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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“<BR /> <BR />In moving the motion today, I believe that it is important that DVA is fit for purpose as it moves forward in coming years in providing a professional, affordable and responsive service to all its customers in the North, who deserve nothing less. I am in no doubt that, by making this change to its trading fund, we will provide the means for that goal to be achieved. I commend the motion to the Assembly and ask that it affirm the order.”
“<BR /> <BR />In moving the remaining DVA activities into the trading fund, there are a number of key advantages worth highlighting: it allows DVA to adopt a more business-like funding arrangement; it gives more financial flexibility to manage peaks and troughs in fee income; it allows the accumulation of reserves for investment in future developments, reducing the need for departmental funding; it enables a greater focus on projecting funding requirements to help management in the delivery of demand-led services; and will see a single set of combined annual accounts reporting the results for a single agency. <BR /> <BR />It is also important to note that my Department has not identified any disadvantages for DVA or its customers in making the change to the current trading fund.”
“It also supports the work to address the historical legacies from the merger of DVTA and DVLNI and for the agency to operate as a single cohesive entity making best use of all its available resources. <BR /> <BR />Given the changes to Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments about to take place, the DVA functions as defined in the schedule to the new trading fund order will allow sufficient flexibility to provide for any additional agency functions falling to the new Department for Infrastructure to be considered for inclusion in the trading fund.”
“It was, therefore, agreed that the situation should be reviewed in due course, and, today, the Assembly is presented with the outworking of a review process undertaken by my officials as recommended by internal audit. <BR /> <BR />On balance, it concluded that the whole of DVA should be considered as within the scope of the trading fund, as it is believed that that change has considerable benefits to DVA from both a strategic and operational perspective. In addition, by expanding the range of functions in the order, it will considerably simplify accounting and operational procedures and bring the business focus that a trading fund is designed to engender to all DVA activities.”
“In 2007, DVTA merged with DVLNI to form the Driver and Vehicle Agency. My Department confirmed at that time that it was not legally necessary to change the scope of the trading fund to include all of DVA, and there was agreement with the Department of Finance and Personnel that DVA would operate as a part-trading fund agency. In effect, there was no change as to how DVA operated with testing functions in the trading fund and licensing functions outwith the fund. However, it was recognised that there would be practical difficulties to be overcome as regards the ring-fencing of trading fund activity and the accounting arrangements.”
“The order before you today will rename the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA) Trading Fund as the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) Trading Fund and will extend the current funded operations to cover all the remaining functions of the agency. That will bring within the scope of the trading fund driver licensing, taxi and bus licensing and regulation and compliance and enforcement of the transport industry. The order is made under powers contained in the Financial Provisions (Northern Ireland) Order 1993. I will briefly set out the background to the order. <BR /> <BR />A vehicle testing trading fund has been in place since 1 April 1996. It is the only trading fund in Northern Ireland and covers, as set out in the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency Trading Fund Order, all the previous DVTA functions.”
“The best way to protect and improve the environment is through everyone being actively involved. I remain totally committed to working in partnership with local stakeholders and, during my time as Minister, I have worked hard to develop initiatives to encourage partnership working. I think that I have been more of a fisher of men than a fisherman. I have very much enjoyed meeting a wide range of stakeholders, hearing their views and ensuring that we capture the enthusiasm and drive that exists in the voluntary and government sectors to make a difference and to improve this very important resource that we should never take for granted.”
“The standard scale and statutory maximum levels of fines set out in legislation perhaps should be considered further during the next mandate. <BR /> <BR />Mr McElduff raised a couple of specific questions regarding the River Strule. He was quite right; I do not have the detail to hand. However, I can furnish him with the details required in the coming days. His echoing of the concerns of residents around the River Owenkillew is something that I have heard before. I can assure the Member and, indeed, the concerned residents that any potential impact of any potential development in that area on the pearl mussels will be taken into consideration. <BR /> <BR />Every one of us needs to take responsibility for our water environment and the quality of our rivers.”
“That is the responsibility of the judiciary, and rightly so. However, I make the observation that dealing with polluters rigorously in court would greatly assist my officials when they are trying to encourage industry to put measures in place to prevent pollution. To me, that is much more positive and effective than having to take individuals to court, which does not actually result in any environmental improvement. Court should be seen as the ultimate deterrent, and I would be happy to see a reduction in cases going to court because the better financial choice for businesses is to invest in pollution prevention rather than risk a very high fine in court, along with the associated bad publicity and potential clean-up costs.”
“I am delighted by the level of engagement that has been shown by stakeholders in the development of the protocol and, indeed, their willingness to get involved in assisting us to investigate such incidents. I believe that there is the potential to go further, and I know that my officials will continue to build constructive and positive relationships with stakeholders. At the end of the day, we all have a common interest in improving water quality, and, by working together collaboratively, we can put our efforts into preventing and catching those who pollute our waters. <BR /> <BR />Effective enforcement is an important tool in tackling pollution. I am aware that there was a lot of discussion regarding the levels of fines at the Committee's stakeholder event, and Members have mentioned that today. The levels of fines are imposed by courts.”
“<BR /> <BR />Before I finish, I need to touch on responding to incidents of water pollution and, indeed, enforcement action. I understand that the Committee's interest was prompted by a number of high-profile fish kills that occurred during 2015 and the years before that. These incidents impacted on the Enler river, the Ballymartin river, Three Mile Water and the Glenavy river. Following my discussions with anglers and stakeholders, I asked my officials to draft a fish kill protocol. My idea was to have a document setting out how we would communicate better with stakeholders as well as setting a standard methodology for the investigation of such incidents.”
“All those measures and initiatives are dependent on funding. An economic assessment has been undertaken. Some of that funding will be sourced from Europe through INTERREG and the rural development programme contributions, and most of the remaining costs will be funded primarily through Northern Ireland Water's infrastructure improvement programme. The remaining costs relating to measures for ongoing and new departmental activities will have to be taken forward and funded by the implementing Departments. However, we are all acutely aware that securing funding is difficult in the current financial climate and, furthermore, delivering the targets of the water framework directive has become even more challenging given reduced staffing levels and the need to deal with ongoing reactive workloads.”
“All of those have been developed to protect waterbodies and to help deliver good status. Full implementation of the second-cycle river basin management plans could see up to 70% of our waterbodies at that good status by 2021.”
“<BR /> <BR />Other projects involve working with anglers and other water users through Riverfly partnerships, a community-led initiative to monitor river stretches to identify pollution. Those involved are trained in simple river-monitoring techniques using aquatic invertebrates, which can be checked on a regular basis. Any significant changes can be quickly identified and investigated. Groups are active on the Enler, Lagan, Sixmilewater, Faughan, Derg and Roe rivers. <BR /> <BR />Other measures in the second-cycle river basin management plans include the extension of a number of key programmes from the first cycle, including a revised nitrates action programme, ongoing investment in water infrastructure, and a new environmental farming scheme under the rural development programme.”
“A joint workshop on 5 November last year initiated discussions with the farming sector on how to reduce phosphorus inputs to the environment from animal feed. <BR /> <BR />My Department works closely with stakeholders and local groups at catchment level to identify and tackle sources of pollution. Examples of successful partnership-working include the Water Catchment Partnership (WCP) project on the River Derg. Northern Ireland Water, DARD, the Ulster Farmers' Union and the NIEA have worked together to promote and raises awareness of best practice when using pesticides in gardens or on farms in catchments supplying drinking water. That has been achieved through events and through farm and home visits. The project is ongoing.”
“Those standards are set to ensure that there is no deterioration in the receiving waterway. The NIEA applies a robust regulatory approach to ensure that the requirements of consents and permits are met. If the non-compliance is minor, we will concentrate on fixing the problem to prevent further impacts to the waterbody. In more serious cases, however, the NIEA will move to gather the evidence, which can lead, and has led, to prosecution. <BR /> <BR />Diffuse agricultural pollution remains the most significant pressure affecting our waterbodies, leading to failures of good status across the North. Although levels of phosphorus have declined significantly in the last 20 to 30 years, the rate of change has now reduced, and may be reversing. DOE and DARD are already working closely to address nutrient levels.”
“The aim is to develop a multi-agency data map so that common issues and activities can be coordinated to address a range of problems affecting water quality, habitat and flow regimes. <BR /> <BR />As part of the development of the river basin management plans, the main pressures in failing waterbodies have been identified. For Northern Ireland, around 68% of failures are due to diffuse agricultural pollution, with the remainder due to point source discharges from waste water treatment works, industry, sewerage networks, urban run-off and other non-sewered discharges. <BR /> <BR />NIEA regulates point sources under the Water Order 1999 and the Pollution Prevention and Control (Industrial Emissions) Regulations 2013, setting conditions and standards within consents and permits that take account of the risk to the receiving water.”
“In some cases, signs of improvement are delayed owing to the natural recovery times of aquatic animals and plants. In others, it may be factors outside the catchment. For example, in cases in which fish populations are poor but all other water quality and biology assessments are good, further investigations have already been initiated with fisheries bodies in DCAL, Loughs Agency and DARD. <BR /> <BR />An example of that is in the Moyola catchment, where an inter-agency catchment project has been set up by the NIEA, Rivers Agency, DCAL and DARD's countryside management branch to investigate common issues in the catchment related to fisheries, the WFD and flood-risk management.”
“That situation occurs in nearly 20% of our waterbodies overall. Therefore, 56% of waterbodies are either at good status or require improvements in only one element to reach good status.”
“The second cycle management plans were published in December past. <BR /> <BR />We have made progress in recent years. The Northern Ireland figures for the status of our waterbodies show that 37% currently meet good ecological status as required under the directive. That is considerably better than in England, comparable to Wales, but still well behind Scotland, which rates at 65%. The real extent of our progress, however, is somewhat masked due to the "one out all out" rule for classification of waterbodies as required by the directive, which is particularly stringent. Each waterbody can fail for not meeting the standard in just one of up to 40 elements. For individual elements in Northern Ireland, over 80% are now achieving good status out of almost 5,000 assessments. In many cases, it is only one element that leads to failure.”
“In Northern Ireland, each river basin management plan includes a programme of measures, including a range of coordinated actions to be implemented by contributing Departments and public agencies here. However, we cannot expect dramatic improvements in surface and groundwater quality overnight. <BR /> <BR />The WFD recognises that early and sustained action and stable long-term planning is needed due to the natural time lags involved in making water quality and ecological improvements. I know that such time lags can be frustrating for stakeholders and the public, but, particularly after a pollution event, it takes time for ecosystems to recover and any such recovery is often a long-term process. In December 2009, my Department published the first river basin management plans as required by the WFD.”
“Mr Maginness, who was described as both young and a city slicker today, quite rightly pointed out that the biggest driver for improvement of the aquatic environment was the introduction of the water framework directive (WFD), which was adopted in 2000 by all member states of the EU and was established in law here in 2003. That legislation introduced a new legislative imperative together with new mechanisms for the protection and improvement of all aspects of the water environment, including rivers, lakes, groundwaters, estuaries, coastal waters and loughs. <BR /> <BR />The water framework directive has a very clear link to rivers and river water quality. The directive requires plans to be put in place to cover a six-year period and for those to be updated every six years.”
“First of all, I would like to thank Anna Lo and her colleagues on the Environment Committee for the work that they have done in relation to water quality and examining the topic of river pollution. I also acknowledge the success — a few Members have alluded to it — of the stakeholder event that was held at Oxford Island last month. By all accounts — and by all accounts again today — it was a very positive and productive day, and I am delighted to be able to respond to a number of issues that were raised at that event. <BR /> <BR />Our water environment is of key importance to us all. Our economy, our health and our enjoyment of the environment depends on the way that we maintain our rivers, lakes, groundwaters and coastal waters.”
“I had a recent meeting with the chief executives of all the councils, who, as the Member will be aware, now have responsibility for the vast majority of planning applications, and I have asked them to seek their own legal advice on the issue. I believe that it is an anomaly and that we can iron it out.”
“Thank you, Mr Irwin. I can assure the Member that I am not just fobbing him off. I can announce today that I am tasking officials in my Department with taking forward a formal review to consider options for extending the existing fee exemption to churches and to look more closely at the issues involved. That follows a number of representations, a number of which were from the Member, on the current fee exemption for applications for planning permission for not-for-profit clubs etc. <BR /> <BR />I have sought legal advice on the matter previously, and the advice of the Departmental Solicitor's Office has been that, as it is, churches are not included. That is not my reading of it.”
“It can only benefit the community as a whole and has proved successful to date. However, there is an anomaly, in that the Churches have not been included to date, and I will strive to correct that between now and the end of my tenure.”
“I thank Mr Irwin for that question. Quite rightly, he identifies that, under current planning fees regulation, a fee is not payable for a number of types of application for planning permission. The exemptions that he referred to are available for clubs, societies and other organisations where the club, society or organisation is not established or conducted for profit; where the application relates to the provision of community facilities, including sports grounds and playing fields; and where the planning authority is satisfied that the development is to be carried out on land that is, or is intended to be, occupied by the club, society or other organisation and to be used wholly for the carrying out of its objectives. I think that my waiving planning fees for those types of organisations and that type of activity was a good move.”
“Ná habair é. I thank the Member for that question. I agree entirely with his assessment of the virtues and value of the project. Had the trust not been able to convince me of same, we would not have got to this stage. The product there has to be seen to be believed. What it has done there is truly amazing, and I wish it every success when it takes ownership of that land. It is vital, though, that we do not just give it the asset and cut it loose, if I may put it like that. It has submitted an application for our new natural environment fund. It is important that we look at ways that we can support the trust to maintain the property in the way that it has to date.”
“<BR /> <BR />A delay in finalising the economic appraisal, however, means that it has been difficult to ensure completion to date, but, as I said, I am confident that we can do so before the end of the financial year. I have been supportive of Colin Glen forest park and the trust, as was my predecessor, Alex Attwood, and I assure the Member that I will be as supportive as I can.”
“I thank the Member for that question. The transfer of ownership to which the Member refers has been taken forward through community asset transfer. I am sure that all of us will have heard of that, but very few of us have experience of it because this is the first such transfer under the process. We are breaking exciting new ground, but it requires an economic appraisal to be approved by DFP. The economic appraisal considering options for the ongoing tenure and management of the two parks has been finalised, so it can be forwarded to DFP, whose approval is required for the disposal of the land at nil cost to Colin Glen Trust. My Department is also in the process of drawing up the legal contract for the transfer, and that will be issued once DFP approval has been received. I am very hopeful that that will be by the end of this month.”
“I thank the Member for that question. Work is ongoing. As I said, negotiations are ongoing between officials on both sides of the border. He might recall a statement or press release last year from my counterpart, the Republic's Environment Minister, on the fact that the waste, particularly fuel-laundered waste, that was polluting watercourses in the South and having to be cleared from the side of the roads was emanating from the North, and the Assembly should have to foot the bill for clearing it. I resisted that quite strongly. However, I think that there has to be increased and enhanced collaboration on both sides of the border, not just on who picks up the bill for what but on eradicating waste crime altogether.”
“The scourge of illegal landfill has blighted the North — not just the North — for quite some time. I would like to think that the steps that have been taken during my time as Minister have reduced the likelihood of such incidents occurring again or certainly not occurring on the same scale.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I am somewhat taken aback that he had an opportunity to ask me a question about fish kills in the Glenavy river and has not done so. <BR /> <BR />I take it that the Member is referring to the repatriation of waste from the 19 sites that have been identified across the North where waste from the South had been discovered to have been dumped illegally. It is my understanding that some 11 of those sites have now been cleared. A further three sites have been identified for clearance next year, and work is ongoing between my Department and its counterpart in the South not only to identify the sites that should be cleared but to identify where the waste should go from the cleared sites. <BR /> <BR />As far as I am aware, no new sites have been identified. I hope that there are no new sites.”
“However, what we have done — my officials have been very proactive — is to work with the residents of the thatched cottage and bring in other Departments, including DSD — the Minister of which is the Member's party colleague — to get the Housing Executive on board to ensure that something can be done to help those people.”
“Unfortunately, they did not do so at that time. They did not do so at any time between 2008 and 2015, when they finally made an application. <BR /> <BR />As I said, Members will be aware of the tough budgetary situation that my Department faces and the lack of money for such projects. I said that I had ring-fenced £500,000, which I managed to get out of the carrier bag levy. Regrettably, while this was able to benefit some projects, legislation dictates that any money that is generated through the carrier bag levy can be spent only on projects that have community benefit. Unfortunately, that house does not match those criteria.”
“I thank Mr Robinson for that question. I did indeed visit the constituents of the Member at Seacoast Road, Magilligan. I saw at first hand the conditions in which they live. The Member states that the Department "refused" to help those constituents of his. However, our records will show that, as far back as 2008, those pensioners — I am not sure whether they were pensioners then — were encouraged to apply for a listed building grant.”
“The hotel's official opening was on Friday in a historic building within the city. The Speaker will be well aware of it. By revitalising what was a derelict but listed building, we have drawn in spend and investment from a charitable trust and, as a result, opened a new hotel, brought new life into the city centre and created 60-something jobs. <BR /> <BR />The Member will be aware of the tough budget cuts that my Department faced this year. All Departments faced cuts, but none faced any as great as mine. I was very restricted in what I could spend in built heritage. However, through the carrier bag levy money, I was able to ring-fence half a million pounds to spend on built heritage projects, which I have done. I have ring-fenced a similar amount of money to go over to the new Department for Communities for built heritage projects.”
“I thank the Member for that question. While I do not have that exact detail to hand this afternoon, I can say that, over the past few years, be it under Alex Attwood, my immediate predecessor and party colleague, or me, there has been record expenditure by the Department on the protection and promotion of our built heritage. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP, as a party — I know it is not us exclusively — recognises the value of our built heritage not just for its intrinsic heritage value but for its value to our economy. For every £1 invested in our built heritage, a further £7 spend can be generated. A fine example of that exists in my constituency, where on Friday, I, along with the deputy First Minister — sadly, the Member's party colleague the Minister for Social Development could not attend — visited a new hotel.”
“I encouraged the council to give careful consideration to the matter.”
“<BR /> <BR />The legal position is that my Department has no jurisdiction over the permitted development notification as that is a matter for the relevant council, which, in this case, is Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. Therefore, in September 2015 I wrote to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council advising it that, following the transfer of planning functions to local government, the subject permitted development notification was now a matter for the council. I advised that the only means of potentially removing permitted development rights at that stage was for the council to carry out a further EIA screening exercise on the notification, taking into account whatever further information it considered appropriate. That course of action would likely require consultation with other bodies.”
“My officials carried out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) determination under the Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2012 based on the information provided at that time. It concluded that the proposed development did not need to be accompanied by an environmental statement. My Department wrote to InfraStrata on 19 December 2013 confirming that, based on the information submitted, the proposed borehole was permitted development and that, therefore, planning permission would not be required. If the company finds oil or gas and wants to extract it, it will need to apply for full planning permission from the council.”
“My Department received a permitted development notification from InfraStrata plc on 28 August 2013 detailing their intentions to carry out an exploratory borehole at Woodburn forest, Carrickfergus, to understand the subsurface geology and identify areas for potential oil and gas deposits.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Mo bhuíochas leis an Chomhalta as an cheist. This is something that Mr Ó Muilleoir has previously raised with me. I am naturally disappointed that the issue has not come to a conclusion during my time as Minister. I have a couple of weeks left, but it might be a wee bit hopeful or optimistic to think that we will get it sorted by then. However, it is something that will come to a conclusion. As I said, I am confident that it will not take as long as the last one, which took over two years, and I am supportive of a solution that ensures protections for the residents but does not overly inhibit the ability of the airport to expand and develop.”
“It would not even be the sole responsibility of the Minister of the Environment; it would be more of a DRD matter.”
“I thank Mr Allen for those questions. In terms of a time frame, a modified agreement is a legal document that would have to be drafted extremely carefully, with significant input from legal advisers, as I am sure the Member appreciates. It is difficult, therefore, to determine how long it will take to get one. However, it is worth pointing out that the last modified agreement was signed over two years after the report of the independent examination in 2008. I am hopeful — in fact, I am confident — that the process can, should and would be concluded much faster than that. Famous last words. <BR /> <BR />On the need for, or benefits of, an independent airport regulator, I can certainly see the merits in such a proposal. We discussed it previously at Question Time, and it will be for a future Minister to deal with.”
“It is for my Department and the airport to reach agreement on any modifications, taking the independent recommendations of the public inquiry into account.”
“I must emphasise that I am not reopening the inquiry or asking for the submission of new evidence, and any comments or observations have to be submitted by the end of today. I am therefore limited in what I can say at this stage, and I am not in a position to comment on the merits of the PAC recommendations. I assure the Member that my officials will fully consider any further comments received and make a recommendation on the way forward. <BR /> <BR />My objective for the process remains the establishment of an effective noise management system at the airport that achieves the right balance between the socio-economic benefits of airport expansion and the need to protect the environment and quality of life for the surrounding community.”
“The process to modify the planning agreement was initiated by my predecessor in 2011. A public inquiry was held in May last year, and my Department received the report from the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) in October. It has taken some time to fully consider the report, as it contained a significant amount of commentary and a number of detailed recommendations. However, I consider that it was important to be thorough with this review. <BR /> <BR />Having reviewed the report, I decided to invite comments or observations from interested parties on the noise control contour recommended by the PAC. My Department wrote to all key stakeholders on 2 February this year, enclosing a copy of the PAC report. The report was also published on the Department's website.”
“It underlines the importance of getting out the message to all road users of their responsibility as road users to take more care on the road, to respect everyone's journey and to subscribe to getting to where we would all like to be, which is the point at which there are zero deaths on our roads.”
“I thank the Member for that question. As I outlined in my initial answer to Mr Ó hOisín, the Department focuses its programmes of education primarily on causation factors and at groups perceived to be most at risk of causing and being victims of collisions on our roads rather than focusing on specific geographical areas. I also outlined the opportunities that will exist in the new Department for Infrastructure to align road safety with the responsibility for changing and improving our road network. I am sorry to hear, again, of more fatalities on our roads. Sadly, any one of us could stand up and speak of stretches of road in our constituency where there have been fatalities on more than one occasion. That underlines the importance of road safety in general.”