Sammy Douglas
East Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Avoid the appearance of wrongdoing. There is a sense out there that what is happening, over the last number of years, is wrong. The courts are too lenient and even the PPS is too lenient. William Humphrey said earlier that it undermines the criminal justice system. I agree with William.”
“It was claimed by the so-called Real IRA, and, as my colleague mentioned, the accused has broken bail conditions on five occasions. <BR /> <BR />There has been talk in the debate about human rights.”
“I rise as a member of the Justice Committee to speak in the debate, and I thank Douglas Beattie and his colleagues for bringing the motion to the House. I am here to support the motion.”
“Certainly, in the midst of his comments, there is a frustration. That frustration has been there for many years, not just recently. I agree with the Chief Constable.”
“Minister, you alluded to north Belfast. Have you looked at the statements by the Chief Constable, who has questioned the linkages that may be undermining the whole criminal justice system in situations like that? <BR /> <BR />Also, I want to pay tribute to you. I think that you have been a great Minister.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I certainly agree with my colleague about the full rigour of the law. The Assembly should be tough on crime and tough on the reasons behind crime.”
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“I thank the Minister for his statement. He mentioned the social innovation fund, which will be a great boost for the third sector, including social enterprises, charities, community and voluntary groups, and faith-based organisations. When will the scheme be up and running?”
“I thank the Minister for bringing the statement to the House. Can the Minister assure the House that the important cross-border cooperation in combating the sexual exploitation of children will not be hampered by any departmental budget cuts?”
“I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response. Will he outline the steps that would be required for minimum unit pricing to be introduced in Northern Ireland?”
“Minister, do you agree that, when people end up in prison, when they are incarcerated, that is a punishment for them? They lose their freedom. It is about rehabilitation rather than punishment while they are in jail, but can you give the wider public confidence that these prisoners' demands, threats and intimidation are not about rewarding that bad behaviour?”
“For me, as a democrat, democracy should not reward threats, parcel bombs and, indeed, murder. I know that our friend Tom Elliott, again, mentioned the horrendous murder of David Black. <BR /> <BR />There is one thing that we have learned from the past, and it is this: that the tens of thousands of young men, and indeed women, who pass through our prisons end up behind bars. Lives change for ever. Families change for ever. The question for us all has come up before: what did it achieve? What will these prisoners achieve in terms of their political ideals? Previous experience is that, in the past, prisoners' demands become unceasing. You just cannot feed this big monster. <BR /> <BR />I look forward to the Minister assuring us that prison security will not be compromised. I support the motion.”
“I thank the Member for his contribution. Certainly, I would like to leave here today having been assured by the Minister and having that confidence when I walk out the door. <BR /> <BR />There is one issue that I think that we will certainly agree on 100% in relation to this report by the independent assessment team. The 'News Letter' says:”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with David Black's family today. Undoubtedly, they will be listening in to this debate. Certainly, our prayers are with that family. <BR /> <BR />Mr Givan, in his presentation, was passionate, and rightly so, because he and his family have been subjected to threats and indeed a murder attempt on his uncle in the past. If anything, our motion is about the safety of prison staff and, indeed, the protection of their families. I want the Minister to confirm to us and assure us that this will be the case and that prison officers and their families will be protected.”
“<BR /> <BR />I paint a bleak picture of what prison was like for prisoners and their families; conditions, particularly in the early days, were absolutely horrendous. However, if we fast-forward to 2014, we see that prisons have changed beyond recognition. As the report says, since 2010 the changes include increased freedom of association, including the use of a new AstroTurf pitch, access to a library and computers, prisoners preparing their own food, communal dining and access to a gym. So, undoubtedly conditions have improved dramatically. I am sure that many of those tens of thousands of prisoners during the Troubles would have loved to have had some of those changes come about. <BR /> <BR />However, one thing has not changed as we fast-forward to 2014: the threats, intimidation and indeed murder of prison staff.”
“I am pleased to speak in this important debate, and I support the motion. <BR /> <BR />I grew up in Belfast during the Troubles when many of my friends, neighbours and, indeed, family members ended up behind bars. I visited every prison in Northern Ireland and, certainly in those days, conditions were indeed grim, particularly for elderly parents or the mothers of young children who were visiting prisoners. During what we call the Troubles, prison staff showed tremendous courage, fortitude and bravery during some of the most difficult days of our lives. <BR /> <BR />One of the prisons that I visited was Crumlin Road Gaol, which is now to become a visitors' centre and whiskey distillery. In fact, I met some of the investors at Stormont today.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. She will be aware of some recent difficulties with car parking at Ravenhill, or Kingspan. Is she in a position to outline plans for parking in the vicinity of Windsor Park, not just for spectators but for local residents?”
“I thank the Minister for her answers so far. I am sure that the Minister will agree with me that Kyle Lafferty from Tamlaght in County Fermanagh is a great tourist attraction for Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I want to ask the Minister about tourist attractions for Northern Ireland in light of recent debate about the tourism events fund. I recently attended Culture Night, which was a fabulous night for Belfast, and the Minister has been to the C S Lewis festival in east Belfast and is a big supporter of EastSide Arts, as is her friend Van Morrison. Will the Minister please give a progress report or an update on the tourism events fund?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. The Minister may be aware that there are rumours going about that there is the potential for a road to go through that area. Can the Minister confirm his commitment to retaining Ballymacarrett walkway as a walking and cycling route?”
“I thank the deputy First Minister for his response. Are there ways in which this Assembly can reassure those communities, particularly those communities that feel very isolated, apart from urging those with information to pass it to the Garda Síochána or to the PSNI?”
“As Mr Robinson said, any investigation would require full access to information from intelligence agencies. I think that there has to be complete freedom on the part of those who want to give evidence to be able to do so. I do not think that anybody is asking them to divulge national secrets, but this is a national scandal that needs to be dealt with, and I trust that whatever steps are taken will ensure that the truth will eventually come out.”
“That should include the UK Government granting requests for the authorised disclosure of relevant information by current or former state employees with relevant knowledge of the alleged child abuse and its alleged cover-up, as permitted under the Official Secrets Act 1989.”
“While we welcome the Northern Ireland inquiry, let us be honest: it has only limited powers and is unable to compel the release of files from either Whitehall Departments or the intelligence agencies. <BR /> <BR />On 1 August this year, our First Minister, Peter Robinson, said that child sex abuse at Kincora Boys' Home is a "national scandal" that needs to be fully investigated. The First Minister wrote to the Prime Minister to urge that the east Belfast home be included in the ongoing Westminster child sex abuse inquiry. I agree with the First Minister: we should seek nothing less than a full investigation of Kincora. We must be able to have access to all the relevant files and witnesses required to uncover the truth about abuse and any subsequent cover-up at the home.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are specific allegations that the secret services, over an extended number of years, used their knowledge about a paedophile ring at the boys' home for the purposes of intelligence-gathering while actively blocking police investigations that could have ended the abuse. Shocking. Those allegations, with some substantiating evidence, have been documented in a series of media investigations and books published from 1990 onwards. <BR /> <BR />Kincora Boys' Home is one of a number of children's homes subject to investigation by the historical institutional abuse inquiry established by the Assembly, which began public hearings in January.”
“I have met some of the individuals concerned. Last year, a man who was at the home came to see me. He told me of his own nightmare and his experiences while he was at the home, but also when he was taken from the home. He was taken to big fancy houses where he was abused by, as he said, the top echelons of our society. He was a man in his sixties. He went to the police and informed them of his allegations, but he was frustrated after all these years. The man was traumatised in his own being, and, unfortunately, he died within the last year. He had a record of his allegations of the abuse that he experienced during those years, which he handed to the police.”
“Every time that I pass that area, it is like a trigger, in that I am reminded of the rumours, the allegations, the discussions with people, the real anger and the suspicions, which have persisted through the years, that child abuse at the home was indeed known by a huge range of people, including politicians, civil servants and members of the security forces and military intelligence. The most serious allegation is that investigations were blocked by the authorities. <BR /> <BR />I read an old copy of the 'Belfast Telegraph' last night in which our First Minister said:”
“I support the motion, and I thank the Member for bringing this important debate to the Chamber. I hope that, after today, this will not just be about raising the issues, many of which have been raised before, but about action, and that, at long last, we will get to the heart of this scandal, which has shamed Northern Ireland, given the extent of the abuse that went on and the fact that it affected so many innocent young people. <BR /> <BR />I live one and a half miles from the former Kincora Boys' Home in east Belfast.”
“I will respond to the Member's point. I spoke to the Minister this morning, and she said that, because it is a reserved matter, she felt that she did not need to be here in that it is not her Department's responsibility.”
“The motion calls on the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to raise the matter at a forthcoming meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council when it meets in trade and business sectoral format. Does the Member agree that postal services are a reserved matter for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills at Westminster?”
“It is not just about growing the economy for people who get the opportunity to get funded to go to university but is particularly about getting the help and support that is required for those disadvantaged areas. <BR /> <BR />The NUS says that where things are at the moment does not reflect the reality. I think that the Member who proposed the motion talked about consultation. Of course we want to encourage a wider and broader consultation, and, again, I am sure that the Minister will welcome that. I want to finish by saying that I support the motion, and I am waiting on the Minister to confirm what he spoke to us about at our Employment and Learning Committee.”
“I was speaking to two young women recently, and I encouraged them to embark on lifelong learning and then to embark on a university career because they are as bright as anybody who I know who goes to university. However, at this time in their lives, they have not had a chance. We need to ensure that the likes of one of those young women, who has three children, gets the help and support if needed, particularly with the likes of childcare, as an example. The second of those young women is 21 and is as bright as anything but just has not had the life chances. We need to support those people in our constituencies. As I said earlier, we need to grow the economy.”
“I suppose that all of us recognise the number of jobs that have been created over the past number of months. We have heard the First Minister and the deputy First Minister say that we have created more jobs than at any time in our history, second only to London in the wider United Kingdom. So, for me, there is a real link between the Programme for Government, creating jobs, and encouraging and supporting students to get to that higher level where they can access these jobs. <BR /> <BR />The third thing that I want to say is that, in our constituencies, we have all come across people who do want to go to university. In my own constituency, there are areas of disadvantage — some of the worst in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />I want to say three things. The first is that it is so important for us to continue with this fund. I was delighted that, when the Minister was asked this question at a meeting of the Committee for Employment and Learning, he said that he supported it and that, in fact, more money had been allocated to support students right across Northern Ireland. I want him to reiterate this afternoon that there is that support of a safety net for people who, as my colleague Tom Buchanan said, come to a point at times in their life when they need help and those resources. So, for me, it is vital that we have that sort of network. <BR /> <BR />My second point is that the students who get that support will go into the world of work. Certainly, in terms of higher education, this is linked to the jobs that are available in Northern Ireland.”
“I support the revised motion. I am from a background of lifelong learning and further education. If this debate does anything, it emphasises the importance of that. Students who are in hardship and need extra financial support do get that help and support from universities and colleges across Northern Ireland. We have a very good scheme here, and none of us wants to lose that. <BR /> <BR />It is interesting that, just earlier this month, the Welsh Assembly decided to cut their fund for student hardship, but, as a result of a lot of lobbying and negotiations, they have parked that for the next year. For me, that shows that devolution in Northern Ireland is working. As it states in our Programme for Government, this is about local people setting priorities for the future of Northern Ireland. For me, it is about growing the economy.”
“I thank the Minister for his answers to date and also for the leap of faith he took in supporting this initiative. Does he agree that there is the potential for more oil rigs to come into Harland and Wolff, and so it is vitally important that we train up those unemployed people in particular?”