Neil Somerville
Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“The conditions for becoming a community amateur sports club are as follows: a club must be open to the whole community; be organised on an amateur basis; have as its main purpose providing facilities for and promoting participation in one or more eligible sports; meet the location requirement; and meet the management conditions.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are an estimated 37,000 volunteers in community sports in Northern Ireland, and a wide variety of sports are affected, ranging from football, rugby and Gaelic games right through to badminton, athletics, tennis, squash and sailing, to name but a few.”
“The arguments advanced in favour of this measure in 2011 still hold true today. The Bill that is currently before us has the same intent, and therefore I am happy to say at the outset that it will receive support from the Ulster Unionist Party.”
“In recent weeks, we have witnessed the unedifying spectacle of DUP Ministers signing in and resigning. We have had empty Benches as the Assembly debated waiting lists and autism, yet the DUP managed to turn up to protect the pay and conditions of its highly paid special advisers.”
“Currently, amateur sports clubs in Northern Ireland can, under article 31 of the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977, qualify for a rate relief of 80%. This Bill would amend the 1977 Order to make them exempt from rates; a measure which would have been of great financial benefit to them.”
“This is not a massive figure in terms of the overall Northern Ireland Budget, and, bearing in mind the existing and projected costs to the health budget of diabetes and obesity, it would be money very well spent on prevention. <BR /> <BR />No doubt, the DUP will try to explain why it has chosen to vote this measure down.”
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“I welcome the statement that the Minister has brought forward. Can he provide an update on the pilot project to speed up the family court system, including when he expects the initial findings to be known?”
“This is not a massive figure in terms of the overall Northern Ireland Budget, and, bearing in mind the existing and projected costs to the health budget of diabetes and obesity, it would be money very well spent on prevention. <BR /> <BR />No doubt, the DUP will try to explain why it has chosen to vote this measure down. One excuse that is not open to it is the notion that the Department of Finance and Personnel is planning to bring its own Bill forward. The Department has had almost four years, since 22 November 2011, to do that. How much time does it need?”
“<BR /> <BR />There are an estimated 37,000 volunteers in community sports in Northern Ireland, and a wide variety of sports are affected, ranging from football, rugby and Gaelic games right through to badminton, athletics, tennis, squash and sailing, to name but a few. As Mr McKay has already noted, my party colleague Robin Swann has been working closely with the Northern Ireland pigeon association to bring forward an amendment that would have seen homing pigeon club halls across Northern Ireland being exempt from rates. <BR /> <BR />The DUP will have to explain its reasoning to that association and every other sports club in the country whose hopes of a major economic boost have been dashed. Figures from 2010-11 indicated that the figure for the cost of this measure was £1·4 million.”
“The conditions for becoming a community amateur sports club are as follows: a club must be open to the whole community; be organised on an amateur basis; have as its main purpose providing facilities for and promoting participation in one or more eligible sports; meet the location requirement; and meet the management conditions. <BR /> <BR />There is no question that such clubs play a positive role in their communities. They help to improve public health by encouraging participation in healthy sporting activities. They promote individual self-discipline, build the concept of teamwork, help to reduce antisocial behaviour, promote local pride and draw in young people. There are obvious benefits in terms of physical and mental health and in the prevention of obesity and illnesses such as diabetes.”
“Currently, amateur sports clubs in Northern Ireland can, under article 31 of the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977, qualify for a rate relief of 80%. This Bill would amend the 1977 Order to make them exempt from rates; a measure which would have been of great financial benefit to them. It is undoubtedly the case that, in recent years, many sports clubs have been struggling to make ends meet. <BR /> <BR />The community amateur sports clubs scheme was introduced in April 2002 to support grass-roots sport. It enables local amateur sports clubs to register with Revenue and Customs as a sports club rather than as a business so that they can benefit from a range of tax reliefs, including gift aid.”
“In recent weeks, we have witnessed the unedifying spectacle of DUP Ministers signing in and resigning. We have had empty Benches as the Assembly debated waiting lists and autism, yet the DUP managed to turn up to protect the pay and conditions of its highly paid special advisers. By the end of the day, the public will draw their own conclusion on who and what the DUP exists to serve. <BR /> <BR />Had the DUP not taken the action to table a petition of concern, we would have been here today debating a Bill that would make a real, positive difference to the lives of many citizens. Sadly, the actions of the DUP have rendered the debate academic. A rates reduction would have been a great boost to dozens of sports clubs throughout Northern Ireland.”
“The arguments advanced in favour of this measure in 2011 still hold true today. The Bill that is currently before us has the same intent, and therefore I am happy to say at the outset that it will receive support from the Ulster Unionist Party. <BR /> <BR />However, it is a matter of deep disappointment that the DUP has chosen to table a petition of concern against this Bill. As a result, it is doomed to failure. This is nothing less than an abuse of the process. Petitions of concern were designed to protect minorities from being discriminated against. They were never intended to be used as a mechanism to thwart what one might term "run-of-the-mill" legislation. It is precisely this type of action that helps to bring the Assembly into disrepute.”
“The Bill deals with a subject that has previously been before the House. In November 2011, an Ulster Unionist motion called:”
“The Minister will be aware that my party has consistently asked for the relocation to Enniskillen, and I am delighted to hear that that has taken place. Will the Minister provide an update on how many posts will need to be filled, given the external recruitment freeze? Will the people across Fermanagh be able to apply for those posts?”
“Thank you, Minister, for that answer. Is there any timeline for the implementation of the Bill?”
“The Minister may have already touched on this. Does he not find it ridiculous that the shared education projects, such as the one in the Moy, have been put on hold because of issues that have nothing to do with shared education? Does the Minister know when that will be sorted out?”
“Is the Minister aware of Clogher Valley Rugby Football Club and the fantastic work that it does to promote community relations? I declare an interest as a member of the club. What financial assistance is available to all sporting clubs in our constituency to help to build a united community?”
“In today's motion, Sinn Féin calls on the Minister of Justice to provide the resources necessary to ensure that our coronial system works in an effective and timely manner. This raises certain questions. Just where do they think that he will find the money? Have they forgotten about the phantom Budget, which they voted for? Do they not understand the black hole that is at the centre of the Executive's finances? Does Sinn Féin not recognise the devastating impact that its failure to stick to the Stormont House Agreement on welfare reform has had through the Treasury fines of £2 million a week? Sinn Féin needs to do more than demand that the Justice Minister acts. It cannot continue to deny the leading role that it has played in creating the economic mess that we now find ourselves in.”
“We noted then that the coronial courts were badly under-resourced, with a question mark over the suitability of a Coroners' Court to deal with some of the cases on its list. In that document, we fully accepted that the best route to justice is the criminal justice system, and we identified the question as being of whether the organs of the system were properly resourced and also fair and equal to all.”
“We had concerns about each of them, and, in relation to the legacy Coroners' Courts, we are concerned about the tendency to focus on controversial killings rising from actions of the police or the army. In particular, we are concerned that the public tend to judge investigations against contemporary standards without due regard to near-impossible investigatory conditions of the time. In short, the four processes put an almost exclusive focus on the state and the security services, a perversion of the fact that the state was responsible for no more than 10% of all killings and that few of those are actually contested. The Ulster Unionist Party will not permit the rewriting of the history of the Troubles. <BR /> <BR />In terms of the resources needed, in that very document, we highlighted that:”
“In a subsequent paper from March 2014, we stated that:”
“However, it has emerged that the HIU will, indeed, be article 2-compliant. <BR /> <BR />As far back as June 2012, we issued a paper entitled 'Dealing with the Past', which contained a section of proposals for Coroners' Courts. The very first line of that section warned that the backlog that was then facing Coroners' Courts was:”
“<BR /> <BR />We have long had concerns about the process relating to the Coroners' Court, and those arguments were well rehearsed during the Haass talks and in the run-up to the Stormont House Agreement. We have been consistent in our position that Coroners' Court legacy cases should be dealt with by whatever form of historical investigations unit (HIU) emerges from the various talks processes. Unfortunately, the SDLP and Sinn Féin objected, and, as a result, we are where we are. Indeed, one of the claims from nationalists and republicans was that doing so had to be compliant with article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. That is why they would not support the inclusion of the coroner's inquests in the HIU.”
“The debate touches on a number of very important issues for our justice system. For some time, there have been concerns at delays in the system, including those relating to the Coroners Service. Just last week, the Justice Minister told the House that one of Northern Ireland's three full-time coroners, Mr Leckey, is due to retire at the end of this month and that a competition is already under way to replace him. <BR /> <BR />The Ulster Unionist Party does not want to see undue delay anywhere in the justice system. After all, a basic principle of justice is that it be swift. My party is clear that we cannot have a rewriting of history or allow certain cases to be seen to be given preferential treatment when there are many Troubles-related cases in the justice system that do not get a similar focus as some of those with the coroner.”
“However, I would equally stress to them that changing service provision in Belfast, where support will always be only a matter of minutes away, is unlike removing key units in Fermanagh, where the nearest support could be two or three towns away. I am fearful of what the removal of the group could lead to, and I am annoyed at how the officers in it have been treated. I urge the Minister and the PSNI to reconsider the decision in the interests of public safety and to acknowledge that people living in Fermanagh and along the border deserve the same protections as are available in other parts of Northern Ireland.”
“In the circumstances, I understand why, but in reality it has left crime prevention and deterrence weaker in the area. Towns across Fermanagh and South Tyrone will say that they have no regular police presence at all. The closure of so many stations in recent years has really reduced the level of visible policing, and now the decision to remove such an important group of PSNI officers is yet another blow to our area. <BR /> <BR />I know the financial pressures that policing in Northern Ireland is under, but that should not be allowed to have an impact on public safety. I do not envy the decision that the Chief Constable and his senior officers have to make.”
“What happens to them now? Those officers face huge uncertainty at present. Many have made major personal sacrifices to be part of the unit. They have carried out the training, and they have spent many evenings — in fact, weekends — away from their families. <BR /> <BR />Many ordinary residents and businesses in Fermanagh are concerned that this decision is yet another example of the PSNI trying to roll back core service provision in rural areas. In recent years, changes to the neighbourhood policing teams in north and south Fermanagh have left communities often with skeleton services. For example, in Kesh, the neighbourhood policing team numbers were reduced, and now responses to calls are prioritised over traditional neighbourhood work.”
“Whilst I am glad that Fermanagh does not witness scenes of public disorder like many other areas in Northern Ireland, that does not mean that the skills of the TSG unit based in Lisnaskea are wasted. As and when necessary, the officers can be moved to other areas where needs exist, whether it be Belfast, Lurgan or anywhere else. <BR /> <BR />Of course, the strength of the TSG was the talent of the officers in it, and I have spoken to quite a number of them over recent weeks and, in fact, days, and I am in no doubt whatsoever of their dedication and skills. The removal of the TSG will have a major impact not only on the overall provision of policing in south-east Fermanagh and beyond but, on a more personal level, on the officers affected. Many have made homes across Fermanagh; they have families, and they have children in local schools.”
“Simply by being there, they act as a major deterrent to anyone or any organisation contemplating a terrorist attack. There are criminals operating along the border, jumping from one side to the other to suit their own convenience, but they are known to the security forces, and I suspect that they know that themselves. <BR /> <BR />If Fermanagh loses its only TSG unit, what guarantees are there that it will not lose that invaluable information and intelligence? In addition, the removal of the TSG in Lisnaskea now leaves Northern Ireland in a very vulnerable position, in that there will be no tactical support presence the entire length of the border from Castlederg to Armagh. Given the pressures on policing and the threats that very much exist in the area, its removal is simply unacceptable.”
“Whilst I am so glad that no police officer has lost their life in recent years, we must not be complacent about the scale of the threat that remains in the area. There are already too many bereaved policing families living in Fermanagh. <BR /> <BR />Dissident republicans retain significant and deadly capability, and, more importantly, I am aware that the capability even exists on the other side of the border in the Irish Republic. In addition, the almost regular finds of arms, including the recent discovery of Semtex in west Belfast, shows that serious levels of weaponry still exist. The tactical support group based in Fermanagh not only ensures that the PSNI in the county has the ability to respond quickly and forcefully, it ensures that the dissidents are well aware of this.”
“Nevertheless, I hope that the debate will allow the Minister and the top command of the PSNI the opportunity to read Hansard and reflect on some of the many concerns being raised locally. <BR /> <BR />I have been disappointed in the senior ranks of the PSNI and the way that they have handled the issue. They have not given the TSG officers in Lisnaskea the support that they deserve by landing out of the blue and making the announcement that they hoped to remove the unit. They have not placed enough weight on the impact that this will have on wider policing in the area. <BR /> <BR />There is no doubt that policing in Fermanagh has changed over the last 15 years. However, it would be foolish to say that everything is a bed of roses.”
“I welcome the opportunity to bring the issue before the Assembly for debate. It is especially appropriate, given that the tactical support group (TSG) officers in Lisnaskea only had it confirmed this time yesterday evening that their unit would be removed. From the outset, I register my disappointment at the absence of the Justice Minister from the debate. Many people, especially the officers affected, will struggle to see the difference between what are clearly overall ministerial responsibilities for law and order and what he claims are operational matters within the PSNI. I know that the Policing Board has its place, but, when it comes to matters like this, the Minister needs to realise that he cannot cast off all accountability.”
“I thank the Minister for his answers. Newry, Armagh and Dungannon DARD veterinary offices all consistently report the highest number of stolen or missing cattle. The proximity of the border to each area is not a coincidence. Will the Minister support a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation of these organised crime gangs?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I support the general principle to reduce future crime and reoffending. How will the strategy involve families in this process?”
“Can the Minister give his assessment of the emphasis that our new local councils have placed on reducing their emissions?”
“Thank you for the answer, Acting First Minister. You will be aware that it was Libya that provided the IRA with the stockpiles of Semtex and that the threat is still very much live, as Semtex was discovered during the police search in west Belfast on Friday. Will the Minister discuss the failure to secure compensation for victims of IRA violence with Libyan-sourced weapons with the Westminster Government and, particularly, the Foreign Office?”
“It has a negative impact on living standards and career progression; it also has an effect on the older generation who are called on to provide childcare for their grandchildren. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the proposal in the childcare strategy, and I look forward to the consultation with parents on what can be done to address those issues. I feel that the proposals to make childcare more flexible and to highlight financial assistance already available to parents are sensible strategies to deal with issues of childcare in rural and urban areas.”
“That is especially relevant for members of the hospitality and healthcare sectors, for example, where their work pattern is not a Monday-to-Friday, 9.00 am-to-5.00 pm arrangement. <BR /> <BR />The other main concern regarding childcare in Fermanagh and South Tyrone is the cost. More can and should be done to ensure that those families where both parents work do not have the second salary subsumed by childcare costs. <BR /> <BR />That is unsustainable, as it will ultimately result in one of the parents having to stay at home to fulfil the childcare responsibilities. The quality of childcare offered must be of a level that will help to develop well-rounded youngsters with the ability to do well in school and in later life. The impact of childcare costs on families across Northern Ireland is significant.”
“In Fermanagh and South Tyrone, the provision of better childcare does not just benefit families with young children; it benefits the wider community. Rural childcare in Fermanagh and South Tyrone is not something that can be addressed or solved through a one-size-fits-all approach. There is a wide range of childcare options available. What is important, and what should be addressed, is each family's ability to access a range of childcare options in their community so that they may avail themselves of the option that best suits them and their child, whether that is a registered childminder or a nursery. <BR /> <BR />There should also be a more flexible approach in the times offered to parents for childcare.”
“Some families are fortunate in that they have grandparents or other family members who can assist with childcare, allowing parents to go back to work. Others are reliant on third-party childminders or a nursery-type arrangement. That raises questions about where to send their children, with associated costs. <BR /> <BR />The 'Northern Ireland Childcare Cost Survey 2014' showed that a full-time nursery place costs, on average, £162 per week, and a full-time childminding session costs £167 per week on average. For 59% of families surveyed, formal childcare costs amounted to half of their partner's or their own take-home pay. <BR /> <BR />Good-quality, affordable, flexible and reliable childcare is essential to the sustainability and development of rural communities.”
“Studies have shown that children who are looked after by their parent on a full-time basis often have better speech and learning development than children who have been in a nursery environment between the ages of naught and five years. That is not to demean the work that nursery staff do but merely to highlight the vital role of parents as sole care providers. <BR /> <BR />In the current economic climate, the choice to stay at home and look after your child until primary-school age is a luxury that most families cannot afford. They are faced with the dilemma of finding suitable childcare, whilst, on the other hand, there are parents who have worked hard to establish a career and are aware that, if they do not go back to work, they will miss promotions that they deserve.”
“As a father of four, I am aware of the issues regarding childcare provision in Fermanagh and South Tyrone as well as in wider Northern Ireland. While I am fortunate enough in that my children are of an age at which they are not reliant on full-time formal childcare arrangements, it was not that long ago that they were, and I can remember all too well the issues associated with the provision of childcare in rural areas. Being a parent is a tough and demanding job. Little credit is given to parents who decide to stay at home to raise their children. To me, that is wrong. Those parents are delivering a vital service for their children in nurturing and developing them so that they become valued members of their community and society.”
“Thank you for that answer, Minister. Have there been developments with the South West College in Fermanagh delivering more apprenticeship-based courses?”
“In the current climate of non-implementation of Stormont House, where will the money to support shared education come from? Option 4 in the business plan for shared education would cost £44 million annually, which, after four years, will apparently be absorbed into the mainstream school budget. Is this realistic or sustainable? <BR /> <BR />To sum up, while I welcome the Committee report, its worth is found in the evidence-gathering sessions rather than in the recommendations.”
“<BR /> <BR />There is some useful commentary in the evidence-gathering part of the report, and all 11 recommendations are fine as far as they go, but it is an inconvenient truth that there is no consensus across the political spectrum. Unless we as an Assembly come to an agreement on what precisely we mean by "shared" and what we mean by "integrated" education, we run the risk that an enormous amount of scarce public money will be poured into a vague concept called "shared education" that might not make a difference in the longer run. There is a danger that shared education may turn out to be a continuation of "shared-out education", with limited interaction between firmly separated school sectors. <BR /> <BR />The so-called Stormont House Agreement announced a £500 million capital investment in shared and integrated education.”
“However, as has become clear, that vision, albeit long-term, is not what everyone has in mind. <BR /> <BR />As I said, during the inquiry it was clear that there was no consensus about the direction of travel for the education system in Northern Ireland. To see that, you need only review the Hansard report of the debates on teacher training before the summer recess. For some, shared education is not a staging post to a fully integrated system; it is an end in itself, a way to deliver the entitlement curriculum with some shared classes while preserving separate parallel systems for controlled, maintained, integrated and other schools. Quite frankly, that looks to me like a thin Elastoplast over a deeply segregated school system.”
“The Ulster Unionist Party has been very positive towards the idea of shared education, and we have applauded efforts to progress it through the shared education programme, the shared campuses programme and other initiatives. Nevertheless, this inquiry report suggests that hard questions still have to be faced up to and answered. The question is this: what do you mean by "shared education". If it is a flexible system whereby all education sectors go on a journey to a single state system of common schools in Northern Ireland, the Ulster Unionist Party will wholeheartedly sign up for it. It would be in fulfillment of the vision of Lord Londonderry, the first Education Minister for Northern Ireland, 90 years ago, and the last Ulster Unionist Education Minister, Basil McIvor, in 1974.”
“During the evidence-gathering session, one could not fail to notice a rather major difference of opinion between the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and the integrated education lobby. In its submission to the inquiry, CCMS called on the Department to dispense with the statutory duty to encourage and facilitate integrated education, a stance that, interestingly, has since been adopted by the DUP. That dispute gets to the heart of the shared/integrated education issue. <BR /> <BR />"Shared education" is a phrase that has come into vogue since the Bain report of 2006, in parallel with the lexicon of a shared future.”
“I am pleased to speak on the debate on the Education Committee's inquiry into shared and integrated education. Like many others, I have been following the debate on the subject, which should be of interest to all MLAs and the wider public. Today in Northern Ireland, progress towards a shared future seems slow and far from assured. Official figures from the school census show that almost half of our school-age children attend schools where 95% of the pupils are from the same community or religious background. That is the background to the Committee's inquiry.”
“The provision for lay visiting is non-contentious, having already been agreed with the Policing Board. Therefore, I have no desire to reopen that debate. <BR /> <BR />I wholeheartedly agree with the provisions regarding the possession of extreme pornographic material. It will extend the existing offence of possession of extreme pornographic images to include the possession of extreme images of rape or other non-consensual acts. It is an offence that exists in England and Wales and that the Justice Committee has asked to be brought forward to Northern Ireland. I imagine that the entire House will be happy to support that proposal. <BR /> <BR />I look forward to playing my part on the Justice Committee, and I am content to support the Justice (No. 2) Bill.”
“I appeal to the Minister that the ombudsman does not become an instrument for prisoners and ex-prisoners to conduct witch-hunts or petty grievance cases against a brave body of men and women who are charged with doing a difficult job that few of us wish to do ourselves. <BR /> <BR />With regard to early removal of prisoners who are foreign nationals, I am content that Northern Ireland should adhere as closely as possible to the arrangements and operations in the rest of the United Kingdom. It is, however, important that sentences should be seen as appropriate punishments and of sufficient severity to deter others. People who have committed offences should have their liberty removed and their lives disrupted. Northern Ireland should not be seen as a soft prison regime.”
“I am content that the consultation process has resulted in provisions in the Bill relating to an expanding use of community supervision and a civilian-based system for collection of fines, largely removing the police from their current enforcement role. However, I seek assurances that non-custodial sentences are not seen as a soft option and that meaningful punishment is the order of the day. That is important to maintain deterrence. <BR /> <BR />I am broadly content with the proposal to create a statutory office of prison ombudsman. I am acutely aware of the difficult job that we have asked our prison officers to do. Ordinary rank-and-file officers have great concerns about staff morale, manning levels and staff safety.”
“That having been said, it is clear that our justice system has had to deal with a significant number of people who have failed to pay fines, and it is not cost-effective to see them jailed for short periods. I understand that, over the three-year period from 2010 to 2012, over 6,000 people went to prison for the non-payment of fines. Most of those were what is termed relatively minor offences, for example, motoring convictions, and the average time spent in prison was four days. In addition, the police were tasked with executing up to 30,000 warrants a year. Quite clearly, there is a case to be made that that is not a good use of police time or prison capacity.”
“Having read through the Bill and listened to other speakers' comments, I am pleased to say that I can see that there is much here that is common sense that, if implemented, would improve the administration of justice in Northern Ireland. The Bill affects four areas. First, it aims to improve current arrangements for the collection and enforcement of financial penalties. Secondly, it aims to improve the provision of prison services in Northern Ireland. Thirdly, it aims to improve upon current statutory provisions in relation to sex offending. Fourthly, it aims to improve lay-visiting arrangements in police stations. <BR /> <BR />I am a firm believer that punishments must fit the crime, and I am certainly not a supporter of soft options in sentencing. For me, punishment and deterrence are key aspects of the sentencing policy.”
“I was educated there and have spent most of my working life between Fermanagh and south Tyrone. I will continue to work for and represent that constituency, the most westerly in the United Kingdom. In Fermanagh and South Tyrone, we have some of the finest scenery in the British Isles: we have the lakes of Fermanagh and the rolling hills of the Clogher valley. It is a rural constituency where agriculture and the agrifood industry play key roles in the local economy. In Dungannon, the ancient capital of Ulster, and Enniskillen we have two of the finest county towns in Northern Ireland. I promise to be a firm advocate for the constituency and all its people.”