Jim Allister
North Antrim · Traditional Unionist Voice · Northern Ireland
“<BR /> <BR />Last week, a 'News Letter' editorial rightly drew attention to the fact that there is a chorus of demand that it is up to the British Government to pay for that, but no pressure whatsoever on the GAA — the primary beneficiary — which still persists that its contribution will be a miserly £15 million.”
“Public money, we are constantly told, is in short supply and scarce. I am sure that it is, and will continue to be so. Yet, while many in the House pay lip service to the need to prioritise health, there seems to be a majority here who would prioritise public spending on a sporting facility, namely Casement Park.”
“That editorial stated that the DUP "should make clear" its view on the Casement Park costs. Yet, yesterday, we had the launch of the DUP manifesto and not a mention of Casement Park. We have a Minister — Minister Lyons — who has ruled out clawback for non-GAA use of that stadium.”
“Therefore, the Minister comes to the House with a proposal that, effectively, has been written in Brussels, because it tells us how much we can give to our fishing industry in Northern Ireland.”
“The Minister told us that this is a scheme under the Fisheries Act, which it is, whereby all the devolved regions and England and Wales can make their own provision.”
“Rather than removing the green lane, the introduction of the new customs border arrangements will further advance the development of the green lane, thereby helping to make the Irish Sea border and our alienation from the rest of the UK more firmly established.”
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“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Further to what you just said, you did get some short notice of this point of order. The first item of business today is a motion to establish an Ad Hoc Committee:”
“Can I take the Minister back to Mr Beattie's question? Is she saying to the House that there is no opportunity for her Department or the Executive to bring in legislation altering the parole provisions and when they kick in, in respect of terrorist offences?”
“If the ungovernable Irish Republic ever obtains a Government and if Sinn Féin is part of that Government, when it comes to the North/South bodies, will the deputy First Minister have the same concerns of imbalance that she and her party expressed in regard to perceived DUP influence on the Conservative Government? If it turns out that her party is sitting on both sides of the table in the North/South bodies, will she then have any concerns about balance or was that just faux outrage?”
“I hope that it is agreed that it is important that the victims of paramilitarism should not be retraumatised. Does the deputy First Minister accept that the murder of Paul Quinn was a paramilitary killing? What steps has she therefore taken to require the Finance Minister to publicly acknowledge that Paul Quinn was not a criminal?”
“He was anxious to remind us all, quite properly, of where he came from. There were no airs and graces. He was straight up and down, straightforward, and exactly the sort of Ulsterman who personifies much of the greatness of this Province. <BR /> <BR />I want to add to the expressions of sympathy and condolence to his family and many friends. He will be much missed, but not forgotten.”
“Many of us — I suspect maybe all of us — in the Chamber have no recollection of the Munich disaster because it happened so long ago, yet it is embedded in the consciousness of us all. Why? Because of Harry Gregg. It was that selfless behaviour — that heroic behaviour — that made Harry Gregg one of whom we are all so proud, not just for his sporting prowess but for what he did on that occasion. Yet, through all that, as the House has heard, he was a man of immense modesty, self-effacing and looking nowhere for glory. I met him only once or twice, but it was a privilege to meet him and be in the presence of someone who so earned the respect of this country and whom we are all so glad was indeed a son of Northern Ireland. He was one of us; he lived amongst us; he came from us. He never forgot and was very proud of his roots.”
“It was also his triumph in the adversity of the Munich airfield, where he showed the selfless courage that most of us can only dream about. With no thought for his own safety, and thinking only of those who were in great peril, he conducted himself in a way that ensured that some people lived who otherwise would have died in the Munich disaster.”
“Northern Ireland has been blessed with many sporting giants not just in football but in many disciplines, but towering among them, undoubtedly, is Harry Gregg. All that has been said about him today in tribute is well deserved for his sporting achievements alone, but, of course, it is not just his triumph on the football field that made him the memorable son of this land of whom we are all proud.”
“On a point of order, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. I refer you to Question Time and the questions to the Minister of Finance. I ask that the Speaker's Office reviews Hansard, because it is my belief that, at a point, Mr Murphy referred to me as "a hypocrite". Further, it is my understanding that such language has previously been deprecated when Members have used it and the Chair has taken a stance. I refer you to two incidents and two previous rulings by the Speaker on 24 November 2009 and 3 October 2016. I ask that the suitability and the parliamentary nature of the language deployed by the Minister be explored.”
“I agree with Mr Storey's comments to the Minister and I trust that she will take them on board. In respect of her Department, we not only have the issue of flags but the issue of permanent structures on departmental lands and those of arm's-length bodies in the form of memorials glorifying terrorism. What action is being taken in that regard? A predecessor of hers told me that there were 34 such memorials in place. Has any action been taken, and does she agree that until we get to zero tolerance of the physical force tradition, then we are going round in circles on this matter?”
“You have a criminal conviction yourself, Mr Murphy.”
“Is there not a more fundamental question of confidence for the Minister, given his cruel treatment of the Quinn family, that he should be reflecting upon? <BR /> <BR />In respect of the confidence and supply money, if the offer has been withdrawn, is there any indication that that money is ever going to come to whoever the Minister of Finance might be? If Minister Murphy had a shred of integrity, he would have resigned over the Quinn issue.”
“We should be controlled. Where we can do things better, we should certainly do them better, but the idea that, suddenly, we are going to stop the world, we are going to kill off all the cows, because they belch and do all sorts of things, and we are going to save the world is such patent nonsense. Yes, focus on the real; forget the fantasy. If we did that, maybe we would get focused on things that we can do something about and get off our high horse that we somehow can declare with effect a climate emergency. Maybe somebody could tell me what it is.”
“Let us be serious. Is the Assembly serious, or is it just virtue signalling to say, "We are going to do this, we are going to do that, because it makes us feel good"? We have had more doomsday predictions from climate alarmists than we have ever had from the most extreme and ludicrous religious cult. "The apocalypse is upon us", according to these folk: "We are going to do this, and we are going to do that". Try as you might, you will not change the natural cycle of nature. You are not as big as that. Therefore, reality needs to dawn. <BR /> <BR />Yes, it is absolutely right that, as the custodians of this beautiful planet, we have a bounden duty to hand it on to the next generations in as fantastic a shape as we can. Of course, we should not be reckless. We should not be wanton in how we treat it. We should be sensible.”
“I do not think so. Electricity? Fossil fuels? I do not think so. It happened, and then, a few centuries later, in the 17th century, for 10 years during that century, the River Thames froze over as the climate cycle switched the other way. <BR /> <BR />Climate change happens, but the question is this: why are we working ourselves up into a frenzy in the belief that this puny Assembly — the puny man — in some way can stop the forces of nature? Yet, that is what we are doing. We are all getting, it seems, on the bandwagon of Greta this and Greta that. Remember Al Gore? Remember the great hero of climate change? In 2009, he, with great solemnity, told the world that, in five to seven years, there would be no ice at the North Pole.”
“So, the Northern Ireland Assembly is going to declare a climate emergency. That is it sorted, then — wow. What is meant by the Northern Ireland Assembly declaring a climate emergency? Are we going to switch off the lights and bring in the candles? Are we going to send Minister Poots home not in his limo but on a bicycle? What nonsense are we talking here? Phraseology like this: this pitiful Assembly, which cannot even sort itself out, is going to declare a climate emergency. What turbocharged virtue signalling — that is all it is. <BR /> <BR />It is not that the climate does not change. The debate is this: what causes it to change? Now, I do not know: maybe we have some climate deniers in our midst. Maybe they deny the medieval warm period. Maybe it never happened. If it did, what are we going to blame? Factories? I do not think so. Cows?”
“There certainly is an impression given that it has.”
“I will not go any further than that. <BR /> <BR />On the glib suggestion of closing the RHI scheme, does she accept that that will drive current participants back to fossil fuels? Indeed, the reduction below an economic level of the current subsidy has driven many on to fossil fuels. <BR /> <BR />Secondly, does she recognise, particularly from two pieces of litigation in England — the former Department of Energy and Climate Change cases against Friends of the Earth and the Breyer Group — that a scheme cannot be closed without compensation? Therefore, there will be a cost to the public purse. <BR /> <BR />In regard to those matters, she said that there are two reports: the Cornwall Insight report and the Buglass report. Did I understand her correctly when she said that her Department has not received either?”
“I congratulate the Minister on escaping the European Parliament.”
“Does the Minister agree that that ratio of effective deterrent by way of prison sentence is disappointing? This is a scenario where very severe harm has been done by illegal waste disposal, and to find that only one person has paid with their liberty is surely disappointing. Since much of this illegal waste came, we are told, from the Republic of Ireland, what progress has there been in securing recompense from the authorities in the Republic for these matters?”
“It is certainly a new decade, but does the First Minister really think that it is a new approach? Does she really think that her partner in government, Sinn Féin, is committed to making Northern Ireland work as a part of the United Kingdom, or is the real commitment to use the institutions as a stepping stone with the hope and expectation that, before the decade is out, they can progress the extraction of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom even further?”
“I beg to introduce the Functioning of Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill [NIA 01/17-22], which is a Bill to amend sections 7 and 8 of the Civil Service (Special Advisers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2013 and article 3 of the Civil Service Commissioners (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 in relation to special advisers in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, repeal the Civil Service Commissioners (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2016, amend section 17 of the Assembly Members (Independent Financial Review and Standards) Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 and to make additional provision for the functioning of government in Northern Ireland and connected purposes.”
“Will the Member clarify whether, once he is appointed acting ombudsman, he will continue as the deputy commissioner for local government standards? Is that possible?”
“Having worked themselves into a frenzy about protecting the minnow part of our economy southwards and ignoring the gigantic part of our economy east-west, they in part contributed to the sad spectacle that Northern Ireland is to be left marooned under the EU customs code and its tariffs and the rules of the EU single market, which we cannot change, and subject, in all of that, to the governance of the European Court of Justice. That is not the outcome that any of us voted for, and that is not the outcome that was on the ballot paper.”
“<BR /> <BR />That came about as a consequence of many political shenanigans, most particularly by some who have had a lifelong ambition to break up the United Kingdom. It was greatly aided by the short-sightedness of the agri-food industry in this Province and some from business in this Province, who hyperventilated at the thought of some fettering of trade between North and South but gave no thought to the resulting fettering of our trade to our biggest market: GB.”
“There is something of a howling at the moon about Mr O'Dowd's contribution and, indeed, some others. The United Kingdom has left the EU. We are not going back. That is the reality. It is not a reality that is as fulsome and beneficial as I had wished it to be for Northern Ireland. The question that I voted on was whether I wanted the United Kingdom to leave or to remain; the question was not whether I wanted the United Kingdom to leave but to leave Northern Ireland behind in the EU, so, naturally, I am disappointed that, in some significant parts, that appears to be the outcome. To leave Northern Ireland marooned, colony-like, within the EU customs union to all intents and purposes and its single market for goods is to betray the principle that, having joined as one nation, we deserved to leave as one nation.”
“<BR /> <BR />Those are issues for the future, but they will affect this very important issue, because sustaining our farming community is of fundamental importance to our economy, and I welcome the fact that the Bill, to which we should consent, will bring certainty in the interim, with a view to further certainty into the future.”
“Secondly, in September last year, the Government accepted the recommendations of the Bew report, which referred to the allocation of farm support funding in the UK, and, as part of that, it was agreed that a greater share of the convergence funding — that was the uplift — and of the financial saving for direct payments that was given to the UK would, for the period from 2020 to 2022, be allocated to Scotland and Wales, while the corresponding allocations for England and Northern Ireland would simply be maintained. Is that still the situation? Has the Minister a view about that, and, if so, has he been communicating or will he communicate with the Department about that? One would have some concerns about some lagging in that regard.”
“I know what the Council said: it said that it will remain a centrepiece, but it is the centrepiece of a diminishing pot. That is the reality, and, as the pot diminishes, the more prosperous areas of the EU will have even less call on it. The reality is that, had Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom stayed in the EU, going forward, government spending was that our slice of the cake was getting significantly less as time went on. We are in a far better position to deploy our own moneys towards our own needs as this matter unfolds. <BR /> <BR />I have two other quick questions for the Minister. Am I right to assume that this funding will come under the category of AME funding?”
“In a moment. This gives us the opportunity to provide certainty within Brexit and our sovereign control. By any book, that has to be a better situation.”
“Yes, the Member is absolutely right: under the new financial seven-year plan in the EU, agriculture is a diminishing call on the budget. Indeed, we all know that, in the EU, the primary call in the CAP is towards eastern and southern Europe, so it is diminishing in both respects. There is one thing for sure: as the Member said, there is no certainty on the future of CAP funding, but this gives us the opportunity —.”
“Yes, it could provide for the system in Northern Ireland, but is the Minister anticipating not taking measures himself in that regard? I remind him, indeed, that, in this Bill, there is a Northern Ireland-specific power to close a gap in the legislative framework, which gives him, as the Minister, the legal option of continuing to transition the basic payments system. Maybe he could tell us whether he is minded to do that because that would maybe complement where we are going with the Agriculture Bill. <BR /> <BR />There are obviously unfolding questions, but the certainty that this legislation brings to the here and now is to be very much welcomed.”
“Now, the Minister said, if I heard him correctly, that he anticipates a legislative consent motion on the Agriculture Bill as well. That left me a little puzzled because the Agriculture Bill will provide a new system of farm support in England, which moves away from direct payments and towards an approach whereby farmers are paid public money for public goods that they produce, and criteria such as enhancing the air and water quality, tackling climate change and improving animal welfare will all be the informants in that. Whereas, in Northern Ireland, surely, we have been moving towards a transition, whereby the basic payments scheme entitlement unit value moves towards a flat rate per hectare. I just wonder where — we are getting ahead of ourselves — in the Agriculture Bill that is.”
“That is a sensible, logical situation, and one, in fact, that saves, as we heard from, I think, the Chairman of the Committee, the top-slice administration cost that the EU put on single direct payments. <BR /> <BR />It is clear that the legislation was always going to come, because our farming community was not going to be left, as "Remoaners" wanted to peddle, without support. Here we have it abundantly demonstrated that that is so. Indeed, I note that, whereas the Bill is for one year only, there is an amendment tabled for tomorrow in the Commons to extend it to two years. I do not know whether that will succeed, but, whether it does or whether it does not, it is quite clear that hereafter comes the Agriculture Bill.”
“When we come to this subject, I have to make this point: I am sure that the Minister remembers, as I do, the hysterical scaremongering of Remainers that, if we left the EU, it would be the end of direct payments to farmers — the end of generous handouts from Brussels. Of course, today, we heard Ms Dillon, in her churlish support for Westminster legislation, repeat the fallacy that this was ever EU money; it was, of course, always the recycling to us of our surplus contribution. Under this legislation, instead of foolishly posting the money to Brussels and then getting some of it back again, we are putting ourselves in a position where British taxpayers' money will be paid directly to British farmers.”
“Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, I trust that you are finding this a scintillating debate for your maiden substantive chairing of these proceedings. I have no doubt that your many farming constituents in South Belfast will be expressing great interest.”
“Can the Minister bring some clarity to the issue of EU exit costs? In his statement, he said that:”
“For all his eminence as an orator and as a straight-talking, even hard-hitting, politician, at the end of it all, he appears to have been, and was, a wholly devoted family man. The love and devotion that he committed to his late wife is well documented and much respected and speaks greatly to the strength and the character of the man. He, too, of course, is unlikely to be forgotten, nor should he be forgotten, in political circles, because he was a politician faithful to his beliefs. Thank you.”
“That, of course, is a pointer to the evolving of these institutions, that he helped to shape, and their evolution in a retrograde direction.”
“Sadly, the late Séamus Mallon's repudiation of IRA terrorism has been replicated by only one of his successors in the office of deputy First Minister, namely Mark Durkan.”
“I readily join in the condolences to the late Séamus Mallon's daughter and his wider family. No doubt, as in all deaths, these are very difficult times, and the thoughts and prayers of many of us are with them. I extend the same sympathy to his political family, the SDLP, where he was such a giant figure and a mentor to many. He will, no doubt, be long and sadly missed in those quarters. <BR /> <BR />Séamus Mallon, as a constitutional nationalist, was someone whom I could respect, no matter how much I disagreed with some of the things he had to say. Some of those things I did disagree with — his denigrating of the UDR, for example — but the fact that he advocated only constitutional means and explicitly condemned without equivocation terrorist violence earned him respect across the community.”
“Very well. I will not go there then. With that, I draw my remarks to a conclusion. I certainly am opposed to this deal, but that is not because I am opposed to Brexit; it is because I did not get the Brexit that is a proper, thoroughgoing, successful Brexit for Northern Ireland.”
“It will patently be utterly ineffective, cancelled out one by the other. I see no comfort in that regard whatsoever, and, indeed, I suppose, it takes me back in a way —.”
“What will be the input of the Executive on those critical issues?”
“Of course, it fits entirely into the glove of nationalism that you dilute the link with Great Britain, establish a border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and thereby undermine that union. I am sorry: I do not buy the platitudes from some that this is not about undermining the constitutional and economic position of Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />That brings me to this point: we are told to take some comfort from the fact that, now, the Executive will have an input into ongoing/forward negotiations. What will be the consequence of that? You have unionists in the DUP, whose position is that it wants Brexit, does not want a border in the Irish Sea and wants to maintain the economic and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom, and you have Sinn Féin saying the very opposite.”
“The Prime Minister, for all his rhetoric, has consciously abandoned this part of the United Kingdom to the clutches of the EU, to be a sort of EU colony in the worst possible traditions. Of course, that is intended to orientate our economy away from the United Kingdom and towards the Irish Republic in the hope, of some, that it is a relatively short step from economic unity to political unity. <BR /> <BR />I have heard some soothing comments today that there are those of a nationalist tradition who do not support a border in the Irish Sea. Really? Let me just remind them that it was their hysteria about prioritising no checks, no border and no recognition from Northern Ireland to the Republic that evolved and created this situation.”
“The practical, physical outworking, of course, is a border down the Irish Sea — a manifestation of how far Northern Ireland's interests have been betrayed by this deal in circumstances in which the vast majority of its trade is with GB, the vast majority of its goods come from GB and a comparatively small minority of trade is with the Irish Republic. Yet, in order to protect unfettered trade with the Irish Republic, the answer, apparently, of this agreement is to fetter trade with GB. <BR /> <BR />It is not very hard to work out the economic consequences of that for this part of the United Kingdom. It will orientate our economy away. I do not care what the Prime Minister says: it is not the Prime Minister's rhetoric that matters; it is the cold, hard print of the agreement, and what I have outlined is what it says.”
“If I could come to the substance of my remarks: the fact that the United Kingdom joined the EU as one nation but is not leaving it as one nation goes to the very heart and puts the finger on the withdrawal agreement's betrayal of Northern Ireland, because, to all intents and purposes, Northern Ireland, under this deal, is to remain subject to the EU's customs union, subject to its customs code, subject to its tariffs and subject to the laws made surrounding that. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland will also, to all intents and purposes, remain in the EU single market for goods — all goods — and, therefore, will be subject to hundreds of laws into which we will have no input or contribution. We will be rule takers in customs and goods regulations.”
“In keeping with tradition, I congratulate the previous speaker on her maiden speech. I might not have agreed with very much of it, but, nonetheless, there will be more of that on other occasions. <BR /> <BR />Can I echo the point she made. The First Minister assured the House that all Members had been furnished with a copy of the Brexit Secretary's letter. I can assure her that I have not received a copy. I have checked with the Business Office; there are no copies in the Business Office. I just wonder how the distribution was perfected?”
“If that were really the thinking, and if there were respect for the processes of the House, the motion that we are invited to debate would have been tabled long before 5.00 pm or later on Friday last. It is a contemptible way in which to treat the House, and I trust that Members will bear that in mind.”