Jennifer McCann
West Belfast · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“I have listened to the answers that you have given. What steps will you and your Department take to address the issue? As you mentioned, quite a percentage of schools are failing to meet the entitlement framework requirements. What actual steps will your Department take?”
“I begin by echoing what my two colleagues said: we will oppose the motion and support the DUP amendment. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the general direction of travel of the draft area plan. It puts the needs of children and young people at the heart of the planning process.”
“I want to say again — we have had this in debates — about the excellent results in my constituency of West Belfast in educational outcomes. It clearly shows that, when the right intervention is made in those areas, the children shine and their potential comes through.”
“It is not just about their academic achievements but about giving them the skills to deal with life's problems and difficulties. <BR /> <BR />The plan also seeks to close the attainment gap. That issue should be of great concern to all of us and the wider community.”
“I hope that in the final area planning it will be. I have seen it at first hand with programmes like New Start in west Belfast. We all want children to go to mainstream education, but, for whatever reason, mainstream education just does not suit some children's needs and does not do it for them.”
“It is not just about school buildings, but school buildings sometimes can be crucial, particularly in an area where, for instance, they do not have sporting facilities in a school. The Minister will be aware of the campaign in the Colin area of west Belfast for a new school.”
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“Sorry. Very quickly, our focus should be on making Maghaberry a stable, stress-free and safe environment for all staff, prisoners and those who visit, as my colleague Declan Kearney said. I support the amendment.”
“As a number of Members said, we need to look at how prisoners with mental health issues are treated in prison. It is not the place for them, and even some of the staff would tell you that. Quite a lot of Members mentioned others who had taken their life in prison. We need to look, in any review of prisons, at why people with severe mental health issues are there is the first place. <BR /> <BR />My colleague Raymond McCartney made the key point that the prison environment should be kept free of all outside political interference. That is crucial because that is not what prison is about. Prison is not about us coming here and battling it out over wee motions, which is what the Opposition seem to be doing. Prison is there for the care and rehabilitation of prisoners —”
“He quite rightly pointed out, as I did, that, although the proposer of the motion quoted the 'Fresh Start Agreement' — he was quite exercised about it — his party opposed the agreement at the time. He went into the issue of there being a security mindset that needs to be replaced by a rehabilitation culture. We saw what happened years ago when a security mindset was forced into prisons. We need to see that prisons are about rehabilitation and treating people with dignity and respect, and that goes right across the board: I am not talking just about prisoners; it has to be for prison staff as well. <BR /> <BR />He went on to point out the recent case of Sean Lynch from Derry. It was most traumatic even listening to that young man's father on the news, talking about how his son had blinded himself, and then to Sean Lynch himself.”
“We then saw the toing and froing and what happened when that agreement was not put in place. <BR /> <BR />As my colleagues said, forced integration of prisoners does not work. Sammy Douglas crystallised it when he said that, if we do not force people on the outside to live together, how can we force people on the inside to live together? We have to get to a place where people want that. The reality is that Maghaberry prison is not there yet, and people need to be realistic and take cognisance of that. <BR /> <BR />I will go through some of what Members said. The proposer of the amendment, my colleague Declan Kearney, said that all prison staff, prisoners and their families should be treated with dignity and respect, and that neither prisoners nor prison staff should be degraded in any way.”
“We heard from a lot of Members. Our amendment would give the best possible outcome in prisons. We want prisons to be manageable — that is what we are about — but human dignity, decency and respect, both for prisoners and for prison staff, has to be made paramount, and that is what our amendment does. <BR /> <BR />I will just go over the 2010 August agreement very quickly. Independent facilitators took a lot of time and energy to go into the prison to speak not only to prisoners but to prison staff and management. They came up with recommendations that controlled movement and strip searches be stopped and that prison officers be allowed to do their job without fear, threat or intimidation. That agreement seemed to be the best at the time for all the people involved.”
“At the outset, I want to say that the Ulster Unionist Party motion beggars belief. The proposer was quite exercised about his support for the Fresh Start Agreement, but the fact that his party does not even support the Fresh Start Agreement makes it a bit ridiculous that he was quoting pieces of it and picking and choosing pieces that he wanted to support.”
“The Minister mentioned the benefits of cycling: how many people currently cycle in Belfast?”
“The PSNI and the criminal justice system have to make women and young girls feel safe and confident about coming forward to report these crimes. Survivors need to know that they will have access to justice and that the perpetrators will serve sentences that will reflect the devastating effects that their crimes have had on their victims. <BR /> <BR />I believe that we can send out a clear message from the Chamber today that domestic abuse, rape and sexual violence is wrong in all the forms that they take and that we will ensure, whether it is physical, psychological or emotional, that all victims and survivors have access to the support services if and when they need them.”
“— when we are trying to send a clear message of support from the Chamber.”
“It is disgraceful that you did that today —”
“My response to that is well documented in the Chamber and outside it. It is disgraceful that the Member would use a debate like this —”
“As community and political representatives, we need to ensure that the policies and strategies of Departments are enforced with vigour and translated into action on the ground to combat these crimes.”
“There is no doubt that the sterling work carried out by Women's Aid and similar organisations, the availability of refuges and its 24-hour domestic and sexual violence helpline have saved and will continue to save lives. That partnership working and interagency support will help to ensure that this adequate provision of refuges and services to support those victims is maintained and developed. <BR /> <BR />It is a sad fact that violence against women and children has become almost endemic in our society. It is important for us to challenge the sexist attitudes that allow women to be treated as less than equal to their male counterparts. It is also important that we challenge the structural and societal inequalities that can result in women and girls in particular being discriminated against.”
“Some of the large organisations with responsibility for the Internet and social networking have a role to play here as well. <BR /> <BR />Over the years, key areas of prevention have been identified as preventing it happening in the first place and changing public attitudes to it. Organisations such as Women's Aid have been involved in delivering programmes in schools to ensure that children do not believe that violence in the home is acceptable or normal behaviour. It is important that any public awareness campaign is coordinated in a way that provides support and access to services for all victims and survivors. Training programmes for organisations and agencies involved in tackling domestic violence will also ensure a more coordinated approach.”
“While it is those individuals who feel the worst effects on their physical and mental health, it has been estimated that domestic violence costs the Irish economy €2·2 billion a year in the South and £180 million here in the North. <BR /> <BR />Violence and abuse can take many forms. While victims can be male or female, it is mostly women and children who are affected, and 90% of perpetrators are men. Very often, children can be the forgotten victims of domestic violence. Many of them can witness violent attacks or be the victims of physical abuse in the home at a very young age. As we make greater advances in the use of the Internet, it presents more and more danger that our children and young people will be exploited and abused. There is a very real need to try to keep children safe on the Internet.”
“I welcome the recent statements by the Minister of Health and the Minister of Justice that they will make domestic abuse and sexual crime a priority for both Departments. In particular, I welcome the commitment to introduce legislation to deal with coercive and controlling forms of abuse, as well as physical abuse. The impact of domestic abuse, rape and sexual crime on individuals and families is devastating. Victims and survivors can be left not only with physical scars but with long-term effects on their mental health and emotional well-being. It is important that mental, emotional and psychological abuse is recognised, as well as physical abuse. The impact is far-reaching, not only for individual victims and their families but for society in general.”
“There is a need for political direction to ensure that a clear and consistent message that encourages victims to report these types of assaults is provided, alongside a coordinated approach that provides access to the services and support that they need.”
“Alongside the rise in the number of people accessing violent sexual images of children, the incidence of child sexual exploitation cases and the fact that one in every four women has experienced some form of domestic abuse in her lifetime, that has to be of concern to us all. While some of the increase in those statistics can be attributed to more people reporting these crimes, it is a well-known fact that domestic abuse, rape and sexual crime are still very much under-reported and hidden.”
“I say at the outset that I am glad of the opportunity to bring this important debate to the Floor along with my party colleagues and that we welcome both amendments. <BR /> <BR />In a recent survey carried out by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, it was reported that, out of all the European regions, Ireland had the second highest number of women avoiding places or situations for fear of being assaulted. Recent statistics released by the PSNI have shown a rise of 61% in sexual offences over the past six years, with a year-on-year increase. I and other members of the Policing Board questioned the Chief Constable on the issue in public session.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Minister, in your statement, you referred to all pupils deserving equality of access to high-quality education and having the best chances to prepare for successful transition to post-primary schools. Will you ensure that all children, even those who will not be sitting a transfer test, will have that equality of access to high-quality education?”
“You have something that is a good model of practice. We have seen it working in an area of social and economic deprivation, so we appeal to you to make sure that those programmes continue, not just in West Belfast but across wider Belfast, and even beyond, to give that sense of achievement to our children and young people.”
“<BR /> <BR />I wanted to illustrate the way in which that partnership approach to education, which involves the whole community and involves everybody, has benefits and leads to the positive results that I have just outlined. I have to emphasise that it is not just about kids getting their exams and about getting that educational attainment up. It is about the confidence that it gives those young people. I see it myself. I see them coming in and they are so full of confidence when they have achieved this. Their social exclusion goes down; their sense of themselves and their confidence goes up; and we all aspire to that for our children. <BR /> <BR />I say to the Minister that I am very happy to see him here, and I will be listening to what other Members have to say. I ask him what his intentions are for continuing such programmes.”
“We know that, if you are from a socially or economically deprived area or, for whatever reason, your family is not as affluent as another family, those issues impact on your education. They impact when you are at school and on your achievement. We need to have that holistic approach. It goes back to my central point: in my view, it is the entitlement of every child to have the same lifetime opportunities as another child. It should not matter what that child's social or economic background is; they all have that entitlement, particularly in education. They should have it right through, not just in getting ready for school but in going through nursery school, primary school, post-primary and to further education.”
“That is not just about the West Belfast Partnership Board's part in this but about all stakeholders in education, including the Department of Education, all the schools, the teachers and the parents and, as I said earlier, particularly the children and young people themselves. It takes that holistic approach. Going forward, we want to see that very clear holistic approach to delivering improved educational outcomes and a focus on effective interventions and interventions that are measured and evaluated. This is where it works. <BR /> <BR />We hear about all the efforts that we make to get to the root causes of underachievement. We rehearse them in the Chamber and have talked about them in the community as well.”
“There was a 17·3% increase in students eligible for free school meals achieving seven or more GCSEs at grades A* to C from 2013 to 2015. That is a spectacular improvement right across the piece. <BR /> <BR />While there are a lot of different drivers in getting that educational attainment up, one of the key drivers was the partnership approach that was driven by the West Belfast Partnership Board's education programme. I want to make it very clear that that was one of the key drivers. <BR /> <BR />I mentioned earlier the Easter and summer schools that take place and that see hundreds of young people giving up their free time. The programme also puts an emphasis on a joined-up approach to look at the consistency of the transition from nursery to primary and to post-primary.”
“The report went on to say that, following a number of intervention programmes, there were increased levels of school attendance and improved GCSE results. I want to give a flavour of the way those results increased. There was an increase of 11·4% in pupils in West Belfast achieving five GCSE grades A* to C from 2011 to 2015, and there was a 12·3% increase in pupils achieving five GCSEs, including maths and English, from the figures released in 2013 in comparison with the results in 2015. Among pupils who are eligible for free school meals, the increase in attainment is even greater. There was a 12·2% increase in students achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C from 2013 to 2015. There was a 14·3% increase in eligible students achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including maths and English, from 2013 to 2015.”
“<BR /> <BR />A report by the Department of Education in September 2014 looked at children and young people who attended schools in West Belfast and identified the area as one of deprivation where children are disadvantaged in their educational opportunities.”
“My party colleagues and I have witnessed that for several years at the Easter and summer schools that the West Belfast Partnership Board puts on in St Mary's University College in West Belfast. We have seen hundreds of kids, initially kids from the west Belfast area but now kids from all over Belfast, coming to those and giving up free time over their Easter and summer holidays to try to do better in their exams. There is also a transitions programme that makes the transition period much easier for children who are transferring to post-primary school. We have all seen at first hand how it works.”
“It incorporates key priorities identified by the Department of Education and the West Belfast Partnership Board together, including early years development and the importance of family and parental engagement that focuses on developing increased aspirations of the family for their child. For me, that is a very important and key element. We have to ensure that the parents or carers of a child or young person have that aspiration for the young person as well. Nothing will make a child get on in life and do their best more than encouragement and support from parents or peers, so it is very important that we increase that. <BR /> <BR />The programme looks at raising literacy and numeracy standards and provides support for post-primary pupils to improve GCSE attainment.”
“The main driver of that programme is the West Belfast Partnership Board. I commend the partnership board for the work that it has done for years in this field across West Belfast. The board has given real life experiences and turned around not only children and young people's educational attainment but their personal development. It has changed the lives of some of the young people and their families. The programme supports a shared learning approach that sees the importance of a child-centred approach to education as a way of making a real difference to the educational outcomes that we all need to aspire to.”
“We see more and more evidence linking deprivation, poverty and social exclusion to underachievement and poor educational outcomes for our children and young people. However, when that is recognised and focused learning interventions and support mechanisms are put in place, educational attainment can be enhanced even in areas of high social and economic deprivation. We need to see those intervention programmes at an early stage of a child or young person's life. It is very important to say that we can then raise the educational attainment of that child or young person. <BR /> <BR />The west Belfast community education programme is an innovative project that works closely with local schools, teachers, parents, community providers and the children and young people themselves.”
“Therefore, it is important that we have positive experiences in our formative years, particularly in our time at school and other places of learning.”
“I am delighted to have the opportunity tonight — it is not really "tonight", it is the afternoon — to open the Adjournment debate. We have been talking a lot in the Assembly about our children and young people. I want to say first of all that all our children and young people not only deserve but are entitled to equality of opportunity to whatever career path they decide to follow or life choices that they make. We have often heard that having a good experience in our educational lives from nursery provision to further education contributes to our overall personal development and growth and that having a bad experience can often have a negative impact right through into our adult life. I have spoken to many people who have had an experience at school that has followed them and had an impact throughout their life.”
“Does the Minister agree with me that the entitlement framework as it is currently defined gives pupils quite a lot of options and choices? Will he remain committed to the entitlement framework to provide equality of opportunity for all our children and young people?”
“We should all work together with all the agencies, Departments and other organisations.”
“I know that that has happened in other council areas. There have been partnerships between the police, motor sport and community representatives. They have come together to look at this. I hope that Belfast City Council, in particular, will take this forward because I know that this is a particular issue in certain parts of Belfast. <BR /> <BR />I look forward to hearing what all Members say during the debate. I particularly look forward to the Minister's response. I have to say that I really want to see Members supporting the motion because the truth is that we really need to do something before another tragedy occurs. We need to remove these vehicles from our streets, roads, parks and other public places. We need people to be safe when they walk on footpaths and in parks. I urge all Members to support the motion.”
“For example, on the issue of registration, it was suggested that we look at a scheme that would make it easy to identify who owns a vehicle and at the possibility of marking the machine, so that, if it were being used in a reckless or nuisance way, it would be easy for the PSNI to identify the owner and deal with it. <BR /> <BR />I know that other initiatives have been brought forward to raise public awareness about this, such as signage and setting out more information for people in communities and the constituents who come into our offices on how they can report and how the vehicles can and cannot be used. There were also suggestions that Belfast City Council look at possible designated sites and areas for the vehicles where young people particularly and their parents could ensure that they were used in a responsible and safe manner.”
“<BR /> <BR />Along with party colleagues and community representatives, I have recently had meetings with the PSNI, the Minister of Justice and the Minister for Infrastructure. I am delighted to see the Minister for Infrastructure here to respond to this important motion, and I look forward to his response. We went to those meetings to see what more could be done to enforce the current legislation or, if there were gaps, what could be done to amend it. I want to say that there was willingness on the part of everybody in those organisations — Ministers and Departments included — to work together. They expressed their willingness to work together to solve the issue.”
“By using them in public places, people put pedestrians, including young children, and other road users at risk, but they also put themselves in danger. <BR /> <BR />People need to have the confidence that, when they report the use of the machines in public places to the police, particularly when they are being used in a reckless fashion that puts members of the public in danger, the law will be enforced and the vehicle seized and taken off the streets. Parents, too, need to be aware, when they buy scramblers and quads for their children, that they can only be driven on private land where the landowner has given permission and that the scrambler or quad needs to be transported to and from that designated area and cannot be driven on the road to or from it.”
“They are only allowed to be driven on private property with the permission of the property owner. The legal status of those vehicles is very clear. They also have to be insured and the proper safety equipment worn by users. If they are driven in a reckless way or cause distress or annoyance in any place, the PSNI has the power to seize them. <BR /> <BR />As I said, I have no doubt that many Members in the House have either personally witnessed the dangerous manner in which scramblers and quads are driven or have had constituents make complaints about them. Certainly, in my office, I get complaints about them regularly. At best, they can destroy green areas and pitches used by children and young people for sporting activities; at worst, they can destroy lives and have destroyed lives.”
“All of us need to ensure that parents, in particular, are aware of the law on scramblers and quads and of where they can and cannot be used before buying them for their children. <BR /> <BR />My first point, put simply, is that the current law is very clear. For a scrambler or quad to be legally used on the road, it has to comply with the following: the driver has to have a driving licence; the vehicle has to be taxed; it has to be registered with the DVA; it has to have insurance; it has to have lights and reflectors; and it has to have a number plate. The fact is — it is important to emphasise this point — that the scramblers and quads that we see being driven about in our communities are intended for off-road use only. It is illegal to drive them on public roads, on public footpaths or in any public places, such as parks.”
“I have no need to explain to Members the way in which scramblers and quads plague communities, as I have no doubt that many of you will have seen it at first hand or heard from your constituents and people coming to your offices. <BR /> <BR />I want to focus on a number of issues during the debate. First, I will discuss what needs to be done to ensure that the current legislation governing these machines is enforced. Then I will look at some of the gaps in the legislation, including those around registration. It is also important to look at how we can have an effective public awareness campaign, especially at this time of year in the run-up to Christmas Often, this is when the machines are bought for children and young people.”
“I thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to propose the motion. I propose it in the hope that all Members will support it and send a clear message that we are committed to highlighting the dangers of scramblers and quads, when driven recklessly or in public places, and are united in doing what we can to ensure that legislation governing those vehicles is enforced in a robust way. <BR /> <BR />A number of adults and children have lost their life or been seriously injured in recent years by these vehicles. The tragic death of Valerie Armstrong and the devastation caused to her family brought that into the public arena again. I am very mindful of the caution that you gave about speaking on that case, Mr Deputy Speaker.”
“I thank the Minister for his previous answer, and I will continue in that vein. Will he ensure that he and his Department will make tackling underachievement a priority and bring forward the policies and interventions that are needed to deliver quality outcomes for all our children and young people, particularly those from a socially or economically disadvantaged background?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. He mentioned it in his answer, but are there any lessons that we can learn from the Irish Government's use of their art collection?”
“The Minister mentioned the curriculum. Will he ensure that vocational subjects are given the same priority as academic subjects in schools and that children will have a broad-based curriculum to choose from when they are choosing what they want to do?”
“I am not sure of the numbers, but we could look at some sort of a transitional period in which these women are given something financially to get them through it. We support and look forward to working with the campaign, and I congratulate the proposer of the motion.”
“The lack of a public awareness campaign around the issue has been particularly difficult for the women, who have not been notified directly, as the group highlighted. A lot of them only heard through the media or places like that. <BR /> <BR />We have to look at this in the context of gender inequality right across the piece. There is inequality in the gender pay gap, and women are particularly impacted on by cuts to in-work and out-of-work benefits. This will only add to their financial difficulties, particularly this group's. It is very unfair to treat women in this way. We need to support the campaign, which is about fairness and equality. I call for the making of transitional arrangements for people who have been caught up in this.”
“Imagine, as one of the contributors said, that you thought that you were retiring at 60 and then, all of a sudden, were told a short period before then that you now had to wait a number of years for your pension. That has a big adverse effect on people and pushes them into financial difficulties. These are people around 60 years old who have contributed to society in whatever way. A lot of the women have been low earners throughout their life, simply because they may have been in part-time jobs because of family and caring responsibilities. They were waiting patiently for their state pension — the only pension that they can access, because they had not had enough contributions to have a private pension — only to be told that they are not getting it and may have to look for work at 60 years of age. That is totally unjust.”
“I support the motion and thank its proposer for bringing it to the House. It has been said clearly that we are not debating the equalising of the pension age between men and women but looking at how those plans are being carried out, particularly at the timeline and at how it impacts on a group of women who were born in the 1950s. <BR /> <BR />The motion supports the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign. This is a group of women affected by the changes who got together to create the campaign. They have to be commended for that. They are a voice for all women who have been unfairly impacted on by the changes to the state pension age. They are challenging not the equalisation of the age with men but the way in which it has been carried out and almost accelerated, meaning that they have not had time to plan for their retirement.”