David McIlveen
North Antrim · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the member for her answer. I completely appreciate that, when we are dealing with personnel, there should be confidentiality. However, in a general sense, will the member assure me and the House that there has been even-handedness in the way in which the matter has been dealt with and that original thought in social media and the…”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. I am very glad that the last question that I asked in this mandate — of her anyway — delivered some good news. There had been some concerns about the fact that, historically, there was at times a backlog in processing blue badge applications. A lot of time was involved in getting them processed.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. He is aware that the news that the good people of east Belfast had to come to terms with last week is something that my constituents in North Antrim have had to face up to on at least three occasions recently, with the closure of Patton's and the announcements by JTI and Michelin.”
“I thank the First Minister for her answers so far. The Minister will also be aware that another central component of the Delivering Social Change initiative was the nurture unit programme. Can the Minister give us an indication of the impact so far of the nurture unit programme?”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I will try my very best. As we come to the dawning of the age of the Department for Employment and Learning, there is obviously an opportunity for reflection. Whilst the Minister has been very good at delivering initiatives, some may say that he has not been so successful at delivering reform.”
“I sincerely hope that narrow political points of view will be set aside when it comes to the debate and the vote because I genuinely and sincerely believe that if one Member — even if it is just one — decides to vote against these changes, they will be on the wrong side of public opinion.”
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“The problem with speaking late in a debate is that most of what can be said has been said. There is little that I can add. I support entirely the comments that have been made by Members who spoke previously in support of the very important facility in Dalriada. <BR /> <BR />In the strongest possible terms, I echo some of the words condemning the actions of the trust in this regard. I believe sincerely that the Northern Trust has been found wanting in the way in which this whole sorry scenario has been handled. I say that for three reasons. First, the Minister's point is well made, and I accept entirely that, when there is a reduction in middle management in any trust, it will take at least three years to absorb any savings that come from that.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Will he agree with me that Sinn Féin has, for many years, claimed to be the bastion for the protection of women's rights? Will he further agree that, while Ms McCann remains in post and questions remain about her conduct and how she has dealt with the protection of a very vulnerable young woman, any future attempt by Sinn Féin to take such a stance would be utter hypocrisy?”
“I appreciate the opportunity to ask this question today, and I thank the Minister for her response. Despite being cheerleaders for the tobacco products directive in the European Parliament, Sinn Féin, locally, appears to be absolving itself of all responsibility for the proposed closure of the factory. Have discussions that you have had with JTI management since the announcement given you any indication as to its exact reasoning behind the proposed closure?”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. As a result of over-regulation that was backed by one of the Sinn Féin Members of the European Parliament, 1,000 jobs are in jeopardy in my constituency today. I want to know how we could expedite a motion —”
“To deal effectively with those concerns, however, is not to add more confusion, concern and worry than they are already facing.”
“Furthermore, for that criticism to be levelled by Mr Lyttle in particular was quite telling, bearing in mind that the 4·4% reduction to the Justice Department has not been fairly divided between the bodies that are within it, namely the PSNI, which has had over 7% taken off its budget in the coming years. That has been confirmed by the Chief Constable and everybody else involved in the sector. <BR /> <BR />So, as I say, I struggle with what is behind this motion, other than an attempt to grandstand and scare. Of course, we are used to that in this House. We have to be sensitive to the needs of our victims and survivors. We have to listen to the concerns, and where there are concerns, we have to step up to the mark and deal with them.”
“I am sorry. I am just running out of time here. If I do have time, I will bring Mr Lyttle in. <BR /> <BR />There has been a 4·4% reduction across the majority of Departments. That 4·4% has had to be borne by every body within OFMDFM, including, of course, the Victims and Survivors Service. That has been mitigated, as best as it possibly can be, by dealing with mainly administrative costs. That is where the argument of less awareness comes in. I have to be honest: it does not stack up, because consistently there has been an increase. That is what is putting the additional pressure on this sector — there is an increase year on year of victims coming forward asking for support, and, indeed, we should be giving that support to them.”
“So, at its core, there is misinformation and a misunderstanding, I believe, of what is happening within the sector. <BR /> <BR />I really wish that some parties in this Assembly, whenever they get incensed about something, as we all do from time to time, rather than running down to the Business Office and bringing a motion to the Floor of the Assembly that does nothing other than further confuse the groups that have already been experiencing some difficulties, would come and talk to the decision-makers, the ones who are challenged to sort this issue out. You will find that there is a bid for a further £1·3 million in the October monitoring round, which we are cautiously optimistic will be delivered. This is something that we need to bear in mind. <BR /> <BR />There has been a 4·4% reduction —”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am baffled as to where the figures come from when it comes to these types of motions and debates. As has been highlighted on a number of occasions already, there has been a tripling of the resources to our victims sector since 2007 year on year. On top of that, the very organisation that the proposer of the motion claimed had its funding almost completely cut — the Northern Ireland Phoenix Project — has had funding of £81,000 in the last two years from the VSS.”
“— to dealing with our victims sector. <BR /> <BR />I hear the barracking from the sides, but I sometimes wonder whether the Ulster Unionist Party is in the same Assembly as the rest of us. On one hand, we have its Minister telling us that he is going to switch off the street lights and take free travel off old people, and, on the other hand, he seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that there are cuts right across the Executive, which have been imposed on us through intolerance and an inability to accept welfare reform across the House.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate today. To be honest, had this debate not been around the very sensitive issues of victims, I am not sure that I, in all conscience, could have supported it. At best, it is a clumsily-worded motion, and, at worst, it is an exploitation of the very people we are trying to protect when it comes —”
“My apologies that I was a little late into the Chamber this morning. The deputy First Minister mentioned small and medium-sized enterprises. One of the primary issues that SMEs raise about the drawdown of funds is that it is so cumbersome that it nearly prohibits them from applying. The deputy First Minister mentioned a specific contact for the agrifood industry, which we welcome. However, when it comes to other small and medium-sized enterprises, such as manufacturing and engineering companies, what does he propose that they can do to receive support from the Department in drawing down such vital funds?”
“Of course, many sects exist in all these countries, but I would certainly not encourage any trade with any country that is condoning or justifying terrorism. I will leave it at that.”
“People were looking at Northern Ireland, and they could not understand what was going on and why this was happening. Therefore, I think that we punch above our weight when it comes to the influence that we can have in these situations. I think that we in the Assembly have a responsibility to speak out and make that point clear. <BR /> <BR />All in all, this was a positive and constructive debate. I request that, through the Speaker's Office, a letter be sent to the Foreign Office in the United Kingdom to make it aware of this debate and to urge it to take whatever steps it can. It was predominantly a positive debate. Unfortunately, our prophet of doom in the corner decided to drop in one quip about the activities of Invest NI and where it operates. We have to be very careful that we do not tar all Arab states with the same brush.”
“The brutality that exists in those groups is really quite pertinent and shocking, as Mr Wells mentioned. <BR /> <BR />Unfortunately, I do not have time to go through all the points that were made, as time is moving on. However, Mr Maginness mentioned us being a small voice. He is absolutely right: Northern Ireland is a small voice. However, Northern Ireland is somewhere that many other countries are looking to to see what they can learn from our experience. It is not that long ago that the outside world was looking at Northern Ireland and saying, "I cannot understand why people are being murdered on the streets just because they put on a police or army uniform", or, on the other side of that, "I cannot understand why people are being murdered just because they are Catholic".”
“However, it is very clear that those leaders had managed somehow to keep a fairly tight grip on the ethnic tensions that were bubbling just beneath the surface. Since those people were toppled and sent packing, we have seen this boiling-over of ethnic tensions, which is culminating now in the persecution of innocent Christians. <BR /> <BR />Of course, as Mrs Cochrane said, it is not just Christians who have been persecuted. I have met people who were involved in the Morsi Government — the Government that were toppled in Egypt more recently — who were able to show me where they had had nails rammed through their fingers to make them convert or to hold them to account for a political viewpoint that is not in keeping with the Muslin Brotherhood in control over there.”
“However, even though it is the most secular country in the region, it has been the greatest net exporter of recruits to Islamic State, with 2,000 young people from there estimated to have joined Islamic State in just the past year. <BR /> <BR />So, this is not a problem confined to the states that we would deem to be very radical and very religious but a problem throughout the region. Mr Wells made the point that we have seen reductions in the number of Christians year on year. He also mentioned the fact that the Arab spring had an unintended consequence, and I accept that. I would certainly not have been in the queue to stand up for Assad, Mubarak or any of the leaders who were toppled by their people.”
“That is the suffering that is being inflicted on Christians throughout the region daily and weekly. <BR /> <BR />There is a misconception that this is confined to countries that are deemed to be very strict, very closed, and very religious. Last week, I, along with a colleague from the Assembly, had the opportunity to go to Tunis for three days, where I had a number of meetings with various representatives. Tunisia is regarded as one of the most liberal states in the Middle East and north Africa. Although it is 95% Islamic, there are all sects of Islam there, and it is regarded as probably the most secular country in the region.”
“A young man who lived with his wife just outside Mosul in Iraq was sent a letter from Islamic State telling him that, if he did not leave with his wife, he would be beheaded. He ignored the advice, or the threat, that he was given by that barbaric group. Subsequently, he was shot at on repeated occasions. He then found out that his wife was pregnant, so, for the safety of his wife and unborn child, they eventually fled to Jordan, where he is now living as a refugee. I suspect that the baby has entered this world by now, although it will have been relatively recently. The child has been born into a world with no home, no money and no quality of life. The young man — the father of the child — summed it up by saying at the end of an email that he sent to his family that he just wanted to get out of that hell.”
“Indeed, I can recall, almost 20 years ago, speaking to a man who was heading up the New Tribes Mission, an organisation that does what it says on the tin: it goes to places that have had absolutely no experience of Christianity and seeks to teach people about the doctrines of Christianity. I remember him saying, 20 years ago, that the biggest threat to the Christian Church was radical Islam. That was not particularly prevalent at that stage, but, as that man and the team that he was representing were going into various areas, they could see clearly the dangers that radical Islam was going to create for the Christian Church. As was pointed out several times this morning, that has been the case. I can think of an example that was brought to me.”
“Paul goes on to recall a list of people who are referred to in Christian circles as the champions of faith: people who have, because of their faith, done immense things or had to make immense sacrifices. That is what I think is so poignant about what we are talking about today, because I think that the apostle Paul was trying to say that it is relatively easy to take a stand on the things that we can see, but it is not as easy to take a stand on the things that we cannot see with our physical eye. That is why I believe that these people who are suffering great persecution throughout the world are to be held in such high regard. They are standing up for what they believe, their faith and the principles that they hold on to very, very dearly. <BR /> <BR />The point has been made on many occasions that this is not entirely unexpected.”
“Throughout the debate, I was thinking of the words of the apostle Paul:”
“I thank the Business Office for making the time available for this very important debate this morning. I am conscious that there are many pressing issues closer to home, and I am sure that the temptation is often to set issues like this to the side. In politics, we learn very quickly to try not to get frustrated by things that we hear, but there is one thing that at times frustrates me slightly as an elected representative: the view that we should concentrate only on those issues that are within our borders. I believe strongly that we have a responsibility as a Christian nation to speak out against intolerance, persecution and the murder of our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world, which is happening daily, even as we are having this debate. I appreciate the opportunity for us to debate this very important issue.”
“On a point of order, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. In his winding-up speech during yesterday's debate on the Budget, the Ulster Unionist Member for North Antrim referred to a member of our Executive, quite flippantly, as "Arlene". I wonder whether you would review the Hansard report in light of what was said, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, and make a ruling. I think that the Member is Chief Whip of his party and should realise what is parliamentary when referring to fellow Members in this Assembly.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. I am glad that he made mention of the Doury Road scheme in my constituency. I have had the privilege of attending a number of the meetings so far, and I can say with certainty that the buy-in from statutory bodies and the community has been excellent and certainly very encouraging. What is the benchmark of success for those programmes? What is the endgame, and what is it hoped will be achieved for disadvantaged areas such as the Doury Road in Ballymena?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Just on that point, the Member will recall that, a number of months ago, we took a lecture from the deputy First Minister around how issues in east Belfast had been handled — in essence, issues about people saying that foreign nationals should go home. Would you agree, Mr Easton, that the deputy First Minister should come to the Chamber and explain why he is being so hypocritical in allowing his signature to go on a petition of concern that effectively blocks a motion that is about the same thing?”
“I thank the junior Minister for her answer. If my memory serves me correctly, one of the key objectives of 'Delivering Social Change for Children and Young People' was improving literacy targets for our children. Given the scenario that you painted of further consultations, where do we see improvements, even in the last six months since the scheme was launched, in literacy targets for our children and young people?”