Steven Agnew
North Down · Green Party · Northern Ireland
“We need an independent, open and transparent process for investigating Ministers. I have always failed to understand the opposition to that from some in the House. Given recent events, if the Assembly was to oppose it again today, there would be public anger.”
“This process would involve one commissioner and one independent investigation, rather than a political investigation that, I have no doubt, some at the time called a witch-hunt, as is often said when people are defending their Minister.”
“I am delighted to make a winding-up speech on this debate, which has been the first-ever sole Green Party private Member's motion. Thanks to the election of my colleague, Clare Bailey, we have two Green MLAs, which has increased our ability to use the Assembly privileges to put such suggestions forward.”
“I absolutely agree, Mr Beggs. <BR /> <BR />Another point I will make is about the idea of the distinction between the Minister and the Department. When I was drafting my private Member's Bill, I asked, "Should that say 'Minister' or 'Department'?". The legal advice that I was given was that they are one and the same.”
“If an MLA is alleged to have breached the code, a member of the public can write to the standards commissioner and have their complaint investigated in an independent manner. The result of any investigation is published and can, if required, lead to a debate in the Assembly so that all the issues can be aired.”
“I would argue that it serves neither the Minister nor the public well that we do not have such a process. An individual who seeks to complain will be left frustrated if they feel that their concerns are ignored by those in office, who are supposed to act on their behalf.”
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“I, for one, welcome the move, finally, towards plan-led development in the Belfast metropolitan area and find it bizarre that Members who say they put the economy first are willing to hold back the whole economy of the area on the basis of one proposed application that has never come forward. <BR /> <BR />Minister, there is much in your statement on economic and social development, but the third key pillar is, of course, the environment. What measures are in BMAP to prevent urban sprawl, specifically into former green belt areas opened up under PPS 21?”
“<BR /> <BR />He served as Environment Minister, and I can only wish that I had had the opportunity to hold him to account in the way that I have tried to hold to account our current Environment Minister and all Environment Ministers who have been in post since I was elected. I have no doubt that he would have been more than able to stand up to that scrutiny. <BR /> <BR />He showed himself to be a very able and, as we can see today, very respected politician, and I offer my condolences and those of the Green Party in Northern Ireland to his family, his party and his very wide circle of friends and respected colleagues.”
“My political career was only in its very earliest beginnings when Sam Foster retired from politics due to illness. The thing that strikes me, looking back over his political career, was his commitment to the victims of the Enniskillen bombing and the work that he did in the aftermath of that atrocity. That gave me a sense of the nature of the man's character. <BR /> <BR />Mr Allister alluded to Sam Foster's work in implementing the Good Friday Agreement and in embedding these political structures. Perhaps the best that he could do to serve victims of the many atrocities in Northern Ireland was to help to create stable political institutions and work across communities and across the parties for peace in Northern Ireland.”