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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“Therefore, it stands to reason that, if and when we build more, even more will come. The motion calls on the Minister to get his Department working on how that will be built and how the building of it will be paid for. There remains, however, blatant discrimination in timetabling, with fewer trains and less frequent services than elsewhere. Derry and Fermanagh — the west — deserve accessible rail provision, hourly Sunday services and stops at City of Derry Airport, Ballykelly and Strathfoyle. <BR /> <BR />Minister Mallon expanded on the New Decade, New Approach commitment to have high-speed, cross-border connectivity including the north-west, but, bizarrely, the draft report that came forward excluded the Derry to Portadown line from the 200 kph rail speeds, condemning the route to the lowest rail speed on the island.”
“In recent years, we have seen incremental improvements, including an hourly service and the delivery of the award-winning north-west transport hub. Those modest but transformational changes have all but eliminated any doubt that the naysayers cast about the viability of the line. Since the hourly Belfast service was introduced in 2017, we have witnessed, year-on-year, record-breaking passenger numbers for Derry rail. That is the living embodiment of the phrase:”
“<BR /> <BR />My colleague the late John Dallat spoke, I remember, in great detail and at great length many times in the Chamber on the virtues of rail. Many Members thought that he was harking back to the past when it is evident now that he was looking back to the future — where he was going, "we don't need roads".”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. I am not sure of the logic behind it. He will clearly see, if he looks at the map that I am holding, the north-west, and Fermanagh is clearly in the north-west and the west of the map. <BR /> <BR />That gap would have become a complete abyss had the then Department for Regional Development (DRD) and Translink had their way over a decade ago when they signalled that it was to be the end of the line for the Derry line. However, thanks to the monumental efforts of the lobby group Into the West, the wider Derry public, politicians in the SDLP and others, including Mr Elliott's past colleague Minister Danny Kennedy, the real potential of that Derry to Belfast line was recognised. Now we want it realised.”
“<BR /> <BR />We have consistently extolled the many virtues of all-island rail. While there have been some gains, the failure to grasp the full, huge potential that an expanded rail network would yield has stifled the island as a whole but particularly the north-west. A quick glance at the map shows the blatant disparity in rail provision between east and west. That gap on the map is an indelible mark on the collective consciousness and suggests that the north-west is a place shut off, isolated and unsuitable for prospective visitors and investors. The stark gap is a microcosm of the wider gaps that the west faces.”
“I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue and recommit to the SDLP's long-term vision to deliver an all-island rail network that not only is fit for modern society but abolishes historical regional disparities. Enhancing connectivity between communities will instigate the modal shift that is needed to reach climate goals and will deliver fairness in economic growth for historically neglected regions. <BR /> <BR />In the Government, the SDLP led the way in securing the all-island strategic rail review, alongside the Irish Government. That €30 billion plan to connect communities across borders, decarbonise public transport and deliver new opportunities set out the scale of our ambition. In opposition, we will hold the Executive to account over whether they do or do not hold up their end and deliver on that ambition.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does the Member agree that flexibility, or agility, should be built into the system and into settings to respond to the ever-growing demand and need? I am thinking of Ardnashee School and College in my constituency, which has received an extremely welcome but very long-awaited new build. It is so long awaited that, by the time that it is ready for occupation, the school population will have outgrown it by almost a third.”
“Has the Minister had or does he intend to have any practical discussions with Executive colleagues on how households can be supported to become more energy-efficient and how the transition to net zero can be made more affordable for ordinary people?”
“<BR /> <BR />The focus on active travel and inclusion of a cycle path alongside the bypass is of particular note, and it will prove vital in tackling the climate emergency by encouraging people to leave their car at home and opt for a greener means of travel where possible and practical. <BR /> <BR />I look forward to seeing the project progress at pace, and I hope that the stop-start approach to it that we have seen for so long has been put behind us once and for all.”
“<BR /> <BR />The community in Enniskillen and wider Fermanagh has been deprived of the modern, sustainable and suitable road infrastructure that is integral to driving regional balance and future prosperity. By improving the connection between the A4 Dublin Road and the A4 Sligo Road, the Enniskillen bypass is the first building block of the many required to enhance travel links in that rural and, in parts, socially isolated county. The SDLP will ensure that focus remains on providing a long-term plan for the infrastructural future of Fermanagh and on ensuring that it does not miss out on the once in a lifetime opportunity afforded by the all-island strategic rail plans. I have tabled a motion for debate on that in the near future.”
“I welcome the agreement to release the funding, which will enable works to proceed and prevent increased associated costs should works be delayed any longer. <BR /> <BR />The most recent Stormont stalemate — I cannot get through any speech without mentioning it — also denied us progress on the Enniskillen bypass, not to mention so many other flagship projects, leaving us at the mercy of the Tory Government. The anger in the community, which my DUP colleague has expressed, over the decision to reallocate the previous multimillion-pound funding commitment to account for the overspend in the 2022-23 Budget is still palpable. I hope that news that the project has now been steered back on course will help to alleviate that frustration.”
“<BR /> <BR />Recognising the transformational opportunity that the Enniskillen southern bypass offered, my former colleague, the former Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon, demonstrated her determination to deliver fairness for Fermanagh. In 2021, she announced her intention to proceed with the project, allocating £2 million to kick-start it and advance site works. She made it clear, however, that the progression of the project would depend on future funding. That funding did not materialise. The caretaker Minister, whoever that was, was not able to provide it, but, fortunately, the Minister whom we have now has been able to source it, so credit where it is due. He said that it remained a priority and has demonstrated that it was and is. I am sure that any Minister would rather cut ribbons on roads than cut spending on them.”
“I thank Deborah Erskine for securing this Adjournment debate. My constituency is a bit further from Fermanagh than that of most of the other contributors, but I echo the sentiments that they have expressed and welcome the Finance Minister's eleventh-hour announcement last night of £16·2 million of capital funding to secure this vital transport link for Enniskillen and Fermanagh. The provision will help to reduce pollution and congestion, revitalise the town centre, enhance journey times and improve safety for all road users. For too long, Fermanagh has been very much the forgotten county — well, one of the forgotten counties — for transport infrastructure. The project has been in the pipeline for decades due to the lack not so much of available funding but, in our view, of political will, which failed to launch it.”
“I thank the Minister for his answers and congratulate him on his new post. <BR /> <BR />The Minister has outlined his intention to make the housing allocation scheme faster and fairer. Obviously, one sure-fire way to do that is to increase the supply of homes. Can the Minister outline how many homes he intends to deliver over the remainder of the mandate?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I am the bearer of good news. The Member might not have seen his emails because he was busy preparing his speech, but a written ministerial statement has come in from the Finance Minister this evening about releasing funding for the A4.”
“I thank the Minister for his answers and congratulate him on his elevation to his new position. Given that this is not just a huge environmental crime but a huge economic one, is he minded to pursue a public inquiry? Given that his counterpart in DFI is citing the situation at Mobuoy as an impediment to the completion of the A6 and, therefore, the economic development of the north-west, will he pledge to work with DFI to resolve the situation as swiftly as possible?”
“People across the North and beyond were understandably disturbed that those WhatsApp messages had been wiped. Does the First Minister regret the deletion of those messages, and will she undertake to change guidance for the Civil Service so that something like that cannot happen again?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Chéad Aire as an fhreagra sin.”
“We welcome and look forward to the transition to a greener and more sustainable economy, but will that include a legislative ban on fracking and petroleum exploration and extraction?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a ráitis, agus déanaim comhghairdeas leis faoina phost nua.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. He mentioned the Planning Appeals Commission, but his party's motion does not. Does he agree that any appraisal of the planning system should also encompass the PAC, which falls under DOJ?”
“<BR /> <BR />We acknowledge that the motion refers to the need to maintain and support thriving rural communities. I refer to a PAN brought forward by the previous Minister, Nichola Mallon, who was my colleague. I say to the Member that the PAN, which was panned, did not introduce anything new but just reminded us all what —”
“The Executive agreed to that in the last mandate, and TEO was to take it forward, so I encourage the Minister and the Committee to take that up with that Department. TEO also has responsibility for SIB, so the fact that the motion calls on the Infrastructure Minister to review that board suggests that the motion itself is a wee bit disjointed. <BR /> <BR />There is mention of the process enabling Programme for Government (PFG) outcomes to be attained. We need an updated Programme for Government for a start, and the Climate Change Act 2022 will be central to that. Renewable energy projects will need to be prioritised, but that is not to say that they all have to be approved. Those applications cannot drag on for years and years causing anxiety for objectors as well as uncertainty for investors.”
“It is often about the drip-drip exchange or the bat and ball of information between them and applicants, and I wonder whether an appraisal might point to the implementation of a checklist for applications so that they will not be accepted until they have all the ducks in a row. That will save officer time and applicant time and will save money in the long run. The introduction of the pre-application discussion (PAD) process was meant to do that, but, evidently, it is not working as envisaged. <BR /> <BR />The motion uses the term "disjointed and ineffective" to describe the approach to major projects. We have seen many projects delayed and delayed due to that, and that is why the SDLP brought forward a proposal for an infrastructure commission to oversee such projects.”
“<BR /> <BR />I value an appraisal of the planning system, but it has to go beyond the planners themselves. We need to look at statutory consultees, many of which, be they in DFI itself in development control or Roads, or be they in the NIEA or DFC's historic environment division, seem to struggle to get responses to applications in in a timely fashion. There needs to be more accountability here, and perhaps a thorough and meaningful appraisal will assist in getting more support to those services in their respective Departments. Maybe it is time to explore mandatory consultation response times again, and that is something that, I am sure, I will revisit with the Minister. <BR /> <BR />The fault for delays does not always lie with the statutory agencies.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention, I think. <BR /> <BR />Mr Stewart also referred to inconsistencies across councils, and different councils face different challenges. As the Minister who oversaw the transfer of the planning function from central government to councils, it is something in which I have a keen interest and about which I share concerns. At the time of the transfer, it was adequately resourced, but different things have cropped up in different council areas. There is a particular challenge in border areas. There is always the temptation for gamekeepers to be persuaded to turn poacher all across the area by a more lucrative private sector. That is why our planners need to be properly recognised and supported and why planning needs to be adequately resourced.”
“It is fair to say that we all are or, at least, should be aware of the value of good planning; the need for planning to shape and create spaces for us to live and work in and to enjoy; the role of good planning in facilitating economic development while ensuring environmental protection; and the challenges that that can and does inevitably create for planners across our councils and in the Department. More often than not, it is the planners who bear the brunt of unhappy applicants, unhappy objectors and, even occasionally, unhappy politicians. <BR /> <BR />The system as it is is not just letting down people but letting down the planners. They are overstretched, under-resourced and under immense pressure. That is not to say that they do not get it wrong occasionally. I will not go so far as to say that.”
“I join others in congratulating those who have made their maiden speech today. It is surreal to hear maiden speeches from colleagues from whom we heard so much over the air waves in the couple of years that this place was mothballed. <BR /> <BR />It is clear that our planning system is not working anywhere near to where it should be, and that has been outlined by all contributors today. I therefore understand the motivation behind the motion, but the motion — Mr Stewart referred to it more colourfully than I can — is maybe a wee bit muddled.”
“I thank my colleague for giving way. As a father of four, three of whom are young children, I am well aware of the cost of childcare, but I am also acutely aware of the value of good childcare. Over the years, we have been blessed with the best. Does the Member agree that the support that is needed in the short term and in the strategy must also work for our priceless registered childminders, who are often unacceptably forgotten?”
“I welcome the statement and any additional investment in our crumbling network. A constituent remarked to me just last week that we used to drive on the left of the road, and now we drive on what's left of the road. Can the Minister estimate how many holes will be filled by the £1 million? Does he agree that the cumulative negative impact of not having an Executive has been particularly harsh on our roads, given the perennial reliance of his Department on monitoring rounds to boost the road maintenance budget?”
“Comhghairdeas leis an Aire as a phost nua, agus guím ádh mór air fosta.”
“I congratulate the Minister on his appointment. We are talking about a lot of projects of different scales, all huge and all important. The Minister rightly mentioned not just the education of our children but their health. Will the Minister prioritise projects that ensure that our schools are warm, dry and safe for our young people?”
“— and for the welfare of our people, do the right thing. End this chaos and allow us to get on with the work that people put us here to do.”
“Those are not my words; they are Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's. That begs this question: what is different now? The one and only thing that is different now is that things are even worse. The last thing that people need is another election that will cost millions and change nothing. I implore those across the Chamber: for the future of public services —”
“When Sinn Féin brought the institutions down for three years in 2017, the DUP representatives told us then, and they have repeated it during the last session and again today, how futile, costly and irresponsible that was.”
“That is why I do this job. I know that many Members across the Chamber are hearing similar or the same problems, and, presumably, they once shared our desire to make things better. Is that not why we all got into politics in the first place? <BR /> <BR />I ask the DUP this: how does it feel to wilfully make things worse and to make life harder not only for the poor, for children, for the vulnerable, for nationalists, for others and for those who do not share its vision of a Brexit that it vociferously campaigned for and a protocol that it now rails and rallies against, but for everyone, whose life it is making more difficult? I do not know how those in that party sleep at night. <BR /> <BR />The hypocrisy of the DUP is a bitter pill to swallow.”
“<BR /> <BR />That said, I in no way want to undermine the work that is ongoing in constituency offices, which are busier now than ever. The demands on office staff and across the advice sector at this time are evidence of the huge need that is out there, and they highlight just how desperate people are. Every day, we hear that things have never been so bad. That sentiment is echoed across every sector, from healthcare to housing and from education to the economy. <BR /> <BR />Services and their workforces are stretched beyond their limits, with an elasticity that is waning and a spirit that is set to snap. Ultimately, my job, and the job of all of us, is to change policy and legislate in order to reduce the numbers of constituents who are seeking our help to create a fair and effective society that works for everyone.”
“I thank the Member for the intervention. There are many Ministers who have refused, in my opinion, to take the action that they were able to take, even in the absence of an Executive, that would ameliorate the suffering that people here are going through. <BR /> <BR />When the unprecedented challenges of the last few years unfolded on our shores, there was a collective will across society to step up to the plate. How would our shared home place have coped if the likes of our heroic health force, our teachers, our postal workers, the housing sector and so many more public servants refused to do their job and brought our society to a standstill? The difference is that, if and when those beleaguered, shamefully undervalued workers are not paid, they will have no alternative but to strike. The DUP does have an alternative.”
“People are anxious and angry, and justifiably so. That anxiety and anger are palpable in every parent who is struggling to feed their children, in every patient who is waiting for care and in every family member who is worrying about how they will keep a roof over their family's head. The impact on the well-being of our people is starkly evident. We have a much-needed mental health strategy that is largely unfunded. Our communities are still reeling from the pandemic and have been hit by a cost-of-living crisis while caretaker Ministers have, largely, sat on their hands and done barely the minimum — that I am convinced of. <BR /> <BR />When the unprecedented challenges of the last few years unfolded on our shores —.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak and not only represent the SDLP's views, but, more importantly, relay the pleas of, and recount the desperation that faces, so many of my constituents in Derry and households right across the North. It is shameful that, at a time of such acute need, we have been prevented from doing our jobs, effecting positive change for people and sheltering people from the worst that this winter will bring. It is an indelible stain on even the DUP's dubious record that, when people need an Executive more than ever, that party's siege of Stormont continues and is starving people. <BR /> <BR />It is frustrating that, as Members, we stand here regurgitating — yes — similar pleas demanding an end to yet another painful purgatory that achieves nothing but, if ended, could change a lot.”
“I have raised a mortgage rescue scheme with the Minister on a few occasions over the past couple of years, and she has commissioned research on that. I hope that she will be able to provide an update on it, because it will need to be pushed in the next mandate to protect people from poverty and homelessness and the trauma that they bring.”
“I thank the Minister for introducing the Bill, and I echo the thanks to departmental officials and Committee staff, as always. As the Chair said, the Bill was, perhaps, quite straightforward when compared with some of the other legislation that we dealt with. It was not controversial or particularly complex. Nonetheless, it was an important piece of work. I put on record our party's view that mortgage interest support should never have been changed from a benefit to a loan, as it was in 2017 or 2018 in the absence of an Executive. Clearly, that was not the Minister's fault. <BR /> <BR />I ask the Minister, when she winds up, to touch on a matter related to the Bill. As we are all too aware, we are engulfed by a cost-of-living crisis. Pain is being experienced by so many households and so many homeowners.”
“No family here has been left untouched by the impact of COVID. People suffered the tragic passing of loved ones in harrowing circumstances and were unable to grieve for them properly. The public and our key workers put people first and showed what real leadership looked like. How have they been repaid? <BR /> <BR />As fuel and food costs soar and every household is battered by the rising cost of living, it is utterly shameful that we do not have an Executive to make vital interventions. The public deserve stable government. We have days left. We should use every minute of those remaining days to try to help people.”
“Northern Ireland was set at a disadvantage long before March 2020, when we were told to batten down the hatches and manage as best we could in the face of a global pandemic. We now have a cost-of-living crisis. People were left completely unequipped and sent into battle already wounded. <BR /> <BR />The mandate was marred not just by political failure but by personal loss. The SDLP lost giants of the peace process, with the deaths of John and Pat Hume, Séamus Mallon and our beloved colleague John Dallat. Other parties also suffered the loss of friends and colleagues, with the deaths of Martin McGuinness, Gordon Dunne and, tragically and most recently, Christopher Stalford. <BR /> <BR />Loss has been a constant bedfellow over the past two years, and a palpable sense of collective grief has emerged.”
“Imagine what could have been achieved had Members been provided with the opportunity to put their nose to the grindstone in 2017. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland was not delivered a plan for NI under the DUP, nor was it given better by Sinn Féin. Instead, people got the same old stop-start, pantomime politics. Three years were lost. For three years, the two biggest parties sat in their corners and allowed the North and our public services to descend into despair. <BR /> <BR />Things are worse now than when the mandate began, and the COVID pandemic cannot be used as a scapegoat. Look at our waiting lists for health and housing. How can we pat ourselves on the back for a job well done when the situation has become significantly worse?”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on what has been a mandate like no other. <BR /> <BR />Where to begin? People have been delivered a mandate that I can describe only as a failure to launch, which was bookended by the collapse of a DUP/Sinn Féin-led Executive. We had a mandate that was supposed to last for five years, but we sat for less than half of that. To put it bluntly, the period has been a missed opportunity and one that disintegrated from chaotic into outright chaos. <BR /> <BR />Nevertheless, quite a bit has been crammed into the two years of a working Executive that we were afforded. In the past few months in particular, we have witnessed a flurry of activity that brought forward positive and progressive legislation. As welcome as that was, much of it, sadly, was too little, too late.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer and, even more, for her actions. The Minister referred to private Member's legislation that I am working on. I am awaiting the green light or white smoke from the Speaker's Office's legal team on whether it will be a goer. Should it be, will the Minister assure me of her support?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I was going to say only a few words on the regulations before us. The Minister and the Chair ably outlined the technical nature of the regulations. Mr Deputy Speaker, you then stole my thunder with your tribute to the Chair of the Committee for Communities, Paula Bradley. Paula was elected at the same time as me, and we were thrust onto the old Social Development and Health Committees at the same time. Eleven years on, I am on a Committee that she has chaired so well, dealing with extremely important, emotive issues. I have always been struck by Paula's sense of social justice and her passion for putting people first. Now, she is putting the people closest to her first, and I wish her well with that; they are lucky to have her.”
“I thank the Minister for the statement, which contains a lot of good news for a lot of schools. I am particularly pleased to see schools from my constituency — St Brigid's College and Lumen Christi College — on the approved list. I am a bit disappointed, however, not to see St Joseph's Boys' School on the list. I have been in touch with the Minister about that and appreciate that her time has been short. Will she outline what steps a school that is not on the list must take or what hoops it must jump through to get on the list for improvements and vital investment, particularly with regard to their antiquated sports facilities?”
“— is at risk. Will the Minister outline how much resource is required and tell us where we are at with securing that?”