John Dallat
East Londonderry · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“His and Donovan's contributions were invaluable. <BR /> <BR />I know that Alliance Members and others have spoken about Seamus Close, and I am conscious that his wife Deirdre is here today. Seamus Close was an amazing individual, and I had the pleasure of serving on the Public Accounts Committee with him.”
“<BR /> <BR />As you know, Mr Speaker — this will be of particular interest to you — Donovan was a Deputy Speaker, and he was a man of severe discipline. He did not suffer fools easily. On one occasion, there was a Member who was particularly troublesome in the morning. I reassure the existing parties that it was not one of their members.”
“I know other Members appreciated it equally. <BR /> <BR />I could not resume my seat without making reference to Reverend Robert Coulter — Bob, as he allowed me to call him. He was an incredible person who had a vision for the future of the Assembly that went far beyond simply winning the next election.”
“I was in the privileged position of being a member of Coleraine council for over 30 years, and, if I was asked to highlight one of the greatest events I experienced during that time, I would say that it was meeting Harry Gregg. I am not into sport big time, but I am into sporting people who have made a huge contribution to this world.”
“Donovan McClelland was a lecturer in the University of Ulster. Life could have been very comfortable for him, but he did not choose that. He contributed to the peace process that eventually became the Good Friday Agreement and, in doing that, he brought himself danger.”
“I welcome the Minister's responses so far. The average age of people in the northern region is very high. I am not sure whether the Minister knows how many passed away before adaptations were completed or shortly afterwards.”
The complete record
Every one of 440 lines we hold for John Dallat, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 9.
“The 85% to 90% who do not require transfer to specialist hospitals should be treated locally, and it is here that we must ensure that the Causeway Hospital remains an acute centre of medical excellence for the vast majority of patients who have no need to be transferred to other hospitals or undertake long journeys, adding to stress, inconvenience and the cost of travelling to Belfast through a heavily congested city with poor public transport and parking. <BR /> <BR />There is much more to the fatally flawed report by Donaldson, and a lot of it is already obvious. The potential swamping of centre facilities that should be kept for their speciality role must be avoided, but it is already happening with headline news all too often.”
“In that, there is no problem, disagreement or challenge and certainly no need to propose huge hikes in the salaries of senior and middle management, as suggested in the Donaldson report. In the real-life case involving my visitor, I could see that clearly, as A&E handed over the patient to another team of specialists who followed through the care that was needed to ensure a short stay in the hospital. This is the only sensible way to ensure that A&E is a seamless part of the hospital function.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Donaldson report, which I referred to in my introduction, acknowledges that we are dealing with an ever-increasing ageing population, but it must be said that it has serious inconsistencies and contradictions that, I feel sure, the Minister must be and needs to be aware of. Perhaps the worst of these is that Donaldson supports all acute services being provided by centrally located hospitals. Only 10% to 15% of acute admissions require rapid or planned transfer to regional units, and there is universal agreement here that patients who need regionally based specialist services should be transferred, as they currently are, using the existing clinical networks, joint protocols and guidelines.”
“<BR /> <BR />I also acknowledge recent decisions by the Northern Trust to make significant appointments at the Causeway Hospital that have helped to reduce anxiety about its future. I just hope and pray that the Minister does not accept the one-size-fits-all approach that is based on a cost-cutting agenda and is perhaps more relevant to the health-care problems of large English cities. My arguments are in no small way based on the work of the Causeway Hospital campaign group, which is made up of some of the most dedicated, skilled and experienced people associated with community issues and, in particular, health care.”
“No words could ever describe the life-saving medical treatment and care that our visitor received. During those anxious hours in A&E, while a dedicated team of doctors and nurses worked with our visitor to stabilise him, took X-rays and carried out complex tests, I had the opportunity to see the drama, certainly in my eyes, of the working of a fully functional emergency department. I was amazed at what I saw and came to the conclusion that we must redouble our efforts to ensure that this wonderful facility, which people turn to in times of crisis, is secure for future generations. There is no time to dwell, but I want every man, woman and child to know that, on their doorstep, there are the most wonderful people who are driven not by money or reward but by a vocation unique to the health service.”
“It is my privilege and honour to lead on the debate on services at the Causeway Hospital, Coleraine, and to avail myself of the opportunity to comment on Sir Liam Donaldson's report. It is also an opportunity for me, on behalf of the people whom I serve, to pay tribute to the doctors, nurses and all the staff, past and present, who have dedicated their life to striving to bring about and maintain a level of health care at the Causeway Hospital that has the capacity to be second to none and unequalled anywhere in the health service. <BR /> <BR />Last weekend, a visitor to our home took ill suddenly and had to be rushed by ambulance to the Causeway Hospital, where he received a level of care in A&E and subsequently in medical ward 2 of the hospital that is, I believe, unequalled anywhere in the world.”
“I have listened carefully to the Minister and the problems that he has in balancing the books, but does he agree with me that Causeway community transport, for example, faces cuts of over 30%? Does he agree with me that neither Translink or any other organisation can fill the gap that will be created when people who require specialist transport to hospitals or clinics are left? It is another case of the most vulnerable being the victims of these vicious austerity cutbacks.”
“Is the Minister sufficiently chastened by the dressing-down that he got from the Lord Chief Justice for his decision to close up to half of the courthouses? Is he sufficiently humbled now to go back and review some of the daftest decisions?”
“No. In conclusion, let me return to the vexed question of underfunding, which the Chairperson referred to in his opening remarks. There needs to be a great deal of discussion on the way forward, which will address the underfunding and provide Northern Ireland with the highest standards of water and sanitation. In that respect, the British Government need to accept that, during direct rule, millions of pounds of funding was switched from water to security. In all the discussions in the posh mansions in Britain and here, that issue was not raised, and it needs to be raised because there is a historical debt where people were robbed of the capital investment that was needed for the Water Service and was put into different types of tanks instead.”
“I am going to avoid that because, in my opening remarks, I was critical of the party political broadcasts and I do not want to go down that road, but I am sure that Lord Morrow, in his intelligent way, will have worked out the answer to that for himself. Do you put in water meters and then tell the world that you are not going to impose water charges? Do you not repeal the legislation when something like that might be at the back of your mind? <BR /> <BR />In response to a question asked by my colleague Seán Rogers in January 2015, the current Minister for Regional Development said that it was his intention to amend the legislation requiring the installation of water meters in the upcoming Water Bill. As I have said, I look forward to the legislation as an attempt to put right a wrong, which Mr Murphy could easily have corrected.”
“<BR /> <BR />Water charges are, I am afraid, handled by Sinn Féin on a partitionist basis. Conor Murphy allowed more than £1 million to be spent on installing domestic water meters. He did not invoke the legislation that would have stopped that. In recent times, the current Minister for Regional Development has indicated that he will do that, and I look forward to him confirming that promise. It will be viewed by many people —”
“<BR /> <BR />Those were the wasted years when progress could and should have been made on creating an organisation fit for purpose. It did not happen, but that is history and is best left behind. Perhaps one useful outcome of that, however, was the independent water review panel, which stated clearly that separate water charges and sewerage charges were not a wise or sensible way in which to move forward. That would simply have created a new layer of bureaucracy, a requirement to manage bad debts and all the other associated difficulties. <BR /> <BR />We are one island, and I am sure that all the political parties are watching what is happening at the moment in the South, where 15,000 people took part in a rally against charges. I suggest that Irish people, by their very nature, see water as something that is their right.”
“Money is needed to improve water and sanitation, and, down the years, particularly during direct rule, the service was robbed of that money. <BR /> <BR />On a positive note, in recent times, there has been an unrecognisable improvement in the delivery of the service, but sadly not before a near collapse because of the ineptness and incompetence of the former chief executive, Laurence MacKenzie, and, indeed, the Minister of the day, Conor Murphy. Sadly, during those turbulent times, four non-executive directors were removed from the board of directors in a public shaming exercise, when, because of their principles, they refused to sign up to the disgraceful way in which the organisation was then run. Indeed, that was during a period when millions of pounds were squandered.”
“I am going to ignore the fact that Mr Campbell is speaking from a sedentary position. I am getting used to it. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP is, of course, against water charges and does not believe that people should pay twice. Access to clean water is a right, not a privilege for those who can afford to pay. Up until 2016, I believe that it is an Executive priority to ensure that no additional burdens are placed on the people's shoulders to fund charges. That policy should continue, and it is the responsibility of the Assembly and the Executive to ensure that there are sufficient funds available to maintain the local water infrastructure. The historical neglect was mentioned by the Chairperson of the Committee, and I will go back to that later.”
“I suppose that it is the SDLP's turn to get involved in this party political programme.”
“I welcome the Minister's answers so far. Obviously, the subject under discussion is very serious, and we welcome the reduction in suicides. Will the Minister agree with me that early intervention for those people who find themselves in this situation is absolutely critical? Will he also agree that best practice, where it exists, should be more widely known? For example, in the Holywell Hospital in Antrim there is best practice, and at the Robinson Hospital in Ballymoney there is best practice. However, perhaps not enough people have access to those wonderful facilities, where people go out literally into the homes of those who are at risk and help them and, indeed, save their lives.”
“The voluntary exit scheme might be exciting for those who wish to leave the Civil Service, but for the 20,000 young people who might traditionally have expected to get on the first rung of the jobs ladder over the next few years, it is not so funny. Has the Treasury expressed any interest in decentralising any of the tens of thousands of jobs in Britain, which might be sent here?”
“I welcome the Ministers' statement, and particularly their plans to publish joint work on literacy and numeracy, which Mr Campbell just mentioned. Given that the standards of literacy and numeracy in both parts of the island are equally bad and far below those in Japan, Finland and the Netherlands, does the Minister agree that recent decisions to remove funding — for example, the early years fund from nursery schools — will set us back even further than we were?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. He seemed to struggle with my use of the word "toving", which is really just a country term for boasting. Of course, the Minister is not responsible for the historical neglect of the north-west, but he is the current Minister. Will he tell the House, in view of the applications he has currently made to the European Union, what impact that might have on the north-west to address the serious historical problem that exists there in terms of transport, both road and rail?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. He is probably in a unique position, in that he is also responsible for public transport. He will be aware that, in recent times, 23 buses have experienced fire. Can the Minister assure the House that everything is being done to investigate the causes of those fires, which I believe resulted from leaking fuel and electronic problems? Can he reassure those tens of thousands of people who travel daily that the transport system is, in fact, safe?”
“You have done a good job so far of revitalising our railways, so that is one idea that I would shoot down immediately. No greenways from railways.”
“<BR /> <BR />If we are to reap those benefits for the people of Northern Ireland, the Minister for Regional Development needs to make a solid commitment. As we noted in the report, the bicycle strategy lacks the real commitment and funding that it needs, with no objectives or targets. The strategy needs to be reviewed and revisited if cycling in Northern Ireland is to yield all the benefits that it has to offer. <BR /> <BR />Let us build on that great man of the past, John Boyd Dunlop, who took his bicycles to Dublin in 1888 and won all the races. The people down there initially did not understand how he had done it, but it was, in fact, the pneumatic tyres. <BR /> <BR />I heard old railways mentioned a couple of times. I think that I have the attention of the Minister. Minister, don't you dare close railways to create greenways.”
“The Tourist Board has made an effort to capitalise on that and informed the Committee that it invested about £2 million over the last two years in development projects for mountain biking trails and off-road cycling trails. It is suggested that activity tourism, including cycling, could be worth £100 million to our economy. The SDLP support for investment in activity tourism runs parallel with our support for reducing VAT to 5%. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland has beautiful countryside and a landscape that attracts people from all over the world. With the right infrastructure and strategic vision, Northern Ireland could be a prime location for cycling holidays and international cycling events. Who is to say that the Tour de France could not come to Ireland just as it went to England last year?”
“<BR /> <BR />As other members of the Committee highlighted, ill health, obesity, congestion, road traffic accidents and pollution could all be partly addressed by greater investment in a culture of cycling. The benefits of a greater uptake of cycling to the economy are wide-ranging, so I would like to focus on tourism. As was mentioned, the Giro d'Italia was a testament to the appetite for cycling here and to Northern Ireland's potential to attract international cycling events. I am sure that Dr John Dunlop, hopefully in a better place, must have been very happy with that and with other recent events. <BR /> <BR />There is substantial interest in cycling across the island of Ireland, as was indicated by other Members, nowhere more so than here in the North, as a sport to watch as well as to take part in.”
“As a child, despite a humble background, I have happy memories of owning a Raleigh, a Rudge and a BSA. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP is sympathetic to the needs of cyclists. We recognise the many benefits that cycling can bring to communities and individuals socially, environmentally and economically. As well as the benefits to the economy, the cost of our excessive dependence on private cars and other vehicles is great. There is just too much dependence on motorised road transport in Northern Ireland, particularly in rural areas, where, for many people, public transport is not cost-effective or sustainable and, frankly, is not a realistic option.”
“I am very happy to take part in the debate and welcome publication of the report. We accept that Northern Ireland is well behind other European centres of population in cycling provision, despite substantial and growing interest in it. That should not be the case because the man who invented the pneumatic or inflatable tyre for bicycles was Dr John Boyd Dunlop. <BR /> <BR />OK, he was a Scotsman, but he spent all his life in Ireland carrying out veterinary practices in Downpatrick, Belfast and Dublin. He used his skills in stitching to invent the first bicycle with pneumatic tyres. Dunlop's bicycles went on to win major races in Ireland and England. The famous Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company benefited substantially from his knowledge. He was one of our great inventors.”
“There is an awful lot in the Minister's answer, but none of it is about the GPs who are not prescribing the cheaper generic medicines that could be equally as good. Does the Minister agree, having talked to Seán Rogers earlier, that it would be wonderful to invest these savings in a cancer fund?”
“I welcome the Minister's response, and I would, of course, say absolutely nothing negative about the Causeway Hospital. Would he agree that developing partnerships not just with Antrim Area Hospital, which is in the same trust area, but with Altnagelvin Area Hospital, which, in turn, has partnerships with Letterkenny General Hospital, is the key? Does he also agree that, in the future, the Causeway Hospital will have a major role to play in the north and north-west? I include Malin Head in that, because some patients come from there.”
“The Minister may be aware that, in the distant past, the dreaded Public Accounts Committee singled out Magilligan for its excellent education programmes. What on earth has happened since he took control of it? When will he put badly needed investment into that prison?”
“I thank the Minister for a comprehensive answer. Could he give us his assessment of the impact that this move may have on social housing? I am thinking about not just the students but the increasing number of young people who depend on the Simon Community and on other organisations for a roof over their heads.”
“I am more than keen to return to the question of corporation tax and how it can be used to affect credit unions. The Assembly has a good relationship with credit unions. Will the Minister perhaps tell us, or at least undertake to look at, how the millions of pounds that are invested by credit unions and banks could be lent to people in the wider world who depend on payday loans, loan sharks, moneylenders and others, who rip them off?”
“Perhaps after saying all those nice things, will the Minister please focus particularly on Glenarm and that area? In recent times, I was over at an event to save the Dal Hospital, and it is just impossible to get a signal.”
“He will get an extra minute. Will the Member be careful to remember Red Bay Boats, which is about to launch its new model? It is famous throughout the world. I am sure that he, as someone who loves his potato, eats the Glens of Antrim brand. If he is thinking of buying jewellery, there is no better place to go than Steensons; it is world-famous.”
“Let us roll up our sleeves, as the Minister does, and help Margaret Anne McKillop and other local councillors over there who are engaging, day and daily, with local community groups and enterprise groups. They are the people who will make this happen. While it is late in the evening, and we have had a particular focus perhaps on Larne, with all those new jobs, I think that the glens of Antrim are the jewel in the crown. I hope that when the Minister responds, she will take comfort from the fact that even somebody from outside the area can see the positive side of this part of Ireland and its potential for the future to portray Northern Ireland in such a light that our visitors will not just be local, from Kilrea, but from all over the world.”
“That violence has now abated and there is every opportunity to create long-term sustainable jobs in tourism that will retain young people and make sure that there is a vision for them. The people there are clever enough to be above party politics and not to engage in them-and-us disputes and all that nonsense that has destroyed tourist areas elsewhere. What the Assembly needs to do is engage with those people and give them the support and vision they need to make not only Glenarm, which I mentioned, work, but all the other glens work. <BR /> <BR />Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, I am not sure whether you realise that there are nine glens in all. I will recite a little poem, because I think that it tells the story:”
“I am a frequent visitor to Cork and Kerry, and that coastline is out of this world. I would love to see the master plan for Glenarm published. Glenarm is not exactly Kinsale at the moment, but it has the potential to be like it, if we have the vision. <BR /> <BR />I do not want to make too many references to the Minister, but she is a woman who has her sleeves rolled up. There is another woman in Glenarm called Margaret Anne McKillop, a local councillor, who also has her sleeves rolled up, and it is local people like that who we need to talk to. People who have a vision of the area for the future, and they will make it work. <BR /> <BR />The glens of Antrim were largely left alone during the Troubles. That was not exclusively the case, and I can think of Sergeant Joe Campbell and others who lost their lives.”
“Why on earth would somebody from East Derry be taking part in this Adjournment debate here? There are no votes in it for me, so anything that I say is absolutely honest and comes straight from the heart. <BR /> <BR />I am pleased that the Minister is here to respond, and I am sure that she will remind us that there was a recent announcement of 400 jobs in two pharmaceutical companies. If Danny Kennedy was here, I am sure that he would remind us of the £113 million that has been put into the A8. Oh, how I envy that place called east Antrim. <BR /> <BR />Clearly, you cannot talk about the subject without talking about the glens. To me, the glens of Antrim is the most wonderful place on earth. That is not because my ancestors come from there but because I serve in a coastal area.”
“The Minister struggled a little bit earlier to name towns in Donegal, which tells me that he was not a student at the Irish college in Ranafast. He certainly has not struggled this morning to sell this project to the Assembly. I know that he has competing priorities, and I think that we all greatly admire him for coming to the House to do it. As Minister of Health, he will be aware that there are always knockers and people in the corner who will want to bash. Is he satisfied that, in terms of public scrutiny, the accountability aspect of this will be open and transparent to ensure that the excellent work that will be done will not be overshadowed by those who will want to pick holes in it?”
“I also thank the deputy First Minister for his statement. I refer him to paragraph 12, in which he points out the need to make some appointments in future. I ask the deputy First Minister whether those will be done in consultation with the Commissioner for Public Appointments and will reflect the 26 recommendations in the report of the commissioner, dated January 2014. If he has time, can he tell us when those recommendations will be formally accepted by this Assembly to address gender balance, disability and all the other issues of multiple appointments that were raised in that report?”
“Given the awful legacy of illiteracy and innumeracy inherited from predecessors, what hope can the Minister give to parents who believe that their child has special needs when the Education Authority believes otherwise? How will those parents approach the tribunal and what support will they have?”
“I thank the deputy First Minister for his answer. I do not disagree with a single syllable of it, but, given the seriousness of the situation, in that not a single peace wall has been dismantled and paramilitaries are still flourishing, is this shared campus experiment sufficiently funded and will it really encourage the peace and reconciliation that the people voted for in 1998?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Will he tell the House whether he has ever had a bid for additional university places turned down? Perhaps he might be even more generous and tell us who turned it down.”
“Does the Member agree that it is highly dangerous to have Coleraine competing with Derry, or vice versa, because, if you pursue that line of argument, you may find that both Magee and Coleraine miss out and Belfast will be the winner?”
“If Sinn Féin is so committed to Magee, can the Member tell us why the deputy First Minister is not present this afternoon? Can she further tell us why her colleague Maeve McLaughlin has just told us on social media that she is holidaying in the sun?”
“Does the Member agree with me that the historical issues that he outlined, such as the poor transport infrastructure and the lack of investment in the university, are major reasons why it is difficult to attract new inward investment? Will he not suggest to the House that there is a special need for the north-west that is based on historical indifference and, perhaps, even worse?”
“I just happened to pick up the Minister saying that we need money. Does the Member agree with me that the historical injustice in the north-west deserves special treatment? Not only do the people in the north-west — I include many people beyond Derry city — need more than sympathy, they are fed up with the blarney as well. They want an end to it, and they want the serious issues addressed. If money is one of them, let the British Government cough up the historical deficit they owe to this place.”
“Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, with your permission and I am sure that of the entire House, I offer my deepest sympathy to the family of the child who lost her young life on the A6 yesterday and extend our good wishes to her older sister, who is fighting for her life in a Belfast hospital. <BR /> <BR />The Minister inherited this legacy, so we do not blame him for all of it. When will he be able to state the day and the hour when Dungiven will have a bypass and the north-west will be able to link with the rest of the world in transport terms?”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Is it appropriate to use a term such as "strangled at birth" in a debate on such a serious subject as road safety?”
“By all means, Members, wherever amendments are needed or whatever you think necessary, do it, but I urge everyone in the Assembly to approach it, as Tom Elliott said, in a positive way, not in a way that might influence people not to take it seriously. This is one of the most serious subjects that the Assembly could ever discuss. I wish everyone well with their future contributions on this most important subject.”
“Scandinavian countries have done it well and perhaps not so ruthlessly. Nevertheless, they have done it in such a way that the motorist understands that it is a privilege and not a right to be on the road. Where should that right be respected and honoured more than in our neighbourhoods and where our children are? Of course, remember the elderly people who are slow at crossing roads, and they, too, need to be kept in mind. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I thank Pat again, not because he is a member of the SDLP but because he is somebody who genuinely cares about a problem that is on our doorstep and is prepared to do something about it.”