Kellie Armstrong
Strangford · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of the Fisheries, Aquaculture and Water Environment Bill. It is timely and important. Miss McIlveen, a fellow MLA for the Strangford constituency, has just spoken.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Bill reflects the realities of the post-Brexit landscape by aligning protections here with those in other UK jurisdictions and the UK Fisheries Act. That consistency is important for standards, enforcement and international confidence in our products.”
“Last year, I met the Department and we discussed that. The opportunities for seaweed farming in Strangford lough are wonderful, and the opportunities from seaweed that Queen's University has identified are incredible. We are lucky to have those opportunities on our doorstep, as long as there is licensing and it is properly looked after.”
“Moving beyond managing individual fisheries, the Bill recognises the interconnected nature of our rivers, loughs and seas — an approach that is very much in line with Alliance's commitment to evidence-based environmental policy. The inclusion of a national benefit objective is also significant.”
“A while ago, we saw that commercial bottom trawling had all but decimated the horse mussel population in Strangford lough. It has since been changed to a special area of conservation. That limits a lot of activity in the lough, which is not a bad thing considering that horse mussels are coming back.”
“They allow for timely action on lower-level offences without over-burdening the courts while still acting as a meaningful deterrent. If only everybody were acting properly, we would not need to have those deterrents, but we are where we are, and the Bill hopes to improve upon that.”
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“<BR /> <BR />Paragraph (4)(d) sets out certain matters on which a proxy vote may not be exercised, which were included after much discussion and consideration of legal advice. Paragraph (4)(d) prevents a proxy vote being used on matters on which legal certainty is required or that may be subject to legal challenge. Those are matters on which the Assembly rarely votes, however, and it is unlikely that the provision will have a significant impact on Members who wish to exercise a proxy vote. The matters include a Bill to which section 7A of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 applies, which would mean a vote to alter the size of the Assembly, and a vote on the democratic consent process as per schedule 6A to the Northern Ireland Act 1998.”
“They are the processes by which a Member may designate a proxy, the period for which a proxy may be exercised, how a proxy can be varied or withdrawn and how a proxy vote can be exercised. <BR /> <BR />Paragraph (4)(a) sets it out that the proxy voting scheme may be used only in plenary sessions of the Assembly: it does not cover Committees. I have already explained that we felt that it would take considerable work to explore the implications of proxy voting in Committee. Paragraph (4) also provides that a proxy vote cannot count towards quorum in plenary and that a proxy vote must be recorded in the Official Report and the Minutes of Proceedings. The latter provision is to ensure full transparency for other MLAs and the public.”
“<BR /> <BR />The categories in paragraph (2)(b) are not currently statutory rights but are included in recognition of their impact on the individual and because similar circumstances are covered in other legislatures. <BR /> <BR />Paragraph (2)(c) provides for parental leave for fostering responsibilities. There is no legal concept of fostering leave, and we in the Assembly will be first to include it as a category of parental leave. As there is no legal concept of fostering leave and as fostering covers many variations, the Committee on Procedures has been more definitive in our report on what we mean by "fostering". I will cover the fostering aspects in more detail later. <BR /> <BR />Paragraph (3) sets out the matters that must be included in the scheme and guidance to be issued by the Speaker.”
“<BR /> <BR />Paragraph (2)(a) is intended to make it clear that Members, while not entitled to various statutory leave for the variety of parental leave, as noted in the Standing Order, may apply for a proxy vote in circumstances where an employee would have the right to such leave. In other words, if a Member takes maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave or parental bereavement leave, they will be entitled to apply for a proxy vote. It is worth noting that the Committee has been clear that the scheme is not available to Members who are looking after a sick child or need to accompany a child to an appointment. Proving a proxy vote for that type of parental leave may be addressed in the future, but, for now, it is not included in Standing Orders.”
“With that in mind and to ensure that we maintain that essential element of our voting system, paragraph (1)(c) provides that the Speaker and Deputy Speakers cannot act as proxy for another Member. For the avoidance of doubt, let me be clear that the provision also covers the Principal Deputy Speaker. There is no reference to the Principal Deputy Speaker in the Standing Order as it is not in law a discrete office. The Principal Deputy Speaker is necessarily also a Deputy Speaker. <BR /> <BR />Paragraph (1)(d) requires the Member and their proxy to have complied with the guidance. Paragraph (2) sets out the principal conditions for eligibility for the scheme.”
“<BR /> <BR />A copy of the draft Standing Order is on page 25 of the Committee report, which was issued to all MLAs on 15 October by email. In the Standing Order, paragraph (1) sets out the eligibility criteria for proxy voting. It requires that the Member who wishes to designate a proxy has to satisfy one of the conditions set out in paragraph (2). Paragraph (1)(b) also requires the Speaker to have issued guidance or, as it is referenced in the Standing Order, "the Scheme". <BR /> <BR />Moving on to paragraph (1)(c), in the Assembly, the Speaker does not vote on any plenary business, and the Principal Deputy Speaker and Deputy Speakers do not participate in the debate, including voting, on any item of business for which they have occupied the Chair.”
“The second part of our approach is to ask the Speaker to provide guidance on how the proxy voting scheme will operate on a practical and administrative level. Those are the day-to-day things, such as how to make a notification, what the deadline is etc, and other matters that do not need to be in a Standing Order but that Members need to know to make the scheme work. The Committee discussed those practical matters in some detail, and our thoughts and suggestions are contained in the Committee report. We anticipate that our deliberations on them will be helpful to the Speaker in producing the guidance. I will cover some of them in my speech today but, as it is the Standing Order that the Assembly will vote on, I will concentrate on explaining that.”
“On the other hand, proxy voting for parental leave is a well-established practice in many other legislatures and has fewer operational issues. We knew that, if we did our research and spent some time considering the issues in depth, it could be introduced to the Assembly with a degree of assurance that the associated implications were well known and had been explored in the Assembly context. It is worth emphasising that foremost in our considerations was ensuring that proxy voting could be introduced without undermining or damaging the integrity of our voting system. <BR /> <BR />The Committee has taken a two-part approach, with the first part providing the key principles for proxy voting in the Standing Order that is before you today.”
“When the Procedures Committee was first established a few months ago, we were faced with a large number of topics that needed attention. The Committee was unanimous in deciding that we would make proxy voting in plenary sittings for MLAs on parental leave our top priority. We initially considered a range of possible categories for proxy voting, including parental leave, long-term illness, bereavement and absence on official Assembly business and whether it should be extended to Committees as well as for plenary business. However, the Committee expressed concerns that, with the exception of proxy voting for parental leave in plenary sittings, the other categories of proxy voting in plenary and in Committees would require a level of deliberation and assessment of implications that would require a long-term piece of work.”
“Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. As Chairperson of the Committee on Procedures, I am delighted to bring to the Assembly during Parenting Week a new procedure to allow for proxy voting for MLAs in certain circumstances. <BR /> <BR />As all of us know, an MLA's role has a number of facets. We have our parliamentarian role in the Assembly, our constituency role and our party roles. As MLAs are not employees, we do not have terms and conditions that would support Members who have become parents. When an MLA is absent from a plenary sitting due to maternity, paternity or similar leave, there is no procedure to ensure that their democratic role in the House can be fulfilled. The new procedure will allow MLAs to vote in the House by proxy. <BR /> <BR />Let me give some background.”
“Minister, given that one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, what plans are there to support and care for women and their families who have lost a baby during pregnancy or soon after birth so that they do not have to be in wards where other families are celebrating the birth of a newborn? What mental health protections will be in place for women who are grieving after their loss?”
“I rise to congratulate Portaferry GAC on winning the Down Senior Hurling Championship on Sunday. Hurling on the Ards peninsula, part of my Strangford constituency, is very strong. Three parishes — Portaferry, Ballygalget, which I live in, and Ballycran — quite often make it to the Down Senior Hurling Championship finals. I give my congratulations to Portaferry, albeit I am from Ballygalget. Well done to the team, to captain, Matt Conlan and to the Portaferry guys who beat Ballygalget. The score was 3-21 to 2-15. Tom McGrattan got some fantastic scores throughout the match, and I am sure that his dad, Gerard McGrattan, who was an all-star, was extremely proud to see his son achieving so well. I wish Portaferry all the best of luck in the forthcoming Ulster Club Championship.”
“— people with learning disabilities are not ill, but they have been removed from social services lists, so not all are listed.”
“Exactly, and that is why it frustrates me that respite always has to be somewhere else and cannot be in the person's home, where they have the lift, the hoist and all their facilities available to them. There needs to be a new plan — a new way of thinking — especially given the fact that we have an ageing population. Certainly, we are going to consider children and adults, but we have an ageing population, and the cliff edge comes when you have people with learning disabilities who need care, and who may have dementia or Alzheimer's. I remind everybody that —”
“Different carers and people with different learning disabilities should all be brought together, whether they are children or adults, to discuss what is best for them. The guilt that a carer feels about somebody having to go and get respite care is overpowering. I would love to see, in any plans going forward, that there is —.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. My colleague is exactly right. When you are a carer, you are on your own. It feels that way all the time. You are in second place. You are the person who does all the work, manages to keep the person healthy and well, and deals with all the emotional issues — could be frustration, could be anger, could be illness — but who looks after you? <BR /> <BR />As Mrs Dillon said, when your respite is planned and you are really looking forward to it because you want to sleep for one day — you want to have one night's sleep — but it is pulled at the last minute, it is devastating. It is devastating, because you will not get it replaced any time soon. The all-party group on carers has said this time and again: carers should be included in planning for respite.”
“The other thing that really annoys me — nobody will take this into account — is that the person with the disability is not always the one who needs to leave the house. Sometimes the carer needs to get out of the house, because what happens when the person with the disability leaves the house? We all know the answer: you tidy up, you clean and you change the beds. You do all that sort of work.”
“They felt guilty for the entire time that they were in hospital having a much-needed, much-waited-for hip replacement, because they did not know who was going to look after their one back at home. Some carers have told me that they have been offered day-centre care. That is wonderful, but, when transport lets them down, they have to drive the person to the day centre and wait outside for maybe three or four hours before bringing the person home again. That is not respite. That is not giving a carer a break. <BR /> <BR />We need to review our care and respite system. They are two sides of the same coin. The person with the disabilities and the carer need to be taken into consideration equally. There are times when the person with the disabilities needs the break and times when the carer needs the break.”
“At the same time, however, as a carer, you wanted a break from it. You needed to get your head showered for a while, because, if you did not, you could not keep going. Families often find that they are doing that every single day, but the carers are often completely and utterly forgotten. I remind everybody in the House that a carer does not get respite provision prescribed for them. It is prescribed for the person whom they care for. A carer could be at absolute breaking point but get nothing. <BR /> <BR />I will give some examples. I had a constituent who was getting a hip replacement — a single person who was caring for their adult child, who was in their forties at that stage. The person needed a hip replacement and asked for help. They asked for respite care and were turned down.”
“You have to feed them again at lunchtime, entertain them some more and take them to a hospital or GP appointment or to the optician's. They may need to go to the dentist. You then have dinner time, and it happens all over again. You get them ready for bed. You are up all night with the person, because you do not know whether they will get out of bed or choke. They may just not feel very well, or they may want to be entertained at 2.00 am or 3.00 am. So it goes on, every single day. No break; no anything. <BR /> <BR />I always ask people, "What is respite for?" Is respite for the person — the adult or the child with a learning difficulty or complex needs — or for the carer? To be honest, it is for both. I could tell of times when a loved one whom I was caring for was sick of looking at me and everybody else in the house and wanted a break.”
“I thank the Members who tabled the motion and the amendments. As my colleague said, we will support all of them. <BR /> <BR />As many in the House know, I have been a carer. As part of the debate, I will spell out what it is like to be a carer. You look after someone. That someone could be a child or an adult. You get them up in the morning. You wash them. That means that you physically wash them, brush their teeth and shave them. You may have to change a nappy. You clean them after toileting. You get them dressed. Sweat is lashing off you. It is hard work. You might shower them. It is really hard. Once you have got them settled and fed, they may be sick, and you may have to change them again. You then have to entertain them. You have to give them medication.”
“That will enable children who are deaf or hard of hearing to have the same life opportunities as their hearing peers. <BR /> <BR />It would be useful to have clarification from the Minister of Education on what input his Department has had in the Department of Health's adult learning disability service model and children with disabilities framework. If Health has established a children's services reform process that includes children with a disability, how will Education be affected by Health's regional position and future commissioning?”
“Will that be taught by deaf people who have a teaching qualification, or will teachers have to complete a sign language qualification? If it is the latter, where will the training be held and what will it cost? <BR /> <BR />Economic analysis has shown that an investment of £80,000 a year for the next 10 years is needed to train the required number of auditory verbal therapists and to support some of the most vulnerable children directly, as we build the workforce. That will not only transform opportunities and outcomes for deaf children in Northern Ireland but provide a significant economic return, estimated to be in the region of £4·5 million over the next 10 years. By investing in proactive therapy and inclusive teaching, we can ensure that families of deaf children are able to access support wherever they live in Northern Ireland.”
“Thanks to the then Minister of Education, the issue was resolved and specialist teacher training is now funded and supported. Those teachers still have to go across to Liverpool, however, because there is no provision here. <BR /> <BR />My hope is that, when the proposed sign language Bill is finally introduced by the Department for Communities, it will include legal clarity and requirements with regard to training for teachers of the deaf. It is important that there is clarity with respect to the future sign language GCSE.”
“The majority of those children attend mainstream schools and attain educational outcomes that are on a par with those of hearing children. At present, there is little to no provision of auditory verbal therapy in health and social care services in Northern Ireland. However, we can change that by training speech and language therapists and teachers of the deaf in that approach. <BR /> <BR />A number of years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Jordanstown School, the Northern Ireland school and centre of excellence for children who are deaf or visually impaired. At a meeting at the school, it was confirmed that specialist training for teachers of the deaf had to be either self-funded by those teachers or paid out of the school's funds. That was a disgrace, and I worked hard on it.”
“Deaf children, however, are not achieving the outcomes that we know are possible, and we are not maximising the return on public investment in screening and technology. When deaf children have access to early and effective support, outcomes are transformed. By improving outcomes, we can unlock significant savings not only for Education but for the health and social care system and the wider economy. Furthermore, of course, that creates a better outcome for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. <BR /> <BR />For deaf children whose families want them to learn, listen and speak, the benefits of auditory verbal therapy are clear. Approximately 80% of children who attend an auditory verbal therapy programme for at least two years achieve the same level of spoken language as their hearing peers.”
“Many deaf children are, however, falling behind their peers and at high risk of poor mental health. There has never been a more important time to invest in effective early support to tackle the root cause of disadvantage. Early and effective support to develop language and communication is vital for all deaf children, whether they use spoken language, sign language or both. <BR /> <BR />As others have said, around 1,400 children are deaf in Northern Ireland, and around 200 of those are under the age of five. Members may know that we have one of the best newborn hearing screening programmes in the world and access to state-of-the-art technology, mainly cochlear implants and hearing aids.”
“I support the Ulster Unionist motion. I declare an interest as a Member who is part of the deaf community. I am hard of hearing and a double hearing-aid wearer. To all those who are watching today, I say, "Nothing about us without us". <BR /> <BR />There is an urgent need to increase access to early and effective support for deaf children in Northern Ireland in order to enable them to achieve their potential. As the deaf-friendly schools guidance produced in 2022 confirms:”
“Minister, after Storm Ashley, I thank you and your Department for the quick clean-up of the seaweed and all the mess that was thrown onto the A20. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the long-awaited road improvements near Teal Rocks, because it is an accident black spot. Shell grip has been removed from the road in that area. Will the Minister explain why, with the resurfacing, the shell grip was removed? That is the area that has had most crashes recently.”
“The rise in intimidation is appalling. In my constituency, we have suffered from the disgusting antics of bully-boy loyalist paramilitary groups who want only people whom they can control to have access to social homes. The number of people who are forced into crime by those gangs is a dreadful indictment of the failure to end paramilitarism, as we discussed earlier. Prostitution of girls and boys, drugs, black market cigarettes and alcohol, and paramilitary lending leave many tenants feeling abandoned to the criminals who think that they control housing estates. We should concentrate on providing a better society. A housing supply strategy with clear objectives and time-bound targets is needed now.”
“Thank you for that, Mr McCrossan, but I say, "Back at you", because, to be frank, Nichola Mallon was the previous Infrastructure Minister, and she did not sort out Northern Ireland Water. We are living with the consequences of that. <BR /> <BR />Another reason why the housing crisis is so acute is the continued division of our society. Housing for all has not progressed as much as was originally intended. Housing developments should be open to all, enabling inclusive communities where people live together irrespective of age, disability, race, religion, cultural background, sexuality or gender. Where are our mixed-tenure plans? Where are our shared housing plans? In some areas, we find that, if a person's face does not fit, graffiti is painted on their home, and posters threatening maintenance crews are erected.”
“Thank you. Developers are already contributing. In my constituency, a pumping station worth £1·3 million has been put in to service a private development. They are already doing it. In the meeting that we had yesterday with the experts in their field, it was clear that they were saying the same: developers are already doing it. However, we need Northern Ireland Water to confirm the type of pipes that developers need to connect into so that the system can work. We need a clear, honest approach to housing. It becomes more and more frustrating to hear people say, "We must throw money at the problem". If the Minister had a billion pounds today to build houses, he could not do it because of the barriers: Northern Ireland Water, the lack of development plans and all the problems that are there.”
“We desperately need people to have a look at Northern Ireland Water to find out what the heck is going on, because, if we cannot build houses, we will add to the 80,000 people who are without a home to call their own.”
“If the Minister wants to put his fingerprints all over it, well and good, but get it published. As soon as it is published, it can influence future Budget planning, and other Ministers will know exactly what their role is in fixing the housing crisis. <BR /> <BR />Short-term things that we should bring forward include improving existing homes so that we do not have people living in premises that have mould or damp. We need to instruct the Housing Executive to stop selling homes in a crisis. We need to change the legislation and get it moved forward. We need to use the time now to ensure that all the barriers are identified and to get buy-in across the whole Executive so that each Minister will play their role in taking the barriers away. For instance, where is the infrastructure commission? That has been talked about for a while.”
“<BR /> <BR />We know that all that is happening. The issue has been outlined in the Programme for Government, so the Executive are looking at it, but I go a step further to say that it is time for action. We need short-, medium- and long-term actions. To be honest, those were set out in the draft housing supply strategy 2022-37 that was consulted on. We have a long-term housing supply strategy. My frustration is that the Minister has said, on a number of occasions, "I am about to bring forward the housing supply strategy and get it published". What is the delay? I want to hear the answer today. If we all know what all the barriers and problems are, what is the delay in getting the housing supply strategy published? There is no excuse for the delays any more. The strategy was written a while ago.”
“They set out to us the barriers to our housing programme, and those are as follows: Northern Ireland Water (NIW) is blocking development, because, as we all know, there are no cranes without drains; power connection delays from Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) are preventing developments; there are planning delays owing to red tape, which breaks people's hearts when developers are trying to build developments; and there is a lack of local development plans from our councils. We lack construction workers, because skilled people here are disappearing off down South or across the water for jobs or because we are not training enough people in the skills that are needed for the future of housing. We spend too much money on crisis rather than prevention of homelessness. Private rentals have halved in number since 2019.”
“I make my contribution today feeling quite frustrated. It will not shock the SDLP, but we support the motion. It is, however, only part of the solution to our housing crisis. We know that we have a housing crisis. The Minister agreed in the House that there is a housing crisis, but asking a Minister to declare a housing emergency will not resolve the problem. <BR /> <BR />Yesterday, a number of us met experts in the housing field.”
“I remind all that they are drivers who go to the door and who find out whether Mrs Smith or Mr Jones is well. They are drivers who care for people. They make sure that they are OK and can get out and access services. Community transport prevents loneliness, and it is one of the building blocks that enables communities to exist. Thank you so much to all our community transport providers across Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />Today, I would really like to thank Armagh Rural Transport, CDM Community Transport, the Down Armagh Rural Transport (DART) Partnership, Easilink Community Transport, Fermanagh Community Transport, Lagan Valley Rural Transport, Newry and Mourne Community Transport, North Coast Community Transport, Out and About Community Transport, South Antrim Community Transport and, in my own area, Down Community Transport. In the urban areas, I will not forget the Disability Action transport scheme and, up in the north-west, Bridge Accessible Transport. <BR /> <BR />Those people give up their time to make sure that others have access to services. They provide more than a transport service, as they play a pivotal role in communities.”
“<BR /> <BR />They are often pressurised into doing a lot of hospital transport runs, which take the vehicles out of the local community. It can cause a bit of an issue and a bit of tension when some people really want their community transport driver to take them to an appointment that can sometimes be emotional and stressful. I hope that, in the future, the Department of Health will reconsider its contracting method to enable community transport to be funded to help provide those services.”
“I encourage all Members, if they can, to reach out this week to their local community transport provider. <BR /> <BR />There are over 100 community transport groups across Northern Ireland. Some receive funding from the Department for Infrastructure to provide the Dial-a-Lift service, while others do not. Those others include the Churches, Scout groups, football clubs and GAA clubs. They are across Northern Ireland, all adding in their own way to helping and supporting people to get access to services across their communities. That is what they do. They provide a lift to the hairdresser's, take people shopping and get older folk out of the house. They make sure that people with disabilities, including wheelchair users, have access to local services.”
“I congratulate all community transport operators across Northern Ireland as part of Community Transport Week. As many Members who have listened to me long enough will know, I worked in community transport for a couple of decades before I came to the House, so it is only right and fitting that I congratulate my former colleagues and friends. <BR /> <BR />The theme of Community Transport Week is to celebrate community solutions, and I can honestly say that the Community Transport Association (CTA) provides community solutions. Some people think that it is a statutory organisation and a statutory provider of transport. It is not. The Community Transport Association is made up of a number of organisations, led by volunteers who provide transport in their own communities.”
“Thank you, Minister. I agree with Mr Allen and would like to see positive action for people with disabilities, care-leavers and the over-55s. Minister, will you clarify how many of the 1,000 jobs will replace agency workers? You know that the Committee has been concerned about that matter.”
“<BR /> <BR />There needs to be a sustainable funding model for quality personal care that is centred on achieving affordable care for everyone living with dementia and other conditions. There also needs to be improved support for unpaid carers through proactively offered needs assessments and access to appropriate respite care. Today's motion, hopefully, sets out to the Minister the support that there is in the House for an improved social care system.”
“I go back to dementia. People living with dementia make up around 60% of the people who draw on care at home in the UK, and 70% of those in residential care live with dementia. People living with or impacted by dementia often face catastrophic care costs. An individual with dementia spends, on average, around £100,000 on care in their lifetime. Therefore, it is important that we have a long-term social care workforce strategy. It should be mandatory for all GPs and care staff to undertake high-quality dementia training that is mapped to the dementia training standards framework or an equivalent standard. That recommendation was also made in the UK's Skills for Care workforce strategy, which was brought out in July 2024.”
“<BR /> <BR />Addressing the current insufficient and fragmented funding model must be a priority, and, as Ms Dillon has just mentioned, that fragmented funding model leads to silo working as opposed to joined-up working. It shifts the responsibility of care to individuals and families to achieve the vision of care in the community. <BR /> <BR />As a sector, adult social care contributes significantly to the economy in Northern Ireland. It is estimated to be worth around £1 billion, and that is in Northern Ireland. Cost savings are being met on the backs of unpaid carers, and, as others said earlier, a carers register is definitely needed.”
“They will continue to require accessible, high-quality, affordable, personalised care, and it is therefore vital that the current and future care system is fit for purpose. That could be achieved through a fairly paid and sufficiently resourced workforce that is trained to understand the specialist needs associated with old age and dementia. <BR /> <BR />Social care systems must also recognise the value of unpaid care provided by families and loved ones. Local systems must proactively assess unpaid carers' needs, as per the statutory duty, on, at least, an annual basis and meet those needs through support and access to respite care to allow sufficient breaks from caring. Unpaid carers save the health service an absolute fortune. They prevent the health service from being bankrupt, but the pressure on them is crippling them.”
“The care that they receive is limited and takes too long to access, and those comments were made specifically in respect of domiciliary care, particularly when the older person lives in a rural area. They have also told me that they apologise regularly to ambulance drivers if they are having to hold up an ambulance, as they see it, outside a hospital while waiting for a bed. That is not good enough. <BR />According to the Alzheimer's Association, the social care system is not set up properly to deliver care that meets the needs of people, from the association's point of view, with dementia. In fact, many people living with dementia continue to be reliant on the social care system to help manage their symptoms.”
“While people live longer and many are healthier in old age, an increasing number of people are not in good health in their old age and will need support to continue to live at home. Too many have not received chronic pain support; too many have their mobility severely limited because of hip or knee replacement waiting lists; and the number of older people living with life-changing health conditions has increased. Many live in fear, the fear of how much it will cost in their old age, if they need residential care. That is why we will support the DUP amendment to our motion. <BR /> <BR />I have spoken to many older people who do not believe that their needs are being met by the health service. They feel that they are a problem for the health service.”
“I declare an interest today because I have been a carer for most of my adult life: first, for my brother Michael, who has sadly passed away, and now for my father. My father is in receipt of social care support twice a day. <BR /> <BR />Care in the community depends on an effective social care system, but, from day one, the problem has been that the need for care in the community was set out and the plans were put in place but there was no preparatory work done to ensure that appropriate care was available in the community to support it. <BR /> <BR />Today, I want to talk about the older population. Northern Ireland has an older population, and we will see that demographic increase over the next number of years.”