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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“Minister, you said that additional support will be made available to organisations representing victims following the commencement of the Troubles permanent disablement payment scheme. Which voluntary organisations will receive that? Do you have any indication of how much extra support will be available?”
“Against that backdrop, I want to use today to reiterate my calls and those of the SDLP on the Secretary of State, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the British Government and, indeed, the Irish Government to do the right thing and order a public inquiry into the Omagh bombing that will, after two decades, finally bring some truth and, hopefully, justice to those families who have been suffering for over 23 years.”
“The judge said that the threshold for an investigation under article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights had been reached and:”
“In July, following a long legal case brought by campaigners in Omagh in their endless determination to seek out truth, Justice Horner said:”
“<BR /> <BR />I thank the campaigners in Omagh, the families of victims, in particular Michael Gallagher, Stanley McComb, Kevin Skelton and many others, who have dedicated every fibre of their being to the search for truth and justice. I have met them many times and continue to do so. Today, 23 years on, their pain is as raw as it was on that terrible day. The SDLP has stood shoulder to shoulder with the victims' families for over two decades and will continue to support them in their fight for truth and justice. <BR /> <BR />While we should never lose sight of the real perpetrators of the bombing and their callous, indiscriminate, heinous, cold actions, there exist major concerns over the role of the security forces in preventing the bombing, as outlined in the recent High Court judgement on the issue.”
“I rise to speak about the Omagh bomb, and reiterate the SDLP's calls for a public inquiry into what was one of the worst atrocities and acts of terror on this island. <BR /> <BR />On 15 August 1998, four months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the Real IRA detonated a bomb in Omagh that killed 29 people, including a woman with unborn twins, and injured 220 people. Since then, the victims and their families have fought and searched for truth and justice. After 23 years, they are still searching for truth and justice. No one has yet been convicted of what was one of the most brutal atrocities of our lifetime.”
“I agree with the Minister about the importance of the intervention. Public moneys were paid out wrongfully or were claimed in error or fraudulently, however. What is your Department doing to ensure that that public money is clawed back to the centre?”
“Minister, PEACE PLUS funds are vital for people in cross-border communities; I know that well as a representative of a border constituency. One of the major issues in border areas is the closure of banks. Brexit has contributed to the complexities of cross-border banking. What has your Department done to protect the cross-border banking sector from the damage caused by Brexit?”
“Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for her answer. Was the question about the First Minister and joint First Minister, in fact, an electoral ploy by some in the Chamber? Was it not a meaningless question that did not focus on the core issues that we should be dealing with as an Assembly?”
“Will the Minister provide an assessment of the magnitude of appeals in the allocation of places in 2021-22? Will she agree that putting in place a robust and efficient appeals process for parents, carers and guardians is important?”
“What happens if that parent is no longer able to cope because the system has not been there to support them? The child is affected as well. We need to get these things right. I believe that the House wants to get this right, and it is very welcome that there is such unity on this important issue. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP has no hesitation in supporting the general principles of the Bill at this stage. Indeed, we look forward to further considering and developing it at Committee Stage. We thank Pam Cameron for bringing the Bill to the House.”
“All of us are learning all the time from the challenges that arise, and it is important to consider that. <BR /> <BR />Parents, particularly single parents, look after autistic and/or non-verbal children who find it difficult to express themselves. I have seen parents with scraped faces and arms that are bruised and nipped. I have seen situations where a bowl has been fired through a plate glass window or things have been thrown out of car windows. I have seen a child who was in a car with only their parent become uncontrollable, and the situation became dangerous. I have seen situations in which the strongest people I know have fallen apart. I have seen people who, in a situation where they genuinely need help, call those who should be in a position to help them, but they cannot help.”
“I also welcome clauses 3 and 4, and, in particular, the need for regional consistency, hard targets and proper reports on the funding allocated for autism services. Those are all very important issues. <BR /> <BR />Clause 5 introduces an autism reviewer, and that is a very welcome suggestion. The reviewer will examine and review the Department's functions in relation to autism. That welcome provision will enable another level of scrutiny and measure of the Department's performance in service provision. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, the Autism Act should, like all legislation, be seen as a living instrument. Where necessary, it should be updated to deal with any current or urgent issues as they arise. Things have changed since 2011 and the original legislation.”
“I hope that the Minister of Education will follow through on her predecessor's commitment to mandatory autism training for teachers — I welcomed that at the time — and that she will consult all the teaching unions immediately on that. Given that this is a cross-departmental issue, I urge colleagues in the Executive also to raise it.”
“A lot of teachers have come forward and suggested that it is a positive thing that they would be very keen to see happen, but there is also an inherent need to have continuous training as part of teachers' professional development, because things change. We need to ensure that the training is adequate at all times. Providing autism training cannot be used as an excuse for underfunding and under-resourcing. Rather, it should be used to bolster educational outcomes in our schools. That is absolutely critical.”
“Any public representatives who visit any school in their constituency will be told that the biggest challenge in the school, aside from COVID, is to ensure that children who are autistic or going through the process get the support that they need and, in turn, that the other children in the class also receive the support that they need. That is vital. As Mr Lyttle rightly pointed out in his intervention, we should get clarification urgently. I know that Mrs Cameron feels very strongly about the issue, and I am sure that she will follow up on it with the Minister as well. <BR /> <BR />The training needs to be incorporated into initial teacher training.”
“Yes, it is important to seek clarification on that. The Minister of Education is probably extremely busy, but, given the debate, it would have been good if the Minister of Health and the Minister of Education had appeared here today, even just to observe. I thank the Member for his intervention. <BR /> <BR />The amount of time that children spend in school and the opportunities available for early intervention mean that there is a massive issue here. Given that 78% of children with autism are in mainstream schools, it is absolutely shocking that mandatory autism training has not yet been introduced here. It is absolutely critical.”
“I am sorry to say that, 19 months later, it has not yet been introduced. As I have said, it is not something that I am not going to politic on at all. I recognise that we are in a pandemic, but we do need to see that training happen as swiftly as possible.”
“The reason that I say that is because I recently witnessed on social media a video, not filmed in Northern Ireland, in which a police officer was in a school dealing with an autistic child. The child was in difficulty, and as pointed as I will be about it is to say that sufficient training had obviously not been given. <BR /> <BR />It is critical that everybody in public bodies be trained, but training should also happen at a community level so that people have a greater awareness of the challenges and of how they can help, support and understand what an adult or a child wants or is trying to say, communicate or do. <BR /> <BR />As we all know, last year, we got a commitment from the former Minister of Education Peter Weir on the introduction of mandatory autism training for teachers in the North, and that was wholly welcomed.”
“As part of the autism strategy consultation process, the Bill seeks to open up engagement with other persons rather than with departmental bodies only, and that is a very good suggestion. The SDLP welcomes that and believes that it is important that as many people and organisations as possible feed into the process. There are so many that can play a vital role in ensuring that we get this right, and that is key. As we move along, we will have to adapt and ensure that we do more to support those with autism, but some of the suggestions in the Bill are already right on that. <BR /> <BR />Clause 2 would amend section 3 of the Autism Act (NI) 2011, and I particularly welcome the focus on providing autism training to civil servants and staff of all public bodies.”
“I found it fascinating to listen to her experience, because I know what it is like for my sister with Ashton, and I imagine that four children in the house, stepping stones apart, would be an extremely challenging situation in normal times, but particularly during a pandemic. <BR /> <BR />It is important to stress that we can have all the strategies and action plans that we need, but they will not be wholly effective unless they are properly resourced, properly financed and properly measured. We need to see a sea change in how autism services are delivered, and we need to see tangible results come from them. <BR /> <BR />I will provide some initial commentary on the Bill's provisions. We have no issue with clause 1.”
“Despite many promises, strategies and plans, children and adults with autism, along with their families and carers, still feel that they are being failed, and no one in the House disagrees with that. Every family that I have spoken to feels that the system is just not adequate to assist or deliver what is necessary to help them. <BR /> <BR />Mr Gildernew specifically mentioned a family that has a number of children who are autistic. I spoke to a single parent in West Tyrone whose four children are all autistic. It is an extremely difficult situation, and this lady is extremely brave and determined to ensure that her children receive the support that they should receive and should have received all along.”
“Those strategies are all cross-departmental, introduced by the Health Minister, and aimed at addressing the whole-life needs of people, families and carers who live with autism in Northern Ireland. Sadly and unfortunately, the potential of the 2011 Act to transform people's lives has been compromised, not only by the lack of financial support, but by the lack of ministerial decision-making. I recognise that we have had a difficult process because the Assembly was absent for three years, which added a huge amount of difficulty to families and children with autism. Also, we are in the middle of a pandemic and there is no blueprint for what we have been through. I know that things have been difficult.”
“<BR /> <BR />As I have outlined, we are happy to support the Bill, and we believe that it adds to the great work that the SDLP has been pushing for almost two decades. I thank Pam Cameron for recognising the work in 2002 of our late colleague, John Fee, who did a huge amount of work on the Autism Act, and also of a former colleague, Dominic Bradley MLA, who brought forward legislation in 2011. I thank Ms Cameron for mentioning them. <BR /> <BR />The Autism Act recognised that autism was not just a Health issue or an Education issue, but a cross-departmental issue, and a developmental disability. Since then, we have had the autism strategy 2013-20, the interim 2020-21 strategy document and, most recently, a consultation on the 2023-28 autism strategy.”
“In the Assembly, we have a terrible habit of coming up with great plans as to how we can fix major problems. We can be united around them, but often found wanting when it comes to the funding to deliver what is essential and necessary. Many families are impacted by this, and they include my own. Many struggle with no one to turn to. Many schools struggle as children wait months or years for statementing. In the context of this debate, it is vital to highlight this issue and urge the Ministers of Health and Education to work together, as closely as possible, to produce solutions to these problems and to ensure that funding is found so that we can alleviate the major pressures on families and young people and ensure that support services are there when they are needed, not many weeks, months or even years down the line.”
“If we look at the Autism NI website, we see that, over the last five years, the rate of autism has increased by 82% among schoolchildren. One in 24 children in our schools has autism, and 86% of children with autism have special educational needs. Over 4,500 children are on the waiting list for an autism assessment. Those figures are damning, and they clearly point to a situation that needs to be tackled. There is strong support across the House to see that we do all that we can to ensure that that happens. <BR /> <BR />The waiting lists for autism and special educational needs assessment are absolutely appalling. It is clear that, while demand for services has substantially grown, it has not been met with the additional budget or resources allocated to deliver.”
“I suppose that that is their form of communication. Ashton is a wonderful child. He is very smart and bright. He loves to carry on, and loves getting out in the car. That is the only time that he settles for my sister; she drives around for an hour to keep him occupied and busy. I speak today with him in mind, because I have seen the worst, and the best, possible scenarios emerge. <BR /> <BR />The Bill deals with this very important issue. I want to highlight from the outset that the support and services for people with autism across Northern Ireland are inadequate and underfunded and simply do not get the attention that they deserve. We have spoken about this many times in the House, but more so over the last few years.”
“As the SDLP's education spokesperson, I support the broad principles of the Bill. I thank Pam Cameron for bringing forward something that is vital to so many people across Northern Ireland and many in the House directly. I speak today as not just an MLA or the SDLP's education spokesperson but as an uncle of a six-year-old child called Ashton who has autism and is non-verbal. It has been a learning process for my sister, her partner and our family as we have watched that child develop and seen, increasingly, how difficult it is to get support from the system. That support did not exist pre COVID, and it certainly has not existed during COVID. There are so many gaps in the system. Things that you could not possibly imagine occur when a child is frustrated and cannot express how they feel properly or communicate.”
“I have yet to see a detailed plan from the Minister of Education that will address the education deficit that parents are telling us exists for many children who were not able to engage in online learning. <BR /> <BR />To conclude, where the Education Minister has demonstrated a stunning dereliction of duty, we will step up. These results must inform our policy. We must take them on board and come up with a concrete plan that restores parents' faith in our education system, while ensuring that our children get the learning experience that they deserve.”
“Even now that our children have returned to school, it has been nothing but chaos. School leaders have been speaking out about poor planning from the Education Minister, the Department and the Education Authority. Their actions since the beginning of term have typified the reasons for parents' lack of faith in the education system. <BR /> <BR />The findings place the onus on the Minister to come up with a plan to alleviate parents' fears and address the issues that have been raised as a result of disrupted learning during the pandemic. Given the actions of late, parents could be forgiven for struggling to believe that such solutions will be forthcoming.”
“We had a problem with inadequate mental health support for our young people long before the pandemic and cannot afford to ignore the challenge any longer. Our young people were kept indoors for long periods, away from friends and family, at crucial stages of their development. That will have long-lasting consequences that will become more apparent in the years ahead. <BR /> <BR />The after-effects of the pandemic will cast a long shadow, and we cannot allow our children to become casualties of the pandemic. No child should have their education or prospects limited as a result of matters entirely outside of their control. We need to ensure a level playing field for those affected and ensure that our young people are afforded the same opportunities as the previous generation.”
“A total of 95% feel that the Department of Education has handled the pandemic badly or could have done better. <BR /> <BR />Those results spell out the despair that many parents felt as they tried to juggle working from home and educating their children while receiving totally inadequate support. It also shows the total lack of faith that people have in the Department that is responsible for educating our children in Northern Ireland. It is not just their education. Our children's mental health is at stake as we emerge from the pandemic and return to some form of normality. We need to see proper support mechanisms in place for pupils as they readjust to school, and life in general, in the coming months.”
“I take this opportunity to highlight the damning response to the SDLP's recent education survey, which asked parents for their honest appraisal of the impact of the pandemic on their children's education and mental health, and of the support that they have received. The results, which have been published today, paint a frightening picture of parents' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and the complete dereliction of duty from successive Education Ministers and the Department throughout this challenging time. Of the 708 parents who responded to the survey, the majority feel that their child has missed out on learning and believe that that has impacted on their life opportunities. Perhaps most worryingly, 72% of parents feel that their child's mental health has deteriorated during the pandemic.”
“What will the time frame be for any announcement?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. She will know from correspondence between us over the past number of months, particularly since she resumed office, that I feel strongly about the regeneration of Strabane town centre. It is in a dreadful state of disrepair and badly needs that regeneration. In her answer, she said that it would be subject to other departmental priorities. I urge the Minister, on behalf of the people of Strabane and, indeed, wider West Tyrone, to ensure that that is an absolute priority, because it is not sufficient in its current state and needs to be addressed in order to ensure that Strabane is attractive, vibrant and welcoming to all who live and work there and also to anyone who might invest there.”
“I totally agree with the Member, and I hope that he will agree that what we heard yesterday at the Committee suggests that there is, in fact, no contingency planning: in the event of x, we will get y. Where is the plan to protect our children's education? Does the Member agree that that is a worrying situation?”
“I thank the Member for kindly giving way. The Member is right: schools are safe places. However, they are safe places because our teachers and principals have pushed themselves to breaking point over the last year to ensure that that is the case. Will the Member agree with me that they are all saying — to him, as well as to me and others — that schools are being made unsafe by the unworkable guidance that has been forced on them to implement in schools?”
“— because they are doing harm to children's education.”
“I sincerely hope that they do not take the Ministry in the next mandate —”
“I have a word of advice for the Minister and the DUP.”
“That needs to be resolved. I hope that the Minister does resolve it.”
“I am limited in time. The DUP is obviously on the one path today, so I will not allow it. <BR /> <BR />On PCR testing, it is clear that there were no proper discussions between the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health. Otherwise, there would not have been the crisis situation that we had this week of parents not being able to access PCR testing and having to travel up the country or further afield, leaving work and other things. <BR /> <BR />Finally, will someone please have a conversation with the PHA to ask it to return calls to principals who are at breaking point this week? As of yesterday, quite a number of them have, after two days, not received a call back to answer their concerns.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is clear that day two and day eight testing is not working, because children who are tested on day two are testing negative, but by day eight, they are proving to be positive, in between which, they have interacted with a lot of students and other children. That is leading to a mass rise in the level of infection in our schools, ultimately making schools unsafe. The guidance is not workable and needs to be reviewed. <BR /> <BR />Again —.”
“<BR /> <BR />Yesterday, we witnessed the move — finally — by the PHA to take over contact tracing here. I welcome it, but it should not have needed to happen in the first place. While it is a welcome move, it begs the question of why the Minister and the Department deviated from all other jurisdictions and created their own guidance that proved to be absolutely unworkable by those at the coalface in our classrooms and at the front of our schools. It also begs the questions of whether the PHA has capacity to support every school in Northern Ireland and of what additional resources will be directed to tracking and tracing in schools to make it workable over the next few weeks. I hope that quality planning around those practical matters has been conducted and discussed, and we look forward to seeing more detail.”
“That robust plan has not materialised. There has been no contingency planning, as confirmed by officials in the Education Committee yesterday. We are left with a complete mess, as many people have witnessed over the past days. <BR /> <BR />We learned at this week's Education Committee that the North of Ireland is the only jurisdiction where schools are required to do contact tracing. Why was that, Minister? Why were principals put in that position to begin with? For everybody else, it was being done by their PHA. Considering the disruption to learning that contact tracing is causing in schools by taking principals and teachers away from education to perform the administration around contact tracing instead of teaching, why has it taken so long to act? Again, why was it put in place to begin with?”
“It took overwhelming pressure from MLAs, parents and the media to force the hand of the DUP Minister once again. <BR /> <BR />Like others in the Chamber, I have met principals — across West Tyrone and every constituency in Northern Ireland — over the past weeks, both those who were anxious about the return of schools and those who have been forced into very difficult situations since the return of schools. The track and trace guidance that schools are expected to follow is not fit for purpose; from comments made so far, I think that that is widely accepted. It is a logistical headache for teachers and, ultimately, it is very badly letting down our school staff, parents and principals. It is not acceptable. <BR /> <BR />For well over a year, the SDLP has been calling for a robust plan to tackle all things COVID-related in our schools.”
“At 6.00 pm yesterday, one principal, in tears, at breaking point, sat with me for an hour — a person whom I consider to be very strong and able to handle almost any situation who has been forced into a very difficult position by the pressure of the burden imposed by the guidance in its current form. <BR /> <BR />Principals are required to be experts in COVID-19 tracking and tracing while also delivering the highest teaching standards expected of them. It is painfully clear that, once the level of infection in the community reaches certain points, schools cannot do both jobs of teaching and mitigating a difficult situation. In recent days, we have reached and exceeded that point, and the Minister and the Department have failed to act quickly enough to repair the situation, with the exception of the move by the PHA in recent hours.”
“I hoped that the Minister would have learned from the mistakes of her predecessor about how important it is to have robust and properly evidenced plans in place, with clear monitoring mechanisms to keep children and staff safe while mitigating disruption to learning in the classroom. Unfortunately, that has not been the case to date, based on the information that we have all received and on the position that we find ourselves in today. <BR /> <BR />Be in no doubt that our schools, teaching staff and principals are facing crisis conditions, with patience wearing very thin as they continue to be expected to work under increasingly intolerable conditions.”
“I thank the proposer of the motion. The SDLP was happy to sign it in the light of the considerable challenges faced in our schools. I have to say from the outset that it is very disappointing that we, again, find ourselves in the situation of discussing another monumental failure by the Department of Education and, unfortunately, by another Minister in appropriately planning for the pandemic and its impact on schools and our children's learning. <BR /> <BR />The Minister will know that, over the past week, principals in her constituency and across Northern Ireland have been at the point of desperation in looking for support, help and guidance. They find themselves in an intolerable situation.”
“I thank the Member for kindly giving way. I agree that we all want schools to be safe places, but surely if the Member were engaging with principals, teachers and parents in his constituency, he would realise that the current guidance that has been rolled out by the Department is making schools unsafe and is difficult for teachers and principals to work from.”