Oliver McMullan
East Antrim · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“I thank the junior Minister for his answers so far. I draw his attention to paragraph 11 on the threats to ecosystems from invasive non-native species. I will bring the question of Lough Foyle into this and the unregulated fishing practices of fishermen bringing in seed mussels.”
“I am pleased to see that there was a discussion about farm safety at the meeting. Did Ministers give consideration to making IT packages more available to the farming community? I am looking at the farm business scheme that has just been launched here.”
“I thank the Minister for his answers so far. Can you, Minister, give me your Department's assessment of the harm that the culture of paramilitary activity and domination in parts of Carrick and Larne is having on the educational attainment of young people and children?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. The Member made a good point when he mentioned the Wild Atlantic Way. I ask the Minister to look at that. We need to bring it up here. The Atlantic does not stop at the border; the Wild Atlantic Way should not stop at the border either.”
“I thank the Minister for his answers so far. Minister, you are aware that, increasingly, there is a two-tier system in farming, with hill farming and lowland farming. Can you guarantee to the House that any strategy that is brought out will not affect the hill farmer and his unique way of farming?”
“Were there any talks at your meeting regarding the territorial powers of the Loughs Agency, with regard to the British Government and Irish Government giving it powers to license aquaculture on the Lough?”
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“Only for the MARA project that was brought in by the Minister of Agriculture, we would still not have a clue what was going on with older people in rural areas and the problems they face. We have found out from the MARA project that a lot of these older people could have been availing themselves of grants and money from social services, but, because of their isolation, they were not able to look into this. Therefore, the MARA project has been a lifeline for that. However, MARA cannot be a report that sits on the shelf. It must now be used by all public bodies to see how they can improve the livelihood and life of anybody living in a rural area. <BR /> <BR />Transport is another big problem in the isolation of the older generation. Transport is a lifeline to communicate with people in other areas.”
“These children are bused out from the age of four until they finish their education at 18, travelling four hours per day on a bus. That is way above the average that anybody would expect "normal" — I do not like using that word — children to do. There would be more of a public outcry if we were to have our children spend that length of time on a bus. Some of these children have to travel in taxis. We have not yet figured out that problem. <BR /> <BR />On the issue of social isolation, the MARA project clearly sets out the barriers to meeting the everyday needs of the older population. The present population suffers from restrictive public transport, which leaves older people facing financial and logistical barriers.”
“<BR /> <BR />On health, hospital appointments are continuing to create problems. Those are not being dealt with and are the same problems that have been there year-on-year. With little public transport in my area of the glens, it takes three buses to get to Antrim hospital. Therefore, a return journey would mean that you are out all day until 7.00 pm and sometimes longer. <BR /> <BR />If that carries on, what does it tell us about the rural dweller? How can we compare ourselves with the urban dweller? From the age of four, children with special needs spend an average of four hours per day travelling to school. I hear other people complaining about having to travel half an hour each way or three quarters of an hour each way.”
“Prices for fuel are higher in rural areas than in urban areas. That is compounded by the total lack of piped gas in most places in rural areas. <BR /> <BR />Housing is a sector that has not kept pace with demand. At present, the Housing Executive has a total stock of 87,219 houses, of which 72,315 are urban and 14,904 are rural. Housing associations stated that their latest stock in March this year is 35,858, of which 32,855 are urban, leaving only 3,003 that are rural. Those figures clearly show the vast difference between urban and rural. They also tell us that more and more young people are leaving the rural environment not only to get housing but to get work. The fallout of that is that quite a lot of them do not return, so we are losing more and more of our young people because of a lack of housing and employment.”
“They also lack the ability to offer fuel to firms that want to come in and set up. That adds to the problems of all those small rural businesses. <BR /> <BR />Employment figures show that more of the male population in rural areas travel longer distances for employment. That will entail the use of the family transport, while mothers, who may have high qualifications, tend to take employment closer to home. That is because of inadequate childcare facilities and poor access to public transport. Quite a lot of the time, the employment that they do take is for low pay — far lower than their grade of education would stipulate. <BR /> <BR />Housing poverty and fuel poverty go hand in hand. Fuel poverty is defined as a family having to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to heat its home.”
“Go raibh maith agat. The Noble indices, as they are at present, work against the rural dweller in quite a lot of cases. Therefore, it is time to look at how we arrived at the present system. I believe that, instead of looking at the difference in urban and rural, we must now look at the difference between urban and urban and rural and rural and not be judged by urban against rural and vice versa. To look at how we deliver better values and systems for the rural dweller, we need part of the rural-proofing Bill to be in place now. That would enable rural dwellers to compete in business and to avail themselves of suitably skilled staff. At present, small rural businesses find it extremely hard to compete because of the lack of skilled staff, training facilities, transport and communication.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Can she explore the potential for exhibitions in PRONI, libraries and museums on the 1916 period?”
“Go raibh maith agat. How optimistic is the Minister that payments will be made in December?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for bringing the statement to the House today. It shows the Minister's commitment to the farming industry and farmers. She promised that she would do all that she can, and the statement sets out exactly what she has done. The agriculture industry has a leader at the front. We have seen that in everything that the Minister has done. The future for the farming industry is good, and we have a strong leader. What will the targeted aid package provide to the industry?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Does he agree that reform will require some changes to the commissioning system?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for the presentation. Will he outline the possible impacts that the new councils, since their amalgamation, may face in reaching their waste management targets?”
“The question is this: could you look at that? It is not doing the trade justice. There is a lot of controversy over it.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for his answer, and I take the opportunity to thank the Minister for his input to the question that I put into his office two weeks ago on tourism in the glens. I acknowledge the help that he gave. <BR /> <BR />Minister, everything that you said is quite right, but we are missing out on the mid-glens, which is an integral part of the Antrim coast road and the experience for tourists. Can I ask you to look into that and promote it more? There will be information coming out in a fortnight about HBO, but we need help and input from your office to promote it greatly. We have got Carnlough on the map now for the first time ever. Can I ask you to look into that? <BR /> <BR />Quite a lot of people have not registered for the scheme for inspecting self-catering accommodation because it is not —”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for her statement. Minister, you mentioned in your statement the Information Commissioner's Office. What was its view, and has it made any recommendations?”
“At the start, it was looked upon, as was said earlier, as an engineers' charter, but we have that sorted out. <BR /> <BR />The Bill may not be exactly what everybody was looking for, but we have reshaped it, and, in the long term, people will see that what we have done here today has made the Bill worthwhile. We have had over 200 amendments in it, so no one can doubt how seriously we took this. I look forward to the finishing of the process. I thank Stella and all her team for all the work and support that she gave us on this to bring us to this successful day.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. On behalf of my party, I thank the Committee for the help in bringing all the amendments to the House. The fact that there were over 200 amendments shows the scrutiny that the Committee gave the Bill and how seriously they took this. Also, I thank the Department for taking them away, bringing them back and helping to put them back in a certain way to please the Committee. I also thank the Minister for accepting all the amendments. <BR /> <BR />The main thrust of all of this was safety, and we have that built into the Bill — safety for those who live around a reservoir and safety for the owners of the reservoir. We have that now, and there is safety for the owners insofar as the finance goes.”
“I thank the Minister for that. Can Forest Service provide any further assistance for the community in that area in the time ahead?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for her answers so far. When does she anticipate the call for applications will open?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for her detailed presentation. Minister, the statement shows that the Loughs Agency has had successful prosecutions. Will you give us more detail on that?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. What initiatives is the Minister progressing towards the taking down of interface walls?”
“No, I have already given way. <BR /> <BR />If we are going to fund bands, we must do it in the knowledge that we can work together, not in isolation. The days when bands came in and threatened communities are gone. If you have influence in your area, I ask you to use it to ask bands to sit down and talk to local representatives so that an accommodation can be found in the way that it was in Derry. I congratulate them on that.”
“This has been going on for years, and the same band was reported to police and the Parades Commission for playing threatening music outside the chapel in Larne during Mass. I am sure you will agree that there is no need for that. <BR /> <BR />These things have to stop. We have to sit down and talk. Unless we talk, we cannot get on. The Member from Derry mentioned what is going on there, and I think Mr Humphrey agreed with him. What happened in Derry came out of talks. We must sit down and talk because if we are going to fund bands —”
“I thank the Member for his intervention, but I never said that any one place got 100% of the funding. Other people have to get funding. It is about what those bands do when they get the funding. There are rules that bands have to adhere to if they apply for funding. We know that one band was struck off the list and does not get funding because of its behaviour. Threatening behaviour must come into this, because you can no longer push a band through an area that is totally outside of its remit. I will give you an example. In my area of east Antrim, they insist on pushing a band through Carnlough on the return home from the parades. There is no need to put that band through Carnlough. They have a local band, but they insist on sticking a band from Larne through Carnlough.”
“In a wee minute. I heard very little talk about other bands. Go ahead; I will let you in now.”
“I listened to Members talking about bands in their areas and the high level that they get to as Irish champions, Ulster champions and even world champions. It is the same for members of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, who travel widely in Canada and America on very little funding. It is wonderful what we have in common in how we try to get young people to learn music. We should be talking about it and working on it. We must look at funding because the majority of funding so far has gone to marching bands. I heard quite a lot of talk today —”
“The Minister made it very clear in April this year what she can do. There will be a bid in the June monitoring round, so we have to wait until then. In the past three years, over half a million pounds has been awarded to bands under the scheme, and the Minister is on record as stating that she is committed to supporting the musical instruments for bands scheme. It may be that there is an opportunity to look at how we grant aid bands of all types, not just marching bands.”
“<BR /> <BR />Today's motion states that the Assembly:”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Band culture is one of the features of our society. Whether they are brass bands, silver bands, accordion bands or pipe bands, all of them add to our culture and communities. Band membership varies in number from 12 to bigger bands that I have seen of 20, 30 or even 40. There is a wide age group within those bands, but, given what I heard this morning, I hope that there is nobody over 70. <BR /> <BR />All these bands need money to keep them going, but the problem facing them now is that that funding has been put on hold. That is because of the savage cuts made by the Tory Government. The Arts Council is unable to open the funding scheme in April as it usually does. This may not be the answer that people want to hear, but circumstances dictate how the Budget can be spent.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for his answer. According to the 'All Island Used Tyre Survey', published in 2013, 30% of all waste tyres in the North are being disposed of to unknown destinations. Will the Minister consider using the findings of that report as a starting point for investigating how tyres are being disposed of and how existing regulations can be improved?”
“Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Minister for her detailed answer. Can she give us any details of her discussions with her counterparts regarding fuel laundering and associated crime, particularly in the border areas?”
“We must protect those children when they go to youth clubs or other public places. I ask Members to support the motion. Let us start the journey of setting up a register. England, Scotland and Wales do not have one, so let us be the first to do so.”
“<BR /> <BR />I go back to how I originally became interested in defibrillators. Disabled children and adults have all been born with heart problems. Children with Down's syndrome, for example, all have heart defects in common. Other children have respiratory problems.”
“<BR /> <BR />The motion is about setting up a register of defibrillators, but that will be only part of the solution. For the register to be successful, all purchases of defibrillators must be registered with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. That will save time. I go back to what I said earlier: at present, there is no onus on people to register a defibrillator. That should happen now, because fire extinguishers, which are a vital part of keeping the public safe, are mandatory in all public buildings. Defibrillators should be mentioned in the same breath as fire extinguishers in public buildings and other buildings that encourage the public into them. Having defibrillators will save time, and, with heart attacks, time is the difference between life and death.”
“The motion calls on all Departments and their arm's-length bodies to carry out an audit of their provisions, in case there are no defibrillators within their estate, and provide training for staff in the use of the equipment. <BR /> <BR />At some stage, the majority of the public will use recreational facilities provided by their local authorities. Those facilities include swimming pools, football pitches and gyms etc. We must ensure that the new councils that have been set up have equipment and staff trained in the use of the equipment. Indeed Members, I would further say — I am sure you will agree with me — that any organisation that encourages the public to use its facilities, such as airports, ferry terminals, train stations, supermarkets etc, should have defibrillators on its premises and staff trained in their use.”
“It is recognised that the sudden death of GAA star Cormac McAnallen and his family setting up the Cormac Trust has popularised the use of defibrillators. The Owenbeg GAA facility outside Dungiven has three units on its premises, and their importance was seen recently when Derry star Kevin McCloy collapsed during a local league match. Kevin's heart stopped for a few minutes, and one of the defibrillators was used to restart it. I am glad to say that he is making good progress towards a full recovery. We have also seen young rugby players, referees and soccer players collapsing during games. All those who survived owe their life to the defibrillator. Unfortunately, some of those who were treated did not survive. <BR /> <BR />We in the Assembly must show the way forward.”
“<BR /> <BR />As part of my research, I recently spoke to the chief medical officer in the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, Dr David McManus, who assured me of his full support for a register. He told me that time was the most important factor when dealing with cardiac arrest, and he went on to say that it was vital that the Ambulance Service had a register of all defibrillators and their locations, not only to support the service but to get treatment to patients as quickly as possible to give them every chance of survival. It is also worth stating that he said that registration and responsibility for the register should lie with the Ambulance Service. <BR /> <BR />Sports clubs have been to the fore in promoting the use of defibrillators.”
“I want to put it on the record that this organisation deserves great credit for the work it has put in and for the success it has achieved and continues to achieve. <BR /> <BR />The main reason for the register — this is what shocked me when I researched the issue of defibrillation — was the lack of knowledge of where all the defibrillators are located. We know that there are hundreds out there, but there is an argument that there could be thousands. We do not know the exact figure. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service knows only a fraction of the locations, and that is the main problem. At present, there is no onus on anybody who buys a defibrillator to register its sale, its ownership and, most importantly, where it will be kept. I will come back to that.”
“Defibs4Kids was founded by schoolteacher and present chairman, Mr Art Kernan, and Martina McConville. Their vision is to increase the survival chances of those who suffer out-of-hospital heart attacks through early intervention and early recognition. They also want to have mandatory CPR training for children and teachers as part of the school curriculum, improve the availability of AEDs in schools, sporting organisations and all public places and create an online database of all mobile and static defibrillator locations. Their campaign has been supported by sports stars such as Mary Peters, the GAA's Joe Kernan, soccer's Jim Magilton and rugby's David Humphreys. Prior to the campaign launch, it was estimated that approximately 30 schools had defibrillators. Since the launch, the figures show that 196 schools have defibrillators.”
“In the glens, for example, we have three units: two are located outside local businesses, and the third is in the local nursing home. All volunteers have keys to the boxes to use when needed. All volunteers are trained to the standard laid down by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. Their aim is to provide emergency life support until an appropriately equipped paramedic vehicle from the Ambulance Service arrives. It is now recognised that early intervention by first responders can and does increase the survival rates for out-of-hospital heart attacks by as much as twofold to threefold. <BR /> <BR />At a recent meeting of the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure, a group called Defibs4Kids made a presentation. Their campaign was launched in June 2013 by the then Health Minister, Edwin Poots, and the Education Minister, John O'Dowd.”
“The criteria that are used for an area to qualify for a first responders scheme are the number of emergency calls from that area, where existing ambulance stations are located and the availability of volunteers. The most important criterion of all is whether the area proposed lies outside the eight-minute response time that is set down by the Ambulance Service. That is why most of the areas selected are rural, such as my area in the mid-glens. In fact, the area that I represent, East Antrim, has two. <BR /> <BR />At present, the Ambulance Service has selected eight community first responders schemes. They are in Islandmagee, Slaughtneil, Cookstown, Loughguile, Enniskillen, Foyle, mid-glens and our only inhabited island, Rathlin. All these areas use automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), which are located in kiosks or boxes.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Business Committee for selecting the motion. The Sinn Féin motion before the Assembly is of the utmost importance. With the Assembly's support, we will take the first steps to setting up a register of all defibrillators, mobile or standing, in the North of Ireland, where they are located and who is responsible for their use and maintenance. <BR /> <BR />I first became interested in the importance of defibrillators when I, as chairman of my local disability group, got involved in helping to set up a first responders scheme in the mid-glens. First responders groups are set up with guidance from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS).”
“I, too, congratulate the Minister on her appointment. Does she understand that the majority of children in poverty live in a household where one or two parents are in work, and, in the light of that, will she ensure that those families are less dependent on welfare by providing those in the public sector with a 1% increase in their basic wage?”
“The Committee understood that some reservoir managers may refuse to comply with the operating regime, but, in many cases, that could be because a reservoir manager is simply financially unable to comply. The Committee started to look at how to get over that. It did not want the Department having to pursue a community-based club, or, as I said, even a small farm. The Committee understood and tabled amendments to cover that, so the safeguards are there now. There is discretion now on cost recovery on the basis of who can afford it. Those who can afford to pay will pay and cannot use any legal loophole so that they do not have to pay, or, as it says in the report, give the Department the runaround. <BR /> <BR />My party is quite happy with and recommends the amendments and new clauses.”
“However, the new clauses, such as clause 71A, brought in to cover that were agreed by the Committee and give discretion.”
“Go raibh maith agat. The cost recovery aspects of the Bill caused the Committee some concern. In its deliberations, the Committee noted that where a reservoir manager fails to comply with certain regulations in the Bill, the Department provides itself with powers to meet those requirements. This will require the recovery of the full cost of an engineer carrying out safety works etc. In most instances, it could lead to individuals, such as people with small farms and the like, with a large bill. If the reservoir manager fails to comply with the regulations in the Bill, the Department would have those powers to act.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Will he agree with me that the legislation in Scotland is to be changed and that England and Wales will follow? We have to ask ourselves why they are doing that. It is being brought down for safety reasons to 10,000 cubic metres, which is far more than what the Member calls a "puddle". <BR /> <BR />The Member said that, if he had a dam on his property, he would make sure that it was up to standard. How would you do that? You do not know the state of the dam, so you would need to get an engineer in to do what you said you have a responsibility to do. The Bill helps people do that. They get grant aid to have the first inspection. Everything will come into line. England, Scotland, Wales and here will come into line. You are talking about being only a year out. What price do you put on safety?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does he agree with me that it clearly came out during the consultation we had with some owners who came here that they did not realise that what they had on their property was a reservoir until they were told? This Bill will help them. On the aspect of cost to the pocket, it is clearly stated in the Bill that, in the cases of those who cannot pay, the Department will look at that and may take over the reservoir. That is clearly in the Bill, so we cannot take a broad brush and claim that the whole thing will cost people millions. Do you agree with me that people did not realise what they had on their properties?”
“<BR /> <BR />It is generally accepted that a dam breach from a reservoir that holds 10,000 cubic metres or more of water can cause great harm or even death. Therefore, that should be our starting point and the minimum level at which we regulate reservoirs. To set the level any higher than that would place the lives of our people at risk. It is a risk that the Assembly need not and should not take. Safety for everybody is paramount. It is for that reason that I do not support the proposed amendment and I encourage the House to vote against it.”
“The developer cannot override his decision. That is clearly built in there. <BR /> <BR />I feel for the owners, not least those complying with the cost. It was for that reason that the Committee devoted so much of its time to scrutinising the Bill, time that has resulted in the 200-odd amendments that we are debating today. However, the Assembly has a responsibility to consider the safety of those who live and work below a reservoir and those who use reservoirs for recreation. It also has a responsibility to ensure that such structures are as safe as possible. Going back to some of the reservoirs that are used for recreational purposes: those dams that are owned by, say, Northern Ireland Water still hold a manager in the third-party agreement. Those who are leasing that do not have anything to worry about.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention, but we must look at where these 20-odd dams are. They are located in sparsely inhabited areas. Indeed, with the property boom that we had in the last few years, we should have seen more building if they were going to be a danger, but we did not. We have not seen that much building in front of these dams, and, in fact, the report says that one of these dams has the sea as the only thing in front of it. I do not think that there is this big problem of building in front of dams because the safety is in there. If a developer has to build below a dam, he has to do his work and cannot do it unless he has permission from the manager of the dam to go onto the land to do his testing. That becomes an agreement between the two parties, but if the manager says no to it, then no it is.”