Martina Anderson
Foyle · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“Ba mhaith liom labhairt i bhfabhar an rúin. To fully comprehend the falling numbers of taxi drivers in the industry, as the motion notes, it is important to mention what the industry has gone through over the last year.”
“As far as I know, not one operator in Derry received a single penny from the COVID restrictions business support scheme from the Department for the Economy. <BR /> <BR />On 1 April last year, in an open letter to taxi drivers, the Minister said that she would support taxi drivers and continue to press for more assistance.”
“The second scheme deducted the time during which they could not afford insurance from the £3,000 grant. <BR /> <BR />It took almost six months for a financial scheme that provided financial support for drivers who had paused their insurance to take effect.”
“We need urgent and decisive action so that more drivers will join the industry, and there must be incentives for drivers to return to it. <BR /> <BR />Access to taxis is not just about ensuring that people have a safe way to get home after a night out in Derry, although that is a large part of it.”
“If the taxi sector no longer has drivers available to meet demand, there will be a massive implication for the rest of the economy and for our communities and constituencies as people struggle to get from A to B. <BR /> <BR />As is noted in the motion, we need to make the industry "more attractive to new entrants".”
“Fares across the city of Derry are consistently low. Many drivers who work very long hours do not feel that they are getting a fair wage. That is why a review of fare structures is needed, and that is what I am calling for.”
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“Minister, as you know, I have been vocal — maybe too vocal sometimes — about rail connectivity, particularly in the north-west. It was welcome that my Adjournment debate received cross-party support a few short months ago. In light of that, will you provide an update on the feasibility study to improve the Derry line, such as the phase 3 works and the consideration of the half-hourly halts at Ballykelly, Strathfoyle and City of Derry Airport?”
“Thank you, Minister. As Members, we were acutely aware that you did not have the vires, but we were also acutely aware that there was the Financial Assistance Act 2009 to help you get the assistance. We were delighted that, when you put in for it on the Friday, we were notified on the Saturday that you had received it. Financial assistance was available and accessible, and, thankfully, you asked for it and got it the next day.”
“Fares across the city of Derry are consistently low. Many drivers who work very long hours do not feel that they are getting a fair wage. That is why a review of fare structures is needed, and that is what I am calling for. <BR /> <BR />It is no surprise that more and more drivers are leaving taxiing to get better wages working with, for example, local delivery services. Sensible, practical, bespoke support requires ministerial willpower to help drivers and operators. That is what the industry needs and deserves, and it is what we, as Committee members, are calling for. Sinn Féin supports the motion and the amendment.”
“If the taxi sector no longer has drivers available to meet demand, there will be a massive implication for the rest of the economy and for our communities and constituencies as people struggle to get from A to B. <BR /> <BR />As is noted in the motion, we need to make the industry "more attractive to new entrants". That also means making it easier to become a taxi driver, at least in the post-pandemic environment. Furthermore, we need to ensure that taxi drivers get a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. Consistently low fares have meant consistently low wages and long hours for drivers, and hence a review of fare structures —.”
“We need urgent and decisive action so that more drivers will join the industry, and there must be incentives for drivers to return to it. <BR /> <BR />Access to taxis is not just about ensuring that people have a safe way to get home after a night out in Derry, although that is a large part of it. It is also about the carer whose car has broken down and who has to care for five different people that day. It is about the elderly person waiting for a taxi to their local community centre to see someone in person, possibly the first person that week. It is about the schoolchild who has missed the bus and whose parents are unable to drive.”
“The second scheme deducted the time during which they could not afford insurance from the £3,000 grant. <BR /> <BR />It took almost six months for a financial scheme that provided financial support for drivers who had paused their insurance to take effect. In total, that was a year after drivers and operators were told that they would get financial support. Is it any wonder that drivers are leaving the taxi industry in their droves? The operators need a sector-specific scheme. Many felt completely abandoned by the Department for Infrastructure, which gave them far too little, far too late. Indeed, it is estimated that there has been a 30% decrease in the number of working taxi drivers because of the pandemic. Clearly, the taxi industry is a vital industry that is in crisis.”
“As far as I know, not one operator in Derry received a single penny from the COVID restrictions business support scheme from the Department for the Economy. <BR /> <BR />On 1 April last year, in an open letter to taxi drivers, the Minister said that she would support taxi drivers and continue to press for more assistance. It took, however, five months to request powers to introduce the financial scheme for the industry: five months to ask for something that could have been done on day one. It took a very public campaign from drivers and the industry. Yet, still, when details of the scheme came to light, we discovered that any taxi driver who had paused or cancelled their taxi insurance, maybe because they were struggling even to live on the breadline, was not eligible for the first financial scheme.”
“Ba mhaith liom labhairt i bhfabhar an rúin. To fully comprehend the falling numbers of taxi drivers in the industry, as the motion notes, it is important to mention what the industry has gone through over the last year. As we went into lockdown, and as the Executive advised people to stay at home, the demand for taxis was almost upended overnight. Over the following months, drivers felt that they witnessed a ministerial ping-pong between the Minister for Infrastructure and the Minister for the Economy over a response and who was responsible for providing financial support. All the while, our taxi drivers, who are hard-working individuals, struggled to pay their bills, put food on the table and support their families. It is no surprise that, as the motion notes, taxi drivers began to leave the industry.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a ráitis. I thank the Minister for her statement. Minister, even Minister Michael Gove has said that the challenges that are in front of us because of the protocol can be resolved. Do you agree that the focus now needs to shift to maximise the opportunities and minimise the challenges for our businesses so that they can enjoy the access that we now have to numerous markets, such as the British market, the EU market and the rest of the world, and that having such access really enables us to mitigate some of the worst impacts and effects of Brexit?”
“<BR /> <BR />The motion is before us today because we Committee members listened to victims and survivors. The redress board needs to be flexible in responding to survivors' needs. It must acknowledge their hurt and be sensitive to their trauma. For many survivors, their stories cannot be fully summarised on an A5 or A4 page, so why should an application for redress be based entirely on that? If survivors are saying that the process is intimidating and re-traumatising, that is exactly what it is, and that is exactly what the Assembly needs to hear and exactly what the Executive need to change.”
“The fact that we have been informed that the redress process prevents some survivors from submitting an application is perhaps the biggest concern. I firmly believe that the redress process needs to be amended. We need to adopt a trauma-informed approach that is understanding of and sensitive to the awful ordeals that survivors experienced. If you went through one of the institutions in which systematic abuse took place and which the inquiry condemned, that should be enough evidence to process an application. If survivors can make an oral statement to appeal, the redress board should make that option completely accessible. The process should also take proper account of the fact that, in many instances, there are no official records of abuse. They may have been hidden or destroyed by the very institutions that were condemned.”
“Indeed, some survivors have not and will not come forward because of their fear of and deep anxiety about the current redress process. Some feel forced to revisit long-buried memories, hurt and trauma. They feel forced to relive trauma just to get the redress that they deserve. By creating a process that is overtly legalistic and judicial, an impossible environment has been created for many already traumatised survivors.”
“<BR /> <BR />Applicants — some elderly, others suffering from various degrees of social isolation, mental illness and who have different levels of educational attainment — struggle to articulate the horrific experience that they suffered while in institutions. The redress scheme should have been an opportunity to help to address the harm, pain and trauma that has been caused to many victims over 50, 60 and 70 years ago. <BR /> <BR />Just when victims thought that they were at the end of the road, they turned the corner and saw the road of bureaucracy, official doublespeak and legalistic jargon stretch out in front of them. For some, there is great difficulty in committing to paper the facts as they can recall them for fear of getting it wrong or not being believed.”
“All of them, and the hundreds who were confined to institutions as children, deserve redress if they were held in institutions that they should not have been held in or/and in institutions that subjected them to abuse. <BR /> <BR />It has been over 11 years — some Members here remember it — since survivors came to Stormont to ask for help. Yet after all that time, after campaigning, after the inquiry process and after finally winning a redress process, survivors still needed to appear before a Stormont Committee two weeks ago to highlight the immense challenges that some survivors have with the redress process.”
“Ba mhaith liom labhairt i bhfabhar an rúin seo. I wish to speak in favour of the motion. <BR /> <BR />The Historical Institutional Abuse Redress Board has been in operation for over 15 months. While many applicants have been content with their outcome, some found the process daunting and deeply traumatic. <BR /> <BR />I was one of the junior Ministers involved in researching and establishing the Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry. I listened to people's heart-wrenching testimony about their childhood abuse in institutions that were supposed to care for them. I hold all survivors in the highest esteem, survivors like Jon McCourt, Margaret McGuckin and Gerry McCann, to name only three as there are countless others who have advocated and campaigned relentlessly for truth, justice and redress.”
“— as a result of the news received on Friday.”
“Minister, despite a British Prime Minister eventually acknowledging to the Bloody Sunday families that what happened on the streets of Derry in 1972 was "unjustified and unjustifiable", do you understand that, for the Bloody Sunday families, for Daniel Hegarty's family and for the people of Derry and beyond, the news that they received on Friday was a bad day for justice? Do you understand that it spoke to a widely held view among many who have been trying to fight for justice and truth about British state violence that British troops have acted with impunity? I acknowledge what you said about the Bloody Sunday families. Throughout this, they have acted with courage, resilience and dignity, and they will continue to do so. Their fight for justice and truth is not over —”
“Derry/Donegal border. Given that Waterways Ireland successfully got funding from the shared Ireland future fund, it would be good to get your read on that.”
“I am glad that the Chair of the Infrastructure Committee asked you a question this time. <BR /> <BR />I want to ask about Waterways Ireland. It presented to the Executive Office Committee, and I understand that it is one of the first organisations to have been successfully allocated funding from the shared Ireland fund. That being the case, how will your Department take full advantage of these potential funding opportunities, maybe to develop additional North/South infrastructure projects? I am quite keen to see the sewerage capacity”
“As the Minister knows, it took nine warning letters, 17 notices and 42 inspections before the entire Mobuoy site was forcibly closed. That was after two million tons of illegal waste was dumped there. Given that the site is adjacent to the River Faughan, which, as the Minister knows, is a major source of drinking water for Derry, and that the Assembly called, seven years ago, for a public inquiry into the allegation that a blind eye was turned to alleged criminal activity on that site, when will he advance such an inquiry?”
“I, too, express my solidarity with the Health Minister after the unacceptable comments that we heard over the weekend. Minister, I will ask you about the dire situation that we are in with regard to waiting lists. I am conscious of what you say, but my understanding, from dealing with constituents in Derry who have tried to avail of the EU cross-border reimbursement scheme for hip replacements and so on, is that it no longer exists in the way in which it did before. Will you give me some clarity on that? Are you working with the Minister in the South, Stephen Donnelly, to ensure that constituents across the North understand how to access the EU cross-border reimbursement scheme, if it still exists, for things such as hip replacements?”
“We need to stop developers abandoning estates for decades before returning to fix issues only after representatives like myself and others press them to do the right thing. We need to ensure that those estates and homes built 30, 40, and 50 years ago, which have no developers to pick up the tab, are not abandoned. Minister, a road to drive on, a footpath to walk on and street lights to illuminate our neighbourhoods are all, I am sure you will agree, not too much to ask. <BR /> <BR />I apologise to the Deputy Speaker for my noisy watch. I had to put it on airport mode. I did not think I would have to do that in Stormont.”
“There is an opportunity in the current planning review to address this and, if needed, consideration should be given to including a clause which prevents developers from moving from one part of an estate to another until they can reasonably demonstrate that the roads, street lights and sewers are of an adequate standard to be adopted and maintained. <BR /> <BR />Minister, you know that buying a home is a massive investment, as has been said, and so, too, is renting a home in these estates. It is vital that people get what they pay for. We need to end the culture of some developers — thankfully not all — jumping to the next most lucrative venture before bringing roads up to scratch.”
“<BR /> <BR />In Sandale Park, on the Lenamore Road, a small group of constituents are forced to live in darkness after the Department for Infrastructure, instead of fixing the street lights outright, saw fit to take them all down on discovering that the road was not adopted. The developer built those roads over 50 years ago, and he is not here to pick up the pieces or the tab. <BR /> <BR />This is not just a small problem that a few reconfigurations of the road bonds issue is going to fix. It will require decisive action and, if needed, not just the threat of enforcement, but actual enforcement against what some people view as rogue developers.”
“Thankfully, after Sinn Féin councillor Sandra Duffy and I intervened, the developer confirmed in writing its intention to achieve full adoption of the top of the Barleyfields by the end of June. However, those at the bottom have still to drag their full bins up a steep hill, which is absolutely impossible for anyone with a disability. <BR /> <BR />In the Waterside and Woodside estates, I had to intervene with the developers, DFI Roads and NI Water to get roads finished to an acceptable standard and fix an horrific sewerage blockage, 10 years after the estate was built.”
“We have 2,991 unadopted roads right across the North. The bond value is almost £101·5 million. In my constituency, Derry City and Strabane District Council has 206 roads awaiting adoption, to the value of £12·5 million. None of us are strangers to hearing things such as, "The value of the roads bond is too low to incentivise developers", or "No enforcement measures are ever taken" against what some people describe as rogue developers. Families who bought their dream homes more than 10 years ago still live in darkness because they have no street lights. <BR /> <BR />In Derry, in Barleyfields, Culmore, my constituents took out choke-a-horse mortgages, I can tell you, and they have to haul full bins right up a steep hill to have them collected because the council collection service is unable to drive on unadopted roads.”
“Ba mhaith liom labhairt i bhfabhar an rúin seo. I would like to speak in favour of the motion. As you have heard today, unadopted roads have plagued every one of our constituencies for decades because, as the motion notes, there has been systematic failure in the current process for adopting roads. I know that the Minister has inherited that situation. <BR /> <BR />None of us is a stranger to horror stories of housing estates, both old and new, with potholed roads, manholes and sewerage structure raised several inches from the ground, flooding, poor drainage and backed-up sewage. Despite the issue being well-rehearsed and its affecting every constituency, every city, every town and every village, the Department for Infrastructure, as the motion also notes, seems to be no closer to resolving it.”
“I thank the Minister for that update on the COVID task force. Minister, can you give us an update on the roll-out of the vaccine, specifically its efficacy against new variants?”
“I welcome the fact that we have finally got to this point here today.”
“The Minister must take the action that is needed now, because, once this transfer of functions passes, reservoirs will be firmly under the Department for Infrastructure's responsibility, where it always should have been. When we restructured the Departments, that is where it should have ended up in the first place. <BR /> <BR />This will help not just in Derry but with other reservoirs that need attention in other constituencies. I hope that Minister Mallon's officials are listening today and that, with her, they will work with the Rivers Agency and Derry City and Strabane District Council to urgently finance the remainder of the Creggan reservoir works, so that that planning blight on a wide range of strategic projects in Derry, which have been delayed and derailed for far too long, can finally be removed.”
“As we know from the discussion today, and from what has been brought forward, it is the Department for Infrastructure that has responsibility for it, but Sinn Féin Ministers are serious about fixing problems. <BR /> <BR />I am aware that discussions continue with the council and the Department for Infrastructure's Rivers Agency to address the rest of the funding shortfall in the context of the transfer of functions order. Now that we are finally coming to the point where the transfer of functions order is to be enacted, I urge the Minister for Infrastructure to work with her officials to ensure that the reservoirs legislation that is referred to in the transfer of functions order comes to the Chamber as soon as possible for scrutiny.”
“In the absence of reservoirs legislation, which is referred to in the transfer of functions being progressed — thankfully, we are here today — I have proactively engaged in discussions with Derry City and Strabane District Council, the Rivers Agency and the Department for Communities to urgently identify a cocktail of funding to undertake the safety work at the Creggan reservoir. <BR /> <BR />I am delighted that, in response to those engagements, Sinn Féin Minister Deirdre Hargey has offered a substantial funding package to help to address the funding shortfall for the safety works of the reservoir in Creggan, even though the Department for Communities has no responsibility whatsoever for the Creggan reservoir.”
“That has effectively stymied a number of key economic and community developments until what some might call minor, but necessary, safety work is financed and undertaken. For instance, it has blocked Catalyst Inc implementing its expansion plans at Fort George in Derry, a former army military barracks, essentially hitting the pause button on job creation there. It has delayed the Glen Development Initiative in building a new community centre in the area, and mothballed plans for additional social housing, which we desperately need in Derry. It has implications for the future A2 Buncrana Road dualling project and expansion of the Magee university campus.”
“I have still not received an adequate explanation as to why and how the staff and officials who are responsible for reservoirs ended up, rightly so, in the Department for Infrastructure, yet the legislative competency with regard to reservoirs stayed in DAERA, although I do acknowledge the Minister's comments today. That blunder, however it happened, has stopped the development of a reservoirs Bill for the North, and has had significant implications for my constituency of Foyle and, I know, other constituencies as well. <BR /> <BR />The current legislation has meant that the Department for Infrastructure's Rivers must recommend a blanket planning blight in some parts of Derry due to the conditions of, for instance, the Creggan reservoir.”
“As discussions progressed, one of a number of milestones in developing and legislating for reservoirs was to be the transfer of responsibilities for reservoirs from DAERA to the Department for Infrastructure through the Departments (Transfer of Functions) Order. Until now, it did not happen. Like other Members in the Chamber, I want to express my deep frustration that it has taken so long to get to this point. It absolutely beggars belief that such a relatively straightforward piece of work has taken so long because of oversight or, maybe, incompetency. <BR /> <BR />I have raised the issue countless times in the Committee for Infrastructure, of which I am a member, and the Committee for the Executive Office, of which I am also a member. I have tabled questions for written answer and written letters to the Minister for Infrastructure.”
“As the Minister said, the Departments (Transfer of Functions) Order covers three areas, some of which have already been touched on: the gender pay gap's being transferred from the Executive Office to the Department for Communities; the transfer of regulations for certain reservoirs from DAERA to the Department for Infrastructure — it is that to which I will speak; and the transfer of the special educational needs and disability tribunal from the Department of Education to the Department of Justice. <BR /> <BR />Over seven years ago, if the Assembly wants to remind itself, in the Chamber, the current Minister of Education, Peter Weir, was informed by the then Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Michelle O'Neill, that her Department had begun discussions with the Department of the Environment on developing a reservoirs Bill.”
“There was obviously some kind of technical fault that resulted in my not being able to ask a question to the Justice Minister. It was about a crucial issue. In the summer, two of my constituents were nearly burnt in a van that was hijacked in Galliagh, and they have been put through a number of hurdles trying to get compensation. I wanted to raise that with the Justice Minister in the Chamber yesterday, and I hope that I get another opportunity to do so. I want to explain to Members that it was not my fault that I did not get to ask a question yesterday, but, rather, it was some kind of technical fault.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Yesterday, when the Justice Minister was in the Chamber, I had my name down for a question. I was actually on StarLeaf, in the audience, waiting to be brought into the spotlight.”
“Minister, you mentioned air connectivity and sustainable travel in the statement, and TDs Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, Darren O'Rourke and I recently met the City of Derry Airport board. As you know, Derry's airport services the entire north-west and further afield, and 40% of the passengers who use it come from Donegal, yet the operational cost of the airport is left to the ratepayers of Derry, with the Irish Government making no contribution at all. Was the operational cost and financial sustainability of City of Derry Airport discussed? Was the Derry/Dublin public service obligation discussed at the meeting?”
“The longer we dilly-dally over choosing which path to go down, the less of our natural world we will protect. The next stage of the process will be vital in understanding and shaping a climate change Act that will protect people, our ecology and our environment.”
“<BR /> <BR />In relation to what the Bill says around energy production and supply, I have already initiated conversations with, for instance, Magee university, the Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Derry and Strabane council, Donegal council, the Foyle port and NI Water to help to advance the opportunity for Derry and the north-west city region to capture the all-Ireland opportunities to advance climate justice. In fact, over the past number of months, I have done more for Derry with potential investors than Invest NI has. That would not be too hard, but that is another debate for another day. I know that you will not want me to stray into that. <BR /> <BR />The bottom line remains that we are at a crossroads. We can choose to do more of the same or to protect our natural world.”
“I have been centrally involved in showcasing Derry and Donegal to investors; I have exposed to them what the Bill sets out regarding energy production and supply, which is in abundance in the north-west. The Bill sets out the ultimate objective of achieving net zero emissions, and hydrogen opportunities can help to achieve that in Derry, investing in economically sustainable jobs and tackling regional inequalities in the north-west.”
“As more hydrogen buses get on the road, we need to have the skills base to maintain them and the ability to fuel them locally. If we do not produce local hydrogen, we will unravel any environmental benefits that are referred to in the Bill by shipping tanks of hydrogen into the North from abroad. <BR /> <BR />The hydrogen production industry is set to be worth something in the region of £2·5 trillion globally by 2050. That is an opportunity for the Economy Minister, who should not attempt to shunt it into a small corner of the north-east, particularly as the natural geography of Derry and the north-west, including Donegal, is perfectly suited to, and in the perfect location for, the generation of wind energy, which is referred to in the sectoral plans of the Bill and is necessary for the production of hydrogen.”
“The Bill offers us the chance to be ambitious, fair and deliverable and to protect workers, farmers, families and communities by protecting and enhancing our natural world. The climate action plan that is envisaged in the Bill will, without doubt, with reference to energy production and supply, revolutionise our electricity production and consumption, which was mentioned earlier as one of the things that should be taken account of. Currently, as has been stated by other Members, almost half of our electricity in the North comes from renewable sources. As good as that is, it is not enough. The sectoral plans that are envisaged by the Bill should take account of changes that need to be undertaken in, for instance, the transport sector. I know that the Minister has been doing work on all of that.”
“Of course, change can be challenging, which makes it all the more important that we ensure a just transition, as has been referred to today and is outlined in the Bill, so that crucial action to protect our environment does not disadvantage anyone who is already struggling to make ends meet.”
“He only started to take action when every other party in the Chamber came together to bring forward this Bill, and I acknowledge and congratulate all who were involved in that. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the fact that the Bill sets out the framework for the creation of a climate action plan to put us on an ambitious trajectory for net zero carbon emissions by 2045. A cornerstone of the Bill is the fact that a climate action plan will be co-designed with sectors, businesses and industries to work to make crucial and fundamental change.”
“Unless urgent action is taken across this island, we will be on a trajectory for natural disaster, so I urge all the MLAs to vote in favour of sending the Bill to Committee Stage so that its principles can be fully and transparently discussed and considered, as has been outlined today. <BR /> <BR />The Bill gives us an opportunity to tackle an endless cycle of extraction, under-regulated capitalistic growth and materialism that has brought our planet to the brink. Business as usual is no longer an option. That is why Sinn Féin tabled a motion in February 2020 declaring a climate emergency and why my party colleague Declan McAleer, as Chair of the Agriculture Committee, tabled a motion calling on Minister Poots to introduce a climate change Act. However, Minister Poots continued to drag his boots.”
“<BR /> <BR />My Sinn Féin colleague Declan McAleer spoke about the rural community and farmers, and we have all received emails from farmers, particularly in recent days, who must be consulted and must be listened to so that there is, as has been said, a just transition. I also acknowledge the Sinn Féin spokesperson Philip McGuigan, who has led the Sinn Féin position on climate justice from the front and is a proud co-signatory of the Bill. <BR /> <BR />The Bill provides a framework for decisive action in the North because we are failing to adequately reduce carbon emissions. When you consider that, between 2008 and 2016, the North managed to reduce emissions by only 9%, you see that that is totally unacceptable.”
“Then, in 2018, we had 58 consecutive days without rainfall, straining farmlands, causing water shortages and hospital admissions, not to mention gorse fires raging throughout. Being the only part of these islands without bespoke climate legislation is unacceptable because it is our duty as public representatives and custodians of this land to do everything in our power to keep global temperature increases to less than 1·5° Celsius on the pre-industrial level. If we fail to do that — we will fail if the Bill does not go through, and I welcome the fact that we are discussing the principles of it today — the consequences for our island, our peatlands, our wetlands, our ancient forest and mountain life in all its natural beauty could well face extinction.”
“Sinn Féin has been consistent on the need for climate justice and for a climate change Act in the North because we are living in the middle of a climate emergency. In Derry and the north-west, we have already seen the impact of severe weather, with flash flooding and, at times, scorching heatwaves and storms that have been battering more relentlessly over the last decade. In August 2017, 70 millimetres of rain — around 63% of the rainfall of August — fell in just nine hours, and homes, businesses, agriculture, infrastructure and habitats were destroyed. Four hundred homes were affected. The A5 was closed for three days. Local farmers lost tens of thousands of pounds due to land damage, and five bridges were completely washed away.”