Jimmy Spratt
South Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Thank you for that advice, Mr Speaker. I do not intend to refer to the individual again. The point that I was trying to make is that it is true that there is no mechanism in the House to have the commissioner investigated. I would have asked for an investigation had I had an avenue to do so, but there was no avenue.”
“No, I will not give way, because you would not give way to me, so why should I give way to you? I have heard enough of your ramblings for this evening.”
“At the outset, I send my condolences to Douglas Bain. However, can I also say, as one who has been investigated — not once, but twice — on the same issue by the same Douglas Bain that I found him to be a pompous, arrogant, self-serving and patronising individual?”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think that it is wrong for the Chair to say that. There was no suggestion that the Committee Clerk, who probably wrote the speech, was being criticised in any way. He is not being criticised. I never at any point during my remarks criticised the Committee Chair.”
“Thank you for that advice, Mr Speaker. The point that I was trying to make is that the Committee totally ignored that particular part of the legal advice. I thought that that was wrong, and that was why I and other colleagues consistently voted against.”
“I thank the Member for giving way and for his remarks at the start, but I will be back to haunt you for another month in September: I haven't gone away, you know.”
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“In relation to the North/South bodies pension scheme and the ongoing work on that, can the deputy First Minister tell the House when that work is likely to end and when best practice of both jurisdictions in employment and increase to pension contributions by employees will take place?”
“In light of the announcement by the Prime Minister following the rejection of the Scottish independence referendum, does the First Minister think that the Assembly and Executive Review Committee could play a useful role in the discussion around devolution for Northern Ireland in the wider United Kingdom context?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. In relation to the ongoing talks with community associations, at Windsor and Ravenhill, can the Minister update us on how far that has gone? I compliment the Department on the progress that has been made with community associations.”
“Thank you. I commend the report to the House and support it.”
“We should all ensure that the Departments for which we have responsibility do that. <BR /> <BR />MEPs have been mentioned, and I want to compliment Diane Dodds. She produced a number of booklets on funding opportunities for groups, churches and other organisations. That has been very helpful in getting funding from Europe. I compliment the work and she and her department have done in Europe.”
“He is pretty fanciful with the way in which he describes the whole thing and the benefits to the state in the South. Perhaps he should do some more geography on where he is actually talking about. <BR /> <BR />The Chair covered all the points. I compliment the Committee staff on how they have dealt with the report and how they put it together. The Chair mentioned, as I would expect him to, the regional development money that has been brought in. Regional development has done very well from Europe. As Chair of the Committee for Regional Development, I have to say that that Committee also played a major role in ensuring the drawdown of TEN-T money. <BR /> <BR />One of the most important things is that Departments share with their Committees, at a timely and early stage, any opportunities to get funding from Brussels.”
“The other recommendations relate to clarity of roles, responsibilities, communication, profile and focus. It is important to build capacity and knowledge between the European institutions and the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. Many organisations have benefited from European funding. I can think, in particular, of many disadvantaged communities in my constituency. <BR /> <BR />I have to compliment Ministers from right across the board. They are often criticised in the House and outside by the press. They have regularly gone to Europe and been successful in obtaining fairly substantial sums of money as part of the United Kingdom, not, as Mr Attwood portrays it, because Northern Ireland is only a region, not a state, of the European Union.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Committee also recommends that the Department capture data on funding applications, including those from third parties and arm's-length bodies. That information should then be shared with Departments, thematic groups and the Northern Ireland European Regional Forum. A comprehensive monitoring system would provide an opportunity to inform, develop and enhance future performance.”
“I am not going to go over the recommendations one by one because my colleague has already done that, but there is a clearly defined target in the Programme for Government regarding the drawdown of European funds, European priorities and subsequent implementation plans. However, the Committee recommends that the European priorities are identified in a more timely fashion and that all the plans are regularly reviewed in order to ensure that the Executive can benefit from the opportunities as they become available. <BR /> <BR />The working group should set its own targets and use SMART goals that are easy to verify and measure, while acknowledging that some of the goals, such as networking and influencing, are more difficult to measure but are no less important.”
“I am not going to repeat a lot of the things that have been said, but, since 2007, when the task force was set up to improve economic competitiveness and create sustainable employment in Northern Ireland in the context of the peace process, it is significant that only two regions in the European Union have the support, and Northern Ireland is one of them. President Barroso's term will come to an end next month, and it is vital that the momentum that has been put in place is not lost and that we continue to build on the progress that has been made. <BR /> <BR />The report makes a number of recommendations in relation to targets and outcomes.”
“In the press coverage of cutbacks over the summer, mention was made of the winter programme for road gritting etc. Will the Minister give the House an assurance today that the winter gritting programme will remain intact, given the high number of fatal accidents in the Province already this year?”