Daniel McCrossan
West Tyrone · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Member for giving way. She has raised some points of interest. Aside from the Bill at hand, the Department of Finance currently collects rates from property owners across Northern Ireland. I have found that there can be difficulties with that when properties have been lying vacant for a significant period.”
“That applies in particular to those who have been land-banking over a period of time — that happens everywhere, unfortunately — with the hope that the big cash cow will be coming and, ultimately, they will be relieved of their responsibility to maintain, look after and enhance the landscape in a town or village by spending the necessary f…”
“As is often the case when we speak in the House, it may be that some ratepayers or members of the public will take it as a given that the Bill will be the silver bullet that will resolve the dilapidation issues in towns. Depending on which area you are in, the scale is very different.”
“We need to be creative in how we can put the Bill to task. <BR /> <BR />Certainly, as I have said, it is good policy. I have no question that the Bill is well intended.”
“<BR /> <BR />Addressing dilapidation is not simply a matter for local government in isolation. The responsibility lies with the Executive as a whole. The Executive have had their eyes closed to this matter for too long, and many of our buildings have deteriorated significantly across council areas over a long period.”
“That encourages private investment, and there is natural enhancement from those investors. However, in areas that lag behind because of economic decline, underinvestment and general deprivation, many towns and cities can quickly become the poor cousin.”
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“I thank the First Ministers for being with us in the House. I also want to thank front-line workers and those who played their part and assisted people in our communities, including the community workers and the Red Cross, which played a vital role, particularly in my constituency. <BR /> <BR />Right now, First Ministers, as we sit here and talk about the impact of the storm, people are freezing in their homes and are without heat and electricity, as has been said. Some are without water and some are hungry. This is day 4, and people cannot survive in those conditions for a prolonged period. What is being done today by the Executive to provide intervention, financial or otherwise, by means of accommodation that is suitable for those people to ensure that they are safe?”
“Those are the moments when we see the best of our community and its most human side: when we step up and support those who are in need. <BR /> <BR />Today, however — four days later, as I said — there are people still without electricity, water or access to supplies that they desperately need, and others are worried about their health and well-being. Unfortunately, there is a sense that the Executive have been invisible over the past four days and have not stepped up to provide reassurance to the people across Northern Ireland who were directly affected by the storm. More could have been done and must be done. Aside from any fancy photographs that will appear, action needs to be taken to support the people who are struggling in our communities.”
“<BR /> <BR />The storm that we witnessed over the past few days was unprecedented, but it should be a signal of how we must be prepared for future events and ensure that our society and communities are protected from the worst impacts of such a storm. I pay tribute to Northern Ireland Electricity workers, who restored power to a significant number of properties in a short time and in extremely difficult circumstances and weather conditions. I also pay tribute to others in our community. If you are a neighbour of a vulnerable person and you called to see them, I thank you. If you opened community centres, businesses or churches, I thank you. If you were out checking in on people, helping them via a phone call or other means, or bringing water and food supplies, I thank you.”
“I pay tribute to all the front-line workers who stepped up over the past few days in what were difficult circumstances, particularly in rural areas. As an MLA representing a rural constituency, I know too well the storm's impact on vulnerable and elderly people across the constituency. Unfortunately, four days later, quite a number are still without electricity; in some cases, they are without water, telephone or any form of communication as well. The storm caused huge stress and anxiety to people who are already vulnerable. They feel isolated and cut off, and some explained that it adversely affected their mental health and general well-being.”
“Let us hope that the Minister of Finance speaks to the Minister of Health and gives him the money in recognition of the situation and that he then gets it done, for enough is enough. All of us at some point will rely on that emergency department to save our life or that of a loved one.”
“Some staff have said that Altnagelvin's emergency department is not safe, while others have said that they cannot cope. On every occasion that I have visited someone in that emergency department and walked into the waiting room, which is the size of a prefab hut, people call me over and say, "Daniel, I have been sitting here since last night. Please speak to someone", "We cannot get this. We cannot get that", "Please get my mother seen" or, Please get my father seen". That is real life. While this place sometimes operates in a bubble, there are people out there in pain, struggling and suffering, and nobody in our society should endure what I have witnessed in the Altnagelvin emergency department. It is unforgivable. <BR /> <BR />Let us stop talking about the business case for the new emergency department. Let us get it done.”
“She sat for so long that we had to take her from the emergency department back to Strabane, get her nebuliser and take her back down the road. Is that the level of healthcare that we offer people who are struggling with illness and disease, vulnerable people and people who expect and deserve better from the system? We have had enough of excuses. We have had enough of talking about planning. There is no justification whatever for any of our people — family members, friends, neighbours or constituents — having to sit in those dire conditions. <BR /> <BR />The staff have lost the will to work there. They are at their wits' end. We talk about the retention of staff in hospital emergency departments. Why would they work there when they have been treated so badly? They are worked to the bone. They are exhausted.”
“I have seen the inhumane conditions that vulnerable people from our communities — taxpayers who have worked their entire life — are expected to sit in. Reference has been made to the one toilet: it is disgusting. It is a hive of infection. There is no access to water or food, and people have had to sit there for hours — 19 hours or 21 hours — over and over again. <BR /> <BR />Weeks before I sadly lost my mum in August, we made our trip to the Altnagelvin emergency department. One of my last memories of my mum, in the final weeks of her life, was that she cried sore because she did not want to go to that emergency department. She knew what she was about to face: chaos. We could not even get her a nebuliser.”
“When we should have been taking action on the business case six years ago, the Assembly was not functioning. Today, when it is functioning, we are unified in our view of the emergency department at Altnagelvin and are well aware of the problems there, yet we are still talking about them. <BR /> <BR />The Minister must know, as the rest of us do, that all the problems in our health service will not be fixed today or tomorrow — there is a lot of work to do — but what can be fixed is the situation and environment in which people wait for urgent care in the emergency department at Altnagelvin. With the greatest respect to everyone who works there, animals do not sit in such conditions. I have personal experience of that emergency department, so much so that it frustrates me to the point of anger.”
“I thank the Member who secured the Adjournment debate. <BR /> <BR />There is no week or weekend that I do not receive a text message, phone call or other form of communication from people who are sitting in the emergency department at Altnagelvin. They sit there for endless hours in pain, on hard seats, if they are lucky enough to get a seat — some sit on the floor — some of them desperate to be seen. As we speak, at this very moment, there are people in such situations in Altnagelvin's emergency department. Although we have recognised for years the serious situation that we face there, we are still talking about it and not seeing any action taken. The culpability for that lies with Members of the House. It is our responsibility to do something about it.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Will he join me in voicing our appreciation to the community and voluntary sectors throughout each of our constituencies, which have worked tirelessly to support people? If it were not for their work over the past number of years, mental health services in Northern Ireland would have collapsed.”
“I completely agree with the Member's sentiment about a unified House on the issue, but surely the time for nice words is long past. People need to see action and a reform of our mental health services in Northern Ireland. As we talk about them, those services are failing people, and the Executive need to take meaningful action to transform them.”
“I fear that we have not got our heads around the issue yet, and many people, unfortunately, have died as a result of contracting the infection in an environment in which they should have been safe.”
“I know that Mrs Dodds, a colleague from the DUP, has also raised questions about the matter and the presence of the bacteria in the hospital setting. Indeed, the Public Health Agency (PHA) said that the bacteria is highly likely to be found in healthcare settings. We cannot afford to overlook that. Our trusts, even with the severe pressure that they are under, need to ensure that hygiene and cleanliness are maintained at the highest possible standards in order to protect and ensure the safety of the vulnerable people who are being treated in healthcare settings. <BR /> <BR />I have further questions for the Health Minister and will seek clarification about hospital sites in Northern Ireland.”
“I asked the Minister of Health for the most recent figures on people who have been affected. He has provided me with some clarity on those figures, but I fear that the number is actually much higher. In fact, just a few weeks before I, sadly, lost my mother in August, it was revealed that she too had contracted that bacterial infection. She was subjected to two long weeks of IV treatment three times a day: she had to travel to Derry three times a day in those two weeks. It was during that time that I saw the worst effects of that bacterial infection, because, with her weakened immune system, she struggled to fight off the infection. <BR /> <BR />The infection has affected many people across Northern Ireland, and the more questions that I ask and answers that I receive, the more questions that I have.”
“I rise to raise the issue of pseudomonas aeruginosa in our hospitals. Within the past two years, 58 people in Northern Ireland have died from that very serious infection, and 54 of those 58 people died in a hospital setting. It is the same type of bacteria that was found in the new Belfast maternity hospital last March, which delayed its opening, and it is something of grave concern, particularly within the hospital environment, that adds significant risks to those with weakened immune systems and more vulnerable people in our hospital settings.”
“I thank the Minister. Earlier, he referenced music. He is good at blowing his own trumpet, but we do not quite agree with the tune. <BR /> <BR />Minister, the problem has worsened on your watch. You gave a commitment to the House in May that you would tackle it, yet it has worsened. More and more people are struggling, and more homes are empty. What are you doing to deliver a measurable plan on which we can hold you to account in order to see a change in the crisis?”
“Thank you, Minister. Do you agree with the Cliff Edge Coalition and me that the fact that the spend has increased from £1·4 million in 2020-21 to £3·4 million in 2023-24 shows a significant increase in the amount of need? What is your Department doing to tackle that issue and ensure that those needs are met?”
“The problem is that, for every problem, the solution from GPs, mental health services and everybody else is, "Go to the emergency department". It is an absolute shambles, and it is getting worse. We need to get a handle on it. It affects each and every one of us in the House, our family members, our grandparents, our parents and our children. It is time that we dealt with that very serious problem.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is time that the Western Health and Social Care Trust, the Department of Health, the Minister and the Executive collectively got a handle on the situation, because, to be very blunt, it affects each and every one of our families. People do not go to an emergency department to sit there for no reason; they go there because they are seriously ill. Unfortunately, people are dying in emergency departments, because they are not being triaged, triaged appropriately or seen on time. They are being left on seats for hours. <BR /> <BR />Unfortunately, over the past few months, there has been a huge increase in the number complaints that I have been dealing with about how people have been treated in emergency departments. That is not down to the staff.”
“<BR /> <BR />The emergency department in Altnagelvin, in particular, can only be described as an absolute disgrace, to be honest. People are expected to go there and sit in an overcrowded and busy environment. They include those with mental issues; people who are intoxicated from drugs and alcohol; vulnerable elderly people, some of whom have no family members to support them, who are scared — that is the word that has been used to me — sitting there; and dementia patients, who have to sit in that environment without proper support. There is access to one toilet — one toilet — in the emergency department in Altnagelvin. That is an absolute shambles.”
“There is no dignity whatsoever in an emergency department. You are exposed entirely in your very vulnerable state while in a very stressful environment. A person who is unwell and sick goes there as a last resort. Believe me, it is becoming more and more of a last resort for people, because many often try to avoid our emergency departments. It really is getting worse. We talk about the state of the emergency departments every year, yet they seem to get worse. The situation seems to worsen, and our staff seem to be under even more strain and pressure. As a result, we will see a significant increase in sickness rates among staff and in people not taking up important posts in emergency departments, so the unfolding crisis will worsen.”
“Over the Christmas period, our emergency departments featured strongly on the news daily. Each of us was inundated over the Christmas period by messages from worried constituents whose loved ones, perhaps vulnerable family members, were sitting in overcrowded emergency departments. Some people waited for prolonged periods on seats, often in pain and without getting the attention that they needed and deserved.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. He raises a valid point. People in Fermanagh travel past the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) and Omagh Hospital and have to go the whole way to Derry to get to an emergency department. That adds to huge pressure that could be taken away and spread over those other two hospitals. Does the Member agree?”
“The problems with SEN provision are well rehearsed. We have known them for a long time. Who will oversee the change agenda? Does the Minister trust the Education Authority, given its track record, to do that effectively in the interests of children?”
“Minister, I hope that this plan, which the House has not yet seen, signals an end to the sticking plaster approach to special educational needs in Northern Ireland. The Minister is right to point out the cost of transformation, but the cost of doing nothing is much greater to our children, young people and families.”
“I apologise for rattling the Minister. It would be terrible if he were to lose his voice in the midst of the answer to that question. <BR /> <BR />Minister, over £18 million was spent on temporary accommodation in 2023-24 — again, on your watch — including £6·5 million in the Derry and Strabane District Council area and £6 million in the Belfast City Council area. Does your Department have a strategy to deal with this, or are those just expensive, temporary sticking plasters?”
“<BR /> <BR />This morning, on my way to the Assembly, I spoke to Davin's father. Even after the past few years, the family still feel the hurt and pain. They feel let down. I encourage everybody to attend that event tomorrow to remember Davin and to support his family.”
“His family have fought for changes so that no other young person's family suffers the loss of a loved one in an environment where they should be safe. Over the past few years, whilst feeling hurt and let down, they have worked with the trust to create the Davin Corrigan Legacy Award. It has been set up to recognise the efforts of families and organisations that work to improve the care experience and safety of people in the trust. They have achieved considerable changes. The trust has learned many difficult lessons. Each year, the Davin Corrigan Legacy Award is given to various groups in recognition of the changes that they have made to improve the care experience of those in the trust. Tomorrow, that award will be presented again. This is its fifth year, and the presentation will take place in the Fir Trees Hotel in Strabane.”
“In 2023, an inquest found that there had been major failings at every level in the trust around the care that Davin Corrigan should have received but did not.”
“In 2018, Davin Corrigan was admitted to Grangewood mental health unit in Derry. He was 25 years of age. He struggled with his mental health and needed help and support. Unfortunately, while in the care of that facility, Davin took his own life. The inquest found that there were major failings on the part of the Western Health and Social Care Trust around the care and support that Davin, and, indeed, many others, should have received. His death was entirely preventable. <BR /> <BR />The sense of loss in our community and in Davin's family, particularly for his mum, Aisling, and his father, Dessie, is acutely felt daily. Following the shock of losing their son in an environment that should have been safe and that should have protected him, they battled for many years to seek the truth about what had happened.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am glad that the Alliance Party tabled the motion, and we will support it. However, attempts to fold hate crime provisions into broader justice legislation, which is what the Alliance Party is proposing, dilute the focus and undermine the effectiveness. That is a piecemeal approach, and it will not deliver the robust protections —”
“Stand-alone hate crime legislation is essential to protect those who are often targeted, not just because of their identity but because they are perceived to be vulnerable due to their disabilities. Our amendment sends a clear message that we will not tolerate hate or harm being directed at any member of our community. Introducing tailored laws will ensure that those crimes are taken seriously and are met with the appropriate legal consequences. The problem at the minute is that the justice system does not know how to react to some of the unique cases that come before it, because the legislation does not exist or is not clear. Judge Desmond Marrinan's 2019 review outlined some of the many issues and provided clear recommendations that need to be considered and adhered to.”
“It also laments the lack of progress on equality legislation in Northern Ireland. That lack of progress is not just a missed opportunity but a failed duty. That belief is, again, shared by Members across the House. <BR /> <BR />I support the call for bold and meaningful legislative reform to ensure that we protect the rights of people with disabilities. The SDLP's amendment strengthens that, because it addresses a critical gap in our legal framework. It calls for the protection of individuals with disabilities from harm through stand-alone hate crime legislation. Again, many parties clearly committed to and supported that. While the motion recognises systemic inequalities, our amendment goes further to confront the hostility and prejudice that too many people with disabilities face daily.”
“<BR /> <BR />We need to get away from, "We want to see", which is promising one thing and doing something entirely different. I heard a Member refer to the process for PIP. It is abusive and is distressing for people to go through, but the Member failed to point out that the Minister, who was of the Member's party, renewed Capita's contract for PIP. You cannot sit in the House and say that you want things to change when you have your hands on the levers of power but do not implement any change. That is why people are losing patience with this place. We need to see meaningful action. The motion emphasises the need for action by the Assembly and the Executive to reduce those inequalities and create a society that values the diversity of people with disabilities.”
“<BR /> <BR />We must also be clear, as per the subject of our amendment, that hate crimes are not just offences against individuals but direct assaults on the principles of fairness and inclusion that underpin a just society. The Assembly, as Members have outlined today, has a responsibility to ensure that no one in Northern Ireland feels unsafe, marginalised or left behind because of their identity or disability. The motion, alongside our amendment, provides a comprehensive framework for achieving that goal, addressing systemic inequalities and the urgent need for tailored hate crime legislation. We are all largely on the same page; we just need to see more action that has a direct, meaningful impact on people's lives.”
“They have been calling for change — calling for equality; calling for necessary legislation and protections — yet here we are, and we hear all these aspirational promises but get no action and no meaningful change. We need to build protections into legislation to ensure that people in Northern Ireland with disabilities and those who are affected by racial abuse and all sorts of other hate crime are protected. That is why we proposed an amendment to the motion. We ask the House to support that amendment because there is a need for robust hate crime legislation and for a clear commitment and action to ensure equality for people with disabilities in Northern Ireland.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is clear that today's debate is a very important one. It is important to each and all of us as legislators that we tackle the serious problems facing people with disabilities across Northern Ireland. We will support the motion, as my colleagues Matthew O'Toole and Sinéad McLaughlin said, and we have added a clear stipulation for the provision of hate crime legislation, which is essential. <BR /> <BR />You would think that this was a new problem, because, as with most things in the House, we hear around the Assembly, "We need to", "We must", "We will", and, "We plan to". Where is the action? People with disabilities have been waiting for many years and knocking on each of our doors and on the doors of Departments and Ministers.”
“Given the widespread concerns about the introduction of the inheritance tax measure, what steps will the Minister take to mitigate its impact on family farms across Northern Ireland?”
“Minister, March 2025 helps no one today. You know fully about the struggles that people face. Today, £100 buys 150 litres of heating oil. That really does not go far enough to help those who are struggling. Will you clarify for the House whether the support is per household or per pensioner?”
“Will the Minister outline whether the staff shortages contribute to delays in the planning system, including the progress of housing developments across the region?”
“I thank the Minister for the answer, in particular his reference to action 7. I appreciate your long-held commitment to this, Minister, and I know that you feel strongly about this, but surely every day of delay is putting further lives at risk? Why can we not just test people now? That, undoubtedly, will save lives.”
“— and have control of the Departments. It is time to get on with the job.”
“— from the people in elected office, who hold the responsibility for —”
“"Let's distract from the fact that there has been no delivery by the House and create an illusion that we can't work together". In truth, that is a political decision. <BR /> <BR />Boycotting the North/South Ministerial Council achieved nothing, and the DUP has learned nothing. Deep down, it knows that all the boycotting has achieved nothing. Its Members are back in the Assembly with very little having changed and their tails between their legs. I remind the DUP that the protocol is a direct consequence of the Brexit that it wanted and for which it fought and argued. Maybe it is a case of the DUP being careful what it wishes for and of this being time to get on with it. People deserve better. They want this place to work, but they also want higher standards —”
“No, you have said enough. <BR /> <BR />The DUP always returns to the table with its tail between its legs. The question is this: are you interested in representing all the people in Northern Ireland or not? The reality is that, right throughout its history, the DUP has cherry-picked the parts that suit it but wants the rest of us to run to its beating drum when it suits it. The reality is that things here need to change. We have a huge task in delivering for all the people in Northern Ireland on health, education and housing. The truth is that those are the issues that unite our society. People are united by their struggle to get operations or the treatment that they need, to get homes and to support their families. Typically, however, this place always falls into the trap of "them and us".”
“That attitude will disappoint quite a lot of people, but it will not surprise them. The reality that the DUP fails to recognise is that boycotting did not work and collapsing the institutions did not work. Although the DUP was built on "Never, never, never," it always returns to the table with its tail between —.”
“We tabled this important motion because of the determination in the July report, which very clearly indicates that there was a breach of the ministerial code. That is unacceptable, but I know that it would suit some Members or parties if we were to continue down the road of simply brushing everything under the carpet and saying, "It's in the past. Don't worry about it. Sure it's done now". It also suits the DUP to define good governance when it suits it to do so, but the reality is that the public have lost all confidence in the institutions. We have a huge mountain to climb if we are to reassure people that this place is here to serve their best interests and the common good. <BR /> <BR />Unfortunately, instead of saying, "Yes, fair enough, we should not have done that," the DUP continues to dig the big hole that it is in.”
“It is recognised across this island as being a critical piece of infrastructure for saving lives and protecting people, but it will also create economic opportunities for a part of the island that has been entirely cut off. <BR /> <BR />My message therefore to the objectors is this: please back off. Any action taken against the A5 upgrade literally costs lives, so I ask them today to withdraw any legal challenge and not to bring one again in the future.”
“<BR /> <BR />Those who are against the road upgrade may believe that they have due cause for objection, and they have a right to go through the objection process. They do not, however, have a right to continue down that path against the will of the majority of people whom I represent and, indeed, for whom the parties in the Assembly have been voicing concern. We need to see the road upgrade go ahead. Any delays are entirely unacceptable, and I consider any form of action to be an attempt to derail any form of progress being made with the A5. <BR /> <BR />The fact is that the A5 upgrade will go ahead, because it is an Executive flagship project.”