Pat Sheehan
West Belfast · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does she agree that the Minister's School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill was poor legislation and a missed opportunity?”
“The last point that you made reminded me of one of the witnesses — a young girl — who came to the Committee. During the winter, she wore her own overcoat, but she had to take it off 100 yards from the school gate because she was not allowed to wear it into the school.”
“Agus iad ag ullmhú le haghaidh scrúduithe GCSE agus ard-leibhéil, féadann an imní agus an éiginnteacht sin drochthionchar a imirt ar a n-oideachas agus ar a bhfolláine.”
“Is scannalach go deo an foréigean ciníoch a chonaic muid le seachtain anuas. Tá ionsaithe ar theaghlaigh, ar thithe agus ar ghnólachtaí doleithscéil, agus tá siad dochosanta. Níor cheart eagla a mbáis a bheith ar dhaoine neamhurchóideacha mar gheall ar a gcine, a gcúlra ná a gcreideamh.”
“One of the reasons, Daniel, is that, if we were to have blocked the Bill at the Executive, the SDLP would be saying tomorrow morning "This place is dysfunctional. You're blocking legislation. Sinn Féin is blocking legislation, and the DUP is blocking legislation". No, we are not blocking legislation.”
“I have not once today argued against inspections. Not once. The Bill is about one thing and one thing only: intimidating and punishing teachers.”
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“The man who took the lead in drafting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism, Kenneth Stern, warned the incoming Biden Administration not to adopt it. In a sensational article in 'The Times of Israel', Stern claimed that pro-Israel lobby groups have weaponised the definition in an attempt to silence critics of Zionism.”
“I also commend members of my party, particularly Stevie Corr, who is a councillor in Belfast City Hall, and Tom Hartley, who is a former councillor. They were involved in the clean-up following the destruction of the gravestones. <BR /> <BR />Antisemitism needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms, wherever it comes from. Whether in west Belfast, east Belfast, any other part of Ireland or anywhere in the world, it needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Much in the motion is positive, which we can support, but we have difficulty with the IHRA definition of antisemitism and the examples used, for the simple reason that, if it were codified in law, that would prevent legitimate political criticism of the state of Israel. It is not just Sinn Féin saying that.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. It is an issue that recently touched my constituency, with, as Alex Easton mentioned, the desecration of Jewish graves in the City Cemetery. Since then, Paul Maskey MP, John Finucane MP and I met a senior representative of the Jewish community in Belfast, who is also the person responsible for the upkeep of Jewish graves in the city. We had a wide-ranging discussion about this and previous attacks on Jewish graves, not just in the City Cemetery but in Carnmoney. We agreed to continue our discussions to see what we can do to end these attacks. The representative of the Jewish community felt that, in many ways, education is at the core of how we should move forward.”
“That can never happen while academic selection is persisted with. It is time to end it now and create an education system that gives all our children the opportunity to realise their potential rather than end up on the scrapheap of failure.”
“No, I am not calling for the abolition of grammar schools; I am calling for the abolition of academic selection, which is completely distinct. <BR /> <BR />There are costs associated with underachievement other than the personal cost to children. People who leave school without educational qualifications are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system, and the rest of the population pays for that. They are more likely to end up in chronic ill health, which is another cost to our health service. <BR /> <BR />There has been considerable commentary about integrated education over the last number of weeks. A really integrated system should not be based solely on religion or community background; it must also take account of the socio-economic status of children and be a proper integration of our whole education system.”
“<BR /> <BR />Underachievement does not just happen; it is the inevitable outcome of a policy that brands 60% of children as failures. The Ulster University report highlights the negative impact on the self-esteem of those who failed to gain a place at grammar school and how that trauma was often carried into adulthood, even by those in their 60s.”
“Read the report: it tells us that selection does not raise achievement across the system and may be one of the main contributors to the long tail of underachievement in NI. <BR /> <BR />There is no other area of public policy that has so much academic and research evidence stacked against it. The evidence could not be clearer. That is why so many are opposed to academic selection for 11-year-old children. Let me list a few: the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child; the Equality Commission; the Human Rights Commission; the Children's Commissioner; the OECD; the trade union movement; and the Catholic hierarchy. It beggars belief that the Education Minister wants to continue with this failed and discredited policy of selection. It is time to stop defending the indefensible.”
“Be that as it may, but focusing on that aspect ignores the long tail of underachievement. In 2015, the well-known and respected educationalist, Sir Bob Salisbury, with whom many in this place will be familiar — he has done a lot of work in education in the North and with the Education Committee — told the Policy Forum for NI that the achievement gap here was the widest in Europe. He reported that no schools in England had such poor achievement as the lowest-achieving schools in the North. <BR /> <BR />The Minister needs to start a process that leads to improved educational outcomes. He should begin by setting aside his ideological support for academic selection and looking at the evidence instead.”
“<BR /> <BR />The OECD has consistently argued for a better social mix of pupils in schools as a way to boost the educational performance of disadvantaged students. Learning in socially mixed classrooms where students from different backgrounds communicate their different experiences and perspectives encourages students to think in more complex ways. The evidence shows that high levels of social integration in schools create a win-win situation in which disadvantaged students and the high-flyers benefit, with increased educational attainment being the outcome. Positive peer role models are a vital component of any education system. <BR /> <BR />Of course, some will argue that our results at GCSE and A level are consistently better than students' results across the water in England and Wales.”
“<BR /> <BR />The transfer test acts as a filter for social selection. Well-off children go to one type of school, and poor children get what is left. That is not to say that non-grammar schools are bad schools, but, again, the evidence shows that, when you end up with high concentrations of poverty in schools, which is what happens when you have a selective education system, those schools will struggle. That research evidence goes back many years. The Coleman report of 1966 and all research since tell us that the most powerful predictor of academic achievement is the socio-economic status of the child's family. The second most important predictor is the socio-economic status of the child's classmates. Quite simply, when children from disadvantaged backgrounds are concentrated in the same schools, disadvantage is reinforced.”
“Of those on the opposite Benches who had a positive experience of the transfer test and academic selection, I ask this question: how many youngsters, particularly boys, from the Shankill, Sandy Row or other unionist working-class districts are attending grammar schools? Much has been said over the past few years about underachievement among working-class Protestant boys, and it has been highlighted by many Members. I ask Members to look again at the evidence. Underachievement among that cohort of boys is the result not of their religion but of their working-class and disadvantaged backgrounds. Catholic boys from a similar socio-economic background suffer very similar levels of underachievement. Academic selection serves neither Catholic nor Protestant working-class children well.”
“I know that many in the Chamber went through the grammar sector, and I am aware that some who come from relatively disadvantaged working-class backgrounds attribute their life chances to the education and experience that they enjoyed in grammar schools. I respect that position, but they were the lucky ones, because they were among the less than 40% of 11-year-olds who passed the transfer test and were accepted into the school of their choice. Unfortunately, the flip side of that is that more than 60% of children failed the transfer test. The other side of the academic selection coin is academic rejection, and that rejection falls mostly on children from a disadvantaged background. According to the report:”
“At the outset, I want to say that we will also support the amendment. <BR /> <BR />The debate comes on the back of the publication of Ulster University's Transforming Education project's research paper on 'Academic Selection and the Transfer Test', which is the latest in a long line of reports and research that outlines the psychological harm that academic selection causes to children. The research also debunks the argument that academic selection leads to greater social mobility. The report tells us:”
“Go raibh maith agat. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Chéad-Aire as ucht a freagra. I thank the First Minister for her answer. Have any resources been directed to increasing the number of panels in order to speed up payments?”
“I welcome the progress that has been made on the FICT report. Increased equality, respect and parity of esteem must be the outworkings of that report. <BR /> <BR />As we all know, functioning North/South structures are critical for the successful operation of the Good Friday Agreement. The cancellation of a number of recent meetings because of the refusal of unionist Ministers to attend was a retrograde step. Does the Minister agree that playing politics with the Good Friday Agreement is disrespectful to the people who voted for it and risks undermining the agreement itself?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a freagra. I thank the Minister for her answer, although I am not sure whether she actually answered the question. Nevertheless, one glaring omission in the action plan is the failure to identify and build on cross-border trade. Is that failure more about the objections of the Minister's party to growing cross-border cooperation and trade than about the needs and interests of businesses, which that she should support?”
“Following on from the Minister's answer, does she agree that many people in the North find nothing to celebrate about partition and what followed it and that it is important that any centenary events reflect the different narratives of the past here?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a freagra. It is five months since the Minister made her announcement to approve plans for Casement Park. However, there appears to have been no progress whatsoever in the meantime. Antrim and Ulster Gaels are getting very frustrated at not having a state-of-the-art, modern stadium. Casement Park, like the A5, is one of the Executive's flagship projects. Can the Minister give an assurance that there will not be a similar failure to deliver it as there has been in the case of the A5?”
“We, as Irish republicans, take no satisfaction from your humiliation at the hands of the English Tories, because they will never consider you, or us, their equal. However, Irish republicans will. Unionists are the equal of republicans. So, join with the rest of us in building a new dispensation and a new country that all of us can be proud of because no one can be proud of what has existed here for the last 100 years.”
“There are new communities here now, and there are people who do not consider themselves as being part of a minority or a majority. Real political leadership means working together, and the challenge is to demonstrate that we give equal expression to the identity, aspirations and traditions of all our people. Our focus must be on building an open and diverse society, based on anti-sectarianism and reconciliation. That is what we need to do. <BR /> <BR />As another Member mentioned, we heard more of the anti-Irish aspect of the DUP's rhetoric this morning with the supposed decision to oppose the enactment of an Irish language Act until the protocol is done away with. I would love to hear what the protocol has to do with an Irish language Act. I say to them again: you may be able to stall progress, but you will not be able to stop it.”
“There is an imbalance in society, and that is why we have debates like this. <BR /> <BR />The framework for dealing with those problems is the Good Friday Agreement, and it is welcome to see Members on the opposite Benches belatedly giving support to the Good Friday Agreement. That is a good thing. The Good Friday Agreement reminds us of the need to uphold the protection and vindication of the human rights of all and partnership, equality and mutual respect as the basis of relationships. Unfortunately, respect, equality and parity of esteem have been in short supply since the foundation of this state 100 years ago. That is because there has been a failure of leadership to confront not just sectarianism but also sexism, racism, homophobia and so on. <BR /> <BR />The old labels of minority and majority are gone.”
“I then went on down to the Sinn Féin office at the corner of Sevastapol Street which leads on to Odessa Street, both named after sites of battles in the Crimean War. You could walk two minutes on up the street to the Kashmir Road, Lucknow Street and Benares Street, other places of British imperialist rampaging. That is right in the heart of republican west Belfast. I came on up to work and drove up Prince of Wales Avenue, or, as some of us with a certain background describe it, POW Avenue. Then I got to the statue of Carson and the building with Britannia on it. I came in and waved to Lord Craigavon at the top of the stairs. As Conor Murphy says, we should be thinking of doing more to celebrate unionist tradition and cultural expressions here. That is the context.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. I thank my colleagues from the Alliance Party and the SDLP for tabling the motion and the amendment, both of which Sinn Féin will support. <BR /> <BR />Of course, this debate does not take place in a vacuum; the context is 100 years of partition. There are two narratives associated with that. The first is that there is a sense of pride about this place but also a sense of insecurity, having fashioned a state based on inequality. The second narrative is of a people who suffered discrimination, sectarianism and the denial of rights and cultural expression. <BR /> <BR />As I drove to work this morning through my constituency, down the Falls Road, I passed the Royal Victoria Hospital.”
“The mental health and well-being framework was designed and formulated pre-COVID. We now face a totally different situation. As you said, the mental health champion talked about a tsunami of mental health issues, which will require an altogether different approach to the problems with mental health and well-being.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Chéad-Aire as ucht a ráitis anseo inniu. I thank the First Minister for her statement. The main argument being advanced for bringing children back to school is that their mental health and well-being have been adversely affected by the pandemic and the lockdown; indeed, some weeks ago, Professor Siobhán O'Neill, the mental health champion, agreed at the Committee that there was a tsunami of mental health and well-being issues amongst children. However, the Education Minister's approach seems to be that getting children back into school will resolve those issues. That is not good enough. Can the First Minister tell us whether additional resources will be made available to our schools to deal with the mental health and well-being issues?”
“The Member has brought me on to my last point. The Minister and Mr Stalford were almost boasting about the 48 schemes that they have delivered. That is the Minister's job, and she is pretty well paid for doing it. If she is not going to do it, who will? The fact is that three quarters of our student population from here in the North cannot access the payments that have been made to some university students. Boasting about 48 schemes that you are delivering will not butter the parsnips for the students who find themselves in financial hardship. I ask Members to support the motion.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. The fact is that the Finance Minister has made it clear that funding is available. He has encouraged the Economy Minister to make bids to access that funding and to develop a process to deliver it.”
“That may be a wee bit too simple for the Members on the Bench opposite to understand”
“I do not draft legislation, so I cannot tell you that, but I can tell you that all sorts of emergency legislation have come through the House over the past year. We have been able to do it. Where there is a will, there is a way.”
“Why can she not find a way to provide funding to those who need it? The Economy Committee will propose amendments to the regulations that the Minister has introduced to make payments. That will happen next week. I will give way to Mr Storey.”
“<BR /> <BR />I made the point that the Finance Minister had been encouraging the Economy Minister to make further bids for COVID funds that could be used to support our student population. Unfortunately, thus far, the Economy Minister has been playing hard to get. She has every excuse in the book for not making bids. She claims, for example, not to have the authority to give payments to students who are studying in the South or across the water. However, as Stewart Dickson pointed out, this is a legislative Assembly. What about legislating? I sat on the Health Committee for nearly a year. I made the point that regulation after regulation came through that Committee week after week. Why can the Economy Minister not be innovative?”
“Refusal to give the £500 payment to them reinforces the mindset of exclusion. The Minister says that she cannot give money to a university in Britain. Fair enough, but she must find innovative ways of getting money into the hands of hard-pressed students. Surely, that is not beyond her capacity. Some £8·7 million would cover the cost of making the payment to students in Britain. <BR /> <BR />There are 1,200 students from here studying in the South. That is a fairly low number. Those students are paying higher rents, particularly around Dublin, where rents are extortionate, for properties that they do not need due to remote learning. The Minister should engage with her counterpart in the South and seek to extend the £500 payment to those students as well. That would cost under £1 million.”
“Offers of £60 to further education students through the digital hardship fund are an insult, given that full-time higher education students will receive an automatic £500 payment. Some 41,000 further education students in the North are studying courses that are level 3 or above. Each of those students has experienced disruption to their education, and some face costs for rent and so on. Further education students generally come from more disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, and refusal to give the £500 payment further entrenches inequalities in our society. It would cost only £20·8 million to give the payment to further education students. <BR /> <BR />We have students studying in Britain. There are 17,500 students from here studying across the water. Two thirds of them never return.”
“Many students are locked into tenancy contracts even though they may not be able to live in their rented accommodation. Legally, that may be enforceable, but it is morally wrong that students are forced to continue to pay rent for accommodation that they cannot use. The learning experience of students has been well below what would normally be expected, due to the remote nature of the teaching, but students have still to pay their tuition fees. <BR /> <BR />I want to speak briefly about the further education inequality. It was an issue that Mike Nesbitt raised. There is no legal barrier to giving financial support to further education students. Not giving the payment reinforces the view that students at further education and vocational colleges are viewed by the Department as less important than students at universities.”
“I absolutely agree with that. I was going to mention it later. <BR /> <BR />Sorry, Mr Deputy Speaker, how long do I have?”
“On 22 February, John O'Dowd presented the extend the COVID disruption payment petition with 3,000 signatures to the Economy Minister. What has the Minister done in response? Absolutely nothing. <BR /> <BR />In what ways have students been affected? First, many have lost the part-time jobs that they depended on in the hospitality and retail sectors. Their student status means that they cannot access the same financial supports as wider society. Others have lost family support because their parents' household incomes have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. The sad fact is that three quarters of students from here are not eligible for the £500 payment.”
“I think that everybody will support the easing of lockdowns when it is safe to do so. That is the straight answer to that question. <BR /> <BR />Students are among those who have been most negatively affected by the pandemic and the lockdown. What are, supposedly, the best days of their lives have turned into nightmares for many. A large number of students face mental health issues; many more face financial hardship. I am standing in for my colleague John O'Dowd, who cannot be here today. However, I commend him for his tireless and diligent work on behalf of third-level students in further and higher education. He has lobbied the Health Minister and the Economy Minister on the provision of better healthcare for students. However, despite warm words from both, no real action has been taken by either Department.”
“I thank the Member for taking the intervention. I was on the Health Committee for nearly a year. On an almost weekly basis, regulations to change legislation came through to deal with the emergency that we face at the minute. Surely it is not outside the bounds of possibility for the Economy Minister to construct some sort of process like that.”
“If the Minister were to make a bid to the Finance Minister for more COVID funding, Mr Storey would find an answer to his question. The Finance Minister has encouraged the Economy Minister to do so. Thus far, she has refused.”
“Will the Minister outline why there is such urgency in getting professionals who deliver cross-border services registered before the end of this month?”
“I accept your point. I said that the Executive did not get any credit for that particular measure. Thanks.”
“I agree with the Member. We represent the same constituents, many of whom have been affected by Tory austerity. However, will the Member not agree that the £585 million went some way towards blunting the worst excesses of Tory austerity and cuts to welfare? Go raibh maith agat.”
“There is much learning to be taken from the many changes that have been brought in as a result of the pandemic, such as telephone assessment and the enhancements to the discretionary support fund, which I have already mentioned. The real priority at the moment should be to extend the reach of the mitigation package in a real and meaningful way. That will require proper resourcing that needs to be agreed by the Executive. I welcome the support here today for the mitigations. I hope that that will be followed up at Executive level. It is just a pity that there was not the same level of consensus when the original mitigation package was being secured.”
“I welcome the Minister's commitment to review the issues of the bedroom tax and the benefit cap.”
“I agree wholeheartedly with the comments of Kellie Armstrong in her assessment of the role that the advice sector has played during the pandemic. We owe it a massive debt of gratitude. <BR /> <BR />On the broader issue of the need for a fair and sustainable welfare system, the pandemic has highlighted many flaws that currently exist, and there are clear priorities that must be explored as part of any review. I commend the Human Rights Commission, the Cliff Edge Coalition, Advice NI, Marie Curie and many others that have been mentioned by many Members today. Those organisations have invested time and effort in raising awareness of the problems that exist.”
“In that context, I welcome the Minister's commitment to carrying out a review of the discretionary support fund, which was set up by the Executive a number of years ago to support people experiencing financial hardships. The pandemic has shown that that scheme is needed more than ever, but it has also shown that it must be refined and streamlined to make it as accessible and effective as possible for people when they need it most. The review is evidence that the Minister is listening to concerns and is committed to making improvements. <BR /> <BR />The Minister has also acknowledged the importance of the provision of advice support services and is committed to ensuring that those services continue.”
“I sometimes think that I am living in a parallel universe when I hear some of the comments about and attacks on Sinn Féin in here today, because it was Sinn Féin that stood alone and out in front by refusing to accept the Tory cuts, and it was Sinn Féin that was responsible for the mitigation package of £585 million that was secured. <BR /> <BR />Standing up for the most vulnerable in society is part of who we are, and Deirdre Hargey emphasised that in the first few weeks of her tenure as Communities Minister, when she said that her role:”
“You would not have known it from the media coverage here or from some of the politicians who sit in the Assembly, but the Executive were well ahead of the curve on the issue of holiday hunger. <BR /> <BR />Another issue that has made a real and meaningful difference to people's lives is that of welfare mitigations. No, we were not able to withstand the full force of the Tory welfare cuts, but we certainly blunted their worst excesses. In fact, the £585 million welfare mitigation package was a remarkable achievement, and one that is the envy of other jurisdictions, particularly Scotland. I am very proud of the role that Sinn Féin played in protecting the most vulnerable in society.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak in this important debate today. I spoke recently about the campaign that the Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford launched to secure free meals for disadvantaged children in England when they were not in school. The English media eulogised and lionised Marcus Rashford as a result of that, and rightly so. He also got a gong in the Queen's honours list, and the Tory Government were embarrassed into a humiliating climbdown on the issue of free school meals. I was wondering why we had never thought of doing something like that, and then I realised that we had. The Finance Minister made funding available for holiday hunger long before Marcus Rashford's campaign.”
“I want to comment on the point about the British Government saying that they were going to replace EU funding. I have seen reports recently about the ERASMUS scholarship, which was stopped by the British Government and was to be replaced by the Turing scholarship. It is now becoming clear that the British Government are not going to fund tuition fees or travel costs for that scheme. Can the Minister confirm that?”