Jenny Palmer
Lagan Valley · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Member for giving way. Will the Member agree with me that, in trying to address the fuel poverty situation for our families in their homes, a project was put before the Department from the Housing Executive to fit photovoltaic panelling, which would have allowed our homes to have been heated at a lesser cost, and that would ha…”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I share your concerns around the issue of the motion that came before the House in the name of Jim Allister and the fact that Sinn Féin, at the time, did not support it.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does she agree that competing priorities and the lack of funding to address the issue of cavity wall insulation are factors? The cost to the public purse would be around £140 million, which does not seem to be money that is readily available in the current circumstances.”
“Does the Member agree that civil servants have an obligation to act in a non-partisan, non-political fashion and that the public, because of all the scandals that SpAds have been involved in — Red Sky, NAMA and all the others — believes that the culture in the Civil Service is that officials are overruled by SpAds and that they do not tak…”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does she agree with me that, on building the electorate's trust in the Assembly, issues like no risk registers being identified, due diligence and good governance were all failures of the Assembly and the Executive in terms of the RHI scheme?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does he agree that in the interest of good governance it is important to ascertain who made the determinations not to open the risk registers in DETI and in DFP? Was it because Westminster was picking up the tab?”
The complete record
Every one of 132 lines we hold for Jenny Palmer, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 3.
“Thank you very much for giving way. You highlighted inefficiencies in the Ambulance Service. Do you agree that it is despicable that, this year, 33 calls have been diverted to Scotland, which, in turn, slowed the delivery of an ambulance to an urgent case?”
“Does the Minister share my concern that the rhetoric employed by some people in the debate on Brexit has the potential to encourage racism and increase race hate crime? Is she confident that the law is sufficiently robust to deal with the minority of people who think it is acceptable to spread race hate via social media?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does he agree with me that, in my constituency of Lagan Valley, the only opportunity that we have to access broadband in the village of Hillsborough and within the curtilage of its rural dimensions is when we are sitting at the back of an Ulsterbus that has free Wi-Fi? That is certainly the extent of the service that we have in the village of Hillsborough and its outlying rural areas.”
“Prior to my party leaving the Executive, the Finance Minister continued to raid the DRD budget and deliberately allowed the roads in rural areas to downgrade to the point where they are virtually tracks. In the previous debate, many were sidetracked at every opportunity. You do not have a clue what a sidetrack is unless you have travelled the rural roads of West Tyrone. We will get the roads back up to the standard or all bets are off in favour of the A5. Yes, it will pour millions of pounds into Tyrone to upgrade an A-class road, but what about the future of our B- and C-class roads?”
“Well, actually, it was half-filled; maybe the budget cuts only provided half a bucket of tar. As seeing is believing, he included the photographs in his speech of the pothole and the pothole with the child. <BR /> <BR />The old A5 that used to travel into Omagh along the Dublin Road into the county of Tyrone is now virtually down to the base level. As you drive along it, you believe that you have four flat tyres because of the condition of the road. The road, too, has been virtually abandoned. Perhaps, in the not too distant future, we will hear how much money has been spent on compensating drivers for damaged tyres and vehicles and how much compensation was refused because the offending hole was protected by a spray of yellow paint. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I thank Mr McElduff for bringing this matter to the House this evening.”
“Mr Hussey has suggested that he may take to the pen when his political career eventually ends, but I do hope not. <BR /> <BR />He goes on to say that it was once said that there was more tar in a cigarette than there was on the roads in Donegal. There are some who believe that that claim to fame can now be passed on to County Tyrone. During the election campaign, Mr Hussey and many of the West Tyrone MLAs travelled on many of the rural roads in Tyrone. He has asked me to identify one example and that is the Garvallagh Road, Seskinore, on the outskirts of the town. The pothole that he was asked to see was so deep that he decided to place a resident's youngest daughter — not a shoe — into it. It came up over her ankles. You will be glad to know that the pothole was filled.”
“First, I apologise to the House for the absence of Mr Hussey, who has had to leave. I see Mr McElduff breathe a sigh of relief, but I am afraid that Mr Hussey has prepared a speech that he has asked me to deliver on his behalf. I am led to believe that Narrow Water bridge is not in West Tyrone, so that will clear that matter up. The delivery of this speech will be difficult because, obviously, I do not have a Tyrone accent, and I do not have the charm and the width — sorry, the wit — that Mr Hussey has. It is well said that he wrote this. <BR /> <BR />I will begin by paraphrasing the late Reverend W F Marshall, the bard of Tyrone. If he were alive today, he might have written the following ode. My apologies to the residents of Drumlister. I am sure that you will know where that is; I do not. The ode goes:”
“However, a Northern Ireland Housing Executive transfer saves the exchequer £200 million-plus per annum with a capital payoff for the housing stock transfer, so why would the Government not look at this option? <BR /> <BR />I know that there are other options, which I will not share with you today, but I would certainly like to meet with the Minister if he is like-minded in making sure that we move. I sat on the Housing Executive board for nearly eight years, and for five of those years it stagnated due to the lack of will in the Assembly to move housing forward. We are in a rut, and this is a serious issue. There are 40,000 people on the waiting list, and I believe that you are the right person to address that, Minister. I hope that will you look at it favourably.”
“It is wrong to describe this as a loss to the block grant, and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive would have to compensate with a dowry to the centre, as a payment for the housing stock transfer. Glasgow Housing Association is a perfect model of excellence in managing this process. Staff leaving the public sector would create a reduction in public sector liability. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) looked at the model, and it is very doable, and I implore you to look at it. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive would need to increase its rental income by about 1% above inflation per annum for the next 15 years to address some of those issues.”
“That is probably down to the planning constraints and the securing and development of land, but then the history of housing delivery, even given the current budget requirement, has been difficult. We heard earlier from the Minister of the new Department for Communities that it is a difficult scenario for housing, and it seemed to be the most topical issue for his Department. I will go one step further here and say, as you said in the Chamber, we should be getting the solution right for the Housing Executive to start building homes again. That will contribute to better infrastructure and create the growth and job opportunities to strengthen the economy. <BR /> <BR />I suggest that the loss of the block grant is more than compensated for by the borrowing to deliver improvements and new builds.”
“I put it to you, Minister, through the Chair, of course, that the gateway to the Shannon and the Lagan Canal Trust and their vision to open up those waterways is more important than sticking a bridge that would have no significance whatsoever across — I do not even know where it is, but I am sure that everybody else knows where the Narrow Water bridge is. <BR /> <BR />Minister, I commend you today. It is not that often that you get commended, but you looked favourably upon co-ownership and announced today the delivery of over £5 million, which is certainly welcome, to help to deliver social and affordable housing through that. However, I am concerned that, as you said, the housing associations have not bid or planned for the additional moneys.”
“I will touch on the Narrow Water bridge. From my time as a councillor and sitting on the monitoring committee of SEUPB, I know that it was a peace-driven, cross-community, cross-Ireland, vanity project — and I say vanity project because when we look at all of the serious infrastructure neglect on our roads and elsewhere, this project should be in the back of the filing cabinet until such time as we can actually deal with it. You said yourself, in the Chamber this morning, that you wanted all Departments to look at their priorities and that if it was deemed that there were more important priorities, then you should deliver them.”
“<BR /> <BR />You are always looking for suggestions, Minister, so I have a suggestion for what to do with any savings from the A5 project that your review might find. It is a suggestion that would provide a real boost to the Northern Ireland economy. It is long past the time that the relatively short distance between Belfast International Airport and the M2 was graced with a dual carriageway. Surely it is not too much to ask that the main point of entry and exit to Northern Ireland for air travellers should have its road access upgraded.”
“There could be some form of service-level agreements with community groups to maintain the grass in their area. That might assist with grass-cutting. <BR /> <BR />Whilst we are on the subject of infrastructure, we cannot ignore the state in which our electricity grid currently finds itself. I am well aware that it falls under the responsibility of the Department for the Economy, but there is no doubt in my mind that a Department that is titled "Infrastructure" must have more than a passing interest in this. Quite simply, the electricity grid cannot cope, and we now have a situation in which wind farms cannot link to it. We also have to grasp the nettle regarding the North/South interconnector. In addition, the Moyle interconnector has experienced problems since 2011 and currently operates at a reduced capacity.”
“There is no doubt that any improvements would benefit tens of thousands of commuters, not to mention freight travelling to the Port of Belfast and Larne, through reduced journey times. It is time to get moving on the York Street interchange project, and I look forward to Budget proposals to make that a reality. <BR /> <BR />On other budgetary priorities, Minister, we need to mention the A6, which should, having been identified as needed, be delivered fairly rapidly. Grass-cutting is an issue in constituencies all over Northern Ireland. I drove through Antrim to Lisburn and could barely see the roads for the 4-feet high grass along the main arterial route. It is an absolute disgrace. Perhaps the Minister would look carefully at projects in which communities could get involved.”
“At the risk of being accused of being a tad parochial, Minister, I would like to remind Members that virtually all traffic approaching Belfast from the south and west converges at Sprucefield in my constituency of Lagan Valley. Every morning, the traffic news bulletins tell of all the delays around Sprucefield, the Blaris intersection and the Westlink. In fact, I sat in traffic for nearly an hour this morning. For traffic approaching the city from the north, there are the often-quoted delays at the Nelson Street off-slip and the hill section of the M2, which is another bottleneck. There is no question that significant sums are required to address the issues at these locations. Perhaps, if the gold-plated A5 were reviewed, there may well be some funding in the Budget to look at the bottlenecks coming into the city of Belfast.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention, although I am not sure what it has to do with my contribution. <BR /> <BR />I return to the maps. It looks like a gold-plated delivery. There are bypasses along that carriageway that are being bypassed instead of utilised. Brand new roundabouts are being bypassed. As you well know, Minister, there are issues with land vesting and the PAC. There are a lot of major concerns here. I believe that, if there were a proper review of the A5, we could come to a fair Budget that would deliver the road without the extra expense, allowing the Minister to fund other areas. <BR /> <BR />Anyone who commutes to Belfast knows how badly we need investment in the transport infrastructure.”
“<BR /> <BR />When I looked at the maps and the alignment of the new road to the existing road, I saw that we were bypassing bypasses, that we were avoiding —”
“The Department has a number of flagship projects that were shared with us at the Infrastructure Committee last week: the Belfast rapid transit project, the A5 and A6, and Narrow Water bridge. I am fully supportive of the Belfast rapid transit project, which has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of many who work and live in Belfast. With regard to the A5, however, I sound a note of caution to the Minister. The proposal that was shown to the Committee last week could only be described as a gold-plated design. It accounts for a significant proportion of the budget and has been around for quite some time. I cannot but wonder whether a more-streamlined proposal would better suit the new financial reality in which we find ourselves and still deliver improvements in road safety and journey times in a carriageway.”
“I commend Kellie on her maiden speech. She certainly echoes the thoughts of, I am sure, every Member. <BR /> <BR />At last week's Committee meeting, the Minister for Infrastructure said that we needed to be innovative and consider all options. I was delighted to hear him say that and assure him that, if he delivered on those promises, he would have my support. That is exactly what this Department needs. An approach that welcomes innovation and considers all options would mark a welcome departure from our experience of some previous Sinn Féin Ministers, where a blind adherence to ideology and party policy, regardless of the results, was the order of the day. <BR /> <BR />I appreciate that there is a need to operate within the budgets and to set priorities accordingly.”
“Would the Minister give an assurance on that?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Would the Minister agree and can he give an assurance to the Assembly that we have confidence in the review of special educational needs provision at nursery level, when it has been alleged that, in March, the former Education Committee was given erroneous information by an official that Fleming Fulton nursery school was closed? Could the Minister correct the record and assure us that the existing capacity for nursery provision at Fleming Fulton is fully recognised and utilised? Will parents whose children have a statement of physical disability with associated learning needs and have expressed a preference to attend Fleming Fulton —”
“Does the Member agree that urgent action is required to reduce the waiting times for patients requiring spinal surgery and referrals, and that even urgent cases are still waiting from October 2015 to see orthopedic consultants?”
“That project and others must be allowed to develop in a sustainable way, so I also call for an end to the unnecessary and nerve-wracking process of annual bidding and the introduction of service-level agreements to sustain community partnerships. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I want to work in this mandate to be a constructive member of the Opposition. I do not intend to be easy on the Minister or the Department, but I hope to be a source of alternative options rather than of a simple critique. I do not intend to be Mrs No, but, as certain members of the party to my left can tell you, I do not bow easily. The Minister can expect the same tenacity in my role here.”
“I want to see all Departments, particularly the Department for Infrastructure, leading the way in spreading the administration across Northern Ireland plc. Improving Internet connectivity is another key indicator in the PFG document, but, again, we need to see what concrete, costed commitment the Executive will make. We do not need to reinvent the wheel for that, but I argue that we need a sea change from the approach of the previous Executive. The Minister need look no further than my constituency to recognise in the Resurgam Trust in Lisburn the model of how the Department can foster community-led improvements to infrastructure and support the third sector in sustainable business.”
“In addition to being an excellent venue to encourage new faces into politics, the forum must be well placed to suggest infrastructure improvements and critique ministerial decisions. It must not become a talking shop for yes-men. I hope that the Executive demonstrate courage in appointing true experts who can not only advise on major projects such as the York Street interchange and the A5/A6 but, crucially, suggest smaller, more targeted improvements that will make a major impact. <BR /> <BR />One of the improvements must be the decentralisation of government administration away from Belfast. The worrying trend in Northern Ireland of offices such as the DVLA being relocated to Wales must be reversed.”
“It is highly unlikely that all phases of the A5 will be completed within the time frame, so the budget will not be spent. Over £100 million will be surplus. We must ensure that all small projects are identified to improve our road, rail and river network. They do not have to be multibillion-pound, decade-long quagmires. With smart, targeted funding, we can drastically improve travel times. I hope that the Minister can agree that progress will not be delayed simply due to a lack of interest or political will. It is also vital that this Government leverage the expertise and knowledge of civic society as a whole. <BR /> <BR />In the Fresh Start Agreement, the two parties in government promised to deliver a compact civic advisory panel. It is utterly imperative that the forum contains experts from the world of business and infrastructure.”
“Our poor road infrastructure is discouraging investment in general, but it hits the outer parts of the country particularly hard.”
“Simply put, the infrastructure for that world-beating show and venue must be improved. Better planning of roads and targeted improvements, such as an M1/Balmoral link road, could solve the issue. Additionally, any Members who travel via Sprucefield will be aware of the extremely poor connections to Belfast that inevitably result in long delays and tailbacks. <BR /> <BR />With no progress on the Sprucefield bypass, the Knockmore link road is also important to the development of the area, and I am pleased that Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council has taken important steps to invest in its delivery with the Department and developers. Those projects are important if we ever want to spread the success of the economy beyond the greater Belfast area.”
“I look forward with interest and no small degree of trepidation to seeing what the Minister intends to deliver. <BR /> <BR />As a spokesperson for the Opposition, it is my role not only to critique but to suggest what we should do instead. In that vein, allow me to suggest a few key projects that I hope the Minister and the Executive can commit to. <BR /> <BR />The success of the Balmoral show is an inspiration to the rest of the country. The recent announcement that it is to open for four days in 2017 is welcome and is a source of immeasurable pride to my constituency. However, the chaos surrounding the roads into the show is also a source of shame. Year after year, we read the miserable reports of traffic jams, parking bedlam and wasted opportunities due in no small part to the disgraceful lack of progress at the Maze site.”
“As the Ulster Unionist spokesperson for infrastructure and a member of the official Opposition, I will ensure that the Government are held to account in this mandate. While I hope that we will see significant progress over the next five years, I am increasingly concerned that infrastructure will be a series of vanity projects and undelivered strategies. <BR /> <BR />A significant cause of concern for me is the lack of meaningful targets in the Programme for Government. While the PFG promises to connect people and opportunities through our infrastructure — an ideal we can all agree on — there is scarce detail on how that will be achieved. The PFG is so vague that the Minister could deliver only negligible improvement and still technically deliver what was promised.”
“I am extremely proud to have been elected to the Assembly to represent Lagan Valley. I grew up there, raised my children there and am a proud resident of the area. <BR /> <BR />I served for 11 years on Lisburn City Council and the new Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council. In my time as a councillor, I chaired committees on environmental services and economic development. I worked as the chair of Peace III and the chair of Comet INTERREG to deliver EU funding to communities and to business. I have seen excellent progress in the Lisburn and greater Lagan Valley area over the last 18 years, but it has also been the site of a number of shameful failures under previous Governments.”