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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“We had a very fair assessment of the current situation from Mr Givan and Mr Craig, and Mr McCrea accepted that that was the case. <BR /> <BR />As I said, I welcome the opportunity to debate the road infrastructure improvements for the Knockmore Road and Prince William Road in Lisburn. I will put on record and confirm a lot of the information that we have already heard, but it is important that we also put on record the official sequence and timeline of events. A concept master plan was developed for the Lisburn and Dunmurry 1 development area, which is also known as the LD1 Brokerstown site, in the early 2000s.”
“I thank all Members who contributed to the debate, including Mr Givan, its sponsor. Despite Mr McCrea's comments, this debate is valuable. Adjournment debates are a means by which particular issues can at least be highlighted, leading, I hope, to a resolution. I do not say that I come with a resolution to this issue today: further necessary work and meetings are required. However, in the spirit of the operation of the House and the public service that it provides for Members to avail themselves of, it is good that these issues can be aired. <BR /> <BR />I have asked my officials to take note of the Hansard report so that, if I do not pick up on any of the points that Members raised, I can address them in writing.”
“I am grateful to the Member for her supplementary question and ask her to provide me with a list of those that she considers to be defective. We may not agree on that assessment; we will have to leave that to professional judgement, but we can look at your list and see where we go from there.”
“I thank the Member for her question. Generally, as the Member will know, Roads Service, which is now Transport NI, has regularly maintained all those facilities over the years. My knowledge of them suggests that most are in reasonably good condition and would still be considered an asset in their transfer. If she is aware of particular cases, perhaps she will write to me on them.”
“That sounds rather like the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment's responsibility, although Roads Service may have been asked for an opinion through various consultations. I am happy to check that and confirm in writing to the Member whether there has been input from my Department.”
“There is at least one Magilligan and at least two Greencastles. If it is Magilligan, it is the project that, in the past, Limavady council has been associated with. My Department has no direct role in that. If it is the County Down one, that project is being managed by a private operator. We have no direct link into that except as a consultee in the planning process. If the Member wants to clarify that, I will be happy to consider it.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. I take it that he means the Greencastle ferry in County Down.”
“I am not in favour of poaching. Let me be absolutely clear about that. I am not giving anybody the green light to say that it is right to poach or anything like that. Where individuals have evidence or information, they should bring those allegations for full investigation to the proper authorities. If the Member is in receipt of such information, I hope that she will do likewise.”
“I am grateful to the Member for the question. I am aware of issues surrounding Seagahan dam and the contention that there has been over the rights of those who want to use it as a major leisure facility for angling. I am also cautious in my approach to the issue and am mindful that there have been letters of a legal nature floating about — not in Seagahan dam but into my office — so I want to be cautious in any response. I hope that agreement can be found by all appropriate and valid users and that they can set aside some of the issues that are there today and that, at this point, are unresolved. I hope that we can resolve those and move forward into calmer waters.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary question. Obviously, it is a more detailed question that deserves a fuller answer, and I will undertake to write to him on the issue.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. I am happy to say that significant progress is being made on that scheme. We do not yet have a definitive timescale for the opening, but we are very hopeful that we can meet in advance the target that we set ourselves. I think that it will be of huge benefit to that area, not least the Port of Larne. I am very grateful that my Department and my staff, and, indeed, the contractor and their staff, have been working steadily to the benefit of everyone. I very much hope that we will be in a position to cut the tape at the earliest possible point.”
“I thank the Member again. We are seeking to provide as much uniformity as possible. Obviously, we are dealing with the 11 new councils, but a consistent approach would certainly be a desirable outcome to all those discussions, and that is what we hope to have.”
“I am grateful to the Member for the question. My officials have been engaged with their counterparts in local government to ensure the smooth transition of the transfer of those facilities. I am not aware of serious issues arising out of that, and I very much hope that we will be able to agree the necessary changes in time for the take-up of the new councils in April 2015.”
“The Member starts with the wrong premise. These are cutbacks forced on my Department. I do not go to senior officials and ask them whether it is possible to trim back and save some money on either resource or maintenance issues. These are real decisions that are impacting on street lights. As I said, there are nearly 5,000 street lights out in a month, and, at this stage, we have the ability to repair only 1,100. Those repairs will be effected as quickly as possible. We are not abandoning those lights; we are simply saying that it will take longer to fix them. However, there is a suggestion that somehow this is a cunning plan to save money on behalf of my Department. It is not. It is the consequence of the voodoo economics of the Member and his party.”
“I thank the Member for his question. He should be aware of the process involved when someone makes a claim and that claim is investigated etc. It seems to me slightly rich that a question of this nature should come from a member of a party whose actions have forced me to take decisions on cutbacks in my resource budget. Nevertheless, I will try to overlook that. Of course, we will continue to investigate claims made against us and respond accordingly.”
“Clearly, however, the financial scenario here could well impact on this scheme and, indeed, other capital schemes.”
“I am grateful for the Member's supplementary. Clearly, there are ongoing issues that we have to deal with on environmental statements and the appropriate assessments, and I outlined those in some detail. In a letter to ministerial colleagues in February, I provided an outline programme whereby the environmental statement and the draft orders would be published for consultation in November 2014, with the possibility of a public inquiry in spring/summer 2015. <BR /> <BR />Of course, the Member refers in part to the uncertainty in the overall financial position of whether there will be sufficient capital money going forward. I am not in a position to confirm that situation, and, therefore, I am processing the work that is necessary at this time.”
“I thank the Member for his question on the A5. He will know that a public consultation on three of the four reports to inform appropriate assessments of the potential impacts on the various designated sites arising from the A5 project scheme concluded on 13 June. Consultation on the fourth report is expected to begin in October 2014. Letters informing landowners of the way forward were issued on 30 April, and landowner meetings are ongoing.”
“I understand the consequences on the services that I provide and the impact that external contractors will face, with possible lay-offs among staff and everything that goes with that.”
“I regularly meet and speak to representatives of the road building contractors' organisations. I have an open door policy and have accepted requests to meet a number of their key individuals. I have tried to be open and honest with them about the situation that I find myself in. I have welcomed the support, not least the lobbying, that they have provided to other political parties and Members around the Executive table as to the position that they find themselves in as a consequence of these financial measures. <BR /> <BR />This is not done by choice or on a whim. It is certainly not done with malice aforethought, but it is the real situation that I find myself in. I must balance my books and therefore have to take these tough decisions.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. I am slightly surprised at the tone of it because I would have thought that he, as Chair of the Committee for Regional Development, would be on the same side of the argument as me and would be expressing concern at any impact that my resource budget would face. I hope that that is the case because I do not want an impact on winter services and winter maintenance. I understand the importance of that service, which, as I said, costs approximately £7 million. I look to other political parties at the very top of the Executive, which seem to be expressing concern in the House. Both the Member and Mr Lynch have expressed concern about the impact of cuts, but their parties brought forward the proposals that have put me in this position.”
“I hope that the Member, as Deputy Chair of the Committee for Regional Development, will support my efforts to have my budget restored to its full capacity as we move into October and other monitoring rounds.”
“Let me be clear: these cutbacks are immediate. Since early August until last Friday, 4,938 street lights have been reported out, of which 1,134 have been fixed, so we are already in a situation where the front-line services that we would normally be expected to provide are suffering as a result of June monitoring and the financial position. Of course, when faults present electrical or other hazards, they will be dealt with urgently. That important work is not affected by budgetary constraints. We will then prioritise faults in groups of street lights and deal with as many single outages as we can. <BR /> <BR />This is now a real situation. I also find myself in a difficult and almost invidious position about gullies being emptied and grass being cut back.”
“I restate that my Department's operations and maintenance staff will endeavour to keep the road network in as safe a condition as possible, but they only have the resources to complete around three quarters of the total workload. Therefore, they will not be able to provide the service that the public would expect in normal circumstances. <BR /> <BR />They are difficult decisions, but they are necessary to try to protect areas such as winter service, where withdrawal of our work could have an even greater impact on the Northern Ireland economy and public. I realise that these measures will impact on contractors, road users and the public, but I have, as I said, been forced to set priorities so that we can operate within the reduced budget.”
“As I advised in my response to question 3, following the recent announcement on June monitoring, my Department's resource budget, which is used for the day-to-day maintenance of the road network, has been cut. In order to protect areas such as winter maintenance, which costs, on average, approximately £7 million each year and is vital to the economy of Northern Ireland, traffic light maintenance, which costs, on average, approximately £4 million each year, and contractual commitments for energy, I had no option other than to take some tough decisions and stop issuing new work instructions to external contractors. Those contractors undertake, as I said, around one quarter of our routine maintenance work and three quarters of the work associated with the repair of street lighting faults.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary. No, the work has not yet been completed. On its completion, we will put forward the business case. Obviously, that will have to be looked at within the Department and with DFP. We will seek to make progress at the earliest point on those matters.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. It is not directly linked to ticketing procedures involved north, south, east or west. Nonetheless, I understand the question that he raises in terms of the pilot scheme that we have been undertaking in the Dungannon area on transportation issues. <BR /> <BR />We are still working through and reviewing the processes there, working with agencies in health and education. I am sure that useful work and useful outcomes will be provided there. I am not at the stage where I can indicate that we are ready to make wider announcements and extend proposals for Northern Ireland or anywhere else.”
“I am grateful to the Member for the supplementary question. I think that she is referring to the Leap card system used in the Republic of Ireland. That system was developed specifically for the Republic of Ireland. Its use was considered, but it was concluded that it could not easily be converted to the open standards required for wider use. Other technological developments, such as mobile phones and contactless bank cards, are considered to offer a more up-to-date solution. It is, of course, recognised that Translink works closely with Irish Rail and Bus Éireann on cross-border services, and it is expected that any new system will be sufficiently flexible to handle the tickets involved in this.”
“Translink is finalising a feasibility study to examine the options for a replacement ticketing system. Among the options being considered are the enhancement of the current system; the use of ITSO ticketing, which is an open standards system supported by the Department for Transport in GB; and the use of contactless bank debit or credit cards, similar to that which has been piloted and is about to go live in London. When that study is finalised, Translink will complete an economic appraisal, which will examine the costs and benefits of the various options. That will be subject to approval by my Department and the Department of Finance and Personnel. The Department will want to ensure that any new ticketing system offers the best possible value for money to passengers.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his question. I am not quite sure about the reference to railways in terms of the emptying of gullies etc, but, nonetheless, he makes a point. The Member will know that, to be fair and equitable about it, I will have to share the challenge of the decisions equally and fairly throughout Northern Ireland. As I said earlier, it gives me no pleasure to stand at this Dispatch Box and say that the pressures are here, but that has been forced upon me. My Department has effected savings over the last three years to the tune of £106 million; I have not shirked my responsibility. However, further pressure is being applied, and there are consequences for decisions made and supported by the Member's party at Executive level that will put pressure on the work of my Department, even in the counties that he refers to.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. It is an important subject. My Department is responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of over half a million gullies across Northern Ireland. Of those, we aim to inspect and clean, where necessary, all gullies in urban areas twice each year and gullies in rural areas once each year. As a result of the recent budget cuts, I no longer have sufficient funding to pay contractors for gully emptying. That will be a challenge. My Department's operations and maintenance staff will endeavour to prioritise gully cleaning and dealing with known flooding area problems, including some of the very prominent cases that we have heard about over recent times. We seek to prioritise those areas to ensure that they are protected as far as we can.”
“That is something that I am continually interested in and continue to pursue to ensure that standards all over are consistent and at an appropriate level.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. I do not take any pleasure in saying that the lights or some of the lights may be going out across Northern Ireland. I view it as a serious departure. I regret it very much. I will continue to press for moneys in October monitoring and later monitoring rounds to ensure that the resource budget is properly funded. I want to do that. <BR /> <BR />In relation to his point about other agencies, the Member will know that we have a memorandum of understanding with such agencies. We seek to coordinate their work in a proper and responsible way. It is equally important that work carried out by them or on their behalf by contractors is done in a satisfactory and proper way.”
“I realise that these measures will impact on our contractors, road users and the public, but I have been forced to set priorities so that we operate within reduced budgets.”
“However, as they have resources to complete only around three quarters of the total workload, they will not be able to provide the service that the public would expect in normal circumstances. My Department’s operations and maintenance staff have limited street lighting resources. They will endeavour to deal with group faults and single outages on a priority basis. Regrettably, this has the potential to result in many street lights being out across Northern Ireland over the winter. <BR /> <BR />These have been difficult decisions to take, but they are necessary in order to try to protect areas, such as winter service, where withdrawal of our work would have an even greater impact on the Northern Ireland economy and the public.”
“As you will be aware, following the recent announcement on June monitoring, my Department’s resource budget, which is used for the day-to-day maintenance of the road network, has been cut. This cut applies equally across the whole of Northern Ireland, including the Lisburn area. As a result, I had no option other than to take some tough decisions and stop issuing new work instructions to external contractors, who currently undertake around one quarter of our routine maintenance work and three quarters of the work required to repair street lighting faults. <BR /> <BR />My Department’s operations and maintenance staff will endeavour to keep the road network in as safe a condition as possible.”
“I am grateful to the Member. I certainly regard both the east link scheme and the north and west scheme as important for the city of Armagh. I have something of an interest, given that I happen to represent the constituency. It is understood that Armagh has congestion issues that can be dealt with through the outworking of schemes, and I intend to pursue those with as much intensity as possible to make progress on them and see them brought to successful fruition.”
“The Member makes a good point about the importance of the Armagh east link and the historic need for it. It has been talked about in Armagh for a generation now. However, if I were completely satisfied with the current proposal, I would not be initiating the review that will look again and make sure, not only that we get it right, but that we take on board the concerns that may be out there. That is important. <BR /> <BR />I regard myself as a listening Minister. I have been listening to the representations that I have received from people in the immediate area, and we will review the current situation to satisfy ourselves that the route that will ultimately be chosen will offer the best, most sensible solution for easing some of the congestion in that part of Armagh city.”
“I believe that the Armagh east link and the north and west link proposals will provide benefits, including improved journey times, reliability and safety on the strategic road network. Obviously, it is important that we continue to work through the various stages of the schemes, not least on the issue of available finance. It is not possible at this point to earmark specific dates as to when the east link scheme will take place, but I am hopeful that moneys will be made available for it in the new budgetary period. I take the point that the issues of traffic congestion in Armagh need to be dealt with as quickly as possible. That is my objective as Minister.”
“The review will include consideration of the preferred corridor emerging further out the Markethill Road at the Edenaveys industrial estate area. <BR /> <BR />Consideration of options for a preferred line and junction strategy for the Armagh north and west link roads, based on the out-of-town corridor, is continuing. That has included discussions with Deloitte, which has been appointed by Armagh City and District Council to develop a master plan for the Mullinure area. It would not be appropriate to make a decision on the preferred route pending development of the master plan.”
“A public information event for the proposed A28 Armagh east link was held on 11 June 2014 in the Armagh City Hotel. The local community's concerns about the impact of the east link were again highlighted at that event. Therefore, I consider it appropriate now to carry out a review of the preferred option to ensure that local concerns are fully considered and that the proposed Armagh east link will offer the best possible solution for Armagh city. I draw Members' attention to the press release detailing this approach that was issued last week. <BR /> <BR />The next significant step in the scheme development process will be to undertake the detailed design for the proposal. However, I am very mindful of the concerns of the local community and of the need to ensure that the proposed Armagh east link will offer the best solution.”
“I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question and, indeed, the indication of clear support for the financial position that I find myself in. I hope that that carries through on all issues relating to my Department. Certainly, great is the zeal of the convert. Thank you very much indeed for that. <BR /> <BR />With regard to bringing forward elements of the overall project, as you know, I have indicated that we have put some money into the Randalstown to Castledawson section to make it shovel-ready in 2015. With regard to the issues around the Dungiven bypass, I hope to make progress on the statement arising out of the public inquiry as quickly as possible. It will then be down to the availability of finance and working through the statutory processes that have to be undertaken.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary question. I am happy to confirm that I have taken the decision that the various components of the entire scheme can be decoupled. Subject to the finance being made available and the other issues being resolved, we can proceed. I note the comment made about the air quality in Dungiven. I recently met officials from Limavady Borough Council on that issue, and they see that the solution to the air quality issue is achieving the bypass at Dungiven at the earliest possible time. I understand that and, of course, I have been carrying forward the scheme as quickly as possible.”
“There are proposals to dual two sections of the A6, those being Randalstown to Castledawson and Londonderry to Dungiven. Funding has been provided to advance the A6 Randalstown to Castledawson dual carriageway project to be shovel-ready in 2015 and, when funding becomes available in the future, to allow construction to commence at short notice. <BR /> <BR />Development of the A6 Londonderry to Dungiven dualling scheme, which includes a bypass of Dungiven, is well advanced. It has been through a public inquiry and the inspector has produced a report embracing various recommendations. I am considering a response to those recommendations and will issue the departmental statement in due course when I am satisfied that all issues, a number of which are complex, have been appropriately reviewed.”
“Critically, it was during his prime ministership that it dawned on those in political power in Dublin that the future had to involve the dropping of the territorial claim in the constitution of the Irish Republic and that the consent of a majority in Northern Ireland was required for any constitutional arrangement. In effect, Northern Ireland would remain part of the United Kingdom because of the wish of the majority of its people. <BR /> <BR />Albert Reynolds's legacy is that of a pragmatic leader, a dealmaker who played his part in creating the relative peace that we have enjoyed for the past 16 years. Therefore, on behalf of myself and my party, I offer sympathy to his widow Kathleen, his children and his extended family.”
“As has already been indicated, he and John Major have perhaps been overlooked in acknowledgement of their contribution to the peace process, but, looking back, it is clear that their relationship was key to improving British-Irish relationships in the early 1990s. <BR /> <BR />Albert Reynolds was of course never a unionist, but he was part of the transition of attitudes in the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland. From a unionist point of view, we were political opponents, but he had a moderating approach to the more extreme elements of republicanism, and he helped to redress the traditionally anti-British and anti-unionist approach to Northern Ireland affairs from south of the border. He started to manage change in attitudes whilst keeping his traditional southern republican constituency on board.”
“On behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party, I rise to pay tribute to the late former Prime Minister of the Irish Republic, Mr Albert Reynolds, who died recently. It is appropriate that we acknowledge from all sides of this House the role that Albert Reynolds played as Taoiseach between February 1992 and December 1994 in developing a peace process here in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Albert Reynolds was an astute businessman, and he was a very shrewd political operator in his own political party, Fianna Fáil. He may have been a soldier of destiny, but he did not really emerge from that old hard-line republican background.”