Ian McCrea
Mid Ulster · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I am not surprised by the Minister's answer, but, surely, given that he has announced that he will not take on the job of Justice Minister after the election — that is dependent on the electorate, of course, but nonetheless — surely he will have to accept that there have been questions that may not have come under his direct responsibilit…”
“Given that the Secretary of State has said that Northern Ireland farmers would no doubt benefit from being outside the European Union, I am not so sure that it is necessarily a bad thing.”
“I commend the First Minister for all the work she has done on corporation tax. When she goes to the United States, will she take the opportunity to invite businesses and people there to come to Northern Ireland so that they can see exactly the product we have here and, indeed, our people?”
“We have heard the deputy First Minister's words of condemnation — rightly, I believe — but will the deputy First Minister condemn outright those who took part in this disgraceful, murderous attack on people in my constituency?”
“With respect to the Committee and the work that it did, as I have said at other times, the Chair has gone through the detail of the how the Committee scrutinised this. Once again, I want to put on record the good work that was done and the good working relationship that the Committee and the Department had.”
“I thank the junior Minister for her intervention and the clarity around that. That is why I make no apology for supporting the investment fund and supporting the delivery of this large amount of money into areas across Northern Ireland. When that is delivered, it will provide a big difference for our communities.”
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“In a number of churches, there are after-church youth rallies that do not start until 9.30 pm or 10.00 pm. It might be 12.00 midnight before those young people get home, so there are some difficulties with the restrictions. That is why I welcome the Minister's willingness to have a debate on whether that is the direction that the House is moving in. There is consensus that there are good reasons to give the issue further consideration and table amendments at Further Consideration Stage if they can be agreed. I certainly sympathise with concerns about the restrictions, and, as I said, it was mentioned to me on a few occasions over the weekend. <BR /> <BR />Peer pressure is certainly an issue. Mrs Overend referred to the different types of peer pressure.”
“I do not think that I could be bothered. <BR /> <BR />The importance of driving on motorways and dual carriageways is another issue. Those who move from 45 mph to 70 mph after being restricted for a year and, to some extent, not having been trained to drive at that higher speed can cause more accidents than those who have been properly trained. All aspects of the learning experience should be welcomed. <BR /> <BR />I have some sympathy with the amendment tabled by Mrs Overend to clause 20. Until the amendment was tabled, there was not really a lot of talk from groups about the restrictions the clause would bring. The restrictions were mentioned quite a bit to me over the weekend, particularly for young people involved in church groups and after-church youth rallies.”
“It is important that the Minister put it on record, if he can, that that measure is not about putting a financial burden on families but about trying to ensure the safety of our young people. <BR /> <BR />At this point, I should probably take my jacket off.”
“There are family members who cannot wait until she gets her test so that she can drive them around. There will some joy on my part and my wife's part at not having to do all the runs, but we will have to deal with that when the time comes. In some ways, I could nearly accept that she should be 25 before she is able to do her test, but that would just be to save me from having to take her out for lessons. In all seriousness, the six-month period and the logbook process are important. <BR /> <BR />There was concern about the additional financial burden that getting the adequate standard of training brought on a household in ensuring that, when our young people go out on the roads, they are adequately trained.”
“<BR /> <BR />I tested the six-month learning period with my daughter who is 16 and a half, and, whilst she is easy-going, I am not sure that she was jumping up and down about the prospect of all this going through by the time she gets to the learning age that she will have to wait for an additional six months before she can do her test.”
“I want to thank the Minister and his officials for working with the Committee, notwithstanding commenting on the officials of the Committee who helped and advised us as we went through the process. <BR /> <BR />As other Members have said, the Committee gave the Minister good advice in respect of moving from the age of 16 and a half to 17 and having a six-month testing period and not a year. I saw the Minister's face as his colleague behind him was making his closing remarks, and I am not sure that he agreed with them, but, nonetheless, he accepted that the Committee had wiser counsel in that matter, and that is one of many aspects that the Committee worked on with the officials in coming to a resolution.”
“Whilst I understand the comments and take the point that Mr Maginness referred to in respect of bringing forward amendments, it flies in the face of the fact that the Minister brought forward amendments that did not come to the Committee. Whilst they were technical and were bringing us in line with parts of the rest of GB, he brought amendments that the Committee did not have sight of, bar a letter that the Committee received. As a good working Committee, we agreed that it would be a good thing for those to be accepted. Mind you, no doubt, we will find out before today is out whether we agree with them or not, but I expect that we will. <BR /> <BR />I want to put on record the work that the Committee has done in respect of the scrutiny of the Bill.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. The Member will, and has, stated that there was consensus on the issue in the Committee. He will, however, understand that there are circumstances where Members may be lobbied outside the Committee Stage and where other concerns may be brought up. Whilst it may not be the perfect or, as he said, the appropriate thing to do, it is not beyond the limitation of Members to bring forward amendments. Whilst I am sure that Mrs Overend will mention the reasons behind her amendment, surely it is not inappropriate outside the Committee Stage, given that there are other circumstances that can lead Members to bring forward amendments.”
“I know that the amendment from Mrs Overend has caused a bit of debate through other outside bodies. I will come to some of it in my comments after a while, but I would like to confirm that the Minister would at least be willing to have discussions with Members who have concerns around certain aspects of clause 20 to ensure that we can come to an agreement and do not have to divide unnecessarily on it.”
“I want to seek clarity on a point. I know that Mr Ramsey referred to it in his intervention, and there has been some concern about the issue in clause 20 specifically.”
“Does the Member agree that this is not only a good move but is important in promoting more responsible driving? Whilst it is difficult to know exactly what your limits are, the reduction in the limit goes some way to reducing the amount of drink and getting that into the mindset of people. I know that, in parts of Europe, it is mandatory for motorists to have a breathalyser in their car. While I do not think that we should go that far, does the Member agree that people who intend to take a drink — we would encourage them not to — should take some measures to ensure that they do not drink and drive or at least are not over the limit?”
“Some of them might not have been invited to it either.”
“Nonetheless, I look to the Minister, and I have no doubt that she will deal with those when she responds to the debate. If — I say that with a big "if" — there was another way that we could get a formula similar to that of Barnett, and we talked in yesterday's debate about new thinking, maybe there will be Members in the SDLP — they are not here — who could come up with new thinking in respect of how we get a better share and something other than Barnett. I will await that with bated breath. Nonetheless, if there is something, I will be the first to say that we should see the colour of their money.”
“I also thank those who came and gave evidence because, without them, it would have been a waste of our time and a waste of a report. <BR /> <BR />As has been said, the DUP, in principle, supported the need to have the review of Barnett, or at least the Committee's inquiry. Whilst we did so, it was predicated on the fact that, sometimes, if it is not broken, do not fix it. It is important that when we do so, we do it with the belief that Barnett is, for now, the best formula that ensures that we get our fair share of the public finances. No one has been able to contradict it so far. We have had our fair share, and we look forward to continuing that practice in the near future. <BR /> <BR />Whilst the recommendations are there, there are not many, as other Members have said.”
“The Member who spoke previously may wish to attend meetings with Treasury; I am not sure that those who have had those meetings have enjoyed them in the way that he might have. I suppose that that is another lesson: they need to get their act together to ensure that the Stormont House Agreement is agreed in its totality to ensure that we have a budget and money to spend, so that there can be future meetings with the Treasury. <BR /> <BR />I join the Member and others who thanked the Clerk and the staff of the Committee for all their work in pulling this together. It is not easy when you are trying to get 11 members of a Committee there on time when witnesses are there to give evidence, so I thank them for the effort that they put in.”
“If we had not got it to that stage, I fear that that would have been lost too. <BR /> <BR />I hope that common sense will prevail. I am not hopeful about that within the SDLP, because, having listened to Alasdair McDonnell and Alex Attwood, there is no hope, because hope is lost. Therefore, I can only hope that common sense prevails.”
“We all know the debacle that the Northern Ireland training college has gone through. The Minister of Justice and former Ministers of Finance have had to deal with that, as has the current Minister. In fact, I had conversations with her and her special adviser the other day to see how we can move it forward. It is important that we try to find a way out of this. The Desertcreat college is an important economic driver for the Mid Ulster constituency, as are the benefits that it would bring to our local economy. <BR /> <BR />When I look at the issues on the £1·4 million that had been allocated through the social investment fund to Mid Ulster, I can see that, if we fail to get through this impasse, they will have a serious impact, again on Mid Ulster. I am glad, however, that the Magherafelt bypass has been signed and that work has commenced.”
“As Judith Cochrane said, one week of that would pay for the early years fund. I see that the Minister of Education is now in the Chamber. I think that it is a shame that the austerity project that he has taken forward in his Department to cut the funding for early years is a disgrace. In the context of welfare reforms, they talk about how they want to protect the most vulnerable. Certainly, I have had conversations and discussions with organisations and children's groups that have been affected by the cut to the early years fund. I am talking in particular about Tober Tinys in Tobermore, which I know has been seriously affected by this. I hope that the Minister reflects on that decision and looks at it again. <BR /> <BR />Again looking at my constituency, I heard Mrs Overend refer to Desertcreat.”
“I am glad that the Member asked me that, because, as far as I am concerned, I do not recall being appointed Minister for Regional Development. I would be happy to take it on — well, maybe not happy — but I certainly think that some could do a better job of allocating our Budget. I do not think that it is about where we cut money to do this and that. Whilst budgets are all about that, there are certainly things where I believe party politics are being played. Unfortunately, it is the people in our constituencies who are being impacted by that. The decisions that the Minister is making are, I think, shameful, and he should be ashamed of himself. <BR /> <BR />I think that it is worth repeating that £2 million per week is being lost to our block grant through welfare fines.”
“These are issues that each and every one of us, as MLAs, fight day and daily with local roads offices to try to get done, and every conversation goes back to the lack of funding. The Minister, on every occasion that he is questioned in the House, passes the blame. He says that it is about the money that he has been allocated by the Executive and is not his responsibility. Personally, I believe that it is the Minister for Regional Development's responsibility to prioritise his budget. He is allocated a budget, and it is for him to prioritise it. When he does not tackle those important issues in our constituencies, we know where his priorities are not.”
“Others want to use it as a reason to hold things back. <BR /> <BR />I will move to a constituency perspective for a few minutes. One of my colleagues, Alastair Ross, started the debate. He talked about how we could all have a wish list. I could ask the Finance Minister to allocate many thousands of pounds to things in my constituency, and there is no doubt that others will. I was disappointed that Jo-Anne Dobson took the opportunity to attack the Health Minister, the Finance Minister and everybody else but her party's Minister, yet it is he, the Minister for Regional Development, who has failed to sort out the Budget allocation that he received. He has failed to deal with road maintenance, street lighting and grass cutting.”
“Of the 13,829 new jobs promoted, 5,661 were with externally owned companies, and just over 1,000 were with 25 companies new to Northern Ireland. Belfast is Europe's leading destination for investment in software development and technical support and the world's top destination for investment in financial services technology. <BR /> <BR />Given the good work done and the effort put in by Invest NI, many believed that the Budget and the Stormont House Agreement would at least take us through many of the difficulties and get us to the point at which we got the British Government to support the devolution of corporation tax. In that context, our credibility with foreign direct investors has suffered, and they see us as being half in, half out. Most of us want it, but only half of us want to try to deliver it.”
“It is disappointing that some who signed up to the agreement, which included the implementation of welfare reform, decided at the last stage of the Welfare Reform Bill to sign a petition of concern to ensure that it did not pass. <BR /> <BR />As a result, if we look at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment — today, I questioned the Finance Minister, who was answering on behalf of the First Minister, about foreign direct investment — we see our lack of credibility when foreign direct investors look at us now. As all Members will know, Northern Ireland has had a very strong record of attracting FDI and outperforming many larger regions. Invest NI announced that 2014-15 was a record year for overall job promotion in Northern Ireland.”
“I suppose that it is the bad old Tories and their austerity agenda. As a number of Members said, there are those who just want to bury their heads in the sand and believe that it will go away and that, if we ask loudly enough and often enough, the Tory Government will just put their hands in their pocket. In a meeting today with the Secretary of State, along with the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, she suggested that there was no cheque book or cheque ready for us. I am not sure whether there is even a £10 note, never mind a large cheque. <BR /> <BR />It is unfortunate that we are where we are. Those to blame are those who got us into this position. I spent many hours at Stormont during the talks process, and there was certainly a sigh of relief at the end of it all when we were able to achieve a five-party agreement.”
“As is the case in many debates, the longer they go on, the more things have been said, and it is difficult not to be repetitive. I will try my best not to do that, although one or two points may be worth repeating. As I think about what has been said during the debate, whilst it is not often that I welcome anything from Martin McGuinness, it is a good thing, in a sense, that we will at least get conditional support for the Budget. If things go the way that we hope, there will not even be a vote. Who knows? If people like me and other Members who speak keep it short, maybe we will even finish the debate tonight. We live in hope. <BR /> <BR />Whilst I accept what Martin McGuinness said on behalf of Sinn Féin, I took issue with his comments that none of the parties in Northern Ireland was to blame for our current difficulties.”
“The Member referred to the new thinking that is required, as cited by my colleague, although maybe not necessarily in the same context. Can the Member give the House and indeed the people of Northern Ireland a reason as to why no thinking whatsoever, never mind new thinking, was given when the Finance Minister asked for amendments or people's views on how we could find our way out of this? No one from any of the other parties came up with any type of thinking to help the Minister out to try to overcome these difficulties.”
“Is the Minister concerned that the delay in deciding on a date and a rate for corporation tax will have a negative impact on our ability to bring more jobs to Northern Ireland?”
“I can only echo the Minister's comments in respect of ensuring that the Stormont House Agreement and the Budget that comes out of it are implemented. The Minister will be aware that people in the rural community are concerned about single farm payments. Can the Minister provide any detail on how that will be resolved and how payments will be made if this Budget process is not completed?”
“Following on from my colleague's question about fuel laundering, the Minister may be aware that there has been an increase in the number of fuel laundering sites in my constituency, in Draperstown specifically. Whilst I welcome the fact that there has been one arrest in that respect, many people involved believe they are beyond the law and are free to carry out the activity without fear of arrest. Can the Minister ensure that the agencies involved are doing everything they can to ensure that they pick it up early, when the information is given to them, and that arrests are made, rather than waiting until, as my colleague said, the damage is done, people are away and someone else picks up the tab?”
“The IFA not only has a great wee team working on it; it has a great wee team that plays in the park. Perhaps the Minister will join me in congratulating the young Cookstown lad, Stuart Dallas, who scored his first international goal last night alongside Cookstown's Aaron Hughes, who is now the most capped outfield player. Given that a European Championship game is scheduled for 13 June, can the Minister give any details about whether the temporary arrangements that the IFA hopes to have in place will still be in place for that match?”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Sorry, I think the —”
“Will the Member consider that part of the reason for that may not be the reduced costs from the VAT rate and may be to do with the exchange rate?”
“<BR /> <BR />The Executive set out targets to better our tourism product, and I commend the Minister because, in the next couple of weeks, we have the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open coming to Royal County Down. That is another great news story for the tourism sector in Northern Ireland, and there is more to come. <BR /> <BR />Certainly, with our tourism product, we are punching well above our weight, and the hospitality sector will obviously benefit from that, but there is no doubt that a VAT reduction would be of benefit, and this party will certainly play its part in trying to ensure that that happens. However, we have to realise that there is an elephant in the room: welfare reform must be sorted before we take on any additional power.”
“The motion asks us to undertake a report on the benefits of a reduction in VAT for presentation to the Treasury, and I have no difficulty with that whatsoever. Whilst we can do that, it would be remiss of me not to mention that there is a lot that can be done with the powers that we have already. Welfare reform may not be linked specifically to VAT on tourism and the hospitality sector, but we cannot get to grips with what we already have. There is no point in doing this report and asking for a reduction in VAT when we cannot prove ourselves capable of coming to decisions on welfare reform that affect most people's everyday life. Personally, I think that we are wasting our time asking the Government to consider a reduction in VAT. That said, I believe that the sector requires it, and work continues to try to achieve it.”
“When I speak to hotel owners in my constituency, they tell me of issues in that respect that are impacting on their business, but the need for that to find its way down to the consumer is also very important.”
“I recognise that most Members have said that this is not a devolved matter and is, therefore, something that we have very little, if any, control over. However, it is worth noting and accepting the work that has been done by Ministers to date. I commend the previous Finance Minister, Simon Hamilton, who raised the matter with the Treasury, as has the current Minister in her role as the former Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. I do know the work that has been done to try to do what can be done in that respect. However, it is important to recognise that a reduction in VAT for the tourism and hospitality sector would be welcomed, not just by those in that sector but by consumers. Let us face it, if consumers were not using the sector, it would not exist.”
“I thank the Minister for his response. Given that, in my constituency, Transport NI is telling us all about the financial pressures that it is under, is there any other way that the Department can carry out a full investigation of how more money can be found through efficiencies to ensure that it can be delivered to the front-line services that I referred to in my previous question?”
“I join those who have congratulated the Minister on his new post. He has gone from calling for Departments to make efficiency savings to having to do so himself. In that vein, what efficiency savings has the Department managed to achieve in recent years to allow the Minister and his predecessors to invest in front-line services?”
“I, too, join the choir of congratulations to the Minister. I enjoyed my time as her Assembly Private Secretary in DETI. <BR /> <BR />Can she give some detail on how the private sector can engage with government to take advantage of the financial transactions capital?”
“Will the Minister outline what funding has been allocated to councils to help them with the devolution of the powers and what role parts of her Department will have in respect of community planning?”
“I welcome the support that there is in the Department and that the Minister has given to the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council. The Minister may be aware that the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council is considering making a bid for the 2021 Youth Games. I am not asking the Minister to make any financial commitment, but will she look sympathetically at that, probably in conjunction with the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, when it comes before her?”
“I appreciate that there are many budgetary concerns, whether it is the health budget, the education budget or the Assembly budget, and we all have our concerns about all of that. The public will no doubt be more concerned about things other than constituency office IT equipment, but one big aspect of delivering constituency services is the IT provision. Can the Assembly Commission ensure that the budget that is in place to change the desktop provision will be protected?”
“I welcome the Minister's commitment to Magherafelt by providing the funding of — I think he said — £152,493 for the Rainey Street project. The work is ongoing, and already we see the benefits. Alongside that funding, can the Minister advise the House what money will be provided to the new Mid Ulster council when the funding package is provided to councils?”
“The Minister mentioned the contacts she had had with the new chief executives of councils. Will she be willing to meet the new councils when they are operational to discuss what opportunities may be available so that they can tap into the areas she referred to, whether the arts or any of the creative industries, to ensure that local councils can play their part?”
“A large number of farmers are losing their conacre land due to landowners starting to farm their land. Will the Minister issue clear guidance to give clarity on what conditions need to be met for a single farm payment to be claimed?”
“As for free transport for the elderly, I know many people in my constituency who do not have high salaries and benefit daily from going out, meeting other people and going on day trips, which gives them an opportunity to spend some time together. The Alliance Party's amendment is a disgrace and is something that we certainly will not be supporting.”
“They do not necessarily tell us what they are, how much they will cost or any of those things, but they are consistent nonetheless in saying that we should devolve more fiscal powers to Northern Ireland. It is important, when we look at the powers we have and how good we are at utilising them, that we realise that that does not necessarily mean that we should devolve more. <BR /> <BR />Looking at the Alliance Party's amendment, it is important that people out there realise the Alliance Party is really about increasing the rates that people pay for their water. It is also happy to end free transport for the elderly and many other things that will hurt the people of Northern Ireland.”
“If we cannot get early agreement on the rate and date, we lessen Invest NI's ability to go across the world and sell our rate of corporation tax to companies to try to encourage them to invest in Northern Ireland and benefit from our lower level of corporation tax. So, it is important that we give Invest NI the earliest opportunities to present Northern Ireland as a place to invest and a place to come and set up business and benefit from our lower level of corporation tax. It is incumbent upon Members across the Chamber to sit down with the Finance Minister and other Executive Ministers to get agreement on the rate that we are going to set and the time frame for doing it. <BR /> <BR />At least Sinn Féin are consistent in their call for more fiscal powers.”
“<BR /> <BR />We may have agreement on devolving corporation tax powers, but the one thing that is still outstanding, is very important and needs to be dealt with if we want to be taken seriously in respect of our ability to utilise our fiscal powers is the setting of the rate of corporation tax and the date for its implementation. The rate is important to ensuring that we can compete with our neighbours, the Republic of Ireland. There is some debate around whether the rate should be 12·5% or 10%, but the fact that we are getting the power ensures that we have urgency around deciding the rate. <BR /> <BR />That is important in the context of the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister — I declare an interest as the Minister's APS — having within her responsibility the economy and the importance of growing the private sector.”
“I was not expecting to be called as early. Normally, whenever you are further down the list you have less to say. I will stick with the less-to-say option and, hopefully, ensure that this debate is over sooner rather than later. <BR /> <BR />In this debate, we have to give some serious consideration to the fiscal powers that we already have. We may not have corporation tax powers yet, but that time is not too far away. As I have done before, I commend the Finance Minister for working with his Executive colleagues to ensure that we get the devolution of corporation tax powers to Northern Ireland.”