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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“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank Mr Dickson for securing the debate. <BR /> <BR />I acknowledge that I did not know much about Cherry Tree House until very recently — when I say "recently", I mean the last few months — when I started to get phone calls about it from people who at first would not give me their name. At the end, I was talking to people who were openly giving me their name and status, and, in one case, I spoke to a family. To be honest, I was shocked at this. As Mr Hilditch said, when someone picks a nursing home for their loved one to stay in, it is to be a home for the loved one, a place of sanctuary and safety, not a place of anger and fear. That is what I cannot understand.”
“Will you now state that the trust came to you with the strategic view of closing either the Dalriada or the Robinson, and that the trust opted to close the former in favour of the latter, which is not what was said to me yesterday in a meeting between Sinn Féin and the trust's new chief executive, Dr Tony Stevens?”
“Last week, when the deputy First Minister received a deputation from the MS Society, Mrs Philomena McKay, from Cushendun in my constituency, said to Mr McGuinness, with tears in her eyes, that her husband is more like a carer to her than a husband because of what is happening today. Is that where we are going? Health is being driven by a budget. When we put out Transforming Your Care, health was to be the priority, yet you do the very opposite. Minister, I put this to you: do you control the trust? In answer to Mr Swann at the start of the debate, you said that you did not know, but the trust is saying something different.”
“Why is the chief executive taking the word of his management without a plan having been drawn up? Where is the consultation? The Member for North Antrim Mr Storey quite rightly said that we come to the Chamber to make very hard decisions on budgets — quite rightly. However, at least all the decisions that we make on cuts and budgets go through a consultation period. In this decision, we are not allowed that. We are given the temporary closure and told that a consultation will then be embarked on. How is that fair? <BR /> <BR />Members of the MS Society have bared their soul and told us about some of the most difficult parts of their life to fight for this unit.”
“I totally agree with the Member. He is quite right, and I was coming to that point. When the closure was made, it was made on a temporary basis. Why? It was so that there would be no consultation on it, because it is temporary. When I asked the chief executive yesterday to carry out a full equality impact assessment and consultation on the provision, the answer was a stark no. However, when the Dalriada is closed, the trust will then embark on a consultation on the provision of health care in the Northern Trust. He wants to split the trust into four hubs of excellence, after closing a unit of excellence. <BR /> <BR />Shame on you, Minister, and shame on the trust. Your whole thing is to care for the patient, not to be driven by a budget; £500,000 could be found in your budget. Why are you doing this?”
“I asked him to put to an end the campaign to stop the closure of the Dalriada, and he told me that he took the advice of his management. Management told him that, in a strategic plan, somewhere had to close to balance the books, and its advice was to close the Dalriada. This is budget-driven not patient-driven. Out of your budget of millions, you cannot find £500,000. As my party colleague the Chair of the Health Committee, Maeve McLaughlin, said, of the £18 million that has been given to you, £500,000 could be found to keep the Dalriada going.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. For over 20 years I represented the glens area on Moyle Council, and in that time I have seen at least three attempts to close the MS centre at the Dalriada. This is nothing new. This is a sustained attack on the unit. When the latest one came about, it was no surprise to me, but I have to give credit to the campaign that is being waged by the people of Ballycastle, the glens, the whole countryside and those who are in the Public Gallery today. <BR /> <BR />What we are seeing today is a campaign driven by the trust on budget. It is not patient-driven at all. The question I have to ask today is this: who exactly is running the trust? Is it you, Minister, or is the trust dictating to you the terms of what it does? I had a meeting with Tony Stevens here yesterday afternoon.”
“That is not to say that the rest is going to other cancers; it is not. The more money that goes on research the better, but it is not enough for just over £5 million to be spent on research a year, and other Members will agree. <BR /> <BR />Minister, do everything you can after this debate, but please do not forget the families.”
“There is not enough help for the families; they are left on their own. The man of the house could be self-employed and get cancer. What is he supposed to do? He is left with the prospect no income for the house. All those everyday questions have to be answered by the families on their own. There is movement on that through Macmillan and organisations offering advice, but there needs to be more help for families from the Department. <BR /> <BR />We need to treat cancer patients in a more humane way. If we have not improved the five-year survival rates in 40 years, there is something wrong. We are still supplying the drugs, as the Minister said, which is good, but there has to be something else. For 1% of the national budget to be spent on research into pancreatic cancer is a disgrace.”
“In the past 10 years, when the number of deaths from other cancers has been declining, the number of deaths from pancreatic cancer has been increasing. <BR /> <BR />As someone who has cancer, I understand how people feel. When you are sat in the room with the specialist and he comes out with that word "cancer", you go into a different world. The one thing that has been missing in the debate today — it is not the fault of Members — is the effect on families. I ask the Minister to bear that in mind. I totally agree with everything that Members have said and are going to say, but please do not forget the families, because they are left to pick up the pieces. The family is devastated when their loved one is diagnosed with cancer and is being treated, and they are grief-stricken when that person dies.”
“People have a one in 90 chance of getting this cancer, but they have a 95% chance of dying once diagnosed. Those figures mean that research into pancreatic cancer is less likely to attract commercial funding than the more treatable forms of cancer. The Government need to step up to the plate and give more money to research. <BR /> <BR />Of the National Cancer Research Institute's 2013 budget, only £5·2 million — just 1% — was spent on pancreatic cancer. Breast cancer got £41 million, bowel cancer got £24·5 million, leukaemia got £32 million and prostate cancer got £21 million. The money spent on pancreatic cancer research here equates to £625 per death per year compared with £3,426 per death per year for breast cancer.”
“Breast cancer is currently 84%; in 1971, it was 56%. Prostate cancer is currently 88%; in 1971, it was 31%. Those are just some of the survival figures. <BR /> <BR />What causes pancreatic cancer is not yet fully understood, but certain factors have been identified in the development of the disease. It especially affects people aged between 50 and 80. Smoking is a big one, as are diabetes and stomach ulcers. Although it is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths and has the worst survival rate of all cancers, it receives only 1% of research spend. Dr Andrew Millar of London Cancer said in September of this year that there has to be a direct link between the lack of funding allocated to pancreatic cancer and the lack of progress in treating the disease.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I support the motion. I also thank the Member for bringing it forward for debate. Each year in the North of Ireland, pancreatic cancer accounts for around 200 deaths, which is 5·5% of all cancer-related deaths. It is an extremely difficult cancer to diagnose and treat. Symptoms are vague, and they generally appear at an advanced stage of the disease. One of the main concerns is that there is no early diagnostic test available. Three per cent of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive five years or more. Sadly, as Members have stated, that has not changed in 40 years. While this cancer is the fifth leading cause of death and has the worst survival rate of all cancers, survival rates for other cancers have remained steady. Bowel cancer is currently 54%; in 1971, it was 22%.”
“How can they do that on a temporary basis?”
“— into private sector nursing homes is not the way to go. The MS authorities will tell you that. I ask the Minister to reverse this decision on those grounds and to listen to the public.”
“It does not make sense in a financial set-up to do that. Moving young people with MS —”
“To close the MS centre in Ballycastle is to close the only regional MS centre that we have in the Six Counties. It is not that long ago that I was contacting the Minister's predecessor about another sustained attack on the MS centre in Ballycastle when its respite hours were cut down. This has been a sustained attack to get rid of the MS centre that has been going on for years. <BR /> <BR />The Minister says that he has to make a saving of £0·6 million in this Budget. As he said himself, this is a temporary arrangement and we have to save £0·6 million. The majority of that is in staff costs, but, if you are going to move the staff, you still have to pay them, and that payment is still there in the Northern Trust. You are not saving that money by moving the staff if it is only temporary.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for her presentation. Can she outline to the House what international angling competitions and events DCAL has supported?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. Minister, I am sure you will agree that the benefits of relocation far outstrip the negativity of some of the arguments put against the planned relocation of the headquarters.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for his statement. Minister, it is clear from the report that the Executive have clearly signalled support for the agrifood sector by signing off on the rural development programme and the Going for Growth strategy. Will the Finance Minister, today, in the House, reaffirm his commitment to supporting the agrifood sector in the context of this and future Budget rounds?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. Has his Department engaged with its counterpart in the South to look at cross-border cycling provisions?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does he agree that the party across there that talks about budgets gave no consideration to rural isolation and the problems that that causes? This will further add to those suffering from rural isolation. It would be interesting to know how the party will feed into the review that will take place through the ARD Committee on the question of rural isolation.”
“Go raibh maith agat. Can the Minister give us any detail of the discussions regarding Horizon 2020?”
“When the Member mentions the planning permission given in South Dublin, does he know exactly what he is talking about when he mentions geothermal heating and the type that it is? Perhaps he can tell the House that. Secondly, can I ask the MP for East Antrim how many applications have been made for geothermal heating schemes in his constituency?”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Given that some of the councils appear reluctant to implement the new strategies for sport for the disabled, can she raise that with the Sport Matters implementation group? Go raibh maith agat.”
“Go raibh maith agat. Will the Minister give a breakdown of funding presently available to bands?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. What opportunities exist to ensure that the social investment fund adds value and complements other Executive initiatives?”
“I ask the House to look at where the lottery can play a major part here.”
“As I said, we contributed £60 million to the Olympics; surely, we can get part of that back. If they were to give us back the percentage that they took out of our total of money that we have here for our lottery, that would help to pay for quite a lot of the infrastructure that we need here to develop our sport. Otherwise, we will be totally struggling. For me, the key to the whole thing is funding.”
“For the Olympic Games in London, over £60 million was taken from us over six years as our contribution towards the cost of £2·2 billion. If that money can be taken from us for the Olympic Games in London, surely the lottery can put some of that money back to us to build up our sports facilities like a cycling track etc. By the way, the money that was taken from us was not returned. We were told that it would not be returned. <BR /> <BR />We have to look at all of this. The budget for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow was £561 million, with around £460 million provided by public funds. The Scottish Government contributed over £380 million, and Glasgow City Council contributed the rest. No money was funded for that. Do we have that budget? We must look outside to get funding brought in, and the lottery has a big part to play.”
“Why are our boxers so successful? What are they doing that is different from other sports? The boxing fraternity developed a high-performance system that the boxing family bought into completely. When you listen to any of the squad talking, you hear that they have total self-belief that they are the best, and that belief is brought into the ring with them. That same high performance must now be installed in other sports like judo, bowls, netball etc. When you go down and see the facilities in Jordanstown, where those high-performance athletes train — the Ulster rugby team has been down there as well — you see that we have got the basis for that. <BR /> <BR />Sport NI and DCAL have put money into our sports programme, but, next time, the lottery must put funding into sport. That has not been mentioned here today.”
“It is clear that Sport NI is serious about creating an environment in sport where success becomes routine. I am pleased to hear that targets will be set for the next games in Australia and that, unlike this year, those targets will be made public. Other sports will be encouraged to learn from the successes of our boxing squad, and the tally of two gold medals must be bettered.”
“<BR /> <BR />On 7 August 2014, Antoinette McKeown, the chief executive of Sport NI, a DCAL arm's-length body, stated that a detailed review of how each sport had performed at the games would be undertaken. That review will help to establish where resources can best be used and spent. Sport NI will sit down with the governing bodies of all the sports to understand the factors in the sports that have been successful and those that have not.”
“Go raibh maith agat. The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow have just finished, with our athletes taking home a very creditable and excellent 12 medals, and our boxers took nine of that total. For the first time at the games, female boxers also took home medals. Athletes in other sports finished well but were just outside the medals. Those sports included wrestling, netball, badminton and athletics. We are already planning for the next games in 2018 and have an expectation to do better. The motion calls on DCAL to urgently reassess other sports that might be expected to excel at the next games and to ensure that appropriate training and facilities are in place.”
“Before I ask my supplementary, I congratulate Mr Storey on his elevation. Will the Minister outline other sites in the Glengormley area that his Department is examining to meet the need for social housing in north Belfast?”
“Go raibh maith agat. Does the Minister agree that, under equality legislation, those classes should be free to deaf people in order for them to be able to participate in all aspects of their life as fully as possible?”
“Go raibh maith agat. Would the Minister agree that the accountability and oversight mechanisms, by their nature, should be exempt from any cuts?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I congratulate the Minister on her statement. Paragraph 15 refers to the management agreement and the steady progress being made. Will you give us more detail on the progress being made?”
“Can the Minister provide more detail on the proposed farm business investment scheme?”
“I thank the Minister for that enlightening response. Have the Minister's divisional managers been instructed to draw up a list of how much they can save through making cutbacks in each divisional area? How much has he saved to date?”