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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“Thanks, Mr Deputy Speaker. In closing today's debate, I thank every Member who has contributed. The seriousness of the issue has been made clear by the tone of the debate and the compassion shown in it. It is about coming together to protect families and to provide them with dignity, a modicum of humanity and the right to grieve in peace. It is good and refreshing that parties are unanimous in their support of action and of the families. The SDLP does not own the issue; it has been brought to councils by different parties and by independents. <BR /> <BR />For me, however, the topic is deeply personal. When my sister Deirdre was killed in a car crash at just 18 years of age, our world stopped. It is a devastation that you do not overcome. You simply learn to live with the weight of that profound grief.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer, although I am surprised that he has not had time to see that important research. There are varying opinions on the impact of the Minister's move. I sincerely hope that he is right; I fear, however, that he will be proven wrong. He has now committed to working with the housing associations; he did not consult with them prior to the decision. What assurances can he give to the 40,000 households on the waiting list that the changes will not impact on them negatively?”
“If the Minister wants to assure us that his interest in the Irish language is not zilch, will he outline what steps he has taken since being in office to promote and safeguard the Irish language?”
“Without a proper review of and investment in the maintenance of our crumbling school estate, we will see more forced closures of schools and the chaos that comes with that. <BR /> <BR />To the staff of Nazareth House Primary School and St Eugene's Primary School and to all those other schools out there, I say this: thank you. We will continue to stand with you and fight for the facilities and investment that our children deserve.”
“Let me be clear: the roofs did not fall in overnight. Issues had been flagged for almost two decades. If appropriate action had been taken earlier, those crises could — would — have been avoided. Timely investment and appropriate intervention would have spared families, staff and pupils the huge inconvenience and uncertainty that they are now forced to endure. It is beyond time for the Department of Education and the Education Authority (EA) to act decisively to provide immediate and safe learning spaces and to put in place and communicate a firm, funded plan to address long-overdue repairs and rebuilds. <BR /> <BR />While the leaders of those schools ask, "What next?", others who are fighting similar, seemingly endless battles for funding to address similar structural issues will be asking, "Where next?".”
“They have adapted at speed, reassured pupils and continued to deliver high-quality learning under immense pressure. I pay sincere tribute to every teacher, classroom assistant, principal and member of support staff, as well as to the wider community, which has rallied to support them.”
“I will speak briefly about the severe challenges facing Nazareth House Primary School and St Eugene's Primary School in Derry. Both schools are dealing with unacceptable, unsafe structural issues and huge uncertainty. Our children and families are feeling the impact. <BR /> <BR />Even in the midst of the disruption, the dedication of the staff in both schools has been exceptional. Their professionalism, compassion and resilience are keeping the school communities together.”
“I thank the Member for her answer. I recognise and welcome the good progress that has been made, but will she outline whether the Assembly Commission will explore more accessible formats to help the public better understand the outcomes of Committees' work?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. We will have to wait until the consultation is assessed and the strategy finalised before costings can be arrived at, but how has the Minister's consideration of them informed any bids as part of the multi-year Budget process for the money — the resource — required to remediate Mobuoy?”
“Minister, this is an extremely challenging time for businesses. You outlined some of those challenges, another of which is the increase in the minimum wage, which your colleague welcomed earlier. That will put pressure on small businesses in particular and will, I fear, lead to more unemployment. I appreciate that some of those things are outside your gift, Minister, but are you committed to working with your colleagues to make things easier for the many businesses here that struggle? Numerous businesses closed last year, and it does not look good for many more going into the future.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a freagra.”
“For decades in Derry, the roads in Donegal were the butt of jokes, but now, sadly, the shoe is on the other foot. Obviously, we are aware of collaboration with Dublin on the hopeful delivery of the A5, but has the Minister explored any potential for collaboration on other cross-border routes, specifically, the A2 Buncrana Road?”
“It is safe to assume that all parties here welcome the removal of the two-child limit; at least, I hope that they do. Will the Minister confirm that the Executive will implement it here, and can he tell us when?”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I rise to refer to correspondence that I received from you this morning on a remark that I made last week in reference to the Education Minister. I retract any term that I used that caused hurt, but I genuinely did not think that Minister Givan, who has casually called people in the Chamber "sectarian" and "antisemitic" — never mind that he praised the perpetrators of a genocide — would be so offended by a playground jibe. Perhaps Minister Givan will have the good grace to consider and to retract things that he has said and done that have caused considerable hurt.”
“I commend the motion. I regret very much how this has gone, but, as is the way with the Education Minister, he just cannot help himself, or anyone else.”
“Let us start with the younger years — primary schools first — because early intervention is crucial, guaranteeing a healthy start and offering meals to those who need them, while recognising that not every family will want to take up the offer. The key is to make it an option and to remove any stigma early on.”
“He is the Minister, and we are the Opposition, but he is raising expectations, including among families of children with special educational needs. <BR /> <BR />In response to a recent question for oral answer, the Minister told my colleague, Daniel McCrossan, that he estimated a cost of £142 million for the introduction of universal free school meals. That had gone up by £60 million to £202 million by the time Mr Middleton spoke but went back down by the time the Minister spoke. He cannot accuse us of not doing costings when his costings are all over the place. <BR /> <BR />We do not see this happening overnight. It is about setting out our stall and our direction of travel and taking a staggered approach.”
“The cost of not doing this affects the more vulnerable children, not the children of multimillionaires. There are not too many of them. People do not have to opt in to this; they can make their own choices. <BR /> <BR />There is a huge immeasurable cost. Where does the money come from for free school meals provision? That is the big question that the Minister and others have asked, and it is a fair question. This Minister, however, is not averse to coming here to outline ambitious and grandiose plans with absolutely no indication of where the money is coming from. The childcare strategy, anyone? The capital builds programme, announcing new schools that we will never see. The SEN programme, which is his priority — £1·5 billion.”
“The people who are paying the price are the people who keep our schools running, our hospitals open and our communities going, the people who have been stripped of support under the new threshold for free school meals and will now be hit by a 20% increase.”
“That is not a problem for a single Department; it is cross-departmental and requires cooperation. Yet, while the Finance Minister assured me in the Chamber last week that he would work with his Executive colleagues to find a solution, when I followed up in writing, his response was, "Not me, it is the Health Minister's responsibility." I wrote to the Health Minister, who cited a bad budget. Let me be clear: it appears that the Executive do not value their own workers — the poorest workers, at that — enough to even cooperate. That is an abdication of responsibility. <BR /> <BR />This is a cross-cutting issue and will require collaboration, but how can we count on Ministers to do that, especially when the Education Minister does not even view other Ministers as partners?”
“Scotland has universal meals for primary-school children; Wales is rolling out universal provision; and England is expanding access to all universal credit claimants. Here, however, thresholds have tightened, despite the Minister's efforts and claims. Fewer children are being supported than was the case a couple of years ago, and meal costs are rising. <BR /> <BR />Last week, during the cost-of-living debate, we raised a lot of similar talking points, such as poverty, food insecurity, holiday hunger and the plight of working families on universal credit. We talked about our underpaid public servants, including Education Authority staff, health workers and civil servants, whose delayed pay rises and back pay are pushing them into debt. That is money that they have earned but cannot access under the current welfare system.”
“Now, where were we? <BR /> <BR />That is borne out by the figures, with 3,000 fewer children entitled to school meals support than was the case just over two years ago. Frustratingly, the four-week assessment period for universal credit here means that people are ineligible one month and maybe eligible the next. On top of that, there has been a 20% increase in the cost of school meals. Families already wiped out by increasing household bills are now forced to pay more for the most basic ingredient of learning, which is a full stomach. <BR /> <BR />The Minister has outlined the more generous eligibility criteria here but has acknowledged that this region will begin to lag behind other regions on these islands.”
“— with 3,000 fewer children entitled to school meal support in just two years —”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It shows the Minister's interest in hungry children when he clearly does not want to listen to what I have to say. It might not be that interesting, to be fair, but he is more interested in the toileting of my female colleague. What a weirdo. <BR /> <BR />It is borne out by figures, Mr Deputy Speaker —”
“It takes some brass neck for someone to question the reason that someone gives for being somewhere or not being somewhere, given the reasons that they gave for being in occupied territory recently against international law.”
“Will the Member agree that neither he nor the Minister listened to the first 45 seconds of my speech? They seemed to be deeply engrossed. I do not know what their obsession is with what my colleague was doing, be she the proposer or otherwise.”
“<BR /> <BR />As we have heard today, one in five children living in poverty in the North does not qualify for a free school meal. Twenty per cent of the poorest children here are excluded by policy design. Working families and low-income families were better off under the legacy tax credit system. They got a wee bit more bang for their buck in a system where the welfare safety net could catch them when they fell, when the cost of living was lower and when parents could access school meal support and uniform grants more readily. All that was stripped away almost overnight when people were moved on to universal credit. The entitlement threshold, as we have heard from the Minister — his colleagues congratulate him for it — is increasing from £15,000 to almost £15,400, but prior to that, it had been slashed from £16,000 to £14,000.”
“As we draw the debate to a close, I want to bring us back to the heart of what today is or should be about. It is about children and the basic right to food, not party interests, not posing or posturing, not budget spreadsheets but ensuring that children have access to a healthy, nutritious meal, if the Minister was listening. The sad reality is that far too many do not — he obviously is not. <BR /> <BR />Welfare reform, designed by the Tories and delivered here by the DUP, Sinn Féin and Alliance, has seen a 143% increase in food bank usage in the past five years. The approach of the Christmas period now heralds food bank drives and collections for community fridges, demand for which has soared year-on-year. I have never seen so many people in need of the basics.”
“Can the Minister please explain why people have been told that they did not meet the experience threshold despite having worked in the role as an agency worker for years? Can he give us an assurance that this ineligibility was not down to other factors such as age or ability?”
“Minister, it was welcomed or heralded as good news that, when we had over 900 vacancies in the Civil Service in the north-west, we were going to recruit 200 AOs. The feedback that I have been receiving from many applicants, however, shows that they are frustrated at what they perceive as a lack of fairness and transparency in the process.”
“I thank the Minister — the Big Fella — for giving way. Can the Minister confirm whether the £1·3 billion that was, as he says, "raised" by him and his predecessor came from the source that is inflicting all this austerity on us?”
“Those messages could have helped the inquiry to build a fuller picture of what was happening behind the scenes; instead, they were wiped. <BR /> <BR />The pandemic has passed, but, sadly, the attitudes that hindered our response have not. There remains a clear absence of leadership here, and too many continue to put party interests before the public good. The SDLP has consistently called for serious institutional reform to deliver better government. The findings make that case beyond doubt. Those criticised in the inquiry cannot simply dismiss it or deflect. They must accept responsibility and commit to change. If we are to honour those who were lost, and if we are to rebuild public trust, every lesson must be learned and acted upon. People deserve better. They deserve leadership that puts them first.”
“Public health messaging was inconsistent and was dictated more by political calculation than scientific evidence. We cannot ignore the message that chaotic behaviours in the Executive caused to be sent out. Leaks to the media, sometimes even during meetings, undermined trust, destabilised public messaging and made it impossible to present a united front at a time when unity was essential. <BR /> <BR />The public's confidence was further eroded by events such as the Bobby Storey funeral. When ordinary families were being denied the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones, senior Sinn Féin figures being seen attending a mass funeral sent the devastating message that there was one rule for leaders and another rule for everyone else. Then there was the deletion of WhatsApp messages, including those belonging to the current First Minister.”
“The report compels us to reflect honestly on how this region was led through an unprecedented global crisis. Around the world, Governments struggled under immense pressure, making agonising decisions, and no response was perfect. However, acknowledging international challenges does not diminish the specific failures that were identified in the North. The findings will be incredibly painful for the families who lost loved ones in the most difficult circumstances and for every person who quietly sacrificed to protect others. Our thoughts are with all those people. They deserved clear, consistent, united leadership, but they too often got the exact opposite. The inquiry makes it clear that political division here repeatedly hindered our response. Decisions were taken along party lines. Opportunities to act sooner were missed.”
“has been rejected because a system is already in place. How many licences have been suspended or rejected in, say, the past five years?”
“I declare an interest: my family owns licensed premises. <BR /> <BR />Recommendation 6, which is:”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. The reduction of the housing association grant in other areas has either contributed to or coincided with a reduction in the number of homes delivered, although I appreciate that there will have been multiple factors at play. Come 2027, how will the success or otherwise of the Minister's decision be measured? Does he expect it to have any impact on rental costs for housing association tenants?”
“I thank the Minister for the statement. It is certainly nice to hear some of the positive proposals in the statement. Businesses will be glad to hear them. They will be even gladder to see them. It would be nice if we could get some indication of when that might be. Given that previous proposals have been sat at the Executive for nearly six months now without even making it on to the agenda, have the Minister and his colleagues considered invoking the three-meeting rule?”
“Does the Member acknowledge that it was not a hugely significant amount and that it was even less significant given that the threshold had fallen significantly with the migration of so many people to universal credit?”
“Poverty is not just for Christmas, and it is frankly insulting to see such a motion tabled by the party with the most power to change things. The reality is that the Executive need a Scrooge-like epiphany. They hold the purse strings and the power, but they continue to deliver a bad deal for all the Bob Cratchits: the underpaid and undervalued workers. It does not have to be that way, however. If we spend less time arguing about the past and more time in the present delivering positive policy rather than debating meaningless motions, we can change the future.”
“The irony of the motion's calling for action while Executive parties continue to implement policies that deepen poverty is not lost on anyone. This week, the cost of school meals increased by 20%, which will primarily have an impact on the working poor. That decision was taken alongside the failure to raise the threshold for school meals support. A decade ago, the criteria were more generous than they are today, which is utterly preposterous in the context of soaring inflation. Some 3,000 fewer children receive support now than did in 2023. That is not an accident but, rather, the consequence of bad decisions by the Government. <BR /> <BR />The motion delivers motherhood and apple pie but not bread and butter.”
“Every Executive party signed off on the strategy. Disappearing when the going gets tough is not leadership, however. To the party with the Finance and Economy portfolios and the top office, my question is this: what are you doing to tackle the crisis? At least that party sees the glaring flaws in the draft strategy, however. "Gaslighting" Gordon says that it is grand. <BR /> <BR />Community and voluntary organisations, as the motion correctly identifies, remain an absolute lifeline, and they have my deepest gratitude, but they are tired. I spoke to representatives of the Focus Project in Creggan recently. They are under unbearable pressure as they try to meet soaring demand in a community in which thousands of households would now be considered vulnerable, working families included. <BR /> <BR />Poverty is a political choice.”
“My pleas to all Ministers to fix that oversight — it can be done, because a mechanism was found to do it for COVID payments — remain unheeded. Meanwhile, staff continue to be penalised for being poor. <BR /> <BR />Band 2 healthcare staff received an additional 8p uplift this year to bring them up to the minimum wage, but that money is now going to be absorbed into the upcoming pay award. In other words, the uplift that was designed to correct low pay will disappear once the new award lands. That is not progress but stagnation. <BR /> <BR />On the subject of disappearing, the First Minister happily stood alongside the Communities Minister to welcome the draft anti-poverty strategy but disappeared when the fallout from it came. I fear that the motion is another attempt to deflect responsibility.”
“You what? Rates have increased, with no effort being made to cushion our poorest councils and, by extension, poor families from those costs. Public transport fares have increased three times in a 15-month period. Then, let us look at our public-sector workers: our poorest staff are being penalised by Executive decisions or, in many cases, Executive indecision. We have heard today of the thousands of care workers, who are the backbone of the social care system, being locked out of a pay award that would deliver a real, living wage. From EA support staff to health workers, thousands of workers in receipt of universal credit (UC) will not benefit from a backdated pay award. In fact, they will be worse off, left for one or maybe two months without a UC payment.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. I think that he means "decreased in size", but, yes, I see the role that shrinkflation plays. Food just does not go as far. <BR /> <BR />The motion also:”
“That is the small, humiliating cruelty of the crisis: the things that used to bring comfort are now priced out of reach.”
“The cost-of-living crisis is a term that has slipped from our daily lexicon not because it has gone away but because people have become so accustomed to hardship that it no longer shocks in the way that it did and still should. I remember looking on in horror as welfare reform was rolled out across the water and warning here that it would drive families to food banks. Today, food banks are no longer a rarity but a staple in all our town centres. Trussell's work tells us what that means in human terms. Some 520,000 people across the North are food insecure, including 130,000 children. The arithmetic of everyday life is now almost surreal. A block of cheese costs a fiver, and a bottle of red sauce costs about £6. Even small, formerly cheap and cheerful family treats are beyond affordability for many.”
“Minister, the Audit Office recently found that your Department had achieved just 1% of progress on the energy strategy, despite spending over £100 million. Given that record, how can the public have confidence in your Department's ability to deliver lower costs and renewable energy at pace?”
“While we host the draw for that prestigious competition, Dublin will host seven matches and generate hundreds of millions of pounds. Does the Minister have no regrets that the Executive did not do more to secure the investment needed in Casement Park to allow Northern Ireland to play a proper role in hosting and benefiting from one of the biggest sporting tournaments in the world? Will steps be taken to ensure that we do not miss out on similar opportunities in future?”
“I thank the Minister for his unusually and mercifully brief answer. While we all welcome any investment in the city, people in Derry will be glad to see the work finished and roads restored. Does the Department have any further public realm plans for Derry city centre? Will the Minister encourage collaboration with DFI to identify and address flaws in a previous scheme at Newmarket Street that has left a particularly perilous pavement that poses a real risk to pedestrians?”