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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“<BR /> <BR />I heard Pam Cameron mention the R number. That was the third time that I heard it mentioned today. The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party mentioned it on the radio this morning. I also heard Gabriel Scally, who is pre-eminent in the field of public health — one of the most renowned experts in these islands on public health — saying that when the transmission rate is as low as it is, particularly here, the R rate is not in itself a useful measurement. What is more important is the number of people being infected. <BR /> <BR />We need to listen to the experts. We also need to look at the countries that have done best in suppressing the virus. Many of them have done particularly well: New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, and so on.”
“I welcome amendment Nos 9 and 10 as further relaxation of the draconian restrictions imposed since the start of the pandemic. Of course, under normal circumstances, none of us would have supported such restrictions, but, given the circumstances, they were absolutely necessary. <BR /> <BR />The amendments give effect to the previously announced indicative timings for the opening of, among other things, museums, galleries, bookies, spas, tattoo and piercing businesses, restaurants, bars and clubs. Funerals are no longer restricted to close family and friends, beer gardens can reopen, and so on. I welcome the easing of the restrictions, as it indicates that, to an extent, we are getting on top of the virus. However, the situation remains extremely dangerous, and we need to listen to the experts, particularly in the field of public health.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. When you talk about "we", do you include Mr Aiken in that, after the re-tweeting of the vile and disgusting tweet that was so hurtful to the Storey and Pickering families? Is he included in that "we", who send out our condolences?”
“On a point of order, Mr Temporary Speaker. I am not sure where that comes into the motion. I did not hear any mention of the first Dáil.”
“OK. Go raibh maith agat. <BR /> <BR />In the closing moments, I want to respond to Mr Aiken, who talked in dulcet tones about the concern that he has for grieving families. Yet, he was happy to retweet a vile and despicable tweet the other night that said of Bobby Storey's death that it was one of his rare propaganda mistakes. Has he been underwater for so long that he has lost all his human decency? He has forgotten the age-old tradition of not speaking ill of the dead. I wonder whether Mr Aiken will retract that and apologise to the Storey family.”
“I was at Larry Marley's funeral when it was attacked and mourners batoned by the RUC and when plastic bullets were fired at mourners at Finbarr McKenna's funeral. I was also in Milltown when Michael Stone attacked the cortège.”
“When Bobby was released, in May 1994, he immediately joined the leadership and began selling the prospect of peace to IRA volunteers not as an enforcer but as a convincer, someone who debated and argued with IRA volunteers and convinced them that there was an alternative to armed struggle. The reason he was able to do that was that he was someone who led from the front. He was meticulous in his planning, and he was fearless. That is why he got the support of IRA volunteers. <BR /> <BR />Unfortunately, republican funerals have been the subject of attack on many occasions. I remember that Francis Hughes's body was hijacked by the RUC when the family wanted to process along the Falls Road.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle Sealadach. Of course, this is about the funeral. It is entirely about the funeral, even though Daniel McCrossan and Mervyn Storey have both said that it is not about the funeral. It is about Bobby Storey. Bobby Storey was a man who did not do anything half-heartedly. When he set his mind to something, he went and did it and he gave it his full commitment, whether that was as an IRA volunteer, as a prisoner trying to escape or as someone who was heavily involved in the peace process. What debates such as this do is that they overshadow the contribution that Bobby Storey made to peace in this country. I was with him in the H-blocks in the early '90s when we discussed every twist and turn of the peace process.”
“I knew Bobby Storey for almost 45 years. I was with him in the army, in prison and in Sinn Féin. Bobby Storey did not go out to seek conflict; conflict came to him as a young teenage boy, when his family were driven from their home in north Belfast. That is something that Bobby Sands and I shared with him. The three of us grew up in unionist areas with unionist friends and were driven from our homes because of the sectarian nature of the state. That is something that unionists should take cognisance of.”
“Sometimes, I think that people are trying to compare apples with pears, and that is not fair. I wonder, sometimes, whether some representatives are exploiting some people's emotions.”
“I want first of all to declare an interest. Ba chara de mo chuid é Bobby Storey, agus tá me iontach, iontach bródúil é sin a rá anseo anocht. Bobby Storey was a good friend of mine. I am very, very proud to say that here tonight, and I am conscious that there is a grieving family out there — in fact, two families, the Storeys and the Pickerings. I am also conscious that many people who have lost loved ones during the pandemic are also grieving. Bobby was the third friend of mine to die since COVID-19 arrived on our shores, and, on each occasion, the regulations were completely different.”
“Does the Minister agree that, as a society and an economy, we cannot go back to what was there before COVID-19? We must have a society that is just, equal, people-centred and inclusive.”
“All the Members who have spoken so far have mentioned the importance, when moving out of the current crisis, of the need to reopen the economy and to get it moving, and the infrastructure sector is an important part of all that. This will make the system more effective and more efficient, and I welcome and support the Bill.”
“I want to reiterate or summarise the remarks that I made earlier in that the Buick judgement has created some problems insofar as, if the Infrastructure Minister were to make decisions today, they could be subject to legal challenges on the basis that other Ministers had an interest in that planning decision. The example has been given that the Finance Minister has an interest in practically every ministerial decision that is made, so it is taking bureaucracy to a ridiculous degree to suggest that all planning decisions should go to the Executive. It would slow down the decision-making process and add another layer of bureaucracy that is not needed. There are already many complaints about how slow the planning process is, and we do not need this. We need the Infrastructure Minister to be able to make planning decisions.”
“As we come out of the COVID-19 crisis and the economy comes out of cold storage, there is a need to get things moving quickly. The planning process needs to be agile and nimble to get the infrastructure sector up and running again. I support the decision to grant accelerated passage to the Bill, which will allow the Minister to deal with the growing pile of planning applications in her in-tray.”
“As has been mentioned by others, such delays would have a detrimental impact on our economy.”
“I support the Bill. It is a sensible and effective approach to the uncertainty that was introduced into the planning process by the Buick judgement. The Bill allows the Minister for Infrastructure the autonomy to work effectively in the planning process. Not passing the Bill would leave the Minister open to legal challenges on decisions that she might make and would mean that planning decisions would have to go to the Executive. We all know that that would create greater bureaucracy, more prolonged delays and the jamming up of the whole planning process.”
“On a point of order, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. Is it in order for Members in a sedentary position to be grunting in the Chamber?”
“By coincidence, he was on Radio Ulster shortly after the last debate, and, in that interview, he stated that the wearing of face masks would significantly — significantly — reduce the transmission of the virus. That is probably another area that the Executive need to look at. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the relaxation of the restrictions. I will leave it there.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. The Member in question regularly heckles, so it is water off a duck's back to me. <BR /> <BR />It is concerning that the R rate has risen again in London, and, of course, we all know about the lockdown in Leicester and other places. As the easing of the restrictions continues, we need to be careful. <BR /> <BR />In our last debate on the subject, junior Minister Lyons raised the fact that I had mentioned the wearing of face masks. I welcome the fact that that is being introduced on public transport. However, the point that I had made during that debate was that the Chief Scientific Adviser had said that he was concerned that when he went into a shop, he was the only one wearing a face mask.”
“On 29 June, another regulation was amended to increase from 10 to 30 the number of people allowed to attend outdoor events. <BR /> <BR />In general, all these easements of the regulations are welcome. However, I heard the First Minister say on the radio this morning that the R rate had risen above one in London. That is very concerning, and as the easing of these —.”
“The beautician had on a full face visor, apron and gloves — the whole shebang — and she told my wife that she would be working until nine o'clock tonight. It is very welcome, of course, that people can get back to work, but by the time that she was finished with my wife, the sweat was pouring out of her. The amount of PPE that she has to wear is very awkward, and, in the heat of the salon, makes for very uncomfortable working conditions for anyone. She said to my wife that, if this continues, she'll be off sick in two weeks' time. We all know the problems that will be faced by other businesses as well. <BR /> <BR />We know, of course, that there is a time lag before we debate these amended regulations: they have already come into effect.”
“So, that is very welcome, and it is very welcome in general that the restrictions are being eased. <BR /> <BR />1.00 pm <BR /> <BR />Of course, the amendment (No. 8) regulation relates to the easing of restrictions to allow the reopening of various businesses: hotels, bars, restaurants, cafes, coffee bars, indoor training facilities, places of worship and visitor attractions, as well as enabling people to stay in their second home. Hairdressers, barbers, beauty salons and so on can also reopen. <BR /> <BR />Although the restrictions are being eased, there will still be major problems, particularly for small businesses. My wife will not readily forgive me for telling you here today that she was at a beautician at eight o'clock this morning for the first appointment because she is going away tomorrow.”
“As I say on all of the occasions when we speak on these issues, in normal circumstances this would be draconian legislation that, I am sure, most in the House would not support. However, given the crisis that we are in with the pandemic, it was essential that the regulations were brought in when they were brought in. As it turns out, we were very much ahead of the curve, compared with what was happening across the water. <BR /> <BR />Of the amendments that we are debating, amendment (No. 7) is particularly welcome with regard to visiting other houses and opens the door again for grandchildren to visit their grandparents and for grandparents to take up the role that many of them do in childcare.”
“—requested online resources and apps for appropriate distance learning. That needs to be considered by the Minister in the time ahead.”
“<BR /> <BR />Ba mhaith liom aird a tharraingt anois ar cheann de na ceisteanna is tábhachtaí don earnáil, is í sin, ceist na n-acmhainní oideachais. One of the areas that I want to draw attention to is the lack of educational resources in the Irish-medium sector. It suffers from a lack of bespoke resources for teaching and the remote learning undertaken by teachers during the lockdown period will have compounded that. Irish-medium principals —”
“Of course, that shortage will be exacerbated when schools reopen in September. <BR /> <BR />The Irish-medium sector is likely to be more acutely affected by teacher shortages, as a lack of teachers already existed before the current crisis. That will be made worse as schools return, with the risk of a severe shortage of qualified Irish-medium teachers to fill current vacancies, and Irish-medium substitute teachers to cover for teachers who are shielding. If the Department is to act decisively on the development of the Irish-medium sector, it needs to begin to address that shortage of teachers. We need to begin to engage with teacher training colleges as a matter of urgency to deal with that ever-growing issue.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are concerns about a lack of available school space affecting parents in choosing Irish-medium schools for their children. The Education Authority and the Department of Education have based their social-distancing guidelines on classrooms of 60 square metres. As I mentioned, that does not accurately reflect the reality in Irish-medium education, in which some classrooms are as small as 37 square metres. Additional classroom space will be required and the Department has an obligation to work with the bodies that represent the sector to facilitate that. <BR /> <BR />Ba mhaith liom labhairt anois ar easpa na múinteoirí cáilithe a bhí ann roimh an phaindéim agus a bheas ann faoi mhí Mheán an Fhomhair i mbliana. I also want to talk about the lack of qualified teachers who were in the Irish-medium sector before the pandemic.”
“That lack of purpose-built facilities will have a detrimental impact on schools facilitating their students, in particular those Irish-medium schools that are located outside urban areas, where alternative space might not be easily found in the surrounding area. <BR /> <BR />Irish-medium schools are already at full capacity. The Irish-medium sector is the fastest-growing sector and we want that trend to continue, not regress. Take Coláiste Feirste in west Belfast, which is the largest Irish-medium post-primary school on the island of Ireland. When a significant new development was opened in that school a few years ago, it had a capacity of 550. The enrolment now is around 680. How will it practise social distancing in classrooms?”
“<BR /> <BR />Agus, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle Sealadach, is cinnte go mbeidh fadhbanna ag earnáil na Gaelscolaíochta ag athoscailt dóibh i mí Mheán an Fhómhair i dtaobh sláinte agus sábháilteachta de agus an scaradh sóisialta. <BR /> <BR />It is certain that the Irish-medium sector will have problems with the reopening in September with regard to health and safety as well as social distancing. As it now stands — the Minister will be aware of it — 60% of the accommodation in the Irish-medium sector is housed in prefab or modular accommodation or buildings that were not designed as schools.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle Sealadach. Agus labhraím anseo anocht i m’athair ar bheirt ghirseach a bheas ag dul isteach i rang a haon agus rang a cúig i mbliana. Agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an phríomhoide, na múinteoirí agus an fhoireann iomlán i mBunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh. <BR /> <BR />I speak tonight as the father of two young daughters who will be going into primary 1 and primary 5 respectively this coming year. I want to put on record my thanks to the principal, the teachers and all the staff in Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh and Naíscoil an tSléibh Dhuibh for their dedication and diligence in helping us as parents over the last number of months. Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh is an Irish-medium primary school.”
“I absolutely agree with that. The point that I was going to finish on was this: irrespective of who is Health Minister or which party they are from, all parties should work collaboratively to ensure that the well-being and health of our society improves.”
“That is the grim reality of life for some of our citizens today. That may be the extreme end of it, but that is what happens day and daily in disadvantaged areas. <BR /> <BR />Members have mentioned the need for a cross-departmental approach to these issues: I accept that. The Health Minister cannot solve the problems on his own. However, he has a responsibility to do his share of the heavy lifting. We need parity of funding between physical and mental health, and the urgency that has been employed in the fight against coronavirus should be employed in tackling the scourge of mental ill health. When Michelle O'Neill was Health Minister, I constantly said that we should work collaboratively on health, because health —.”
“In any event, Whiterock has always remained rooted at the very bottom of the health domain. Mental ill health is a big, big issue, as are suicide and addiction. Often, as Órlaithí Flynn mentioned, the three are interlinked. <BR /> <BR />I ask every Member who is in the House today to imagine themselves living in grinding poverty. Maybe you are a single parent living in poor housing that is damp and cold. Your kids are getting ill because of the poor conditions in the house. They are missing school frequently and falling behind and will leave school without qualifications. As we know, kids who leave school without qualifications frequently end up in the criminal justice system. Children are taking their own lives. Parents are taking their own lives and leaving their children behind as orphans.”
“Disadvantaged areas are disproportionately affected by conditions like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and dementia, all of which have been flagged up as serious risk factors for COVID-19. Disadvantaged areas also suffer disproportionately from mental ill health, suicide and addiction. There was a serious mental health crisis before the pandemic arrived. I do not think that anyone here would disagree that the mental health crisis will be immeasurably worse as we move through the pandemic and come out the other side. <BR /> <BR />Whiterock is a ward in the West Belfast constituency. In previous years, it has been at the bottom of all the socio-economic indices. In the past couple of years, it has moved up the table a bit. It has improved, or maybe other wards have "disimproved" — I am not sure how it works.”
“In the Ardmonagh Family Centre, there is a project called "Good Morning, West Belfast" that long predates the pandemic, where volunteers and staff phone up elderly and vulnerable people every day, sometimes twice a day, to make sure that they are all right and that they have someone to talk to. It is not just a quick 20-second call; sometimes, it is a yarn. It is a conversation with people who have no one else to speak to. I commend those organisations. <BR /> <BR />I want to speak about health inequalities. We were all surprised when the Minister said in Committee the other week that affluent areas had been affected disproportionately by COVID-19. Now that there has been more drilling down into the data, it appears that that was not accurate. I am not surprised.”
“Like others who have spoken, I commend the members of the community and voluntary sector who have done so much during the pandemic not just by delivering parcels and things like that but by keeping lines of communication open. One of the organisations in the constituency that I represent — Whiterock Children's Centre — deals all year round with asylum seekers, refugees, immigrants and people like that, who are vulnerable to begin with, and many other families living in dire poverty. It has continued its operation and scaled it up while the pandemic has gone on.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle Sealadach, agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a ráitis. I thank the Minister for his statement. I welcome the fact that All Saints College in west Belfast is on the list. It is an amalgamation of three schools in west Belfast: St Rose's Dominican College; Corpus Christi College; and Glen Road Christian Brothers School (CBS). It is currently split across two sites that are quite a distance apart. Land has to be identified for a new build because it is believed that neither site is big enough to facilitate the new college. Will long-term funding be available while such a site is developed and a new school built?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a ráitis. I thank the Minister for his statement. Given the fact that there has been a serious number of scandals in our care sector over the last number of years, particularly in Dunmurry Manor and Ashbrook, and the fact that so many residents in the care sector have died during the pandemic, what will the Minister do to ensure that a proper regulatory authority is there, in the time ahead?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a ráiteas. Are there any plans for the North/South Ministerial Council to meet in plenary format any time soon?”
“I will just respond to the comments that the Minister has just made about face coverings or masks — whichever term he wants to use. The week before last, the Chief Scientific Adviser gave evidence to the Committee. In the final stages of the Committee, he said that he is slightly disconcerted when he goes into a shop and is the only person wearing a face mask. If he is wearing a face mask and he is the Chief Scientific Adviser, why is he doing that?”
“<BR /> <BR />There does need to be a serious discussion about the wearing of face masks and whether there is a need for regulation.”
“<BR /> <BR />In conjunction with that, we need clear messaging from the Executive. I get the feeling that, with the easing of restrictions, many people feel that they can just go about life as normal, as they did before the pandemic. Of course, that is not the case. We need to listen to the medical and scientific evidence if more restrictions are going to be eased. So, the messaging from the Executive has to be crystal clear. <BR /> <BR />Also, as we move forward, and it may not be directly related to these regulations, the care sector has to be protected in a way that it was not at the outset of the emergency. Many people believe that the care sector was, effectively, thrown to the wolves. We need to make sure that the care sector is protected.”
“<BR /> <BR />The difficulty that we face now, with easing the restrictions, is that there may be an upsurge in the virus. I heard, just this morning, that two new cases have been diagnosed in New Zealand for the first time in something like 24 days, although it has been established that both individuals had travelled from the UK. China has also experienced an upsurge, as has Japan and somewhere else in the Far East that I just cannot remember. What is important is that none of those outbreaks has led to mass lockdown of the affected countries. Because they have an effective system of tracking and tracing, they can isolate the virus to a particular area, market or block of flats. If the system of testing, tracing and isolating is effective, there can be localised lockdowns without having to shut down the whole of society.”
“<BR /> <BR />What is more important than anything, and a number of Members mentioned this, is that there is a proper system of testing, tracing, isolating and supporting as these restrictions begin to ease. Some of the countries mentioned did not have lockdowns as severe as ours. Indeed, ours was not even the most severe. In South Korea, the economy, by and large, carried on. Bars and restaurants were still open. Because they had such an effective and widespread system of testing, tracing and isolating the virus, society was, by and large, able to carry on as normal. Now, of course, it has been said that they had previous experience with SARS, MERS, swine flu and avian flu and so on. However, we need to learn from best practice, and the best practice is in such areas.”
“It has been said on many occasions in this Chamber that the virus does not respect the border. It is not even that it does not respect it; it does not know that there is a border there. There has been a high incidence of COVID-19 in border areas, and that is all the more reason to deal with it on a single-entity or all-island basis. <BR /> <BR />There has been talk of a phone app, and we discussed that with the Minister and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in Committee. Any phone app that is going to be used in testing and tracing must work on both sides of the border. If it does not work on both sides of the border, it is not going to cut the mustard. It is as simple as that.”
“These amendments to the regulations allow outdoor, drive-in cinemas, concerts and theatre productions. As has been mentioned, they came into effect on 21 March. Since then, there has been easing of a large number of other restrictions. Of course, that is to be welcomed. Everybody is glad to see, I am sure, the opening up of society and people being able to meet family members again and socialise to a certain extent. That is a good thing. However, the battle against COVID-19 has not been won — not by a long shot. <BR /> <BR />There are a number of things that we need to focus on as there is more and more easement of the restrictions. First, we need to get our heads around the idea of the island of Ireland as a single entity in the fight against the virus.”
“I preface my remarks by saying that anything I say today is related to the regulations as they are being amended. I want that to be clear. Secondly — I have said it at every debate of this sort for the past four times, I think, that we have spoken — in normal circumstances there is no way that I would support the regulations, but we are still in a crisis and an emergency, and it is important that we are aware of that and continue to ensure that the proper message goes out to our citizens.”
“The Minister referred in his statement to experts who will assist in the rebuilding strategy. Will he identify those experts? Will he also commit not only to transparency about their identity but to the public accessibility and visibility of that advice, contrary to the approach taken by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) in London, which has been very secretive?”
“Does he not consider that he has missed an opportunity here to involve everyone in rebuilding the health service and getting back to normal?”