John McCallister
South Down · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“She did whatever needed to be done and nothing seemed to be too much trouble or too difficult for her to overcome. <BR /> <BR />It was very much to her credit that she was able to work and find a solution to an issue that, as we go forward, will allow us to look at different things.”
“Sometimes, one of the downsides of being in politics is that social media exposes all our lives to some really quite harsh and unkind things. I certainly am delighted that things have improved in that regard, not only with getting the Bill passed but with your father's health improving.”
“Like colleagues, I welcome the Final Stage of the Licensing Bill. Following on from Mr Ross, it is a shame that Mrs Cochrane is standing down because we could desperately do with her back here to continue the reform of our licensing laws, although that is looking like quite a big job for anybody to take on.”
“It would have been such a shame to have to have him removed on his last day. <BR /> <BR />Mr Speaker, I will begin by paying tribute to you and the respect agenda you have set in your time in the Speaker's office.”
“<BR /> <BR />In this term, I am particularly proud of the private Member's Bill to reform the way that the Assembly does its business, and I hope that the messages from all of the political parties seem to be that there is a will to have a much more collective and cohesive Executive on the other side of an election.”
“While there is partly a disappointment in some regards about what the Assembly and Executive have achieved, the one thing that they have achieved is to have got people talking from very different and difficult backgrounds. As Mr Hamilton said, it is much better having a robust debate in here than division on our streets.”
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“Does the Minister accept that there are inconsistencies in the application of the policy throughout Northern Ireland? Does he also accept that some families who get permission to build on a farm location then struggle to raise finance simply because mortgage providers are nervous about the location if ever repossession became an issue?”
“The Speaker should be a gift, and the individual should be elected in a secret ballot by Members of the Assembly, not given out by the Executive Ministers or in a deal made through the talks process to get over the line on welfare and all the other issues that we face, including problems with the Budget. This is not doing the House any good; it is not building confidence in the community out there, which looks to the House and the Executive to provide leadership; and it is not good for representative democracy. <BR /> <BR />We need to get a Speaker who has the support of all the House. We need to move away from the language of asking whether he or she is a unionist Speaker or a nationalist Speaker. The Speaker should be a Speaker for the House. The Speaker represents the House on occasions and is the highest office holder in the Assembly.”
“<BR /> <BR />There is no doubt that I want to see reform here, and I want to see the structures change to provide for an opposition. I want to make sure that this is the last time that we elect a Speaker in this manner. The DUP probably should follow through on its deal and arrangements on electing the Speaker, but, if Sinn Féin had arranged a deal on welfare reform or the Maze, should those commitments also not have been honoured? I am totally opposed to Sinn Féin's position on welfare reform. It is entirely inconsistent with being in government and with the responsibilities that a Government face, but that should not be part of the scramble to get elected to the Speaker's office. <BR /> <BR />The Speaker should and must be a gift of the Members of the House. It should not be a gift of the executive arm of government.”
“The basis of all Western democracies tends to be the separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches, yet the role of the Assembly as a legislature is to hold our executive branch of government to account. When looking for a Speaker, that is the role that we should be looking at. We should not be questioning whether the person is unionist or nationalist or what party he or she comes from. We should be looking for someone who robustly defends the House as an institution and robustly wants the House to hold the executive branch of government to the fullest scrutiny. That is something that we lose when we debate these points and almost throw the issue into the mix of the wider political problems that we face.”
“We need to look at how we do all of those things to make sure that we have a balanced, joined-up approach to delivering jobs and prosperity to the South Down constituency. I think that we should all be up for that. With the support of the Minister, councils and Members in this House, that is something that we should be keen to deliver on.”
“How do we tap into the EU compensation package and make sure that we get that down onto the ground? That will have a huge impact on the South Down economy and indeed the Northern Ireland economy when you spread that out. The Minister will know that agrifood is a huge driver with the Going for Growth strategy. <BR /> <BR />I also point out that we will be coming to the end of the small business rate relief scheme. It is vital that we find a replacement for that scheme. It has brought into councils like Newry and Mourne District Council something like £3·5 million of savings on business rate relief. We need to look at how we do that and at the difficulties that our town centres, particularly those of our small towns, have faced.”
“Also, in the Banbridge district we need to address the failure to secure some of that funding despite applications. Their funding has been very much behind the curve on that. Will the Minister address the Festival of Flight and where we are at, in economic terms, on that? <BR /> <BR />Farming and fishing are two huge mainstays of the South Down economy and indeed of the Northern Ireland economy. We have to look at how we tap into some of the problems that the industry now faces with the EU sanctions against Russia and the cutting off of certain markets, the replacement of markets and how we find markets. The herring industry in South Down is facing particular difficulties, as I am sure that the Minister is aware. The price of milk is going down as a direct impact.”
“I know that in the Minister's reply she may well point out that some of that is demand-led. That is a valid point, but what are we not doing in South Down that is not tapping into it? Are we not getting the linkages between Invest NI, the councils and local businesses to access that funding and make the point that we should tap into it? <BR /> <BR />Tourism is one of our big drivers. We have the St Patrick's Trail, the Mourne mountains and the Brontë homeland. I would appreciate it if the Minister would give her view on this specific question: are we now in a financial situation that could put Newcastle's Festival of Flight in direct danger because of the cuts to the Tourist Board support that drives that? If we are attracting 80,000, 90,000 or 100,000 people to Newcastle, losing that would have a devastating effect.”
“<BR /> <BR />People have talked about higher-value IT jobs. We need to question and address what we are doing in South Down. In answer to a recent question to the Minister, I was told that, in the last three years respectively, Invest NI has secured 28, 12 and seven jobs in South Down. Compare that with some other constituencies. In Lagan Valley it was 12, 71 and one. In Foyle it was eight, 212 and 200. Are we getting our share of balanced growth that we all want to see in South Down? We want to see it in South Down and across Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Another answer is about tourism accommodation and Invest NI's role in investing that money. South Down's grand total over the last three years is £39,629. That compares to Fermanagh and South Tyrone, at £842,000 and North Antrim at £384,000. What are we not tapping into?”
“We do not want to be solely fixed on that. How do we really drive the private sector? How do we use the Minister's Department to work in conjunction with the current councils and the new councils to drive that? <BR /> <BR />We must look at educational attainment, which has been mentioned. We need to look at that and ask why. Look at the last labour force survey in 2012 and the three council areas that touch on the South Down constituency. For those achieving NVQ level 4 and above, the Northern Ireland average is 27·9; Banbridge is at 21; Down is above it at 36, and Newry and Mourne is below it. For those with no qualifications, Banbridge is above the average. We need to address those issues and failings in our education system. What are we not tapping into? What are we not delivering?”
“Like colleagues, everyone wants to see job creation in our constituency of South Down. We want to see how we deliver that. The main thing is going to be how we get balanced growth. It has been a problem across the entire UK. We have been very London- and south-east-centric and well out of kilter with other regions. How do we develop the region? When we come to the Northern Ireland level, how do we make sure that all of our job creation is not just Belfast-centric or in Londonderry? How do we make sure that creation and innovation spreads out to the various constituencies and regions of Northern Ireland? <BR /> <BR />We do have things that are going well for us, which we need to tap into and build on. Colleagues have mentioned that. We have a great tradition in the public sector to do that. How do we get the share of decentralised jobs?”
“Like colleagues, I thank Mr Rogers for bringing this important debate. I am also grateful to the Minister for attending. I know that she has other pressing issues on the agenda this afternoon.”
“She will also be aware that the EU embargo on Russia will dramatically affect the market for the licence holders. Has any analysis been done on providing any compensation to them? What effects might it have on other sectors of the agrifood industry?”
“The Minister will know that licences have been issued lately for the Mourne Herring Fishery.”
“I do not disagree with the Member's arguments or with Mr Nesbitt's opening remarks. The biggest hole in their argument is that they are part of the mess.”
“I am grateful to the Member for giving way. I accept Mr Kennedy's assertion that health matters. It matters to everyone, because it affects every home in the land. What will he as Minister be prepared to give up to move the thinking away from the economy being this Government's lead priority to the agenda of protecting the vulnerable? Is he as Regional Development Minister prepared to give up a significant part of his budget to do that? Will he bid in the October monitoring round?”
“On the subject of reneging on agreements, some would say that Sinn Féin reneged on its agreement on welfare.”
“Reflecting on the First Minister's words about this place not being fit for purpose, how does he perceive that he will achieve a proper Programme for Government and collective Cabinet responsibility when there is nothing to stop any party walking out of the all-party talks process for perceived political gain? Will he now give a commitment to support my private Member's Bill to bring in a government in opposition?”
“The big difference that Scotland has had over the last 15 years of devolution is that it has had a functioning Parliament and Executive. That is in stark contrast to what we have done. At the minute, we look on being part of the Union as a right, not a responsibility. We need to face up to those responsibilities and to what being part of a great and modern United Kingdom means.”
“Scotland is now looking for welfare to be devolved, and we are talking about not being able to deal with it. The First Minister suggested perhaps giving it back to Westminster. One of his predecessors also suggested that. We are going in the opposite direction with many of these things. Getting beyond tribal politics, how do we move away from the them-and-us politics? Sinn Féin talks about getting a border poll when it is failing even to operate this like a functioning Government and face up to its responsibilities on welfare reform.”
“Were additional fiscal powers to be devolved, are the Northern Ireland Executive fit to deal with them and the responsibility that that would bring? <BR /> <BR />A little over a year ago, I set out what I called how you might deal with a road map to building a normal society. At the top of that was reforming the Assembly, getting a proper Government and opposition. We are seeing the need for that at the minute, with the paralysis in the Assembly and our Executive. We needed a fiscal powers commission to look at the various powers that we might devolve and their effects. Will the Executive's policy change if Scotland gets corporation tax powers? Where are we down the road, when Scotland and Wales have had Calman and Silk reporting? <BR /> <BR />Welfare illustrates the changes.”
“I join colleagues in wishing the Speaker a full and speedy recovery. <BR /> <BR />Like many colleagues here, I welcome Scotland's decision to stay within the United Kingdom. There is a general recognition that the outcome of this campaign has resulted in the Union entering a period of constitutional change. The Prime Minister's timetable for Scottish devolution also brings up the West Lothian question, and it means that this debate is happening now. We must get it right. We cannot act in haste and repent at leisure. <BR /> <BR />I ask these questions. Are the Northern Ireland Executive ready to participate in such a debate to get the best outcome for our citizens? Have the Executive even agreed any type of joint position on negotiating a new settlement for Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom?”
“I welcome the Minister's earlier replies. He has been driving home the point about private jobs. Is he aware that Invest NI's contribution to tourism businesses in South Down was under £40,000, yet in Fermanagh and South Tyrone it was £840,000 and in North Antrim it was £400,000? South Down, as the Minister will know, has some excellent products, with the Brontë homeland, the Mournes and Saint Patrick's Trail. How will the Department address that clear imbalance when it comes to moneys going to South Down?”
“The difference that Albert Reynolds and Sir John Major made was in starting that transformation in British-Irish relations, going from two almost hostile neighbours to being very much best friends with a strong working relationship built on interdependency. It will be the lasting achievement of Albert Reynolds along with Sir John Major that they began the work of that transformation. <BR /> <BR />Albert Reynolds's wife Kathleen, whom I had the privilege of meeting a few months ago, and the Reynolds family are in our thoughts and prayers at this time. It is a huge loss to Irish politics. That contribution should, quite rightly, be reflected on here today.”
“In paying tribute to former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, I, like many colleagues, look back and reflect, as Mr McGuinness said in opening these remarks, on 20 years and the absolute transformation in British-Irish relations in that time. The work of Albert Reynolds and Sir John Major, to which many colleagues have referred, was absolutely key to building on that success and what it eventually became. Indeed, it is an illustration that people and personalities matter so much when they get together and can make a difference. We heard from colleagues about the impact that Sam Foster made by coming here, sticking to his principles and making it work.”