Bronwyn McGahan
Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“Towards the end of last year, I requested a research paper, which provided shocking new statistics on domestic violence in my constituency during 2014-15.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. I wish to recommend the adoption of the Committee's report on justice in the 21st century, while taking the opportunity to echo the Committee's encouragement for the next Committee of Justice to build on the strong foundations that have been laid for collaboration between those working…”
“These include the police, social services, healthcare staff, Women's Aid, Victim Support, lawyers and judges. <BR /> <BR />The Derry pilot scheme points to one positive development that, if implemented, could make an important difference in the support of victims.”
“<BR /> <BR />I agree with the key principles contained in the Committee's report in relation to collaboration and innovation, which continue to provide opportunities for innovative thinking and creative approaches to the many challenges that will be faced, while ensuring progress on the recommendations that are contained in the report.”
“The newspaper's front-page feature was followed by a full-page story on page 10, which started by giving the appalling statistics that the PSNI responds to calls about domestic violence abuse every 20 minutes, before telling us that, last year alone in the North, six murders had a "domestic abuse motivation", while there were almost 3,000…”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for his response. He will appreciate that, at the centre of this, is a group of older and vulnerable people, who are confused and concerned about their future. What rural proofing and equality impact assessments have been carried out to date?”
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“Go raibh maith agat. I support the motion and thank the Members who brought it forward to the House. I want to say at this stage that I will not be taking any interventions. The newly elected Tory Government in London are wedded to austerity. That presents severe challenges to society and citizens in the North of Ireland. Cuts to our block grant by David Cameron's cabinet of millionaires are having drastic consequences for many of our constituents. <BR /> <BR />Only last week, I received detailed correspondence from a cross-community playgroup in Benburb, County Tyrone, which is most concerned about its operational plans for the next few years and the number of places it can offer, given the cuts that are being made in early years funding.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Like the previous contributor, Sinn Féin supports granting the Bill its Second Stage.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. My remarks will be short and sweet, like those of the Member who has just spoken. I support the accelerated passage of the amendment Bill. The Chair outlined in detail the nub of the problem and the potential consequences for the Committee if we were not to run with this process. So, in that context, it is important that the Committee does not face any barriers in proceeding with the NIPSO Bill.”
“Minister, will you consider operating a pilot scheme under the economic inactivity strategy in Fermanagh and South Tyrone to address the barriers of those with disabilities who want to go into employment?”
“Go raibh maith agat. Can the junior Minister outline how we are meeting our international obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in the design of the summer camps?”
“On that basis, we support the principles of the Bill.”
“During the evidence sessions, it was identified that this recommendation had not been utilised, and, therefore, we opposed it on that basis. Furthermore, we had political concerns about the potential for parallel processes, by which I mean that what are referred to as national security issues could kick in. Other members of the Committee did not share our concerns, and the Committee agreed the recommendation by a majority. <BR /> <BR />The NIPSO remit includes a wide range of listed authorities, including further education and higher education institutions. Another positive aspect of the Bill is that the residency requirement for complaints has been removed. If anybody who visits the North has a bad experience, at least they will have the opportunity to make a complaint. That is a welcome protection.”
“As already outlined, public service employment issues will not be within the remit of the NIPSO office because of the existing routes to resolving employment disputes through, for example, the Equality Commission. <BR /> <BR />Sinn Féin supports the principles of the NIPSO Bill. However, from its very inception, we opposed two of the policy recommendations, the first of which was the recommendation of the formal appointment of the ombudsman by the English queen on the nomination of the Assembly. While Sinn Féin agrees with bringing the ombudsman closer to the Assembly, we did not want the formal appointment of the ombudsman to be made by the English queen. I am probably stating the obvious on that one. Secondly, Sinn Féin opposed the recommendation on the non-disclosure of information.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I, too, support the general principles of the Bill. Like the previous contributor, I will speak only briefly, as the Chairperson has given a comprehensive overview of the Bill. I thank the staff for all their hard work to date. <BR /> <BR />As already stated, the purpose of the Bill is to combine the offices of the Assembly Ombudsman and the Commissioner for Complaints in a single office. During the consultation process, it was identified that having a single ombudsman's office would provide a more efficient, effective and streamlined service as well as improving accessibility. The office will have the power to resolve complaints of maladministration as well as improving public administration.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for her response. Will the Minister outline the specific details of the scheme, such as grant rates, matched funding and project duration?”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for his response. Minister, I am sure that you would acknowledge that there is a need for a new facility in the Dungannon area for those with learning disabilities. I encourage you to visit Oakridge to see it for yourself. Will the Minister commit to providing new and enhanced modern facilities for those with disabilities in the Dungannon area?”
“Go raibh maith agat. I welcome the Minister's statement. Does the Minister agree that the key to overcoming barriers for lone parents and others is the provision of affordable and accessible childcare? Will the Minister outline what steps he is taking to address that? Can he also advise whether the general policy has been rural proofed?”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for his very positive response. Given that economic inactivity is highest in rural areas, does he agree that holding such an event in the heartland of a rural area is an important step in tackling unemployment in rural areas?”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for his response. Will he comment on the potential impact of plans by the current Westminster Government to impose further cuts, if re-elected?”
“<BR /> <BR />I wish to conclude by emphasising that the North of Ireland has benefited hugely from membership of the European Union over many years. We see those benefits daily both in the North and on a North/South basis right across the island. For us in the North of Ireland, in particular those who live and work in border counties North and South, any change in our membership of the EU would have drastic consequences. Such changes have the potential to stifle the progress and development of this region. Sinn Féin representatives on the OFMDFM Committee will be tightly scrutinising our Executive's efforts to maximise the benefits of European Union membership for all the people of the North.”
“Fracking's negative consequences for public health are certainly concentrating the minds of my constituents in Fermanagh at this time. I take this opportunity to thank my party colleague Martina Anderson for hosting a very important European conference debate on the issue at the Lough Erne Resort recently. <BR /> <BR />The issue of fundamental rights needs to be given greater priority given its relevance to our society as one that is emerging from conflict. While we need to be supportive of all efforts by the European Union to support human rights, we need to deliver a bill of rights for the North of Ireland, as provided for in the Good Friday Agreement, in the hope of ensuring adequate protections for everyone.”
“Our priority, given the dire economic situation facing us all from the austerity agenda of the various conservative European Governments and, in turn, finding ourselves having to deal with year-on-year cuts to our block grant by David Cameron's cabinet of Tory millionaires, is to ensure that European Union funding is made as accessible and effective as possible. European funding must be directed to where it is most needed. <BR /> <BR />The European Commission's work programme for 2015 has given priority to a forward-looking climate change policy. We who are tasked with sustainable development here in the North also need to be forward-looking in this regard. Sustainable green energy must be pursued with vigour, and any attempts to introduce environmentally disastrous plans promoting fracking need to be resisted.”
“<BR /> <BR />As we are well aware, in many instances, British interests in relation to European Union membership are not those of the North of Ireland. While we need to ensure that the North's voice is heard, which we do through the Statutory Committees, it is most important that we engage in debate with all sectors of society across Ireland. Given the adverse effect that such an exit from the European Union would have on our developing an all-Ireland economy, such a debate must include all voices North and South, as social development North and South would be negatively impacted. <BR /> <BR />We are only too well aware that European funding, such as CAP for farmers, ESF, Peace and INTERREG, is vital in the context of jobs, growth and investment.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I support the motion. As part of today's debate regarding the report of the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister on the Assembly Committee's priorities for European scrutiny, it is important that we put a strong focus on the need to initiate a debate on the importance of continued European Union membership for the North of Ireland and the consequences for us should an incoming British Government lose a referendum on such membership. Let me clear from the outset that, while I believe that it is important for us to increase our level of engagement with the institutions of the European Union, such an engagement must be not only constructive but critical. There are a lot of policy and legislative issues that are relevant to here and have an impact.”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Will the Minister detail DCAL's statutory requirements under section 75 in relation to the budget?”
“If applied with energy and determination as part of a coherent strategy, such initiatives have the potential to make our region one of the best places in the world to work in science and technology, a destination of choice for talented women, with spin-off benefits for the wider role of women in our society. I believe that we have the means of developing an integrated comprehensive and coordinated strategy for change. That will require political vision and commitment from leaders and organisations in academia and business and a major cultural change in attitudes and approach. Finally, I commend the great efforts by the South West College in promoting STEM. I wish it every success in its engineering careers fair that will take place this Friday and Saturday in Dungannon.”
“Fellowships and academic positions should be advertised with the option of working part time unless there are insurmountable obstacles to such arrangements. All higher education institutions should review the working hours of their academic staff and the management of research groups to ensure that practices are in keeping with the needs of employees with caring responsibilities. Such matters should not be devolved to research groups. Line managers who pressure staff into long working hours should be held to account by their employer. <BR /> <BR />The time has come for the Minister for Employment and Learning, in conjunction with Executive colleagues, to publish a strategy and action plan that address specifically the gender imbalance in the STEM sectors. Many excellent schemes have attempted to stem the loss of talent.”
“<BR /> <BR />As scientific research cannot always take place within regular working hours, it is recommended that research departments should determine and operate appropriate core working hours, with flexibility outside those core hours. That would ensure that most staff members were available for key meetings and that those with caring responsibilities were not disproportionately disadvantaged.”
“<BR /> <BR />Recommendations from the report commissioned in Britain call for diversity and equality training, including unconscious bias training, to be provided to all STEM undergraduate and postgraduate students by their higher education institution. In addition, it was found that such training should be mandatory for all members of recruitment and promotion panels for STEM jobs and all line managers and supervisors of staff. A lack of career advice and support for academic researchers can affect women disproportionately. Higher education institutions should encourage mentoring, support networks and seminars at the research group level and monitor this practice. Such activities are encouraged by the Athena SWAN Charter that I mentioned.”
“The charter, founded in 2005, is awarded to universities that accept and promote the six charter principles: to address gender inequalities requires commitment and action from everyone at all levels of the organisation; to tackle the unequal representation of women in science requires changing cultures and attitudes across the organisation; the absence of diversity at management and policymaking levels has broad implications that the organisation will examine; the high loss rate of women in science is an urgent concern that the organisation will address; the system of short-term contracts has particular negative consequences for the retention and progression of women in science that the organisation recognises; and, finally, there are both personal and structural obstacles to women making the transition from PhD into a sustainable academic career in science that require the active consideration of the organisations.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am pleased to inform the House that the Athena SWAN Charter is the most comprehensive practical scheme aimed at improving STEM careers and that both our universities, Queen's University and Ulster University, are members of the Athena SWAN Charter.”
“It is unfortunate that some are unwilling to accept this simply because professional research requires them to be objective. As employers of academic STEM researchers, our universities and higher education institutions have ultimate responsibility for employment conditions and the greatest obligation to improve STEM careers for all researchers. While there are many examples of good practice in diversity management, some higher education institutions across these islands appear only too willing to devolve responsibility for working hours, career support and promotion to research groups. More standardisation is required across the higher education sector.”
“<BR /> <BR />Despite clear imperatives and multiple initiatives to improve diversity in STEM, women remain underrepresented at senior levels across every discipline. The gender imbalance in STEM is caused by a range of factors. While it is commendable that an emphasis is placed on inspiring young women to choose STEM subjects, such efforts are wasted if women continue to be disproportionately disadvantaged in STEM subjects in comparison with men. It is disappointing that biases and working practices result in systemic and cumulative discrimination against women throughout STEM study and academic careers. <BR /> <BR />The inquiry in Britain found that scientists are susceptible to the same unconscious gender bias as the rest of the population.”
“As we commence our debate, I take the opportunity to commend the much good work that is done in our primary and secondary schools by the Executive to tackle gender stereotypes in education. At the same time, raising the importance of engagement with the STEM industry needs to be part of teachers' continuing professional development (CPD). After much inquiry in Britain into this important matter, no new issues have been uncovered on the topic of gender diversity in STEM subjects. While problems and solutions have long been identified, more needs to be actively done to improve the situation. While competition for jobs is beneficial for science, careers should not be constructed in a way that deters talented women from remaining and progressing in STEM.”
“The most relevant government strategies are Success through STEM and the gender equality strategy. Success through STEM contains 20 recommendations, one of which pertains to the issue of gender imbalance.”
“Our economy needs more skilled scientists and engineers, and that need will not be met unless greater efforts are made to retain women in STEM careers. 'Addressing Gender Balance', a report published in 2013, identified the fact that, while high-level STEM posts constituted over 11% of the workforce, men outnumbered women by nearly three to one in those roles. That is not a problem that is particular to the North or to Britain, but it is a problem for the island of Ireland. Figures in 'The Irish Times' recently identified the fact that, of 118,000 people working in STEM, only a quarter were women. <BR /> <BR />In the North of Ireland, we do not have a strategy that specifically addresses the issue of women and gender imbalance in STEM careers.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for his statement. Regarding the final report on Spend to Save, can the Minister give any examples of models of good practice in supporting older people to remain in their home? I was speaking to an older person over the weekend, and they told me that the only things that are important to them are meat and heat.”
“Go raibh maith agat. Can the Minister explain the delay in bringing forward the updated child poverty strategy and provide an update on when it will be brought to the Assembly?”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for her statement. Can she explain why there have been a relatively small number of successful cross-border projects through Horizon 2020 in comparison with the high number of applications?”
“A single equality Act and a bill of rights are about guaranteeing a basic standard of living for everyone that is consistent and fair, providing protection for the most marginalised in society and giving them dignity and respect.”
“Sectarian and racist attacks still happen all too frequently and quietly, and quite often against a backdrop of intolerance. It must be remembered that a survey carried out by the Equality Commission found that 91% of people in the North supported equality laws. In another survey, carried out by the Human Rights Consortium, there was also support across the board for the right to adequate housing and an adequate standard of living, while rights in relation to mental and physical health scored highly and the right to education highest of all. <BR /> <BR />A bill of rights and a single equality Act would protect all people equally, regardless of political opinion, colour or creed, and it would protect the social and economic rights of everyone in the North of Ireland.”
“A bill of rights would outline basic human rights that all the people in northern society would be entitled to, and it would improve the lives of the most disadvantaged in our society. It would also provide a means by which people can hold the Government to account if those rights are not being adequately protected. <BR /> <BR />Human rights are there for everyone. It is widely agreed that a bill of rights for the North needs to address the specific realities of our society, a society of great inequalities and divisions. As many as one person in five has a disability, and those with a disability are twice as likely to be unemployed; one in three children here lives in poverty; one in three of those who are economically inactive has no qualifications.”
“<BR /> <BR />The British Government were to define, in Westminster legislation, rights supplementary to those in the European Convention on Human Rights to reflect the particular circumstances of the North, drawing, as appropriate, on international instruments and experience. Those additional rights were to reflect the principles of mutual respect for the identity and ethos of both communities in parity of esteem and, taken together with the European Convention on Human Rights, were to constitute a bill of rights. The British Government have failed to deliver on their commitment and have consistently taken the position that a bill of rights must be agreed between unionists and nationalists.”
“The agreement envisaged a bill of rights particular to the circumstances of the North. The clear import was a maximum approach to rights protection. The purpose of a bill of rights is to build on the European Convention on Human Rights and reflect the particular circumstances of the North, a society emerging from decades of discrimination and conflict. Provision for a bill of rights was included in the Good Friday Agreement in recognition that, as a society, we would benefit from setting down a shared set of rights. As we continue to transform our society, developing a bill of rights is as relevant today as it was when the agreement was drafted. It is an essential piece of work that needs to be carried forward.”
“<BR /> <BR />The motion for discussion gives us an opportunity to focus on the need to give effect to the Good Friday Agreement provisions with respect to the establishment of, for example, a bill of rights for the North of Ireland and the creation of an all-Ireland charter of rights, based on agreed measures for the protection of the fundamental rights of everyone living on the island of Ireland. <BR /> <BR />The call for a bill of rights and the single equality Act is supported by a wide range of progressive opinion, including leading and influential voices from academia and civic society. The Good Friday Agreement provided for a bill of rights for the North. The agreement was democratically endorsed by the majority of those who cast their votes in historic referendums, North and South, in 1998.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I support the motion and oppose the amendment. I should say at the outset that I will not be taking any interventions. <BR /> <BR />Sinn Féin takes its responsibility seriously and strives to create an inclusive society based on mutual respect, equality and parity of esteem, the underlying principles of the Good Friday Agreement. That involves reaching out to our fellow citizens in the unionist community and convincing them that we are serious about tackling the differences that exist between us. I am not talking about tolerance, but about the acceptance of cultural, political and religious differences and of people who espouse those differences. I am talking about acceptance, which, within the bounds of equality of treatment, means almost unconditional acceptance of the other.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber. Does he acknowledge the distress that the delays in the funding process are causing employees and service users alike? I have been lobbied, as you know, by the First Steps Women's Centre in Dungannon, which is the only women's group west of the Bann, an area with the highest rates of economic inactivity in the North.”
“Go raibh agat. I thank the Minister for her response. Does the Minister agree that the growth of the tourism sector in south Tyrone offers the potential for jobs and benefits to the local economy, shops and services?”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the deputy First Minister for his statement. What potential exists for a more collaborative approach across the island to maximising the drawdown of EU funding?”
“Go raibh maith agat. Will the Minister outline any projects that will support the Active Ageing strategy?”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the First Minister for his statement. Minister, do you feel that the reduction in Departments will help to reduce the silo mentality that exists in the Departments?”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for his response. Does he not accept that the closure of so many courthouses will result in a backlog and a loss of confidence in the criminal justice system?”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for her answer. Will she ensure that the lack of facilities in rural areas, as well as how to encourage more women into the sport, will be considered?”
“Go raibh maith agat. Like the previous Member, I will not talk for very long, but I support the extension of one year to the HIA inquiry to submit its report. We recognise the suffering endured by all those who were subject to abuse in institutions. I acknowledge the frustration of victims at the delay in the publication of the report's recommendations on reparations and compensation, but I think that it is important that justice takes its course, and it should not be impeded by any deadlines that could impact on the consideration of all the relevant evidence for the inquiry report to make its recommendations and findings. I support the statutory rule.”
“Go raibh maith agat. What is the Minister's view on the tabling of an amendment to the motion on the Budget last week by the Ulster Unionist Party, which effectively would have seen finance to the social investment fund reduced?”