Michelle O'Neill
Mid Ulster · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“We are shocked and deeply saddened for both the victim of the horrific incident in north Belfast and the people who have been impacted on by the disorder that we have witnessed since. There is absolutely no justification for racism, violence or intimidation.”
“It is the latest chapter in a political psychodrama. It has been playing out in Westminster for forever and a day but particularly over the past 10 years. Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of Brexit, which inflicted so much damage to the wider economy. We are now on the verge of having a seventh British Prime Minister in 10 years.”
“We cannot look at things in isolation. Whether it is the refugee integration strategy, the framework or the legislation, all those things need to move together and at pace.”
“I agree with the Member about the ugly language that was used to describe some people in our community. Like the Member, I have met many people from the black and ethnic minority community in recent times. I do that on an ongoing basis, but I did so recently given what happened over the last number of weeks.”
“There is not just one answer to it, as the Member knows. We need to come at it from every angle. That could be a policing response initially, for which additional funding was secured. I agree that this is the third year in a row in which we have had that type of racist behaviour on our streets. Likewise, I would describe it as a pogrom.”
“Building on that progress, the Executive Office is contributing £3·3 million towards the Derry on the North Atlantic Museum, which is due to open in 2027 and will further enhance Ebrington’s role as a heritage and tourism destination. <BR /> <BR />Ebrington is also continuing to develop as a vibrant events space.”
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“We have to get to the point where there is capacity to test in care homes in a universal way, and we are having that conversation. At the Executive on Thursday, we expect to have a further conversation about how we can build on the additional finances and the resource in terms of people. We need proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for all staff in care homes, and all these things need to be looked at in the round. As the document outlines, there will be an urgent expansion leading to an intensive programme of testing for residents and staff in care homes, and that will commence immediately. That is a good thing. <BR /> <BR />What about the light at the end of the tunnel? I get that. We all have families and we are all in the same boat, and everybody wants to have something to look forward to.”
“There has been a lot of emphasis on improvements in support for care homes, and the Member registered that point himself. Financial support and trying to transfer staff in are crucial, but we have to keep asking ourselves every day: are we doing enough? Is enough being done? <BR /> <BR />For me, one of the things that will be really crucial to us being able to advance and support care homes more is to get to the point of universal testing. I have made that point. When there is an outbreak in a care home, there should be a rolling programme of testing that allows you to monitor that situation very carefully. We do not want to be sitting, at any stage of this, regretting that we did not do enough, so the test, trace and isolate policy is crucial to all that, as you know.”
“Sorry, I thought that you had the statement an hour beforehand, so apologies for that. Our door is open to discuss this further outside the Chamber today with you, as Chair of the Committee. <BR /> <BR />We all know that care homes are where all the attention needs to be right now. The Health Minister described care homes as where the battle currently is, which means that there can be no stone unturned. We need to throw everything but the kitchen sink at making sure that every resource that is necessary in care homes is put in place. We discussed that yesterday at the Executive and agreed to come back with a fuller paper on those types of measures and what additionality we can bring to put the effort into the care homes.”
“We will continue to provide updates on our thinking, and we are grateful for the opportunity today to provide the Assembly with this update.”
“<BR /> <BR />The restrictions will be lifted in stages, when the timing is right, and that will not be in the too-distant future. If people continue to adhere to the public advice, which is working, we will be able to remove the restrictions more quickly and restore your freedoms without further delay. The Executive will continue to work as hard as we can with common purpose. COVID-19 does not discriminate, so we must remain united in common purpose against the biggest threat facing our community and the world. I thank all of our health and emergency responders and everyone who continues to work on our behalf. They work on the front line, and their selflessness and courage at this time know no bounds.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Executive will continue to put in place measures to help those in need during the lockdown. We have taken steps to help those who are shielding through advice lines and food deliveries. A COVID-19 community helpline has been contacted by over 12,000 people to date. Access to food parcels continues to be the main reason for calling the helpline, and over 57,000 food boxes containing essential items have been delivered directly to the doors of vulnerable people who cannot access food through online shopping, family, friends or local support networks. We have put in place economic interventions for our business sector. Our schools are providing places for the children of key workers and vulnerable children.”
“Data modelling across the North and South has, of course, been undertaken. <BR /> <BR />These are the most challenging times that any of us can remember. It will only be by working together in government and across society that we will minimise the suffering and the hardship caused by the pandemic, tackle the challenges ahead and set about achieving social and economic revival. There will be times when there are strongly held but contrasting views on the right decisions and next steps. We, as an Executive, have set out our criteria and how we will apply them to our decision-making, and we will continue to communicate them with the public and the community. We will also listen carefully to understand the views and experiences of everyone who has been impacted at this very difficult time.”
“Preventative measures must be in place in workplaces, schools and other places to which it is essential for people to go. Importation risks must be managed also. We must ensure that communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to adjust to the changing way of life as we co-exist with the virus until a vaccine is found. <BR /> <BR />Coronavirus respects no politics or borders, and I am glad to report that there is very good cooperation taking place North/South between the Executive and the Irish Government at all levels. The memorandum of understanding signed by the Executive and the Irish Government on 7 April is aimed at getting North/South cooperation and coordination right in the response to COVID-19 across the island, recognising the island as a single epidemiological unit.”
“We must take into account the impacts on our society and our economy, which cannot remain in lockdown indefinitely. As we go forward, we cannot fight the pandemic blindfolded. Controlling the rate of transmission is absolutely critical. A restriction or requirement should be relaxed only when there is a reasonable prospect of maintaining R at or below one. That means that we need to have in place testing, tracking and tracing arrangements to enable us to lift the restrictions safely. Our testing capacity has grown, and more sectors have been able to avail themselves of it, but it will be a cornerstone of our ability to lift the restrictions as we move forward. <BR /> <BR />The capacity of our health service to deal with coronavirus is vital. Outbreaks must be minimised in special settings, such as health facilities and our care homes.”
“We will then make risk-based assessments of the positive and negative effects of the restrictions in place and decide what restrictions to ease and when to ease them. <BR /> <BR />As we have said before, however, we will not keep the restrictions in place for a moment longer than they are required. We have built in the necessary flexibility to respond to the complex emerging situation on the basis of all relevant evidence. We have to be prepared to step forward and, if it is needed, to step back. We must take into account the evidence and the analysis relating to the pandemic. We must take into account the capacity of the health service and social care services to deal with COVID-19 but also that of the other health and social care services that are needed to look after our people.”
“<BR /> <BR />While the restrictions are still absolutely necessary, it is important that we give people hope for the future. Today we set out our pathway for future recovery, which gives an indication of how the restrictions on different aspects of life may be eased at various stages. There are three elements that go hand in hand. First, the incremental five-step approach represents the risk evaluation that we will make at each stage in order to restart family, community, educational and economic activity. Secondly, those decisions will be evidenced by medical and scientific advice from our Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Adviser. Thirdly, that expert advice and evidence will be benchmarked against guiding principles or criteria and international best practice, including the World Health Organization's.”
“Our top priority remains saving lives by combating the spread of the virus through staying at home, social distancing and regular hand and body hygiene to kill it. Our biggest threat in the fight against COVID-19 remains complacency. Until a vaccine is found, we must co-exist with the virus and therefore radical change to how we live our daily lives for some time. Life as we know it has changed. We will have to continue to adjust. Going forward, our whole society will be proactive in targeting risk to reduce the spread of the virus or further outbreaks. That requires us all to change our behaviour. When we are in a position to move out of the lockdown slowly and carefully, we will keep you updated every step of the way, as we begin to restart community life and reboot the economy to keep people in work and keep society functioning.”
“We understand that you want your family life back; to visit and socialise with your friends and your family; and to give your grandchildren a hug. We know that you crave more leisure time and being able to get out and about and to exercise like you used to. We acknowledge the need for businesses to be able to open and operate safely so that we can all get back to our jobs. We understand that parents want their children to have the educational opportunities that they deserve and on which they thrive. We accept that many people rely on public transport for work and for socialising, and we totally understand the pressures on the vulnerable, who want to be more self-reliant. <BR /> <BR />The restrictions remain in place at this time because they are necessary and because they are working.”
“It is fair to say that, in general, public support for the unprecedented measures that have been introduced has held firm throughout recent weeks. There is public awareness and understanding that, by imposing these essential containment measures, we have collectively slowed down the spread of the virus and we have collectively saved thousands of lives. I acknowledge all those from across our communities who have lost their life to coronavirus and send our heartfelt sympathies to their loved ones from the Chamber today. <BR /> <BR />As when we went into the crisis, our pathway out of the coronavirus pandemic will require collective effort and working with the community. We appeal to the public, please, to be patient.”
“Just before my remarks, I put on record my condemnation of the threats made against Members of the Assembly in recent days. Those threats have no place in our society and should be condemned by each and every one of us. <BR /> <BR />We are grateful for the opportunity to come before Members today to set out the basis of Executive decision-making and our agreed pathway to recovery. We are, as we all know, in the midst of the biggest challenge of our lifetime. This invisible killer — this killer virus — is causing loss of life and great hardship to many people throughout our society, across this island and, indeed, across the world. Let me start by saying that we do not underestimate the impact that the severe restrictions have had on everyone across society.”
“We will have sustained food supplies and sustained medical supplies, and we are working with all the relevant partners to make sure that that is the case.”
“We will have additional powers tomorrow that will give us the flexibility to move our way through this and take the right decisions with the right powers behind us. That is important. <BR /> <BR />I want to drive home the message that we must not strike fear into people to such an extent that they run out and panic-buy food. We have solid food supply chains, and we have medical supply chains. We are working with the hauliers and the retailers — with everybody — to work our way through this. That will not be a problem in the work that we are doing, so, my message to people is this: please, please, please do not go out and panic-buy. Not everybody can, and if they think that they are not going to be able to get anything at the shops for their family, it adds on to them an unnecessary tension. There is enough food.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Executive will be launching a public ad campaign; you will see that being ramped up over the next couple of days. You will see it everywhere. It is part and parcel of the work that we have done around the portal and the one-stop shop for information. There will be consistent messaging and people will see the factual position on all these things. You will see that being rolled out to drive home messages, and it will be very much welcomed. <BR /> <BR />You asked about a full lockdown, or whatever way you describe it. We will have additional powers tomorrow, but, as of now, anybody who is not involved in essential services should not be out and about. That is it. That is it in a nutshell. As of now, people should not be out if they do not have to be.”
“We are working our way through the issues you raised regarding renters. We have heard disturbing news from Housing Rights and others who are saying that some unscrupulous landlords are moving to try to evict people at this time. The Minister for Communities will bring forward legislation that will protect people against being evicted in this period. That is important. We are working with the Housing Executive, the housing associations and others and looking at the issue of rents. We need to help people to get through this as best they can. Last week's announcement on the financial package for income was very important, but we also need payment holidays for mortgages and rents to help people survive this period. We will continue to do that, and we will keep the Assembly updated as we move our way through that.”
“<BR /> <BR />This is not normal, and people need to stop thinking that it is normal. These are not normal times, so we have to behave differently. We need everybody to put their shoulder to the wheel and do their bit. That means stepping out of our comfort zone and doing the right thing, because we are trying to save lives.”
“However, we are using school facilities to deal with the emergency and to support our key workers. We have to be nimble right now. It is not all clear-cut, and it is confusing for people. <BR /> <BR />My appeal to everybody who works in a public service, across the Civil Service and public services is: we need you. We need you to help us through this period, to help key workers to do their job, and to help to save lives. That means that we will not do what we always used to do all the time. Teachers might be asked to do something that is not in their normal run of duty. Somebody who works in the Civil Service might be asked to do something completely different, and alien, from what they have ever done before. We need people to respond in that way at this time.”
“A number of things are under way that will help the PPE situation, give the assurance that our healthcare staff need and ensure that we are doing the right thing to protect those who are helping to protect our families. <BR /> <BR />On the testing centres, we have to ramp up testing. I cannot say it enough. We must do much more testing; we must isolate, contact and trace. We have to do all those things. People are looking at the level of testing elsewhere. We do not have that here, but we need to get it here, and we will get it here. They are looking towards Croke Park and saying, "Where is our Croke Park? Where are our centres?" The Minister of Health will make some more positive announcements on that over the next number of days. <BR /> <BR />On school closures, let us be very clear: schools are closed.”
“I am happy to repeat some of the things that I have said, particularly on PPE. We need our healthcare staff — not just our healthcare staff but anybody on the front line, our emergency services, and our domiciliary care workers who are going house to house caring for people — to have protection. We have committed to do everything that we can to make sure that we have adequate protection, that it is ample, and that people have no fear about being protected when doing their job. Just this morning, we signed a contract that will see additional PPE brought in. We are also, as I said, working with and have been speaking to O'Neills, and others, who can perhaps support us at this time.”
“It is difficult to be cooped up in the house, and children want to exercise, but we cannot behave as normal; we have to act in a way in which we have never acted before. This is ultimately about saving people's lives, and we need to drive that message home. <BR /> <BR />We are working to get the grants for businesses out the door as quickly as possible. More details will be finalised this afternoon, but we are hopeful that grants will be processed and out the door and, within a couple of days, will be in people's bank accounts.”
“It is important to restate that this is not a holiday. This is not school holidays; it is an emergency. That is the message that people need to hear. I agree that the number of people who went to beaches over the weekend was disgraceful. We need to send a clear message from here. All of us need to take every opportunity to use every forum that we have to make sure that we drive that message home. The Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs will probably have more to say over the coming days on issues that are within his Department's remit. We know that councils have moved to close parks and public areas, and that is necessary. <BR /> <BR />I understand that this is difficult.”
“The Chief Medical Officer brought together a group of people to look at how we can ramp this up and what we can do. We will have a conversation about that, hopefully, later on today. <BR /> <BR />It is a moveable feast. We are working our way through it, but certainly, people are great. They are great in the way that they have been offering to, just like that, turn their business from one thing to another just to meet the need that we will have.”
“Yes, there are the craft distillers. It is time for creative thinking and thinking outside the box, so we can certainly do those things. <BR /> <BR />On testing, the World Health Organization is clear in saying — Mike Ryan said it again at the weekend — that, even if you are in lockdown, that is not enough. You need to test; you need to isolate; you need to trace. We need to follow this right through and remove those people, so that we can get actually get on top of this. In my mind, those three things have to work together. It is not enough just to test; you have to do the other things as well. We are in conversation and will continue to be in conversation with the Health Minister, the Chief Medical Officer and all concerned. There was work done over the last few days around the testing piece.”
“Certainly, conversations with the likes of O'Neills have been really good about what they are offering. They could make up disposable scrubs really quickly for staff. That would make all the difference, because they would then not be worried about washing uniforms and carrying things home with them. We have to be creative about all those things. <BR /> <BR />I do not have much information about hand sanitisers, apart from saying that I know that there is a company, perhaps in Derry, that is producing sanitisers, even though it does not have the proper trademark that you normally would have, but we are not in normal times.”
“I thank the Member for all those questions. Going back to the spirit of people and how good they are, we have had numerous companies that have offered to repurpose what they do. Manufacturing companies are offering to repurpose to build ventilators. People such as O'Neills and others who are offering to see if they can be of help with PPE. We are continuing those conversations, which have been ongoing across the Department of Finance, the Department for the Economy, Invest NI and others. We are actively talking to a range of businesses. The Medtronic company in Galway is being talked to, and they certainly can play a role. We have one company here in the North that can also help. We are looking at everything because we have to be prepared for this. All those things are really helpful and are being worked on as we speak.”
“I concur. We will do everything that we can to make sure that we can get support for the self-employed, because that allows us to ensure that there is economic security for people across the board and that all the measures that we take mean that people are less anxious about their income and about putting food in their family's mouths. I wanted to restate that. <BR /> <BR />To clarify the point for Paula, we have two sign language interpreters. We will do the daily press conference to give people information every day at the same time. It will be live-streamed so that people are able to keep up to date with anything that has happened throughout the 24-hour cycle. We will do that every day.”
“Yes, we can certainly look at that. We need to find creative ways to engage with people, and we can see whether there is something that we can do there. <BR /> <BR />We can certainly look at sign language being part of our daily conference, because we need to make sure that we get our message out to everybody. As part and parcel of our new communication plan that will be rolled out in all the TV ads, there will be a signer, and I think that that is important. I am not sure whether it would be practical to do that as part of a press conference, but we will certainly look at it.”
“When we come out the other side of this and we have to build, we want people to have jobs to go back to. It will be a difficult and trying situation, but, if we can support those people as best we can to maintain their operations, when we come out the other side of this, they will still be there.”
“The portal — the one-stop shop with all the information — will be continually built on. Perhaps we need to find a way for Assembly Members to flag up questions that are not already reflected in that. We will open up a course for all MLAs to contribute to that. This is a commonly asked question, and we need an answer to it. We will lend ourselves to doing that. <BR /> <BR />As regards the economic package, the Finance Minister and Economy Minister have been in touch with the Treasury over the weekend after Friday's announcement to say that there is a gap with the self-employed and we need to have it addressed. As I said, there is a COBRA call as we speak, and I know that the junior Ministers are involved in that. We have to continue to champion the needs of the self-employed.”
“We are discussing those things, and, yes, we will need those beds.”
“The Department of Health has published its surge plan. It will be a living document and will be constantly refreshed and looked at. We will have to do that, because we will need those hospital beds. We are working our way through all those things. We will need the hospital beds in the private sector and every available resource. <BR /> <BR />To be fair, I have been astounded by the public's goodness. People have offered up hotels that have closed, their services, their kitchens, their laundries — everything. People have been absolutely amazing. We have to think outside the box, and we are trying to look at how to collate all those sources of information and offers from people who want to help and then funnel them through the right Department, the one which it would be most helpful to.”
“No, I am OK. <BR /> <BR />That is the kind of situation that we will have to deal with. That is the kind of situation that staff who work on the front line will have to deal with. That is why we have to mind our healthcare workers in this period. Robin Newton made the point about how we mind their mental health when they come out the other side of this. This is the kind of stuff that will be so challenging and so difficult. There are no good answers to those kinds of questions.”
“On factories, the First Minister and I intend to make some more announcements later today. We both said on 'Sunday Politics' yesterday that non-essential services should be shut down. Nothing but essential services should be operating right now, and we are working our way through that. The additional powers that we will have will be important in order for us to be able to take things to where they need to go. <BR /> <BR />What do you say? What can you say? What can you say to that person? These are the challenges that we will have to deal with.”
“However, our priority for now has to be how we can save lives — and we can save lives. Everybody out there has the opportunity to save lives. If they follow the advice, if they do the right thing, if they make sure that they wash their hands and if they stay apart, we can bring down the level of deaths.”
“Yes; absolutely correct. People will have to make very tough decisions. People working in the health service, on the front line, will have to make very tough decisions. They will be working in the most challenging of circumstances. They will be trying to support patients. Their number one priority is always their patients. They will be dealing with people's families. It will be very distressing, so we have to mind our health service workers. We have to think about how we will respond to all of that when we come out the other side. Life as we know it has changed; that is the reality of what we are dealing with. We will come out the other side, and we will have to support everybody who has been involved on the front line. We will have to support everybody to rebuild on the other side of this.”
“They are available to us for a period of time in order to get us through the situation and they are proportionate to the threat that we face. They are stark and draconian powers, and we would not allow legislation such as that to go through at any other time, but these are the most extraordinary times, so we need extraordinary legislation. That law will come into operation tomorrow and it will give us even more certainty to be able to take the right action at the right time.”
“People are isolated and cut off from their normal circles and activities — going to bingo or to a community hall — and they cannot do any of those things now and that will be difficult. We have to be creative, and I have been so impressed by people who have come up with different things online. We need to do a lot more of that as we go through what are going to be very dark and difficult days. <BR /> <BR />The emergency legislation that is going through will give us a lot more powers to shut things down as required. We need to have the tools and the powers to take the right action at the right time, and that is what the legislation will give us. We welcome the fact that we are going to have those measures, but they are going to be temporary.”
“There are companies that are out working today and that should not be the case. We need to find a way to support them, so the Executive have made the case for self-employed people and will continue to do so. As a matter of fact, the junior Ministers are on a call as we speak and they are making the case for self-employed people as part of the conversation that they are having. <BR /> <BR />The Member's points about testing are well made. We concur, and we are going to do everything that we can to make sure that testing is significantly ramped up. <BR /> <BR />We all need to mind our mental health at this time — every one of us, even, and everybody else out there.”
“Thank you very much for that and for your positive comments. On the question of a lack of information or the desire for information, you are right: everyone wants answers when something is announced and a lot of questions come on the back of the announcements. We are trying to have all that information collated and put on the one-stop shop portal. That will be a game changer that will signpost people to the right place and give them exactly the right information, which, we know, everybody wants. <BR /> <BR />The Member asked about self-employed people. Last week's economic package was very welcome and it gives people assurance that their livelihoods will be protected. That is a welcome thing, but the self-employed category has still to be resolved and we need it to be resolved.”
“I have not received the Member's letter, but I am sure that I will pick it up. We will all need to look to our inner strength throughout the period ahead and to look deep down into our soul to be able to support not just our own families but everyone else around us. This will be the most trying of times. It is an understatement to say it is unprecedented: this is the challenge of our lifetime and we will all have to work with each other, support each other, look out for those who are more vulnerable and do everything that we can. We will also have to be creative in how we reach out to people. Not everybody has somebody. That is an unfortunate reality of life: not everybody has somebody. We all need to think about others at this time.”
“I thank the Member for his comments. I concur with him on the health service staff who are absolutely amazing. They are in for tough times, and we have to do everything that we can to support them. I really welcome your warm words, because we have tough decisions to take in the time ahead, as it will take a collective, joined-up effort from us all to get through to the other side of this. It is important to say that we will come out the other side of this. However, we will have a lot of building to do, we will have a lot of people who will have lost loved ones, and we will have a societal challenge to build it all up again, but we can do that collectively. I have no doubt about that.”
“Let us all be consistent in driving home the message. <BR /> <BR />Testing is so important. Over the weekend, I spoke to a midwife whose child has symptoms, so the family is now isolated. She now cannot go to work. The testing is about trying to get our health service staff back into work. If the daughter was tested, she would be able to get to work. It is so important that we ramp up testing and that we do it with speed. The First Minister and I are working on this as we speak.”
“First, I cannot say it strongly enough: people who are being reckless and ignoring the advice are killing people. We need people to hear that, because this is what we are talking about. This is not planning for something that may happen or could happen somewhere down the line in the future. This is here; this is now. We are now in the week where it is spreading without people even noticing. It is so important that we collectively take every opportunity that we have to drive home the message and ask others to join us in driving home that message. We all have our different heroes in life, and people look up to different people, and I really welcome the fact that a number of sports personalities and others have come forward to drive home that message. We implore them to keep doing that over the difficult days and weeks ahead of us.”
“The Minister for Infrastructure, Nichola Mallon, is looking at all those things and is working her way through them. I will raise your concerns with her. We have prioritised protection for key workers and facilitated them in schools to assist them with getting to work, so the logic follows that we will do the same with MOT testing. I am happy to talk to the Minister for Infrastructure about that. I am sure that she will be very positive and open to doing whatever is necessary to make sure that we support those workers to do the work that we are asking them to do.”
“We are here to tell the public that every decision that we take, we take in people's best interests. In every decision that I have to take as a Minister, I am thinking about my family, too. In every decision that we take collectively here, that is how we will be guided.”
“It is important that we have sufficient stock across the whole range of protection equipment for them. I can definitely give assurances that we are working day and night to ensure that they have that. <BR /> <BR />On testing, we have to do more. The World Health Organization says ,"Test, test, test". It says, "Test, isolate, trace". That is what we have to do. We continue to work with the Health Minister. Testing has been ramped up significantly, but we need to do more. It is not there yet; it is not enough. We can assure the House that we will work to ensure that that is the case and that we get there. <BR /> <BR />It is a challenging time. It is not normal business. We cannot behave as normal, because these are not normal times. We have to be responsive and act decisively. We have to be quick on our feet.”