Ross Hussey
West Tyrone · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“For years, I have been asking the police for information on weaponry that has been recovered and its history. For some reason, that information has never been released. Why? Can that weaponry be traced back to the IRA? Is there a possibility that groups that were IRA took their weaponry with them? Of course there is.”
“In my constituency of West Tyrone, and in the neighbouring one of Foyle, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has recovered many weapons and explosives, all belonging to terror groups that do not have the guts to give themselves a name or, at times, call themselves the "Continuity IRA" or whatever.”
“I begin by passing my best wishes to the police officer who was seriously injured last night and to his colleagues in the Police Service of Northern Ireland.”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Previously, I asked the Minister for details of prison officers who had retired as a result of injury on duty and was informed that the information could not be provided, as it was confidential. Can the Minister advise me why it is confidential?”
“I met Mencap yesterday, and we discussed the problems associated with adults with learning disabilities in West Tyrone. The figure is not £8 million: we are possibly talking about £110 million or more that has been underspent in West Tyrone and the Western Health and Social Care Trust.”
“I apologise to the Minister for not being here for the start of her statement, but I have read your statement and was paying attention as you spoke. You referred to paramilitarism and also to forensic services. Clearly, in the Republic of Ireland, quite a few explosive devices and arms caches have been found.”
The complete record
Every one of 226 lines we hold for Ross Hussey, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 1 of 5.
“I pledge my support to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, incorporating the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC, and I hope that everybody else does.”
“For years, I have been asking the police for information on weaponry that has been recovered and its history. For some reason, that information has never been released. Why? Can that weaponry be traced back to the IRA? Is there a possibility that groups that were IRA took their weaponry with them? Of course there is. That element of collusion between the IRA — the Provisional IRA and the ABCDEFG IRA — is here to today. All that weaponry must be surrendered to the police. <BR /> <BR />This is my last opportunity to speak to the Assembly. Some of you may be glad to know that I am retiring from politics. I hope that, in the next Assembly, no politician has to stand up and condemn a murderous attack on a police officer. Anyone who is prepared to wear the uniform should get the support of the Assembly.”
“In my constituency of West Tyrone, and in the neighbouring one of Foyle, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has recovered many weapons and explosives, all belonging to terror groups that do not have the guts to give themselves a name or, at times, call themselves the "Continuity IRA" or whatever. I have a name for them, and that is "cowards"; that is all they have ever been and all they ever will be. <BR /> <BR />Twenty-four years ago today, a 21-year-old Royal Ulster Constabulary officer was shot dead in Londonderry. He had his whole life in front of him. Constable Michael Ferguson was done to death by the same sort of individual who tried to kill the police officer last night in Belfast. There is no difference. For all we know, the same weaponry was used.”
“I begin by passing my best wishes to the police officer who was seriously injured last night and to his colleagues in the Police Service of Northern Ireland. There is no doubt that we will all condemn this murderous attack, which could have resulted not only in the death of a police officer but of civilians, as was highlighted by my colleague Captain Beattie. <BR /> <BR />This attack was clearly not something that happened on a whim. Throughout the last term of the previous Assembly and this term of the present Assembly, we have had incidents throughout Northern Ireland.”
“I accept what the Member is saying, and she is waxing lyrical herself. Perhaps she can explain why elected Sinn Féin Members of Parliament elected did not go to Westminster to fight the legislation there?”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Previously, I asked the Minister for details of prison officers who had retired as a result of injury on duty and was informed that the information could not be provided, as it was confidential. Can the Minister advise me why it is confidential? Can she assure the House that she will take steps to find out how many prison officers have been retired as a result of an injury on duty? Clearly, the employer should know that.”
“I met Mencap yesterday, and we discussed the problems associated with adults with learning disabilities in West Tyrone. The figure is not £8 million: we are possibly talking about £110 million or more that has been underspent in West Tyrone and the Western Health and Social Care Trust. You mentioned the trust in the Western Trust: well, there is no trust among the parents of children with learning disabilities. The question has to be whether the Department is taking this seriously. Is the Department going to make the chief executive accountable? So far, she has not been.”
“Like the previous contributor, I am not overly happy with the answer.”
“I apologise to the Minister for not being here for the start of her statement, but I have read your statement and was paying attention as you spoke. You referred to paramilitarism and also to forensic services. Clearly, in the Republic of Ireland, quite a few explosive devices and arms caches have been found. Will you assure the House that any evidence gathered that is forensically linked to the previous use of weapons etc that may relate to crimes in Northern Ireland will be provided by the Southern authorities to the Northern authorities?”
“A parent is always a parent. My mother died last year. She was 87. She was always my mother, she was always the parent and she remained that way her entire life. Parents here are carrying a burden that we, as a state, must help to support. <BR /> <BR />Mr Deputy Speaker, thank you for your time, and Minister, I look forward to your answer.”
“Adults with a learning disability have been denied the services that would enable them to have a better quality of life. There has been a failure to provide services that meant adults could be part of our community and a failure to provide housing and support options that would let adults with learning disabilities live independently. <BR /> <BR />It is essential, Minister, that there is now a robust and independent inquiry into how this could, and did, happen. We need to know how much was underfunded in the Western Trust area. It does not matter whether you come from Lisnaskea, Londonderry or Limavady. We have four counties, I think, and at least four parliamentary constituencies affected here. We have hundreds of families affected. Why did we let it happen? <BR /> <BR />I will go back to the question. When is a parent a parent?”
“That amounts to approximately £80 million in services that families and adults with a learning disability have been denied. I think that figure is in excess of £100 million. <BR /> <BR />The Western Trust must identify who took the decision to move the funding allocated by the HSCB for learning disabilities to a different programme of care. The trust must identify where that decision originated and who ratified it. Did it go to the trust board for ratification, or was it ratified by senior management? <BR /> <BR />In real terms, the decision has meant that families are continuing to care when they are at breaking point, putting lives and relationships in danger. Carers are continuing to care into their seventies, eighties and even nineties as they despair for the services they needed.”
“The RQIA should, as a matter of public confidence in its role, explain its actions in how it tried to address this situation. The HSCB must, as a matter of urgency, publish the review of expenditure on learning disability services across all trust areas. <BR /> <BR />The review undertaken in 2013 details the level of underfunding and should be made publicly available. The Western Trust must detail for each year from 1996 how much funding it provided to learning disability services and by what percentage those were underfunded. It is estimated that the underfunding was approximately 5% per annum amounting to some £8 million in any given year. Families in the Western Trust have indicated that there has been an underfunding situation since 1996.”
“As we stand, no health and social care trust can identify all those with a learning disability within their area. On average, each trust can identify only those with the most severe learning disability. Across all trusts, that number is 9,600, and in the Western Health and Social Care Trust it is — we do not know. In 2013, the RQIA identified that there was underfunding by 5% per annum in the Western Health and Social Care Trust in learning disability services. We are now in June 2016. Why has it taken so long for this matter to reach the public agenda? Well, it is here today, and it is not going away. <BR /> <BR />What action has the RQIA taken to hold the Western Health and Social Care Trust and the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) to account for this?”
“Or, they say that the service has been withdrawn because, "We don't have the money". That is not the case: the money was there but was redirected. <BR /> <BR />I and others met with Mencap on Friday morning. Part of our new system in west Tyrone is that we are going to regularly meet with Mencap. I am going to list the key issues that they have asked me to raise here today.”
“Gemma is a lady in her 40s and she has looked after three children with learning disabilities. Two of them have degrees; the third one is at home, having been there during childhood and adolescence and now into adulthood. Sometimes, he is very difficult to control. He has wrecked televisions and wrecked rooms. That parent has been looking after that adult for 20 to 25 years. Look at cases in which adults in their late 50s or early 60s have a parent in their 80s who is attempting to look after them. When the parent asks for respite, it cannot be given, because we have closed many of the houses that we used for those services. Why did we close those services? It was because somebody said, "Three people living in one house cannot share a bathroom. All facilities must be en suite. So, we will close it".”
“When they all head off to their golden retirement with bucket loads of money, what about those they are leaving behind and who still have to deal with this?”
“We all know in the House that civil servants are never responsible for anything. Civil servants cannot carry the can because, oh dear, that person just happened to retire last month or will be retiring next month. This is a 20-year scandal — uncovered by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), apparently — so, now is the time for us to uncover the truth. Every single piece of paper that is available must be made available. Every single pound that was taken from the service must be given back. Whenever parents in their 80s cannot get respite care because we did not give the services sufficient money, that is wrong. If this trust did that, and the trust's management board allowed it to happen, then there are quite a few heads that have to be knocked together.”
“<BR /> <BR />Since I became a Member in 2011, I have often dealt with the parents of children with learning disabilities, and I have accepted the story from the trust when it was said, "We don't have the money. We do not have sufficient funds", but, if they do not have sufficient funds because they siphon money away from this area, shame on them. If it was allowed to happen under the management of the trust, shame on the trust. If it was allowed to happen under the supervision of a board, shame on the board. If it was allowed to happen under the supervision of the Department, shame on the Department — and shame on this House for allowing it to happen. So, there are answers that we need. <BR /> <BR />There are also things that we need to know about who was responsible for this.”
“If it was £4 million in 1994 and £8 million in 2016, is the figure cumulative? Is it £4 million over 20 years, so that we end up, after we start adding inflation, talking about an underspend that is in excess of £100 million? Is that the figure? The people who look after adults with learning disabilities are convinced that more than £100 million has not been allocated to the parents or to those who suffer from adult-learning disabilities. If that is the case, shame on us, because for 20 years that was allowed to happen. <BR /> <BR />What have we been doing to help those people? If I were sitting in the Chamber today as the parent of a child with learning disabilities, I would be thinking, "You've done nothing. You've turned a blind eye to these people". We did not know — quite honestly, we did not know — but shame on us for not knowing.”
“That person, to them, is their child, and that child is fully dependent on their parent. <BR /> <BR />Over the years, the Western Health and Social Care Trust, or the Sperrin Lakeland Trust, or the Foyle Trust, have taken money away from the services that these people should get. When did that start? Well, we know that it started at least in 1994, and, at that time, there was an underspend of £4 million. These are the figures that were uncovered. When we ask the trust for an exact figure, we are not going to be given an exact figure.”
“Most of us know somebody with a learning disability; most of us know the parent of someone with a learning disability. How many of us can say that we could do the job that they do? <BR /> <BR />My aunt and uncle had a daughter who had Down's syndrome, and my cousin was one of the brightest people that I have ever met. If she met you once, she would know you again 30 years later. My aunt and uncle were well into their 80s when my cousin passed away in her 60s, yet they were still acting as parents to their child. Back to the question: when is a parent a parent? A parent will always be a parent, but when you are dealing with someone with learning difficulties, you are on your own in many cases. In the public meetings that we have attended, we have seen parents in their 80s bringing along their 60-year-old child.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am now going to go off script and read a portion of a speech that was given by Gemma Doherty, or Gemma McGorty as she was, from Garrison, County Fermanagh. I started work 40 years ago today, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I know you are about to say that I am far too young to have been working for 40 years, but 40 years ago, I worked with this lady's father. The letter that she wrote concludes with the speech that she gave:”
“As we were in purdah, I wrote directly to the chief executive of the Western Health and Social Care Trust, following which myself and several other Members from the Western Health and Social Care Trust area were summoned to a meeting in Londonderry; some of those Members are in the Chamber now. <BR /> <BR />We were given a presentation, which raised more questions than it answered. The figure of £8 million was floated, which might have been underspent in these services. As we left the meeting, one of the worst comments was, "Well, we may have to balance the books, but that money may have to come from the services for the elderly". I see Members here nodding; that is exactly what was said to us, but nobody could identify this particular figure or where it came from.”
“I thank the Minister for her attendance. The fact that so many Members are still in the Chamber is an indication of how seriously they take this issue. I am going to start by putting a question in the air: when is a parent not a parent? I am going to follow that up with: when is a child not a child? I am going to leave those questions in the air for a few moments. <BR /> <BR />Any of us from my part of the world or other parts of the world who have attended meetings with the parents of children — I will refer to them as children — with learning disabilities or intellectual disabilities will understand the frustration and pain that these people have suffered over the past few years. In April of this year, I was contacted by a constituent about the underspend in the Western Health and Social Care Trust on adult learning disability services.”
“I thank the Minister for his responses so far. Can the Minister advise the House what steps he will take to provide voluntary services, such as the Royal British Legion and other ex-service organisations, with support to provide assistance for people who need it but who will not be approaching the Department or advice centres directly?”
“There is 3G and 4G: some parts of Northern Ireland would be glad to get a G — anything at all — because they are not getting it. Why is West Tyrone being forgotten about? I know that the issue will be dealt with as part of the Programme for Government. Can we have an assurance that, by the end of the mandate, everyone in West Tyrone will have access to broadband? Be it 1G, 2G, 3G or 4G, we want access. <BR /> <BR />I thank Mr Buchanan for bringing the topic to the House. I am glad that the Tardis has landed. Let us hear it taking off again, and let us hear about broadband being available in West Tyrone.”
“<BR /> <BR />In the 21st century, it is scandalous that somewhere like Malin in the back of Donegal can get full-strength broadband but, three miles outside Omagh, you cannot get broadband. In a lot of our rural areas, you might as well have a tin can and a piece of string, because that would be the most effective form of communication. <BR /> <BR />I listened to the debate on the provision of broadband. We in West Tyrone have been very badly serviced. Mr Buchanan is correct: we have great provision in Omagh, we have great facilities and the broadband works. We have a great working population. That is wonderful in the town, but we cannot forget the rural dwellers. Mr McElduff is famed throughout the world for using the expression "rural proofing". We need to have broadband rural-proofed.”
“I know that there are Members who do not like to recognise the fact that this is part of the United Kingdom. BT used to say, "It's good to talk". It is good to talk until you want to talk to BT. BT would not engage with me about our constituents on the Edenderry Road in Omagh, which is less than three miles from the town centre. They are on the Beragh telephone exchange but cannot get access to the Internet. Strangely enough, when questions to the Minister appeared, BT wanted to talk. BT phoned me, but BT was not willing to come to Omagh. BT wanted to meet me here in Stormont. I have now discovered what the problem is: BT does not know where BT78 and BT79 are, because it has never travelled outside greater Belfast. It does not know where Tyrone is. It does not know where Omagh is.”
“There are people in Tyrone who would love to hear the sound of the Tardis arriving in their home, because then at least they would have some sort of Internet connection. They do not have it. Doctor Who had a blue box. We talk about the green boxes that are scattered throughout Tyrone, and we know that some of them have so many wires coming out of them that they may as well be the Tardis. It is impossible for all the systems to work from those boxes. There are also suggestions that there are green boxes scattered throughout West Tyrone that are not connected, because it does not make financial sense for BT to have them connected. It is waiting for more and more customers to become available, and then the famous box may be connected. Why is that? At one stage, BT boasted that 99% of the United Kingdom was covered by broadband.”
“It was marvellous to hear that Doctor Who sound as your computer whirred into action. The Tardis was about to land, and you hoped that it landed in time for you to get your assignment in before the deadline. Many's the time, by one or two minutes, I managed to make it and get the assignment away.”
“We talk about rurality and isolation, but, in Malin in County Donegal, which is not, for those of you who do not know it, the centre of the universe — it is on the most northerly tip of the Republic of Ireland and is further north than we are, sitting here — you can get full broadband facilities. Yet, you cannot get that three or four miles outside the county town of Tyrone. <BR /> <BR />There has been reference to people doing their homework. I look across the Chamber and see few who would have used the Internet to do their homework, with the exception of you, Mr McCrossan. I look across at the oldies over there, and I know that they, like me, were glad to have a biro and a piece of paper. When I did my degree with the Open University, I had to send off my assignments via the Internet.”
“I begin by thanking Mr Buchanan for bringing the issue before the House, and I thank the Minister for being here. I look forward to his visit to West Tyrone to see what is available. <BR /> <BR />It seems strange that in the county town of Tyrone we have Project Kelvin, one of the most advanced Internet services in the world, and can get in touch with North America, yet, from Omagh, we have major difficulty getting in touch with north, south, east or west Tyrone. Reference was made to the rurality of West Tyrone. In Greencastle, we had businesses that could not transmit their paperwork through to their suppliers or pay their staff because the Internet had gone down.”
“Any of the Members from the western part of the Province who attended meetings with the parents and, indeed, with the trust will recognise the shock and horror that was expressed by those parents. It appears to have been a 20-year underspend, Minister, and, as you are aware, there will be a debate on the issue next week. How much, in total, has not been spent on adult learning disability services in that 20-year term? Will you again assure the House that the elderly will not be victims of any compensatory payments by the trust? It has made a suggestion that it will take the additional funding from the elderly.”
“I thank the Minister for his response, so far. The Minister will be well aware of the people concerned and their concerns that they appear to have been overlooked and, in fact, forgotten by the Assembly. You mentioned in your response a figure. Can you tell me what the figure may be?”
“I thank the Minister for his responses so far. I, too, condemn those who terrorised the prison officer recently. Terrorists terrorise in an effort to discourage people from joining the Prison Service or the Police Service, for that matter. How many prison officer posts will be available to be applied for in the coming year?”
“I thank the Minister for his response thus far. Does the Minister share the stakeholder forum's concerns that there is a lower level of teacher qualification available in FE colleges here than is required to deliver ESF?”
“Again, I thank the Minister for her response. That response will be greatly appreciated by the people of Ballymagorry. Again, thank you for your letter.”
“I thank the Minister for his response so far. I am sure that he is aware of the concerns of the people of Cavanacaw, where a similar mine was granted permission, including concerns about a lake of poisonous liquids. Can you again give me an assurance that that will be followed up on robustly?”
“Is the Minister not concerned about output? For example, Ulster Bank says that we grew in economic terms by between 1·5% and 2% in 2015, whilst the rest of the UK grew by 2·3%, and the Republic grew by over 5% for the second successive year. Is he not concerned that we may be stagnating?”
“I thank the Minister for his responses so far. This matter clearly has been going on for a long time. In fact, I think it was one of the main issues during the last election. Many of those affected have asked this question. Mr Allister asked whether a paper has been submitted to the Executive, as prepared by you or one of your colleagues. Has a paper been submitted to the Executive in relation to this issue?”
“I thank the Minister for his response so far. In relation to organised crime, it is believed that, within the Clogher valley area, which obviously covers my area of West Tyrone and goes into Fermanagh and South Tyrone, quite a few agricultural vehicles have been stolen to order. Indeed, that goes as far as even Castlederg. Will you, in future, try to ensure that that issue is raised with your counterpart and, I accept, also with the National Crime Agency?”
“I thank the Minister for his responses so far. Like the Minister, I welcome all the work done by such volunteers. In Omagh in particular, we have concerns, and the people there do an excellent job. What training are the volunteers provided with through PCSPs and perhaps other agencies?”
“Thank you, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. Will the Minister advise how many properties have been transferred from the ownership of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to housing associations in Upper Bann?”
“Will the Acting First Minister tell us what consideration has been given to appointing a mental health champion?”
“This evening, I call on Sinn Féin to remove any block that it has on this going to the Executive table. I support the motion.”
“If it is being blocked, remove the blockage and pay it. <BR /> <BR />There are civil servants sitting up there who have served this country loyally for 40 years and more; civil servants who worked in police stations when the terror threat against them was as high as it was against any police officer; civil servants who were locked into police stations because that station was under attack; civil servants who were attacked because they opened a courthouse. I could go on, because I have met these people. They have made representations to me, my party members and, indeed, Sinn Féin members. So, for once, let us get the nonsense out of the way. There is a moral argument here, and the moral is simply that we pay up. That is what I want to see happen.”
“No, I will not give way. If there is a moral argument that we all agree on, why, for once, can we not just say "OK"? Everybody agrees that this payment should be made. It is wrong to block it for any reason. Let the paper go to the Executive and discuss it, at least. If it is being blocked by Sinn Féin — I say "if" — remove that blockage and let it be discussed in the Executive. I will go no further than that, because I do not know what happens in the Executive. I doubt very much whether Mike Nesbitt will ever appoint me to be a Minister to find out, but, if you are sitting there, I suggest that you stop the blockage. There is a moral argument for this payment to be made. Everybody has agreed with it. There are no difficulties; it is an equality issue, but there is a feeling that it is everybody's fault but ours.”
“If they are being blocked by Sinn Féin, I suggest that you stop it, because you cannot sit in a corner and say that you support equal rights, you support the payment and you think they have a moral argument, and then say, "But it's the Brits who have to pay it." A moral argument is a moral argument, regardless of who has to pay.”
“<BR /> <BR />Everybody agrees that this payment should be made in some way or another, but who should make it? I am sure that the civil servants concerned do not care where the money comes from; they want what everybody agrees is morally theirs. The sad reality is that we are playing ping-pong; the sad reality is that somebody is blocking this from getting to the Executive table. <BR /> <BR />The Minister has made it very clear that proposals were put forward by Simon Hamilton. Those proposals have not yet got to the Executive table. They are being blocked. If they are being blocked by Sinn Féin, shame on Sinn Féin.”