafeigh and on the leadership there. That is where the real leadership happens: in our communities. In my area, I worked with a loyalist paramilitary organisation to remove its flags and to put up more respectful Union Jacks for the marching season. That is probably similar to some of the suggestions, given some of the comments that Mr Beattie made on it. That worked because it was led by the community.”
“To follow on from the last speaker, I will put it on record that I do not know what is in the report. I have had a good insight from you today on what may be in it. However, what I also get from that is the filibustering from the other side about what they want in terms of their rights. However, from what you said, it seems that what will not be in the report is what many may wish to be in it. It alarms me to hear that about memorials for —.”
“First Minister, I, like others, welcome the statement. Members have expressed their appreciation of the Public Health Agency and the roll-out of the vaccination programme. <BR /> <BR />The business sector will probably be disappointed by what it is hearing today. I want to put on record, because I am sure that many in the Chamber would not want to put it on record, the generosity shown by Her Majesty's Government in terms of the sum of the financial packages that have been drawn up to support those businesses. However, many of those packages do not cut it. Many businesses are waiting to get the opportunity to open and continue to trade as normal. Following today's announcement, what is your message to businesses that continue to wait for the announcement that they can open and get back to some form of normality?”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Standing Order 19(5) relates to questions being answered in a timely manner. I have been tabling questions to the Health Minister since September of last year, many of which have related to Muckamore. The Muckamore issues and investigations are well rehearsed. I have asked questions about the fact that some of the cameras have not been working and about the complaints that some of the families have submitted. It is unreasonable that, after five months, those questions remain unanswered. Indeed, I tabled a subsequent question to ask when they would be answered and have failed to get an answer to that as well. <BR /> <BR />Mr Speaker, through your office, will you liaise with the Minister's Department to get answers to those questions, please?”
“You said what I wanted you to say in your answer. You highlighted the fact that the Members opposite and some people in the media criticised Minister Poots. Going beyond Members, will you therefore call on the media to apologise for some of their commentary on Minister Poots's assertions at that time?”
“I thank the Minister for her long and very full answer. That has to be welcomed. Given that it is almost a year since the start of the coronavirus pandemic — no one in the Chamber can be blamed for that — there is a direct knock-on impact on the solicitors, the barristers and, indeed, on many occasions, those who are standing trial. What financial support has been given to solicitors and barristers, given that their businesses have suffered for the past 12 months because of the pandemic?”
“— how can all these people be so sick if they are not allowed out. It was obvious that it was being brought in. I welcome the report and all the recommendations in it, and I commend the Committee for bringing it forward.”
“However, what we want to see as part of the recommendations is testing being carried out daily. One of the things that struck us all was —”
“That is not to say that the recommendations say that we have to introduce systems to make them better places. However, I do not believe that all the responsibility should be on the Minister to fix them, given that some of them are running private businesses. Broadly speaking, I support this. <BR /> <BR />Paula mentioned rapid testing. Like her, I asked about it once we heard that it had been rolled out in Liverpool. We worked with the Westminster Government in the roll-out of this and were very dependent on them for it. I remember the Minister saying that, in response to the pilot scheme in Liverpool, we were going to carry out our own tests. <BR /> <BR />It is OK for us to be critical now that we do not have it. However, imagine if we had rolled it out and it was not accurate. To be fair to the Minister, he got it right.”
“<BR /> <BR />The only criticism that I have is that there is a concern that families still cannot get into homes to see their loved ones. If your elderly relative is upstairs in a care home, you cannot get to talk to them through a window, whereas others, whose relatives are downstairs, can. I have a member of staff, and her sister is in a trust facility. I am not referencing the trust. Her sister has been moved upstairs, so that point of contact has been taken away. That is absolutely brutal because families and patients need that interaction. <BR /> <BR />I want to support the Minister, but the other thing that strikes me about all this is that, whilst we refer to these homes, we have to bear in mind that lots of them are private homes and that those who own them are profiting from them.”
“Primarily, the focus was obviously on the hospitals because that is where the most seriously ill people were presenting, but I am sure that each and every one of us was contacted by care homes with their concerns about the lack of PPE as the virus continued. Again, as I said at the start, if we had an abundance of that stuff sitting about, there would have been criticism about overstocks. There were clearly concerns about PPE, and we should give credit where credit is due because there was a rallying call. Folks, we have to realise that it was not just in Northern Ireland; it was a worldwide pandemic, and we were bidding for the same stuff as everyone else. Whilst it took time to get that roll-out of PPE, it got there and there has been a meaningful change.”
“<BR /> <BR />Jonny's speech struck a chord with me because, for our older population — I have lost both my parents — one thing that is important to them is to not die alone. In care homes, older people were cut off from their family and could not have them around them at the time of death. It was in the newspaper last week about one hospital — I am not sure where it was — where they brought the husband and wife in together and they died six minutes apart. That is testament to the care staff who organised that for the family and for the husband and wife to die together. <BR /> <BR />One of the cruel things about this horrid pandemic, and this is not a criticism of the Minister or the homes, was that we were absolutely blindsided by it. I think that the care homes stepped up to the mark.”