Danny Kennedy
Newry and Armagh · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“<BR /> <BR />I know the circumstances that we are in, but my hope is that departmental officials will continue to explore these issues and find solutions so that, at the earliest point, those solutions can be delivered to my constituency and to the people who have such frustration with the lack of service.”
“This situation is also prevalent in other rural areas of Northern Ireland. People in areas such as Lissummon, Ballygorman, Cladymilltown, Altnamackan, Loughgall, Mullaghglass and countless others, unfortunately, all of which are located in my constituency, find themselves in a position currently where they are provided with little or no e…”
“I, with others, receive regular contact from my constituents on this issue. It is abundantly clear from the representations that I receive that the lack of broadband provision, particularly in rural areas, impacts in many ways on families and businesses that reside in various locations across the constituency.”
“Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, I thank you and the Business Committee for affording me the opportunity to debate the issue of broadband provision directly relating to my constituency of Newry and Armagh. I also place on record my good wishes to you as you leave the House, and I wish you well for the future.”
“The lack of high-quality broadband, for instance, has an impact on the ability of many rural businesses to function efficiently, placing them clearly at a disadvantage to other competitors in their particular field.”
“I could continue to detail many more circumstances, but I want other Members to contribute and to hear what the Minister has to say. I take this opportunity to make an impassioned plea to the Minister to pursue, within a quick time frame, the network improvements that are so clearly required.”
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“Everyone should have learned the lessons of this, which are that we need to keep front-line services funded and properly working for the people whom we seek to represent.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I am not aware of any significant impact at this stage — clearly, the Department of Justice may assist with the evaluation of that — nor am I aware of any significant increase in claims against the Department because of defective street lights. As I have made plain since August, I was never content or happy with this situation, and I am very pleased that my requests for proper funding for the service were finally heard and that we can now address the situation and move forward. As I outlined in my original answer, there are challenges with the new financial settlement in the Budget next year. I hope very much that we are not heading towards any repeat scenario.”
“I thank the Member for his question, and I agree. The records will show that I bid for resources to cover the shortfall as far back as last year, and certainly in October. Had additional resources been provided then, some of the misery that people experienced as a result of this could have been avoided. If people want to play games, let us hope that they can be a bit more responsible in the future.”
“As I indicated, this is where we are. The current backlog of street lighting repairs that has accumulated since last August is effectively my Department's street lighting contractors' normal workload over a five- to six-month period. However, to clear the backlog as quickly as possible now that I have secured the necessary funding, I have asked that all available resources are put to the task so that that work can be expedited.”
“"Through DSD", the Member said. I was not —”
“As I outlined in my original answer, since I ramped it up last week, we are now repairing approximately 600 per day, and we hope to continue with that progress.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. I will say at the outset that I need no lectures on how to manage a budget; if the budget is properly funded as it should be, there will not be any problems. I hope that the Member can bring that message back to his colleagues and that some of the games that we have seen being played out recently can be stopped. <BR /> <BR />In the period since 8 August, my Department has been notified of almost 32,000 street lights that were out. Of those defective lights, my staff repaired close to 10,000, or approximately 30%. I want to acknowledge the good work of the staff involved; they were doing their best to provide a service to the public in very difficult circumstances.”
“Although my Department's staff continued to fix as many street lights as possible, a backlog of defective lights has been developing since last August. <BR /> <BR />Members should understand that it will take time to catch up. Nonetheless, I am committed to having the backlog cleared as quickly as possible. Contractors have been on the ground since early last week. I want to make it clear that the funding provided in January monitoring is for this financial year only.”
“Following the Executive's agreement to meet my Department's bid in the January monitoring round for additional funding to repair street lights, I can confirm that I reinstated the use of external contractors on 19 January 2015 to carry out street lighting repairs to supplement my Department's internal resources. Last week, some 4,359 job cards were issued to external contractors and, together with internal resources, I estimate that my Department has already reduced the backlog of outages by some 3,000. Currently, the total number of street lights out is around 20,000. <BR /> <BR />Members will be aware that, due to pressures on my Department's resource budget, I had to suspend the use of external contractors for routine street lighting repairs on 8 August 2014. My Department continued to bid for that money at every possible opportunity.”
“<BR /> <BR />If it is an encouragement to the Member, I have now taken to taking serious exercise around this complex at lunchtime, and he is welcome to join me at that so that we can show a healthier lifestyle to everybody concerned.”
“I thank the Member for the encouragement behind his question. He will know that my Department has funded Belfast City Council to bring forward the cycle hire scheme. We very much hope that it will be in place later this year, in the coming months, and, hopefully, within weeks. That will give people the opportunity to see that we are serious about transforming not only public transport in Belfast, in conjunction with Belfast rapid transit, but the enhancements that we have made to rail and bus transport and the greater opportunities for more sustainable modes of transport to be used, including cycling and walking.”
“I am grateful to the Member for the encouragement that he offers for the overall cycling strategy. It will take time and, if you like, a change of culture. However, the benefits of adopting more sustainable modes of transport are huge for the environment, the economy and saving people money. Huge and positive tourist consequences may flow from that, and we had a flavour of that with the Giro d'Italia. Overall, we can tap into great opportunities for lifestyle and, in particular, health style. I think that we are winning the public argument and encouraging more and more people to see cycling not just as a sport or a leisure activity but as a possible means of affordable transport.”
“The Member knows that Transport NI recently completed a section of shared cycle track and footway from the Burrendale Hotel towards Newcastle, which is part of his constituency. Transport NI is in the process of completing the necessary legislative requirements to designate that new facility as a cycle track.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question and, indeed, for the encouraging noises that he appears to be making on cycling. He knows that I am greatly seized with the opportunity that Northern Ireland has to exploit cycling to its maximum, not just for sport but for broader, healthier lifestyles. There are huge opportunities, and that is what we are seeking to do with the cycling revolution. We do not want just to have it in place in the greater Belfast area but to present opportunities through the use of greenways. The Member knows about the exciting proposals for a greenway between Newry and Mourne, which is part of his area, and the Cooley peninsula, and there are other opportunities. <BR /> <BR />We continue to look at opportunities whereby infrastructure can be improved.”
“<BR /> <BR />More recently, I hosted a very successful conference in Belfast to promote cycling. As part of that conference, Transport NI engineers attended a training workshop with Transport for London to discuss and debate new standards for cycling design.”
“In publishing my draft bicycle strategy, I set out my commitment to develop specific design guidance for cycling provision in Northern Ireland, which will encourage more people to adopt cycling as an everyday mode of travel. That work is ongoing, and I am keen to explore best practice elsewhere to develop the most appropriate cycling design guidance for Northern Ireland. That is why my Department facilitated a training seminar on cycling for Transport NI engineers as part of a round of visits to Northern Ireland by the Cyclists' Touring Club and the Cycling Embassy of Denmark to promote new design concepts in 2012. Sustrans also delivered training to Transport NI engineers in August 2014 on its new design guide, 'Handbook for Cycle-friendly Design'.”
“She always established and maintained good relations with local representatives, and that allowed us to address the issues from constituents coming through our offices. <BR /> <BR />Mr Speaker, I am afraid that, due to other pressures, I am not able to remain for the completion of the debate. I apologise for that and hope that you and other Members will accept that. I will look very closely at the Hansard report of this important debate.”
“Each of our trusts had to do something similar, albeit that that was to try to balance the books rather than provide additional funding. The Southern Trust was not immune from that and has to make £2·9 million savings by the end of March this year. Nevertheless, decisions such as those to close the minor injuries unit in Armagh and to reduce care in the community for our elderly were still counterproductive. Indeed, those decisions will have placed only further pressure on the likes of Daisy Hill. <BR /> <BR />In drawing my remarks to a close, I take the opportunity to place on record my thanks to Mairead McAlinden, chief executive of the Southern Trust, as she prepares to move to the new challenges as chief executive of South Down — South Devon Trust in England. Mairead was a very effective and excellent leader.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. <BR /> <BR />I accept entirely that that is indeed a very impressive record, particularly when it is looked at against that of other hospitals. Nevertheless, just because a condition may not be life-threatening, it may still cause debilitating discomfort. That is why cancelled or delayed surgeries cause so much frustration. I accept that the hospitals and their local population may be smaller than those elsewhere in Northern Ireland, but we must understand that they still deserve no less quality of service. <BR /> <BR />On a wider note, no one will have missed the swathe of cuts to hospital services across Northern Ireland. I know from experience the very real difficulty of having to make swingeing in-year cuts to make available emergency funds.”
“I ask the Minister, who I know is very well aware of the issues facing his local hospital, to provide an update on that issue in his response. <BR /> <BR />Of course, while much of the focus has been on the emergency departments, we must not lose sight of the patients needing surgeries. I was pleased to see that relatively few surgeries in Daisy Hill were cancelled. Nevertheless, just because a condition —”
“That is a credit to the doctors and nurses in that A&E. I have benefited personally from their care. <BR /> <BR />In addition, the performance at the Downe type-2 emergency department was at an impressive 91·6%. However, on that latter point, I reiterate my party's opposition to the downscaling of the Downe A&E. Whilst I appreciate that the minor injuries unit will have mitigated the worst of the reductions, I will say that it is open only from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm at the weekend. So, the point still stands that, after 8.00 pm during the week and after 5.00 pm at weekends, there is no service, whether emergency or minor injury. <BR /> <BR />At the time, we were told that the changes were coming about as a result of the trust experiencing difficulty staffing the unit, especially in recruiting middle-grade doctors.”
“I thank Mrs McKevitt for bringing the issue forward for debate. I acknowledge your appointment as Speaker. Of course, I am speaking as a Back-Bench Member for Newry and Armagh. <BR /> <BR />At the outset, I want to say that I believe that, in Daisy Hill and Downe, we have two excellent hospitals. Both are very fortunate and blessed to have the staff that they do. Even in the most difficult and challenging circumstances, they are both managing to keep their heads above water. That cannot be emphasised enough. As many of our hospitals have come up against the wall, an excellent standard of care locally has been maintained. Only last week, for instance, it was revealed that, whilst the average number of patients being seen within four hours in type-1 emergency departments across Northern Ireland was 73·5%, the figure for Daisy Hill was 86%.”
“It might be useful for the Member to cut a bit of slack on this issue.”
“I am grateful to the Member for that suggestion. I have to say that the main focus remains on the work that is being undertaken by the Labour Relations Agency. It would be remiss of me not to express my thanks to the LRA for its contribution to trying to resolve this dispute. I very much hope that we can move to a resolution as quickly as possible. Of course, if that is not the case, other options will have to be considered.”
“That is why the protocol was beneficial in the run-up to and through Christmas and new year and why, if we are not to get a resolution to the current situation today, that protocol should be re-established.”
“The Member is right to the extent that industrial action is impacting on work and call-outs after working hours. When staff report for duty, they address the faults in the system that have occurred overnight and over weekends, but it is not, with respect, the case that you can turn on a switch almost like a light switch and everything will work again. It takes time for systems to redistribute and to begin to work again. There are impacts, such as airlocks, that also affect the service. We have seen that in some of the locations. So, it is not straightforward or easy by any means, but one of the difficulties is that the work-to-rule has meant that faults that develop late in the day or perhaps close to the weekend are not addressed at the earliest possible point that we would like.”
“I am grateful to the Member. If he has specific examples — others hinted at that — I need to hear about them first-hand and to take appropriate action. If the Member wants to share those with me, I will be very interested in them.”
“I thank the Member and hear his suggestion. My main focus is, and the concentration of all my efforts has to be, on encouraging people so that the dispute is resolved as quickly as possible. Everyone will then be able to enjoy a standard of water supply that we find acceptable. That is my main focus, and I believe that the wider public in Northern Ireland and, indeed, those most affected would expect me to concentrate my efforts on resolving the issue.”
“I am not sure that the Member has the full grasp of the issues that are at stake or of how we can deal with the situation. It is ultimately a management/union dispute. In a democratic world, trade unions have the right to exist and to represent their members. I think that the Member should recognise that. I am, and have been, concerned by the actions that the trade union members have taken and by the impact that there has been on customer services, but I think that we need to work and to focus our efforts on resolving the issue and on moving forward to a better and happier place.”
“I am grateful to the Member for giving me that opportunity. I want to stress that, yes, there is a situation where almost 50% of maintenance to NI Water service plants is carried out on a PPP basis, primarily to the east of the Province. Let me state absolutely that the west, and those parts that are currently affected, are neither abandoned nor forgotten, nor will they be or should they be. I stress the importance of the restoration of services to all parts as quickly as possible. That is what I am working for. That is what NI Water and my Department are working for. I hope that, with goodwill, we can reach agreement with the trade unions and move forward, with the approval of DFP, and have a better situation all round.”
“I thank the Member for raising that issue. Clearly, weather conditions have inhibited part of the response. I accept that that has not been helpful. However, as I made clear in my statement, the Department and NI Water are at full capacity and are mobilised to deal with the ongoing situation. That will remain. I have said that a major incident regime is in place. Again, that will remain. Hopefully, through the negotiations, which are taking place in another place, the issue will be resolved so that we can restore supplies and normality to those families who have been so badly served by the current dispute.”
“I am grateful to the Member for putting a spin on his own lack of performance on this. To the best of my knowledge, I have not received very many representations from him throughout the entire period, so concerned he has been about his constituents. <BR /> <BR />I do not want to have arguments like this in the Chamber, but I am not going to be kicked about by parties that think that, just because elections are coming, this is a convenient issue to use as a political football. I am on the side of the householders who are without water. I am on their side to have their water restored as quickly as possible. I hope that everybody in the House has that same commitment.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. These are issues that are under discussion and are being resolved, hopefully, between NI Water and the trade unions. I do not want to, in any way, impede on those or interfere. We want to get to a fair and responsible settlement of this dispute as quickly as possible so that normal life can be restored for those householders who have had to endure misery since the dispute began.”
“I note the content of the Member's question, and I will give it consideration in further discussions with NI Water.”
“I hope that those engaged at the Labour Relations Agency today will take that opportunity and that we can move forward to restore supplies as quickly as possible so that everybody can enjoy normal conditions again.”
“Without exception, no one in the House is more concerned than I am about the impact on customers, businesses and households. That remains the case. <BR /> <BR />I can update the House on the current situation. At present, 7,750 properties remain without a water supply. NI Water anticipates that further properties may also suffer disruption to their supply throughout the day owing to problems at Lough Bradan water treatment works, resulting in continued disruption to water supplies in west Tyrone and areas of Fermanagh. Areas that may again be affected include Castlederg, Drumquin, Kesh, Killen, Lack, Dromore, Ederney, Irvinestown, Lisnarick, Clonelly and Drumskinny. I regret that very much, and I want to see the matter resolved.”
“The Member will know that almost 50% of the overall maintenance regime plant is managed by a public-private partnership (PPP) contract. That is why areas of the Province have not seen the impact. Clearly, underinvestment over the years has led to weak infrastructure in certain places. Again, I say to those who support a Budget that means a further cut for NI Water as it tries to deal with issues that it is a bit rich of them to put forward criticisms.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. I can confirm that, early in this dispute, in December, I sought an early meeting with the First Minister and the deputy First Minister to brief them on the issue. That meeting did not take place. I have, however, continued to work through the issues with Northern Ireland Water in the Department and the trade unions, as I have outlined. I briefed Executive colleagues at the Executive meeting last Thursday and provided a full assessment of the situation. I can confirm that I took a telephone call from the deputy First Minister late on Saturday evening in respect of constituency issues. I am defending Executive pay and pensions policy, and I very much hope that I will continue to have or, indeed, to enjoy the support of the entire Executive in my efforts to have this issue resolved.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. He raises an important point. The Department of Finance and Personnel is an important contributor to resolving this issue. We are seeking to make sure that any settlement is reached within the terms of the Executive pay and pensions policies. I can confirm that we have been in contact with officials from the Department, and we will continue to do so. I very much hope that everyone will have a positive attitude when it comes to sorting out and finally settling this dispute.”
“I have to say that I am disappointed with the tone and the attitude of the Chairman of the Regional Development Committee, who, I would have thought, would have at least tried to express some help and give some assistance, but that has not been forthcoming. Let me remind Mr Clarke what he, as Chair of the Committee, told this very Assembly no later than Monday 12 January. The ink is hardly dry on the Hansard report of what he said:”
“I thank the Member for his question. I emphasise and re-emphasise, at the Labour Relations Agency and in public interviews, that I have been conducting over a period, not within the last 24 hours. I have been dealing with the issue since before Christmas. While others were enjoying their Christmas dinner and other festivities, I was receiving up-to-date reports on the impact of the dispute. I am not a johnny-come-lately to this dispute. I want to see it resolved today. I am doing everything in my power to make sure that the householders — who are the customers, at the end of the day — who have been so poorly treated, have to be to the fore so that their services can be restored as quickly as possible.”
“The Member well knows of the consistent underfunding in relation to NI Water that has taken place over a period, and which continues to this very day. In fact, within the last 24 hours, the Assembly agreed a Budget that effectively means a potential cut in next year's allocation to NI Water of some £14 million or £15 million. That is bound to impact on the service that NI Water is bound to protect, so I am not going to take lectures from someone who put their hand up yesterday for that Executive Budget.”
“I have to say, I worry about terms like "discrimination". I think it is frankly irresponsible of the Member to come to the House and make any such charge. The Member well knows —”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. As I made clear in my statement, all available resources from NI Water and my Department are deployed. It is not simply a matter of flicking on a switch and everything works again. It takes time for systems to come back into service. Every effort is being made to facilitate that as quickly as possible. I think that the protocol that existed over the Christmas and new year period was useful, and, indeed, I will look to the unions to put that back in place if we are unable to reach the final agreement this afternoon. That would at least give the potential for faults to be addressed at the time that they occur, rather than only during working hours.”
“I am pleased that the tone of that meeting was positive. I do not want to dwell on details of the meeting, but it is my clear view that now is the day and the hour to resolve these issues speedily and to a full resolution.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. Indeed, I want to confirm that it is my clear view that the unions and management should remain at the Labour Relations Agency until this is thrashed out and resolved. I made that clear to the parties involved when I met them earlier.”
“A major incident regime remains in place. <BR /> <BR />The company has stressed that the key demand that pension reform be delayed is not within my gift to provide, and any settlement will require DFP approval. Northern Ireland Water management has made a number of offers to resolve the issue. Offers made have been within the terms of Executive pay and pensions policy. If the unions and the company cannot find common ground today at the Labour Relations Agency on all outstanding issues, the emergency protocol that worked successfully over the Christmas and new year period, in my view, must be reinstated. This would give the public protection of services and the parties time and space to conclude on the outstanding issues.”
“The impact is felt not only by households and the vulnerable but by farmers, places of education, health and, indeed, health facilities. <BR /> <BR />I brought in the Labour Relations Agency before Christmas, and it has been working with management and the unions intensively since then. I met management and the unions again last Wednesday and gave them a clear, unequivocal message that this needed to be resolved and resolved quickly. To reinforce that message, I joined the start of today's negotiations at the Labour Relations Agency and impressed on both parties the importance of negotiating until a resolution is secured. The company is working to minimise disruption to customer supplies and providing alternative supplies. All resources at NI Water and the Department's disposal have been mobilised to deal with this ongoing situation.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to reply to this question. I will require additional time for the answer, and I seek your permission for that. <BR /> <BR />The consequences of the industrial dispute have been unacceptable for customers over the past two weekends and, in particular, during the last week. For my part, I am disappointed that the parties have not yet brokered an agreement, and I am sorry that the public are bearing the unacceptable brunt of that failure. Whilst those in NI Water who are not in engaged in industrial action and contractors have been doing their utmost to maintain supplies, it is not, as I said, acceptable that households are left without essential water supplies for extended periods, particularly given the weather conditions.”
“I share the Member's concern, but I bring him back to my central point that he can do more about it than simply complain to me on the Floor of the Assembly. He can air his concerns with his senior political colleagues around the Executive table and, together, perhaps we can have a more progressive attitude than some of the politics that is being played out at the minute.”