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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“I do not know what efforts the Minister has made to engage with the mobile infrastructure industry or, to be fair, what efforts the industry has made to engage with the Minister. I am sure that he will inform us. On the other hand, we have a Sinn Féin amendment that looks to give credit to another Minister and his barrier busting task force. I have not seen much, or any, evidence that the work done by that group is actually busting barriers or that mobile coverage has improved; in fact, I would argue that it is the opposite. From personal experience and anecdotal evidence, there appears to be an increase in the number of not spots. <BR /> <BR />I want to focus on how we resolve the practical issues and how the lack of coverage impacts on people daily, rather than play the political blame game.”
“I am a bit unsure about the motion, which levels unfounded, in my view, criticism at a Minister. I remain unsure about what efforts the Minister has made —”
“to TEO and even said that TEO officials would welcome the opportunity to apologise for and address that with the Hume family. It appears that the First Minister has no issue with the rewriting of history.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. It is about Executive Office Question Time. Is it in order for a Minister to wash their hands of or to try to remove their Department's fingerprints from a project that would not or could not have proceeded without that Department's support? It is bizarre that the First Minister told us earlier that the Peacemakers Museum had nothing to do with the Executive Office given that the former permanent secretary of that Department had previously conceded that TEO:”
“Can the Minister provide an update on the publication of the Magee task force's report?”
“Does the First Minister agree that the use of John Hume's name and image to promote a project despite his wife, Pat, and the Hume family expressing their opposition to it was and is wrong? What lessons have been learned by the Executive Office over the matter?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Is work under way to avoid a repeat next year of the situation, which has caused huge stress — trauma, even — for some of the most vulnerable members of our society? Those children do not just fall out of the sky in May or August. Year after year, the problem becomes even more pronounced.”
“Would you rather travel for two hours or wait for two years for healthcare? That is the question that we need to ask. Clearly, a more strategic, all-island healthcare model would benefit everyone, ensuring quicker access to vital treatment and better health outcomes across the board. The success of the ROI reimbursement scheme is testament to the need to drive cross-border solutions. I would very much welcome the return of that scheme as an interim solution to assist with the agonising wait for elective surgery. <BR /> <BR />People want an Executive that will do what matters most, not one that just says that they will. That means transparency on moneys that are invested and budget cuts that are applied and a workable framework that offers a ladder for our health service to climb out of the dark depths to which it has been consigned.”
“While I appreciate that some of the cuts have been reversed, the underlying issue remains. Newer, actually transformative and cost-saving services that truly make a difference are being sacrificed due to an apparent last-in, first-out approach. Enshrined services and the "way we do things" policy are being retained amid budget pressures. If I may be a wee bit parochial, the Western Trust is valiantly served by super health workers who are awfully served by the current capitation formula, which must also be reviewed before it becomes a formula for capitulation. <BR /> <BR />The current system is perverse. We have patients crossing the border in busloads from the South for procedures in the North such as cataract surgeries, while patients here cannot access the same treatment in a timely manner.”
“People want transformation that will mean that they can access treatment sooner. We support the motion and will do all that we can to ensure that transformation is funded. We need to invest to save. On publication, the Bengoa report, like 'Transforming Your Care' years before it, was heralded as a road map to better healthcare. At the time, I warned that a road map to a better destination is great but not much good if you do not have the money to put petrol in the tank. It is important that we get the money to fund actual transformation. <BR /> <BR />The Darwinian approach to transformation and health needs to be challenged. Recent cuts such as those to phlebotomy and vasectomy services — procedures that GPs delivered at a snip of the price — demonstrate a worrying trend.”
“Not only has the draft PFG not offered solutions, but Executive parties could not even get the detail right, with the Health Minister subsequently forced to clarify that the purported £76 million investment to address waiting lists this year was, in fact, old money to address critical categories and will not make a dent in the current waiting lists. It was more smoke and mirrors. Accountability is glaringly absent. The constant reference to budget pressures attempts to gloss over negligence and the lack of duty of care of previous and current leadership parties. <BR /> <BR />The need for transformation is more obvious than ever. One sometimes gets the sense that Bengoa is being used as a fig leaf for every collapse and closure across the health service, but it cannot be used like that.”
“We also support the motion and the amendment. <BR /> <BR />Years of inaction, underinvestment and political paralysis have pushed our health service into a state of emergency. For five of the past seven years, we have been without a functioning Government, unable to drive or fund the transformation that our health system so desperately needs. Instead of facing that truth, those in power attempt to obscure the harsh realities and shift the blame solely onto Westminster. <BR /> <BR />We waited for some time with bated breath for a Programme for Government (PFG). We knew that it would not fix the crisis in health, but we hoped that it would at least provide a costed framework with measurable and specific targets.”
“I thank the Minister. We support the progress of all the projects. As many have stated, the thing has been shambolic. I want to address a point made by another Member who said that there was no hierarchy of need. Actually, there is: the deficits that the city deals were set up to address exist nowhere more acutely than in the north-west, so we are glad to get Derry back on track. <BR /> <BR />Minister, given the pressures on Executive budgets, how safe is the Executive's commitment of £717 million across the four proposed city deals? Will it remain ring-fenced until the UK Government press "Play" again?”
“The problems with our water and waste water systems are manifold and multifaceted. They are harmful to the environment, they are, potentially — I am grateful to hear on this occasion that they are not — harmful to health and detrimental to development. Subsequent to Mr Tennyson's question about the Minister's proposed legislation on developer contributions, I will say that developers make contributions at times along with planning applications. Does the Minister see this as an extra layer or an extra opportunity to extract more money out of developers in order to update the antiquated system?”
“I welcome the work that has been done over the weekend to get the deal back on track. I know that my party colleague Colum Eastwood was especially active on that over the weekend. The Minister told us in her statement that she became aware of the proposed pause in funding on Wednesday. She and the First Minister raised it with the Treasury on Thursday. Did the Treasury indicate at any stage or in any way how or when it intended to make its decision and position public?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. It seems that the Minister, once again, is the last to know. Just before Question Time, we heard in the Finance Minister's statement that her officials learned on Wednesday that the British Government were to pause their funding commitments. Does he not think it odd that, as Minister responsible for the Casement Park project, he was not informed of their decision until more than 48 hours later?”
“I will follow up Ms Armstrong's question and the Minister's answer encouraging the Housing Executive to target with its affordable warmth scheme pensioners impacted by the loss of the payment. Will the Minister outline how he expects the Housing Executive to do that when the budget for the affordable warmth scheme has been cut by 53%?”
“I thank the First Minister for her statement. I also put on record my sympathy to the families of the ladies lost to violence and my solidarity with those who suffer the scourge of violence day and night. <BR /> <BR />We have heard that prevention, education and early intervention are crucial. Effective punishment also plays a part, but does the strategy say anything about the role that the rehabilitation of offenders might play in reducing the risk to women across our society?”
“— does the Minister agree that there should be a specific commitment in the Programme for Government to get the issue funded and sorted out once and for all?”
“Given the eye-watering projected cost of clean-up, the current cross-cutting impasse over the completion of the A6 and the potentially catastrophic consequences for the environment and human health should the Mobuoy situation remain unresolved —”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for his statement. It is appropriate that he has come to the House to make an oral statement on this issue. We share the Minister's opposition to and anger at a decision of the UK Government that will plunge thousands of pensioners further into poverty. <BR /> <BR />We in the SDLP recognise the constraints of parity, but parity does not mean "parrotry". Will the Minister tell us what, if any, alternatives have been explored and whether his Department will look at implementing income threshold criteria rather than basing eligibility solely on benefit entitlement?”
“The Department of Health can do more, the Executive should do more, but we all, as elected representatives, have a duty to do what we can to promote awareness of the issue, to challenge stigma and to work together to promote good mental health and well-being.”
“<BR /> <BR />I commend the courage of so many suffering families who channel their grief into helping others to navigate the minefield of loss through suicide. I mention in particular the family of young Jack Edgar, who was lost to suicide in December 2022. Today, his father, Tony, and other family and friends will finish the last leg of a huge run from Derry to the Aviva stadium in Dublin, where Ireland play Greece tonight, to raise awareness and help shatter the stigma of suicide. Their courage and commitment to that cause is not just a fitting tribute to their beautiful son: it will help to promote awareness, provoke conversations and even save lives. <BR /> <BR />I commend the work of so many of our charities, and I implore this place, as an Assembly, and the Executive to do more. We can all do more.”
“I also stand to mark World Suicide Prevention Day and to express solidarity with all the families and communities scarred by the scourge of suicide. It has been 13 years — it is hard to believe that it has been that long — since the suicide of my beautiful sister Gay. My family still bears the scars — I will never forget the kindness that you showed me at that time, Mr Speaker — and those scars never heal. So many families — too many families — have similar stories and share similar pain. They, like us, still lie awake at night, torturing themselves trying to answer questions that they will never be able to answer. It is not something that you ever get over; it is just something that you go through.”
“It is not that we do not think that she has questions to answer. In fairness to the Minister, she has answered some of them already, and I am sure that she will answer more as the debate proceeds. However, we are not going to use the issue to score political points. It is far too important for that. This is something that we should be united on, not divided on. Our focus should be on getting more resources, growing police numbers and working together with the Executive, the UK Government, the PSNI and the Policing Board to do so. We need to make good and go beyond the pledges in 'New Decade, New Approach' and the promise of Patten in terms not only of police numbers but of the representativeness and effectiveness of the Police Service. There is a lot of work for us to get on with. Let us get on with it.”
“His decision to go straight to the Prime Minister was, I assume, borne out of frustration and sheer desperation. Who better to outline the stark realities of the state of policing and the stark danger of not giving the PSNI not just the funding that it wants but the funding that it needs to protect life and property, preserve law and order and prevent the commission of offences? He should be supported, not silenced. As our amendment states, we disagree with the rebuke that he received, including its tone and timing. While the letter bore the signature of a senior civil servant, it is hard not to suspect that, despite the Minister's very recent assurances, it had the fingerprints of maybe more than one Minister on it. <BR /> <BR />Our amendment removes the call on the Justice Minister to apologise.”
“I thank the Member for that intervention. I think that the Justice Minister addressed or attempted to address some of those issues and will do so again later in today's debate, but I understand where he is coming from. <BR /> <BR />We understand and support the efforts of the Executive to extract further and fairer budget settlements from Whitehall. The holes in our Budget, be they for policing, health, education or housing, did not appear overnight. We will not be found wanting in pushing the UK Government to fill those holes, which they have been leaving us with for years. However, the Chief Constable obviously felt that the case that he and his predecessor had been making to the Executive for policing was either not being listened to or not landing.”
“While the bleak budgetary landscape of the PSNI is often proffered as an explanation, it sometimes feels to people like more of an excuse. It allows those with alternative, sometimes less-than-honourable, motives to portray the police as uncaring and for them to try to assume the mantle of protectors of the community themselves. It is not just good people and victims of crime who will notice a reduced police presence and a reduced capacity to respond to calls; the bad guys will too. We cannot leave communities vulnerable and people prey to the coercive control of criminal organisations. Therefore, it is not just obvious but essential that we come together and work together to support every effort and initiative to attract extra funding from whomever or wherever we might get it.”
“The hangover from historical issues — the legacy of some negative actions by the RUC during the conflict — has not been shaken off, and there are criminal paramilitary organisations that are only too happy to exploit that. It is made much easier for them to do that if and when the police are not able to respond to ordinary everyday calls about burglaries, antisocial behaviour and road traffic collisions.”
“Response times to calls are getting slower, and investigations have to be prioritised against one another and are taking longer. That undermines not just the efforts of good police officers but the community's confidence in policing. In some areas, that confidence has been hard won. In other areas, including my constituency, there is still a long way to go to build confidence in the new beginning to policing, and that will be 100 times harder if we end up with a Police Service that can barely perform its basic functions because of budgetary shortfalls. In some areas, there remains antipathy and downright opposition to policing, despite the progress that has been made.”
“Our Police Service has had to request assistance, through mutual aid, to restore and maintain order on our streets and to protect people and property. Our thoughts are with the officers injured during the disorder, and we wish them swift and full recoveries. Our thoughts are also with their colleagues, who are under-resourced, overstretched and at constant risk of attack, injury or even worse, as they do their job every day and night to protect and serve the community. <BR /> <BR />It is not only in the highly trained public order crews that we do not have as many officers as we need; successive deficit Budgets have ensured that that is the case across the Police Service. We see cuts to neighbourhood policing, making areas feel less safe, and cuts to traffic policing, making our roads less safe.”
“I welcome the opportunity for the Assembly to discuss and debate the hugely important issue of policing resources. I declare an interest as a member of the Policing Board. <BR /> <BR />Recent events have laid bare and made worse the dire budgetary situation in which the PSNI finds itself. For years, we have read the reports and heard the warnings, although some of us may have chosen not to hear them. Now, however, everyone sees and feels the effects and impact of sustained underinvestment in policing. Whether for the policing of racially motivated rioting in Belfast or of recreational rioting masquerading as republicanism in Derry, reinforcements from elsewhere on these islands have been required.”
“Have any lessons been learned in Urban Villages from the Peacemakers Museum fiasco in Derry, where the Executive Office has admitted failures in due diligence, allowing that project to use and abuse the name and image of John Hume against the express wishes of the Hume family?”
“I welcome the publication of the document and look forward to the consultation. While the draft document may be a bit light on detail, it identifies most of our biggest problems and demonstrates an ambition to improve in those areas. <BR /> <BR />On the environment, primacy seems to have been given to Lough Neagh, which I understand. Can I ask and push for the inclusion of a remediation programme for the Mobuoy illegal dump to be at the heart of the programme as well? It is a major issue not just for our environment but for the economic development of the north-west.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Chéad Aire agus leis an leas-Chéad Aire as a ráitis ar an Chlár Rialtais nua.”
“Investment will save the public purse in the long run by preventing crises and reducing the demand on overstretched public services. More importantly, it will save lives. A good Government would never leave MAN behind.”
“Few organisations address such a wide array of interconnected issues: mental health support; educational opportunities; breaking down barriers in the legal system; and, perhaps most crucially, working with male victims of domestic violence — so often an overlooked issue. MAN was the critical juncture in establishing a male refuge, plans for which have now had to be put on hold. The failure to fund an organisation like that sends a strong wrong message to men who are suffering. Let me assure them: there is still help out there, and no one has to suffer in silence. <BR /> <BR />MAN's work spans several Departments, and thus ensuring that the group is funded should be the responsibility of the Executive as a whole.”
“Many struggle in silence, burdened by societal expectations of masculinity that discourage vulnerability, but that stigma is slowly eroding thanks to such groups as MAN, which provide a safe space, address isolation and give community support. I am sure that I speak for everyone here when I say that navigating the past few extremely difficult years would have been impossible without our voluntary and community sector. The sector has always stepped in when traditional statutory services have been overstretched, all the while working within extremely challenging budget positions of their own. <BR /> <BR />MAN is unique in its intersectional approach.”
“I call for urgent and sustained funding for the Men's Action Network (MAN), an organisation that has made an enormous impact on the lives of men in my constituency. The group has been life-changing for many and life-saving for some who felt that they had nowhere else to turn. Males accounted for 77% of suicides registered in 2022. That figure was even higher in areas of deprivation and among young men aged between 20 and 24. It is, therefore, ludicrous that such a key support network in Derry has been stripped of funding, with Ministers stating that there is nothing they can do in light of Departments' precarious funding positions and refusing to meet the group and hear from service users. <BR /> <BR />Men face significant mental health challenges.”
“If the proof is in the pudding, the Budget will leave us with a bad taste in our mouths. Much worse than that, it will, sadly, result in many going hungry.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. I do not believe that one Department has been singled out in the Budget for swingeing cuts, and I am sorry if it came across that way. That has not always been the case. In the past, Departments, including Health when the Minister was from the Member's party, were deliberately targeted by other parties. That was not because of the Department but because of who was at the head of it. We have seen that happen again and again with Departments that are headed up by Ministers from smaller parties in the Executive. We should all be vigilant about that in the months and, hopefully, years ahead. <BR /> <BR />The Budget does not tackle the core issues that I have given a flavour of. Let us not be fooled by empty promises and half measures.”
“The derating grant has received immunity to departmental budget cuts, and the same protections should be afforded to the rates support grant. <BR /> <BR />The mental health crisis in Northern Ireland is not adequately addressed in the Budget. Despite increased awareness — thanks, in large part, to the stellar efforts of the fantastic community and voluntary sector — and increased demand for mental health services, the allocated funds are insufficient to expand and improve those critical services. The promises of parity of esteem have not been actioned or are not evident in the Budget unless the plan is to underfund Health in its totality so that all services become as bad as the worst.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. I listened avidly to his contribution, which was not exactly replete with solutions. I have also read his party manifesto, which is also quite lacking in such solutions . <BR /> <BR />The failure to protect the rates support grant has led to a 75% reduction in that budget since 2008. That disproportionately affects less affluent council areas, including my home council area and the council areas of many Members, particularly in the west, which consistently rank highest in the number of households experiencing rates arrears. Once again, I am disappointed but not surprised to see no mention of a rates support grant in the Budget, but I implore the Minister to work with the Communities Minister to seek protections in statute for that lifeline for less well-off councils.”
“That is yet another glaring example of where the Budget falls short, the latest in a long line of Budgets to do so.”
“With rising living costs and increasing inequality, I hoped to see investment in more comprehensive and targeted interventions to support low-income families, the elderly and those with disabilities. What is notable — I come back to the 'L' word — is the apparently lackadaisical approach to child poverty and the absence of the promised secondary welfare mitigations package to tackle the five-week wait for universal credit, the benefit cap and the draconian two-child policy. <BR /> <BR />Ms Bunting spoke of the PSNI's bleak budgetary situation, which could see police numbers here shrink to the lowest levels in the service's history. Those cuts would not be acceptable or tolerated anywhere else. Given the sensitive historical and current political and policing situation here, it is even more important to have a sufficient police workforce.”
“The dire lack of investment from the Budget in that area was notable and is still extremely concerning. I place on record our gratitude for the campaigning efforts of housing organisations. They provided the detail on what that investment neglect would mean for this year's social housing development programme. The Executive owe it to every individual waiting in desperation for a place to call home to detail how many new social homes will be built this year and whether targets can be met. <BR /> <BR />It is of deep concern that social welfare seems to have been overlooked. The Budget does not adequately address the needs of the most vulnerable populations in the North.”
“The public has been forced to foot the Bill through mounting fare increases due to the Executive's persistent failure to invest in that key area. Both Translink and Northern Ireland Water have had to plunder their legally required reserves, now dangerously depleted, to keep the show on the road: paying salaries and providing services. In the latest monitoring round, bids from both organisations to plug those gaps were, sadly, unsuccessful. <BR /> <BR />I turn briefly to housing. It is of deep concern that B&B and hotel non-standard accommodation, once deemed a last resort, has become the norm. I have spoken in the Chamber of the huge cost financially, yes, but, even more significantly, socially of that practice. We welcome yesterday's allocation of £20 million for the building of new social housing.”
“Northern Ireland Water needs £1·9 billion to upgrade its infrastructure. The Committee was told in no uncertain terms that, without adequate investment, the development of 19,000 new homes was at risk. We could see widespread flooding, significant pollution in coastal waters and watercourses, a risk to public health and the likelihood that hospitals, schools and businesses could, if their waste water cannot be treated, have to close. Our rivers are being filled with raw sewage. In the face of such a bleak picture and a bad smell, it is difficult to comprehend a £137 million allocation for this year. <BR /> <BR />The reform and sustainability of our public transport network are merely a pipe dream.”
“That top-down approach may lead to a misallocation of resources and fail to address the pressing needs at the grassroots level or, literally, on the streets.”
“It threatens the delivery of basic front-line services and safety on our fast-eroding — crumbling — road network. For example, without even dwelling on the Swiss cheese road network around Creggan in my constituency, it is difficult to spot a street in that area that has a road marking intact. We are talking about a very busy community with thousands of homes and with businesses and schools, but the basic ask of line repainting cannot be accommodated.”