Mark Durkan
Foyle · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“That review involved an extensive engagement exercise with charities, regulators and funders, aimed at creating a more modern and proportionate regulatory system.”
“When the review was commenced in 2021, many organisations were still in the midst of responding to the pandemic. Since then, they have faced a succession of new and evolving challenges. The ending of European funding programmes, on which so many in our communities relied for decades, has left a significant gap.”
“<BR /> <BR />The broad principles behind the Bill are sensible. The changes will modernise charity regulation, strengthen the Charity Commission's ability to intervene where misconduct or mismanagement occurs, improve information sharing and, importantly, reduce unnecessary red tape, particularly for smaller charities with limited adminis…”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak today. Before turning to the detail of the legislation — there will not even be that much detail in the debate today at Second Stage — I pay tribute to our charity sector. Across every constituency, charities provide support that changes and saves lives every single day.”
“<BR /> <BR />Whilst the SDLP supports legislation that removes unnecessary bureaucracy, we should not kid ourselves that administrative reform alone will secure the future of charities and organisations in the voluntary and community sector.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Like other Members, I welcome the fact that we have reached this point. There seems to be consensus among Committee members and, I am sure, all Members that the introduction of these measures will save lives, which begs the question of whether the 10-year delay in introducing the measures had an opposi…”
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“It is frustrating that, since we have come back, despite my numerous questions in the Assembly and questions for written answer — I am not the only one — the response from the Executive Office has remained largely the same for the past 15 months: the report of the Strategic Investment Board (SIB) review is being considered and the way forward will be a matter for the Executive in due course. The irony of the delay in deciding even to set up an oversight body that is meant to address delays will be lost on no one. <BR /> <BR />Decade-long delays and eye-watering overspend have become accepted as the norm.”
“<BR /> <BR />It was SDLP Minister Nichola Mallon who first moved the conversation from aspiration to action in 2020 with the ministerial advisory panel, beginning the steps towards a commission that could anchor infrastructure delivery in evidence, expertise and long-term vision, rather than one that worked to election cycles. The Executive agreed to move that forward. Members may recall some fanfare around that. Of course, we had the collapse of the Assembly in 2022.”
“Other statistics in the report are astonishing, but this is about so much more than number crunching; it represents a systemic failure to change the status quo. The absence of any oversight of projects is leading to fragmented accountability and allows those in power to pass the buck. We feel that that is exactly what the amendment attempts to do. The establishment of an infrastructure commission is the vehicle by which to deliver on promises on access to housing and healthcare, decent buildings in which our children can be educated and greater alignment with climate goals.”
“Report after report from the PAC and the Audit Office have been clear: we have had systemic failure here in how major projects are procured, funded and delivered. It would appear, however, that that clarity has been lost on leadership parties. Recommendations to crack down on duplication, tackle excessive bureaucracy and improve oversight mechanisms and the overall efficiency of capital project management have gone ignored. <BR /> <BR />An infrastructure commission is not just a nice little extra; it is a necessity. Other jurisdictions have seen the merit and benefits of such a provision. Why have the Executive not done so? Do not just take my word for it. The most recent Audit Office follow-up report revealed that only one of the Executive's seven flagship projects that were announced a decade ago has been fully completed.”
“It is unforgivable and unjustifiable that, at this time of deep financial uncertainty, when many of our schools are crumbling like our roads and thousands of families are without a roof over their heads, we are told that the coffers are empty. Meanwhile, a £3 billion overspend has been squandered across major capital projects in a five-year period. Of course, we recognise the impact of recent cost increases — anyone who has had any work done anywhere knows about that — but it is not just a recent phenomenon. We have seen a decade of lack of delivery and broken promises — Casement Park, the children's hospital, an all-island rail network and the remediation of Mobuoy — and the silence from the leadership is deafening.”
“For too long, our delivery of capital projects has been broken, plagued by delay, duplication and dysfunction — arguably, a microcosm of the Executive themselves. We are left with a legacy of delays and overruns, compounded by the malaise of those who are in power and have responsibility.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I share in the lamentations of many Members about the need for food banks in our communities. Does the Member accept, however, that the mitigation package that was worked on by all parties in the Assembly at the time has sheltered many households from the worst excesses of welfare reform?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Will he give his view on increasing public transport fares, which is one of the other areas for revenue raising that has been identified?”
“Nobody can argue against, nor have I heard anyone argue against, investing in Northlands. It is not about politics but about people, community and saving lives. We need a Government who do not just talk about doing what matters most but actually do it. People deserve better. People need more. We have called on the Minister of Health to find the money to fund that life-changing and life-saving centre, and we now call on the Executive to do so.”
“Millions are frittered away on nothing while vital life-saving services such as Northlands are left to scrape around and fight for survival. Is that the mark of a functioning or fit for purpose Government whose priorities are in the right place? We hear, time and again, rhetoric about transformation and prevention, but where is the action? It is certainly not in the Programme for Government (PFG), in which, shockingly, the word "addiction" does not appear on any of the 120 pages.”
“Cutting funding does not just undermine the services and support that they provide, services that they are commissioned to provide by the Department of Health; it undermines the people who depend on them. <BR /> <BR />I speak today not only as an elected representative who has seen the value of the service to my constituents; I have felt the impact of it myself. Lives are not saved by hollow words and empty promises. The individuals who are at rock bottom with nowhere left to turn deserve leadership from the Executive. The excuse of budget pressures does not always hold up. The public's anger is entirely justified when we see how resources are wasted elsewhere. Just weeks ago, I established that, over the past three years, Executive Departments had spent over £5 million on unoccupied buildings and land.”
“There is palpable outrage across Derry and beyond at the disgraceful decision to cut core funding for the Northlands Centre. It is shameful that Executive parties and all of us stood here in February speaking passionately about the impact of the addiction crisis in the north-west, which is enveloping families and destroying communities, yet, weeks later, core funding for that addiction treatment centre was removed. Furthermore, the £1 million promised for Northlands in 'New Decade, New Approach' (NDNA) remains undelivered. <BR /> <BR />Let me be clear: this is not just about numbers on a balance sheet; it is a lifeline for individuals who are battling addiction. It is a light in the depths of the darkness that so many families have been dragged into.”
“Thank you, Minister, for that response. It is my understanding that the publication of the planning strategy as part of the local development plan is imminent. Work will then begin on a local policies plan that will look at thresholds or limits on the number of HMOs in specific areas or streets. Can you assure us that the intervening period will not create a no man's land or "no plans land" that can be exploited by developers at the expense of local neighbourhoods?”
“He leaves behind a world where the conflict continues between darkness and light and all of us, whatever our faith — if we have any faith at all — should strive to carry on his torch of tenderness and compassion. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.”
“In Ireland, especially but, as we have seen and heard today, by no means exclusively among the Catholic community in the North, Pope Francis was a source of spiritual strength and guidance. His 2018 visit to our shores rekindled hope, healing and dialogue, a message that we all still definitely need to hear and to give. <BR /> <BR />Go ndéana Dia trócaire ar a anam uasal.”
“Pope Francis was a man of remarkable humility, compassion and courage. From the moment that the white smoke emerged and he stepped out on to the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, he captured the hearts of millions, not with grandeur but with simplicity. He was a pontiff of the people who walked among the poor, spoke for the marginalised and never shied away from challenging injustice, even within his own Church. He reminded us that faith is not just something that we practise in prayer but something that we must live out in action in how we treat the vulnerable, the neighbour, the stranger and, indeed, the earth itself. His encyclical "Laudato Si'" will stand as a lasting legacy in the fight for climate justice, urging us all to care for our common home. <BR /> <BR />He was fearless in his calls for peace in Palestine.”
“We on the Opposition Benches will vote for the Child Support Enforcement Bill to pass today. <BR /> <BR />The Bill retains parity with the rest of the UK, which passed its Bill in July 2023. We have previously made and, I am sure, will again make a principled argument against parity because we recognise the invidious position that that often puts the Minister and the Executive in when cuts come from London. However, on this occasion, parity is bringing legislation that will actually benefit the people here, and we welcome that. The non-payment of child maintenance disproportionately affects women, and the payment of child maintenance is also an important alleviating factor in tackling child poverty. All in all, this is positive legislation. We welcome it and give it our support.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I agree entirely with her outlook on the timescale and the backdating, if you like, of the certificates. She referred to the fact that, in England, there is no limit. She will, I am sure, be aware that, at the outset, there was a limit. However, they soon saw the error of their ways, if you like. It is the same in Wales, where, I believe, they sought to remove that limit. Does she agree that it would be best not to put a limit in to begin with?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. The Minister has given his view that that is a sensible way forward from the Infrastructure Minister, and I do not disagree, but is he aware of any other arm's-length bodies that have incurred similar overspends such that Departments have taken similar action in employing a forensic accountant to look at those? What can and should we be doing to improve the oversight and budgetary discipline of ALBs?”
“— on so many parents and children and creating an uneven playing field?”
“We all desire the flourishing of our young people; however, you will not see many, if any, reports that say much that is good about putting children under such pressure at such a young age. Previous Ministers essentially privatised the process. Will the Minister acknowledge the role that private tuition now plays, to the extent that it has become a de facto part of it, putting so much pressure —”
“<BR /> <BR />We welcome the Second Stage of this important legislation and look forward to playing a constructive role as it passes through the Assembly.”
“Under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, if a same-sex couple conceive a child through IVF in Northern Ireland, both mothers are automatically registered as parents. If, however, the IVF treatment is administered abroad, which is common, as many fertility clinics often have an international sister clinic, both parents are unable to be registered on the birth certificate. Given that obvious gap in the legislation, I am interested to hear the Minister's opinion on whether he feels that that falls within the remit of the Bill. If so, does it not make sense to fix that anomaly now, rather than having to return to the matter in follow-up legislation? The SDLP is more than happy to work with the Minister on a friendly amendment to include that among the reforms set out in the Bill or even to support a departmental amendment.”
“Most of us can only imagine how painful and upsetting it must be for a woman to suffer a stillbirth. In that scenario, it is only natural and human that her partner may want to take as much burden off her shoulders as she can while she physically and emotionally recovers. We understand and accept that with heterosexual couples, married or not. To deny that to same-sex couples is senseless and heartless. <BR /> <BR />That is not, however, the only area of the registration process in which lesbian couples continue to face barriers and discrimination. On 17 September last year, my office reached out to the then Minister of Finance to raise an issue about the registration of same-sex couples who have had a child through IVF.”
“The fact that there is no provision, as there is for heterosexual couples, for the same-sex partner of a pregnant woman to register the birth of a child is just absurd. It is a relic from a darker time when the Government felt it appropriate to value one form of love or relationship over another and consider only a rigid, exclusive definition of "family". Not to allow the same-sex partner of a new mother to register a birth is to deny them their status as a parent. To say that because there is perhaps no biological connection between the child and them is to say that the woman who will feed, clothe and sit and do homework with that child is not a mother and not an equal partner in raising that child. What is more sinister and, frankly, cruel is that a unmarried same-sex partner cannot register a stillbirth.”
“For example, steps that we took during the pandemic included allowing people to give details of a death or stillbirth over the phone or digitally rather than attend in person; providing the option to share the relevant documents technologically by allowing electronic signatures for death certificates; and enabling medical professionals to transfer death or stillbirth forms. All proved not only to be common sense but to make the entire process of the registration of deaths and stillbirths more expedient and a wee bit less distressing for the families involved. <BR /> <BR />I am pleased that the Bill removes the restrictions on the right of a lesbian couple to the same rights as a heterosexual couple when registering a birth, stillbirth or baby loss.”
“While much of that work, painful as it may be, is needed, it is a simple point of compassion to ease the burden if and when we can. <BR /> <BR />The pandemic was a brutal test for Governments, businesses and families around the world. In the midst of the shutdowns, innovative solutions had to be found to manage almost every aspect of our lives from shopping to working to socialising with friends and family. I am sure that I am not alone in being relieved that those dark and challenging times are done. It would, however, be remiss of us not to learn from elements of those solutions and ask whether they improved matters, and the Bill is one such example.”
“Following their sad passing, people may have a week to clean out a loved one's home, after which they have to value the estate and enter into a legal process around a will. That is before they even begin to look after themselves and their family, review their own needs and see what bereavement support they and others might need to access. If the deceased had next of kin or dependants, they may need to decide what support they need or see what changes they need to make to their taxes and benefits. In extreme cases, they may need to review their own immigration status. It is an overwhelming labyrinth of forms and bureaucracy that can often feel callous, given everything else that the bereaved and their family are going through.”
“Once the Department begins receiving that fee money, it will inevitably play a role in its internal budgeting processes. Making the scheme free from the beginning will prevent that. <BR /> <BR />I turn now to the remaining reforms, which are common sense. Despite our differences in and around the Chamber, I am sure that we have all had a bereavement in our family. We all know the pain and grief of losing someone and the way in which lives get turned upside down and families get thrown apart. One element that does not always get spoken about, however, is that it is also a hectic and busy time. From the moment that someone dies, at a time when people are emotionally distraught, they need to begin the process of registering the death, organising and planning a funeral, paying for it and notifying relevant Departments.”
“Neither England nor Scotland has felt the need to request any fee to access the service, and, if they can deliver that in a financially sustainable way, I see no reason why we cannot. <BR /> <BR />In the Budget sustainability plan, we have recently seen that even the smallest charge can be tied into a Department's budget. We saw hospital car parking charges and charges for Ordnance Survey maps tied into Departments' financial plans. Having a fee for baby loss certificates creates the option, no matter how repugnant I and, I am sure, everyone here would find it, for baby loss certificate fees to be seen in the future as a source of revenue. Beginning the scheme with a fee will make it much more difficult to remove it later.”
“Does he intend that access to a baby loss certificate will be free, as is the case across the UK, or is it the Department's intention to issue a fee in order for someone to access the scheme? If it is the latter, that would be a mistake. I understand the financial pressure that the Executive and every Department are under, and I am confident that any Minister's sole intention in attaching a fee would be to cover the projected costs of running such a sensitive scheme. However, while I do not and never would doubt the Minister's good intentions, any step to charge a fee for issuing a baby loss certificate risks being perceived as callous and may even compound grief.”
“That, I hope, will help further to destigmatise baby loss; show those who are going through a miscarriage that they are not alone; encourage them to tell their loved ones what happened and get the emotional support that they need; and facilitate us, as a society, to have a wider conversation about baby loss and rethink our attitudes towards it. <BR /> <BR />While we wholeheartedly support the Bill and the intention behind it, one or two matters warrant further exploration at Consideration Stage. In particular, if we look at clause 11(3)(e), we see that it empowers the Department of Finance to set fees for baby loss certificates. I would be grateful if the Minister could set out his intentions on that more clearly.”
“Baby loss is like the grief that dare not speak its name. The Bill will not solve that — no legislation can. However, it is our sincere hope that the Bill, by creating the option of a baby loss certificate, will allow those going through a miscarriage to have some way to mark their pain; to acknowledge the loss that they have suffered; and to maybe have some degree of closure and catharsis. It is also our hope that the creation of the baby loss certificate scheme will encourage more couples to share their experience of miscarriage. The mere existence of the scheme will allow us to gather more data on the scale of the problem.”
“As a society, we do not encourage people to talk about it or share our guilt. How many of us were told to keep a pregnancy secret for the first trimester just in case something went wrong and that, in that case, it would be better if no one knew? I understand that instinct entirely, but I know that it means that women are made to feel as though it is something to keep secret and to be ashamed of. It is often not until years later that women and men feel comfortable sharing their experience, and others never share it at all.”
“However, if you were to ask people across our country, "Do you know a woman who has had a miscarriage?", a significant number of people will say, "No", and fewer still might be able to say that they know a man who has lost a baby in that way.”
“It is an unusual kind of grief to have that future — that life that you could have had — taken from you, to mourn not just what you have lost but everything that you were meant to have and to know that the baby that you were so excited to hold in your arms will be out of your reach forever. <BR /> <BR />What makes it worse is that that is a pain that women and their partners must often face alone. We have no way of knowing how many pregnancies end in miscarriage each year, but the most common estimate that we hear and use is that as many as one in four pregnancies could end in a miscarriage. That means that it is a sorrow that a huge section of society has endured and does endure.”
“Will they have my smile? Will they have my hair?”
“The mere recognition of the loss of the life that they never got to share will mean the world to the many grieving parents whom I have spoken to. <BR /> <BR />I will speak to the provisions in the Bill surrounding baby loss certificates, and then proceed to some of the issues relating to the improvement to death and stillbirth registration. Those of us who have had a child will know that, from the moment that you get the first positive test or see the first sonogram, your entire future changes. It is a frightening and exciting frenzy as parents immediately begin to start thinking about their baby, try to decide names and think about cribs, nappies and onesies. Will it be a boy? Will it be a girl? What will its first words be? What school might they attend? What great things might they accomplish? Will they have my eyes?”
“On behalf of the SDLP, I support the Bill on an issue about which I am passionate, and on which I have been persistent. We thank the Minister for bringing forward the Bill. I also give recognition to the former Minister of Finance who laid much of the groundwork for it. <BR /> <BR />Reform of the processes through which we manage the issuing of death certificates is long overdue. It is an issue that was communicated to the Assembly by affected families a long time ago, and it is an issue in which there has been broad consensus across the Assembly. I believe that we will see that here again today. It is fair to say that there has been a hugely positive public response to the news that this important piece of work, which will mean so much to so many, will be legislated on.”
“Why did the Minister neglect to mention the £15·7 million DFI easement, which was raised by the Chair of the Committee, but present the reallocation of £7·7 million of that money back to DFI as a new capital allocation? The Minister laments the lack of an alternative Budget, but it is fair to say that we are seeing plenty of alternative facts.”
“I thank the Member for the answer. I commend our cleaning staff for the fantastic job that they do, usually with a smile despite the threat that this poses to them. Is the Member aware of any other areas in Parliament Buildings where automation is being explored?”
“Many people are not fit to work because they have languished for years on healthcare waiting lists, often descending into dependence on painkillers or into depression. Will the long-awaited and long-overdue anti-poverty strategy — I know that it went to the Executive for approval yesterday — shield our most vulnerable from further onslaughts? We will not hold our breath. <BR /> <BR />People are afraid. People are anxious. They deserve a system that enables, not one that punishes. Let us not wait until more lives are pushed to the brink. We must act now to build a compassionate system for those who need it most.”
“<BR /> <BR />Our amendment urges the Minister for Communities to work with the Minister of Finance to develop, at pace, a mitigation package that will protect current and future claimants. Yes, it is vague. We do not know how much that might cost. We do not know how much you might have — maybe you can tell us. However, let us see the options. Give us a decision to make. Stripping welfare from our most vulnerable will not help those with long-term illnesses and disabilities to return to work; it will make it even more difficult — impossible in many cases — for them to do so. <BR /> <BR />All Departments and all Ministers have a role to play. What are we doing to tackle economic inactivity?”
“It will result in people losing their jobs and being forced on to welfare support. <BR /> <BR />The Executive's habit of pointing the finger of blame at the British Government is well justified in this particular issue. The bad Budgets that we have seen and heard from Westminster seem to keep coming. However, pointing the finger also belies the Executive's culpability. I remind Members that welfare is a devolved matter. The situation has been made worse by repeated political collapse, chronic underfunding of the block grant from Westminster and, also, a failure by us — by this place — to transform and improve public services. Time and time again, those who need help the most have been left in limbo, abandoned due to political inaction and dysfunction: that cannot continue.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. Ms Mulholland demonstrated very well that the savings that will be realised in practice will not match those that are proposed on paper. On the other hand, the costs to people that loss of the benefit will bring about will far outweigh the financial amount saved. For those people, the costs will not just be difficult — they will be devastating. They will not just be devastating for those directly impacted on; there will be a wider economic impact. Small businesses, which are already struggling to survive as they face an increased outlay in National Insurance contributions — they will rightly ask, "Where are those going?" — and through the minimum wage increase, will now be hit by the fact of people having less money to spend. It is a double whammy. The ends cannot meet.”
“I think of one constituent who dedicated years of her life to caring for the elderly only to find herself unable to work any longer due to crippling arthritis and neurological problems that leave her bed-bound; or a gentleman who suffers serious mental health struggles, after a lifetime of trauma that no one should be forced to endure, who is no longer able to manage day-to-day life; or the parents who provide full-time care for their disabled child and are no longer able to work.”
“<BR /> <BR />We all have a duty to dispel the toxic trope of the benefit scrounger. Any system is open to abuse, but we have a system that abuses people. Distilling the situation to such a cynical and, frankly, misleading argument does a disservice to the harsh reality; it serves as a smokescreen, concealing the war on welfare or, more accurately, the war on the poor. It begs these questions: where are the radical reforms on tax evasion to ensure that the super-rich pay their fair share? How can the Labour Party justify spending billions on defence while bombarding the defenceless? <BR /> <BR />Instead of focusing outrage on a small minority who exploit the system, we should remember the real people behind the statistics: those already struggling to get by.”
“Meanwhile, welfare cuts will have — already are having — a disproportionate impact on people in the North. Due in no small part to the legacy of our past, we have higher rates of disability than any other region, the widest employment gap for disabled people and the fastest-growing child poverty level. We also have the highest number of low-income households that rely on benefits for over half their income; that tells us everything that we need to know. Those families do not rely on the system by choice but because they have no other option. When support is cut, where do they turn? How can people, especially those without the capacity to work, bridge the growing gap between support and spiralling housing costs? More people will be plunged further into poverty, adding to our homelessness and our hopelessness.”
“<BR /> <BR />I welcome the tabling of the motion and, in particular, the fact that it was tabled by those in Alliance, who now appear to fully recognise the harm that welfare reform has inflicted, is inflicting and will continue to inflict on people here. Ms Mulholland's speech excellently outlined its impact. I hope that, in acknowledging past mistakes, Executive parties will take steps to address the suffering caused by those callous policies. The parties that now vociferously express opposition to welfare cuts — we welcome that — were responsible for embedding them in our system. <BR /> <BR />It is worth remembering that we are still waiting for the delivery of promised welfare mitigations, from the removal of the five-week wait for universal credit to the end of the cruel two-child policy.”