Paul Frew
North Antrim · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for that intervention. Nevertheless, there are concerns that I want to address. The Minister and the departmental officials will know that, even from the range of questions that I have asked. We need to make sure that we get the balance correct.”
“In the written and oral evidence received then, the Committee was advised of potential amendments that the Minister may table at Consideration Stage, including an amendment to remove the commissioner that is being considered in liaison with OLC.”
“That in itself causes some victims and witnesses bother, because they are in a system that they are not part of, which means that they do not get the support that they require. That can sometimes leave them feeling retraumatised, as though they have been put through the wringer again.”
“The Bill makes provision to offer those protections and provide clarity to victims that they do not have to face their perpetrator in court. <BR /> <BR />Members asked questions about a range of matters, including the independence of the office, the ability to review the performance of any future commissioner, the costs of establishing th…”
“I thank the Minister for her intervention. She was absolutely right to take that action, as it means that victims' voices are right at the heart of the matters under discussion. It is now obvious to us that that should have been done years ago, but it is good that it is being done now.”
“Officials explained that the Bill would legislate on the disclosure regime not to prevent an application for disclosure but to set out a process whereby the defence would have to show the relevance of the information that it was requesting. That is an important protection.”
The complete record
Every one of 3,736 lines we hold for Paul Frew, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 74 of 75.
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Can he assure the House that, no matter what comes out of the consultation on court closure, errors will not be completed in the closure of courthouses? Even in my area of north Antrim, and particularly in Ballymena when we lost the hospital, not one trust official will say nowadays that that was not a mistake. The closure of Ballymena courthouse will be a massive mistake. How can the Minister assure the House that errors will not happen with the closure of any courthouse?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Will she tell the House why her party is so frightened to take its seats in the House of Commons? Is it the case that you cannot get by and around the swearing of the oath?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Needs are often based on the health and safety of pupils and, of course, ordinary pedestrians near the school. In many cases, it may be more cost-effective, efficient and immediate to put in place a patrol crossing. Does the Minister agree that, in most cases when schools are denied a patrol crossing, common sense, flexibility and discretion should be used?”
“I thank the First Minister for his answer. Given the impact of the JTI Gallaher job losses on Ballymena and the Province as a whole, what discussions has he had with the new Social Development Minister about the proposed plans for the site to ensure that progress is made as quickly as possible, not only for public-sector investment but private-sector investment alongside it?”
“Minister, you mentioned that Northern Ireland has a distinctiveness, which has a very important role in attracting visitors and overseas visitors. Given the distinctiveness of the Giant's Causeway and, indeed, the north Antrim coast, and given the fact that the Gobbins path in East Antrim — my neighbouring constituency — will soon be opened, what more can the powers that be and Tourism Ireland do to promote it to get even further traction?”
“I am very interested to hear more detail around discussions on the continuing pressure on energy costs and on what is being done to bring down the costs of bills for business, especially in my constituency of North Antrim, which has a very high level of manufacturing and is a good manufacturing base. Minister, given that we are in a shared single electricity market across the two countries, what discussions were had regarding the North/South interconnector and the implementation of the integrated single electricity market (ISEM) getting up and running?”
“What discussions has the Minister had with DEFRA and, of course, our neighbours in the Republic of Ireland about livestock theft? Can she tell the House whether the problem is increasing or decreasing?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Whilst it would be hard to put in a strategic regional scheme or plan, NIE does produce heat maps. If the heat maps were more detailed, they would be able to show developers where the grid is strong and where it is weak. Generators could target those areas and identify whether any of that land was available, instead of what happens now, which is that they go to any available land and try their hand at getting planning permission.”
“That is why this debate is far more important than any debate on corporation tax. The House needs to take the issue of energy costs seriously, or it will be to the detriment of our people, our employees and their children. That is how important the issue is to our people. <BR /> <BR />Let us look at some of the issues that are at hand. I repeat: what is saturation point? When do we have enough? When do we have enough wind turbines, and when do we produce enough energy through wind? It is not about security of supply, because, if we had the North/South interconnector, we would have enough generation on the island of Ireland to cover security of supply. It is not about creating energy, so what is it about?”
“I will tell you why it will hinder industry in this country. Because of the system marginal price, we have to pay wind generators the same price as we pay for gas generators. That is the system marginal price. The more wind generators that go onto that system, the more we will have to pay. Not only that; we have to pay wind generators capacity payments for being there even though they are not always there and even though, sometimes, they cannot run. Sometimes, then, because of the state of our grid and because it cannot take their energy, we have to pay them constraint charges. That is the reason why we have to get this mix right. It is the reason why, at this moment, we are not getting it right, and that is why it is burdening industry and large employers. <BR /> <BR />If we do not get this right, we could lose thousands of jobs.”
“I would like people to tell me what a saturation point looks like in a local area or a regional area, because I cannot see it and I do not know anyone who can tell me what it is. We need to get there because it is clear that wind power and wind generation will not solve all our ills. Rather than help, it will, in fact, hinder industry in this country.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue, which may even be more important than the debate around corporation tax and the tax-varying powers to decrease or increase the corporation tax rate. It is more important because electricity is the blood that runs through the veins of our industries. We cannot take this lightly, so I welcome the report but, alas, much like the three reports produced by the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee, it picks only one part of a massive subject, which is the cost of electricity. <BR /> <BR />It is true that it is expensive to have wind power, but it is also true that we should have wind power. There is a place for wind power but not every place.”
“I will be brief. He mentions the ETSU-R-97, which was published in 1996; it was to be reviewed two years after its publication. At present, it is handcuffing our environmental health officers to a document that is, basically, ignorant and idiotic.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer on what is a very important issue to people who do not have the accessibility that we enjoy. There is an issue for Adelaide Street station because of the two tracks and getting from one side of the station to the other. At the minute, there is only a footbridge. That had a massive bearing at a recent cup final that Ballymena United managed to get to. A number of wheelchair-bound people found it very difficult to get from one side of the track to the other to go home. Does the Minister have any thoughts on how we can fix that problem?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I certainly agree with his sentiments. To cite some examples, if you are driving in a residential area, where there is a row of parked cars, it would be madness to drive at 20 mph. Also, if you are coming up to a school at 8.50 am, 9.15 am, 2.00 pm or 3.00 pm, it would be madness to drive at 20 mph. You would want to drive a lot more slowly. It might not be just a case of a blanket ban. It is all about habits and people driving appropriately.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. He raises the example of Dunloy. We have worked in partnership to make roads in Dunloy safer. When we were there on site, Roads Service personnel stated that it was actually safer in their eyes if they extended the 40 mph speed limit and reduced the 30 mph speed limit, if my memory serves me right. You and I could not get our heads round that, but they said that it was factually correct. How does that sit with the Bill?”
“As one who sees the potential of solar farms, particularly on an industrial scale, I want to know whether the Minister is assured that there is expertise in his Department and the Planning Service to deal with these applications. Can he tell the House that there will be specific measures in the new SPPS on proximity to homes and a measurement for that? In addition, has he done any calculations on what large-scale solar farms will mean for the bills that industry has to pay?”
“Whilst other representatives of North Antrim play the area down, I most certainly will play the area up. We have some great indigenous companies in North Antrim and throughout County Antrim, which benefits all our constituents. What is the Minister doing to help those companies to grow and to find new export markets?”
“If we put aside the discussions on a bid to the globalisation fund, what discussions has the Minister had with JTI Gallaher to ensure that it leaves a lasting legacy in north Antrim and Ballymena in particular? That would be cold consolation, but it would at least help the community and people there.”
“Given the fact that the youth centres do a tremendous body of work with young people, acting as a diversion from involvement in crime and teaching young people other things socially outside the school setting, is the Minister supportive of enhanced funding for those youth centres?”
“I commend the SDLP for coming to its position. It is a day for the enlightened and for slow learners, and I look forward to the day when Sinn Féin also comes to that realisation. If it does not, these questions will remain: what has it got to hide? What is it hiding within its communities, the people whom it says it represents? What is Sinn Féin hiding that it does not want the NCA to find or to collect? That question will be on the lips of all the people of Northern Ireland today.”
“The Member across the way misses the point entirely. Even though the NCA has had operational capacity in Northern Ireland and works with an Garda Síochána down south in the Republic, it was not able to claim and collect the assets. It is the assets that make it incredibly lucrative for the criminals. I am glad that those people will now be hunted down and stripped of their assets and their wealth. For far too long, they have held the people of Northern Ireland to ransom. That has to stop, and it should stop now.”
“Thank you for your intervention, Mr Givan. That is the crux of the matter, here and now. If you value accountability — the Members opposite say that they do — law and order and democracy, you should have no reason whatever for not putting your full support behind the NCA when it becomes fully operational.”
“For the foreseeable future, people will be able to rest easy in their bed, at their place of work and in their home because of the activities of the NCA and the PSNI in combating crime of the most serious and complicated nature. When we talk about these criminals, we are not talking about people who wear stripy jumpers and have a swag bag over their shoulder; these are the most organised, evil, smart, clever criminals in the world. I fear that they have been looking towards Northern Ireland because of the vacuum that was created here, and we must recognise that.”
“I did not necessarily agree with their positions and negotiating stances, but I acknowledge that there is still a job of work to be done in negotiation, whether you agree with it or not. I must say that the SDLP has put its hand to the wheel to come up with an outcome that is acceptable to the vast majority of people in the House. At one time, I feared that the SDLP, like Sinn Féin, was hiding behind the cloak of accountability. We will go on for ever and a day on the question of how accountable is accountability. However, I am glad that my fear has not been realised and that we have come to an agreement that the vast majority of people in the House can support. <BR /> <BR />This will be an asset of great value to the people of Northern Ireland.”
“I support the motion. It is a good day, as my colleague Edwin Poots suggested. It is a good day for the House, a good day for Northern Ireland and a good day for the people of Northern Ireland, the law-abiding citizens of this country. It is a bad day for the criminal elements in our society, the leeches on our society that, through their crimes and their activities, suck our people dry. We should rejoice in the House today. The will of the House will be tested today, and everyone in this country of the UK and throughout the world will know what the mind of Northern Ireland is on the issue. <BR /> <BR />Whilst I would have liked to see the NCA with full operational capacity in Northern Ireland much sooner, I recognise the stance taken and the movement made by the SDLP.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I commend the SDLP on the issue at this time. Does the Member think that there is now any reason why Sinn Féin should withhold support for the NCA?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does the Member agree with me that there may be two things annoying Sinn Féin about this matter? The first thing is that crime will now be tackled effectively in Northern Ireland, or maybe it is that, because they cannot take their seats in Westminster, they will not be able to affect it going through?”
“Minister, in your last answer, you mentioned moving the number from three to four. When you consider the lack of staff and prison officers who are on the landings, moving from three to four is a colossal leap that puts more officers, prison officers and staff under incredible pressure and —”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Of course, with every investment fund — even the rural development programme rolled out from Europe and administered through DARD — it takes time to administer the fund and roll it out in order to get real, meaningful funding on the ground in communities. Does the Member agree that this smacks of big-house unionism? Some things in that party can never change.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. He will know only too well that those voluntary rescue groups, including one in my area — the north east mountain rescue group — do not only work up mountains looking for people who are missing or have been cut off due to weather; they help in cities and towns to find vulnerable people who have mental health issues or are vulnerable in other ways. The police call out those groups for help because the police do not have the capacity to do that work.”
“The House should welcome the Minister's statement and, indeed, the Hunter review, as well as the efficiency gains and collaborative working that will be met out of that report and the Minister's statement. <BR /> <BR />Will the Minister reassure the House that, although there will be costs from the rebranding exercise, those will be negated by the work, efficiencies and collaborative working that will come out of this and that it will not become the shambles that Roads Service became when it was rebranded as Transport NI?”
“I will be very brief. I welcome the Minister's statement. What does the Budget mean specifically for the devolution of corporation tax powers?”
“Does the Minister agree that this is the sort of project and model that shows best practice and would save his Department money with regard to prison numbers, crime rates and social issues in our towns and cities? Does he agree that it should be rolled out across the country, not stifled at inception?”
“Given the fact that the Minister failed to act at a very early stage on the allegations made about republican terrorists and organisations and left it to the Justice Committee to act, will he now support that investigation and inquiry by the Committee? Can he assure the House that he will do everything in his power to ensure that republican terrorists who were involved in the most heinous crimes across the two jurisdictions will be brought to task and justice will be served?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I take it that this is a personal view of a strategic outlook. I am sure that he will know his party's position that the North/South interconnector is vitally and strategically important for keeping bills down and preventing customers from spending a lot of money on electricity. How does he respond?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. We have heard calls from Members today that we should just advance, expand and invest in our grid. There are a couple of things there. First of all, when you invest in anything, someone pays for it. Secondly, where do we advance the grid? Whilst there is pressure on Ballycastle substation and Kells substation, there will also be pressure on other substations. Where do we put that advancement in? Surely that is where a demand-led side of things must come in.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I have sympathies for his argument and for the direction in which he is taking the debate. Does he also realise that for homeowners who wish to build a house in the countryside and apply for a connection to the grid the cost is sometimes too much and transparency in the billing is non-existent?”
“—and it is something that we need to be very careful of moving forward.”
“That is something that I am becoming even more aware of as time goes by, because our businesses are hurting with the cost of electricity at the moment. We cannot place any more burden on those businesses. There is talk about balancing it out. It is very much a balancing act —”
“Yes, and that strategy will have to come not only from DETI but from the Utility Regulator, NIE, SONI and even the Planning Service, because all of those organisations play a part in that, but you are quite right. I am running out of time, if the Member wants me to give way. <BR /> <BR />In some of the detail, it is very clear that, whatever strategy we have going forward, it is a balance. We can all crow about investment, strengthening the grid here and putting a micro-grid in there. That is all technology that we need. We can also crow about renewable energy targets, but if they put businesses out of business and if householders cannot cope and cannot afford it, we have to think about that.”
“So, there is always a strategy in place. It is about making sure that that strategy moves forward with the times.”
“It was not £5,000 any more, or even £10,000, which was a rough estimate, but £14,000. It is unacceptable that the same thing can cost so much more a year and a half later. When you look at the figures and scrutinise the work of NIE in that regard, you can see glaring holes. That is what I am currently investigating. That is a personal constituency matter, but it typifies the problem that householders are facing at present. <BR /> <BR />One thing about the report that I do not necessarily agree with — we debated it in the Committee last time — is with regard to DETI needing a strategy because there is no strategy in place. There has to be a strategy in place, and there is a strategy in place. Indeed, the Minister launched the strategic '2050 Vision' study last year, which the Committee got a copy of.”
“They were told to go and speak to their neighbour to try to achieve a way leave. When they went to their neighbour, they asked the questions: "Would it be OK for us to put this thingy in here to get this thingy here for us to get thingy electricity?" They do not know what they are talking about. Why should the onus be on the householder to do that? <BR /> <BR />Then, after months, NIE stepped in and, of course, the person who needed to give the way leave did not know what they were talking about or what they wanted. They were scared of the whole proposition. When NIE went back to them, they agreed eventually. That is the problem that householders and other people are facing on a day-to-day basis. Then, when everything was agreed, a year and a half later, the bill went up.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I welcome the Member's contribution. He has been very active, even in this debate, which is very encouraging, because he is absolutely right. We need to be on top of it. To me, it is as big an issue as — if not a bigger issue than — the corporation tax debate at present. It is vital, because some businesses will pay so much corporation tax and others will pay none, but they all need electricity to operate and to make things. <BR /> <BR />It does not just affect our businesses. I have a constituent, who I am working for at the minute, who tried to get a grid connection for their home. Forget about renewable energy. Forget about business. It was for their home, and they were quoted something in the region of £7,000, maybe going up to £10,000.”
“I welcome the report and its targeted recommendations It cannot be read in isolation and is part III of the Committee's wider review of this important issue. <BR /> <BR />Make no mistake about it, Mr Deputy Speaker and the Assembly, electricity is the blood that runs through the veins of industry in this country. Unless we get it right, I have absolutely no doubt that it will stifle and hurt business. It will hurt our manufacturing base and rural parts of Northern Ireland, probably more than the cities. It is vital that the Committee keeps its eye on where that is going and that the Minister and the Department keep that as their number one priority because, without electricity, we do not have industry, and it is important —”
“I understand the Member's sentiment. I understand the genuine belief that those people were going in to do a good job. I do not question their commitment, but the threats are still happening to this day. People are still living in fear of intimidation and are still checking under their car, so, ultimately, it has failed.”
“Thank you very much for giving way. That is not the issue, because everyone has rights. Their victims have the right to life. The point is that the prisoners try to achieve things through threats: threats to life and the threat of punishment, beatings and everything else. That is totally unacceptable. The prisoners should be starved of that oxygen. Of course they have rights, but they use threats to try to get concessions and to get things in the prison.”
“The Member keeps repeating the line, "where no one is under threat". However, the only threat coming from anywhere is that coming from republican prisoners. Is he for one moment suggesting that the prison staff are causing a threat? That is not how I see it. There is only one threat going in one direction. How can he keep saying, "where no one is under threat"?”
“— achieve that? I say that it will not. I say that it will make the situation even worse and put more prison officers and their families at risk and under threat.”