Danny Kinahan
South Antrim · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I support the draft Energy Order. I recognise that, today, it is really about putting in place an end date so that we can plan. It is great to hear that the Minister has put in a grace period and has been talking to the providers. I think that most of us have been lobbied at times by the various companies in the industry.”
“When I joined the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee not that long ago, one of the key briefings that I had was with the Northern Ireland manufacturers' association. One of the three main items that they wanted to raise with me is the cost of energy.”
“My original question was to ask the Minister whether he felt that the current transition process was fit for purpose and delivered to the same standard. He seems to have massive changes coming in, which is excellent.”
“Absolutely. Will the Minister guarantee that the flight routes being considered are planned to fit the respective airports and that we will keep in mind all the time that we need to try to make sure that our airports are competing with Dublin and that there is no bias involved, even in respect of our two local ones?”
“We still have ongoing insurance problems. We should keep that in mind when we look at the petition and the plan. <BR /> <BR />The present plan is to develop 400 houses beside the river, with a 10-metre buffer — that is all — with no recognition of the needs of the wildlife, including the otters, the dippers, the dollaghan and many others.…”
“<BR /> <BR />The valley and the river are just on the outskirts of Antrim, and a wonderful council-planned mill race trail runs along the riverbanks and is incredibly popular with locals as an area of natural beauty, for angling, for countryside walks and for nature. It really should be protected and preserved.”
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“I thank the Minister for his answers so far. I imagine that he is not satisfied with how all the training is going, because in the comments we are getting from councillors, particularly about DETI and DSD, there is concern that little powers are being transferred because there is little contact between those Departments and the councillors. Will the Minister work with his Executive colleagues to make sure that more training happens and that it is all up to scratch?”
“When will the Minister, or will she, use her influence in the Executive to help create the enterprise zone at the international airport, with the tax incentives and infrastructure, and help make that airport not just the lead airport in Northern Ireland but possibly, one day, the lead airport in the whole of Ireland?”
“What does the Minister intend to do within law to make it easier for small and medium businesses to take on additional employees without putting their businesses at risk?”
“Does the Minister agree with his party colleague Mr Hazzard, who has accused the primary schools that are coaching as misappropriating public funds, or does he agree with me that those are outrageous remarks that should be withdrawn immediately?”
“I do not want to break the love-in between all of you up there. However, on the cost of putting in electricity, do you have any estimate of that in the future? It does not exist at the moment, but I know that they are pushing for it. No. OK.”
“Therefore, we need to listen to the residents, find out what they are happy to live with, if, indeed, this is to be a temporary site for two years, and try to find some way forward and something that works for everyone. <BR /> <BR />I know that many do not want it there at all, but we should look at suitable fencing, suitable access and a suitable set of rules — maybe even a code of conduct that everyone has to work to. However, we have to find a way forward, and I look forward to hearing what the Minister will say and whether there are alternative sites. Let us see how this goes. I look forward to his help in resolving the matter.”
“Their life expectancy is 10 to 15 years worse than ours, and, when it comes to education, the figures for those who achieve five GCSEs at A* to G is 88% for all pupils but just 24% for Travellers. Therefore, we have a great duty to find a way forward. <BR /> <BR />If we look at the application proposed, we will see a red line where they are and where the access road is. Residents nearby were not consulted. Look at that line and you will see that it is never going to keep them within it, if you think of all the things that come with their caravans — the animals, the ornaments and everything else. If — it is a big "if" — the site is to be there for a while, the red line does not even work.”
“Thank you. That is a very good point, which I did not have here, so it is very helpful. <BR /> <BR />I want to move on to the Travellers. There are three or four caravans on the site, surrounded by animals and everything else. They have been given an area with gravelled access, but they have no electricity. You can imagine what it is like at the moment, particularly on a cold night such as last night. Travellers have their rights, too, so we need a proper system. I am on the all-party group on ethnic minority communities, and we have had presentations from the Travelling community. I want to make two key points. I know that Travellers choose the lifestyles that they have, but we have to look after them as well.”
“When we were looking at the Planning Bill a few years ago and I asked, in relation to community planning, who was included, I was told that it was all those who lived there, all those who worked there and all those who passed through. There lies the whole problem of who will be consulted when we move to the super-councils.”
“As I asked on the back of yesterday's question, can we find out whether the Housing Executive looked or is looking at other sites? What do we really mean by "temporary"? Is it two years from when the Travellers arrived on the site or two years from when they get planning permission? Can the Minister guarantee that it will be temporary? <BR /> <BR />The biggest gripe all the way through this has been the lack of consultation, the lack of talking to the community and letting it have a say. Does the Department have a consultation policy? If so, was it followed? It does not seem that that is the case. Does it include every house? It should.”
“I am told that only the owners of Housing Executive properties were informed or consulted. As the Minister knows, I have written to him and the Minister of the Environment to ask for clarification of this and other matters. I am told by the residents that there were plans to make the Ballygore area of Rathenraw into its own little community, and the residents had been encouraged in the past by the Housing Executive to buy their homes. Understandably, what is going on affects the value of those homes, and, at present, it would be difficult to sell them. If we have temporary planning, it will stay like that. <BR /> <BR />We need to know whether this is really temporary or whether it will turn out to be permanent. We need to know what the future of that site is because it affects the value of all those houses.”
“Therefore, it is up to it to decide on such locations, but it does not seem to have looked at this site with any strategic forward thinking. It looks like we have a complete Horlicks on this site. <BR /> <BR />I will turn to the specific problem. We have a group of Travellers who arrived in the northern end of Rathenraw and made themselves at home in the car park. We have the Housing Executive putting in for temporary planning on the site. At the last Antrim Borough Council meeting, the matter was deferred to an objectors' meeting that was meant to happen tomorrow. I am told, however, that it will not happen because of a legal case. The whole matter raises a raft of questions. <BR /> <BR />I will focus on the residents first. Not all the residents were consulted.”
“Now that we are here and talking about Ballygore and Rathenraw, I will move on to the main subject of the debate. With others, I have met some of the residents and heard their concerns. There were, Minister, 253 objections, which I am sure that you are aware of, and a petition of 301 signatures. Councillor colleagues have taken many calls — some very angry, some just concerned. I have also met the Travellers. We must all remember that we have to respect everybody's rights. Residents have rights and Travellers have rights, but with rights come responsibilities. We all have to live within the law, and the law must be applied equally to everyone, just as the Housing Executive and the councils must abide by the rules and policies. <BR /> <BR />The provision of proper housing sites is the responsibility of the Housing Executive.”
“When I first looked at the title of the adjournment topic, that is what came to mind. One late Friday afternoon, when I tried to find housing for single males, the closest place that I could find them anywhere for the weekend was in Armagh. Later, when I rang St Vincent de Paul and the Simon Community, only to discover that there are some 30,000 calls every year for houses, that is what I was thinking.”
“I am glad for the chance to have this debate, and I thank Trevor Clarke for bringing it forward. When I looked at the title and saw "temporary accommodation", it made me think of another key point that comes our way often. Before I lose the Minister, it was the fact that there are often young homeless males in every patch.”
“The question I was going to ask is exactly the same as that just asked. Will the Minister update us on whether the sea bass stakeholders are included in the fisheries task force? I know they were pushing for it and felt they were being left out.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. When I put this question in, we were not sure when the debate was going to take place, so I know that there will be a little bit of duplication. There are rights and responsibilities on all sides. Have other sites in Antrim actually been considered? Are you or your Department considering other sites for the future, if indeed it is a temporary application?”
“Does the Minister agree with me that, had Mr Ross's colleague the Finance Minister made the adequate funding available in October or maybe budgeted better when it was first requested, the backlog might have been avoided?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Does he not see that his statutory duty is also to ensure the effective and efficient use of funds and that that conflicts with this proposal? It may be right to have an Irish-language school and the right thing to do, but, when it affects everyone else who is being hit by the Budget, at the moment, it is the wrong thing to do.”
“— economic and non-political way of supporting the Irish language. Thank you.”
“— into another divisive battle over identity politics. This is not the day for playing politics but a day for asking the Minister why he ignores his advisers. We should be finding a sustainable —”
“<BR /> <BR />So, today we see a decision to give the go ahead with a school that fails on enrolment, finance and curriculum. The Minister needs to say more than, "I am the Minister; I take the decisions". <BR /> <BR />When it comes to the amendment, that really is a subject for another debate, not for today. It is a very real debate that we need to have, but it must not dilute today's. I plead with others not to turn this —”
“The inspectorate goes on to say that it is concerned that Key Stage 3 should not "be delivered 100% through Irish" and that "immersion ... may constrain learning pathways". So, I take its comments as leaning heavily towards no. <BR /> <BR />CnaG has put many strong points in support of the development proposal, most of which I do not disagree with, but none deals with the key reasons of numbers not being enough and the huge financial cost. Is this really the time to spend so much on such a matter, when it does not have basic support from the key bodies and so much doubt exists? It is not really just £1 million; it is very likely to cost much more. The estate operations team comments that "a total underlying building cost" of approximately £2·5 million may exist, and that does not include VAT or utility costs.”
“Lastly, the school itself will struggle to deliver the entitlement framework. <BR /> <BR />The inspectorate rightly acknowledges the considerable work and thinking on how to build the school and its 10-year development plan, and I acknowledge that, too. However, the inspectorate points out that it is not one of the eight locations suggested by CnaG to the ministerial advisory group. It also notes:”
“That, surely, is a recommendation against this proposal: wrong location and will adversely affect other schools. <BR /> <BR />The North Eastern Education and Library Board was called in to follow up and look at the effect on local schools in that area. It highlighted two highly critical responses: one of which stated that the proposal should be rejected, given the budgetary pressures facing Departments, which is exactly my point about value for money; and the other included some of the comments from St Patrick's College, Maghera, three of which I am going to highlight. One is that previous attempts to provide an Irish-medium post-primary had failed due to low numbers. The numbers in the proposal include pupils from other schools, ie, it will be taking pupils from the other schools and affecting them.”
“I will move to the Western Education and Library Board's comment:”
“It is also way below the less stringent recommendation in the ministerial advisory group report of:”
“for years 8 to 12 and 100 for sixth form. They are significantly below; miles away from the 500.”
“That makes it pretty clear that the overriding duty is to ensure the effective and efficient use of public funds. <BR /> <BR />I move on to sustainability. We know that Bain suggests a minimum enrolment of 500 for post-primary. That is from the Department's own sustainable schools policy. Yet, here we have a post-primary school with a year 1 anticipated enrolment this September of 14. The Department's study of enrolment is a school enrolment of just 128 in 2019-2020, with a sixth form of just 26 by 2021-22. I use its terms:”
“Very definitely, and very clearly, the Department is advising against. When we consider the statutory duty, it is also clear. The Department advises:”
“I listened to all that he said but cannot move away from the fact that we are talking about public money here. The Minister must demonstrate value for money. The Department's full recommendation is as follows:”
“The Department had just written to every school to advise them that their budgets would be cut by 7% or 8%. In the Budget, capital spend was to be cut by £45 million, minor works by £35 million and schools maintenance by £3 million. Worst of all, some 1,000 teachers were to be laid off. All this was being done at a time when everyone in the whole teaching profession was allowed to go home for the Christmas holidays believing that such drastic cuts really were coming. Yet, the Minister chose to spend £1 million-plus on a project that his advisers had severe doubts about. <BR /> <BR />I am not attacking or criticising the group that is pushing for this new school in Dungiven. I want to thank Niall O'Hagan for taking the time to come and see me late on Saturday afternoon. He and they are genuine and well-motivated.”
“I do not know which is more shocking: the idea of the Minister spending close to £1 million on a new school for 125 pupils, when everyone in the profession is facing cuts, or him ignoring his professional advisers, when almost all of them say that the school is unsustainable. <BR /> <BR />It has been said that CnaG, the Irish language body in education, is in favour of the proposal. However, it had one of the four places on a ministerial advisory group that reported last year. That report did not identify Dungiven as an optimal location. It recommended an enrolment threshold that, while lower than the sustainable schools policy, is way above that envisaged in this proposal. <BR /> <BR />Regarding value for money, let me remind you where we were in December when this decision was announced.”
“This is not an attack on the Irish language or on Irish-medium education. Those who have tabled a petition of concern against the motion are the ones who have politicised the Irish language yet again. It is a motion about value for money. When the decision was announced, I really was shocked given the Budget circumstances. On 8 December, the Minister announced that the school is to be developed at a cost, according to the Department of Education, of £216,000 the first year. There would also be 11 mobiles costing some £600,000 plus VAT a year and a year-end deficit likely to be £100,000, when there will be only 14 pupils that first year, and a mass of other costs as yet undisclosed. All this was against departmental advice. The Department's recommendation is:”
“It was released two days later. The purpose of the debate is to find out what prompted the Minister between 28 November to 8 December to turn his official advice on its head and approve a proposal for a school that has been variously described as not viable and unsustainable.”
“We will soon find out that there were not inaccuracies, just differences of opinion. I welcome the chance to propose the motion on behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party. <BR /> <BR />On 28 November 2014, the head of the area planning policy team at the Department of Education sent the Minister of Education written advice on development proposal 264, which was an application from Coiste Choláiste Dhoire for a new Irish-medium secondary school to be established in September 2015 at Owenbeg, Dungiven. She recommended that the Minister not approve the development proposal and included a draft press statement to announce the decision. The press statement was never released. Instead, on 8 December 2014, the Minister took the decision to approve the development proposal and amended the press statement to announce his decision.”
“The Minister himself said that the Budget was imperfect, and there is much in it that many of us disagree with. What is the extent of the remaining pressures on the Department of Education?”
“I think that it is absolutely right that we work in line with Westminster and keep ourselves updated so that we are totally in line and there are no legislative gaps or loopholes. <BR /> <BR />I therefore support the Bill and look forward to seeing it go through.”
“It is good to see that it supports and brings us in line with the Government's regulatory reform agenda, ensuring that ineffective, out-of-date and burdensome regulation does not hold back businesses. <BR /> <BR />As we know, all parties here support small to medium-sized enterprises, and it is good to see the Bill coming here, although it is sad to see that so few seem to have taken part in debates on it when it was in Westminster. I think that there was one two-sentence intervention and one speech. Some MPs voted on Opposition amendments, but, on the whole, most MPs were not there. <BR /> <BR />I am pleased to hear that the Department is dealing with this, and I congratulate it on the work that it is doing to go through everything in the Bill.”
“I, too, am very pleased to see the Bill here, and I support the motion. It is excellent to see a Bill coming into place that keeps us in line with everything else that is happening in the United Kingdom. We see that it changes the legislation to ensure that employees are not disadvantaged by unacceptable practices, be they exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts or underpayment of the national minimum wage. We also welcome it because it ensures that companies are trusted and transparent so that they cannot conceal ownership or control and engage in good corporate behaviour. <BR /> <BR />The Bill will help small businesses to get access to the finance that they need to grow, export, compete in public-sector procurement and address some of the issues on late payment.”
“When we are talking about growing legs, I wonder whether it could grow legs in a different direction. Does he see the partnership panel being able to call on, or having on it, outside bodies? Social Enterprise Northern Ireland's role in this Chamber is now moving to councils, yet it still exists a little bit in both. Will there be room and flexibility on the panel to include, or call in, people from outside?”
“We have just heard from the Minister about a mass of good-news projects, but when are we going to get a tourism strategy that shows everyone in Northern Ireland how it all links together so that everyone, everywhere can really feel part of it, be that those with bed and breakfasts or others?”
“The figures for public spending on services by UK region for 2012-13 show that the expenditure per person was £8,529 in England, £9,709 in Wales, £10,152 in Scotland and £10,876 in Northern Ireland. That is 24% above the UK average. However, when you drill down into the figures, you find that Northern Ireland has the lowest health spending per person and the highest education spending per person of any region of the UK. That all vindicates the stance that the former Health Minister Michael McGimpsey took over his budget, a stance that the DUP Health Ministers must admit was right and principled and certainly not obscene. However, I say that, as a member of the Education Committee, questions must be asked about how successive Sinn Féin Education Ministers have spent their budgets over recent years.”
“I will leave it to the general public to decide whether this analysis has turned out to be accurate, but it looks like it to me. <BR /> <BR />Let us be honest about the reality of public spending in the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is, in relative terms, geographically isolated and economically disadvantaged, but we benefit from regional redistribution of public spending from elsewhere in the United Kingdom. That is as it should be, and we should continue to argue for our block grant to be maximised. However, it is more interesting to note the statistics in the Treasury's Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses tables, published last summer.”
“This, no doubt, will go a long way to mitigating some of the worst impacts, but we now wait to see how in detail the Minister will spend it. That is the key issue. In December, the Ulster Unionist Party, in a submission to the consultation on the draft Budget said:”
“In last week's debate about the draft education budget, we made the point that core services, front-line teaching in the classroom, had to be prioritised. I have to say that the Sinn Féin Minister was less than sympathetic. Mind you, a week is a long time in politics. In the December draft Budget, core services in the Education budget were directly targeted, with a swingeing cut to the aggregated schools budget and the prospect of mass teacher redundancies. Of course, we welcome the additional allocation for Education in the revised Budget. Today, the Finance Minister has found £150 million of extra spending, £63 million has been allocated to Education and the Minister of Education has now announced that his revised budget has found £80 million more for the aggregated schools budget.”
“The point is that they knew that, when it came to our block grant from Westminster, the cupboard was bare, yet no plan was devised for facing up to the problem, hence the financial crisis of the past eight months. Of course, core public services need protecting, but there was precious little sign of that imperative in the draft Budget published in December.”
“I suggest that that tells you all that you need to know about its priorities. Yes, we need to maintain a social security safety net, but, for most reasonable people, and certainly for the Ulster Unionist Party, when we talk about core public services, we mean health, education, jobs and the economy, security policing and public safety in general. Surely one of the prime functions of government is to keep people safe. <BR /> <BR />The Executive, and certainly the Finance Minister, knew that cuts to our block grant were coming. The Executive were informed of their allocations for 2015-16 as part of the 2013 UK spending round in June 2013.”
“There are times when it is right and proper for all the parties in the Assembly to stick together and to fight to try to get the best deal for the people of Northern Ireland. The recent talks at Stormont House were one such occasion. However, there is a distinct difference between standing together for the common good and adopting a begging-bowl approach to our monetary situation. Some in the Assembly are shamelessly adopting the latter approach. <BR /> <BR />Of course, we should all seek to protect key public services, although, as the SDLP suggests in its amendment, we should be more careful and explicit in defining what core public services are. I note that, perhaps unsurprisingly, Sinn Féin does not include policing as one of its three identifiable core services.”
“Given that 16,000 student places are being cut, what is the Minister putting in place? What are his options to make sure that those young people do not fall into the NEET category?”