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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“Will the Minister clarify whether there will be provision to ensure that all intermediate rent housing schemes will be shared and mixed tenure?”
“Given the number of people without a home to call their own, what did the Minister learn from the actions being taken forward in other regions that will be included in his housing strategy?”
“<BR /> <BR />As a counterbalance, if we are committed to our environment, our environmental heritage should be protected and building more homes should not come at the expense of our natural environment. To this end, I ask the Minister for Communities to work with the Ministers of Finance and Infrastructure to develop planning regulations that ensure that any disturbance to the natural environment is minimised, and the Minister ensures that the historic environment division of DFC invests in native seed conservation, such as that carried out by True Harvest Seeds in Kilclief, to safeguard native species going forward.”
“The strategy must set out clear cross-departmental actions to ensure that new homes are built to passive-house-type standards, and have a plan to improve existing homes through a national programme of sustainable transition, including an area-based approach that provides incentives for private owners and housing associations to bring their houses up to the energy performance certificate rating A standard and away from fossil fuels. <BR /> <BR />Determined actions to deal with Northern Ireland's housing crisis will bring the opportunity to improve the desperate housing stress that up to 80,000 people face every day. Actions to deal with Northern Ireland's housing crisis have the opportunity to enable the introduction of energy efficient improvements that will help us meet our climate change targets and make life better for everyone.”
“<BR /> <BR />I call on the Minister for Communities to bring forward his housing supply strategy as soon as possible and to stop the delays. We want to make sure that the next Budget is influenced by the housing supply strategy. <BR /> <BR />A housing supply strategy must provide a clear pathway to achieve our climate change targets by removing oil as Northern Ireland's main home heating method, and that is in line with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors World Built Environment Forum.”
“Today is the United Nation's World Habitat Day. There will be various activities around the world organised to examine the problems of rapid urbanisation and its impact on the environment and human poverty. <BR /> <BR />In Northern Ireland, we still do not have a housing supply strategy, and, as reported by the Simon Community in June of this year, we have as many as 80,000 people who cannot access a place to call home. In Northern Ireland, we are not building enough social homes to meet the demand. The proportion of the Budget allocated for new housebuilding is simply not enough. Without a formal housing supply strategy that includes clear funding commitments in the Budget, the Assembly will continue to fail society by leaving thousands of people without a place to call home.”
“After all, the jobs of each of us depend on them. The more people who vote, the better Northern Ireland can be. In fact, this morning, I heard that, when the franchise changes, society improves through more representation. Unless Members think that our young people are not good enough and are not as good as Scottish and Welsh young people, why would they vote against the motion? I appreciate that it is their party policy, as the DUP's Brian Kingston MLA said, but, guys, you are on the wrong side of history. You have been on the wrong side of history so often. It is time to recognise that, long ago, people were able to vote only at 21, but the age was changed to 18. At this stage, it is right that, in Northern Ireland, our intelligent, productive and effective young people can vote from the age of 16.”
“They want to know how they can improve life across the world, across this island, across the UK and across Northern Ireland, so why are we preventing them from doing so? Many of them have said that they do not feel represented by government. We have the Northern Ireland Youth Assembly, but do we have its Members coming to the Chamber with any motions? No. They are barred from doing so. We could give those intelligent young people, whom we celebrate, the right to vote. Why do we celebrate their GCSEs and A levels and say that they are doing so wonderfully well but tell them that they are not good enough to vote? That is wrong. <BR /> <BR />Voting earlier means that people will go on to vote longer in life. All of us in this place should want that. Rather than play TUV bingo, we should talk up the opportunity to have more voters.”
“It will also manage political campaigning. Politicians are only invited into schools; we do not go and campaign in them. That is fair. We can create a system that educates young people and helps them decide for themselves who they back and want to vote for. I am disappointed that the Minister of Education left the debate — I am sure that he has other business to do — as there are a lot of young people here who would have loved to hear his reaction to the idea for a review of the national curriculum to include something like politics within learning for life and work, but we will not hear that today. <BR /> <BR />Our young people are excellent. They are not just political anoraks. They want to know about the globe.”
“Absolutely. We all know that each party in the House has a youth wing. I find it disingenuous for Members to say to someone who joined a political party at a young age, and who may hold membership of that party, that they are just a political "anorak" and are not equipped to know anything about politics. <BR /> <BR />The concerns about having education that provides support for young people is completely unfounded. At Key Stage 3, there is learning for life and work. We can include voting as part of the local and global citizenship topic. That is easy enough to do. It will tell people how to vote, when votes happen, how the process works and all that. For goodness' sake, it will even help them learn how the counts are worked out. High-quality and expansive civic education in schools will provide that.”
“When we have the opportunity to ask for votes at 16, we should take it. Together, we should push the Secretary of State to move that forward.”
“It would be an absolute privilege for many people who will stand in the 2027 elections if 16- and 17-year-olds were able to do that for the first time. <BR /> <BR />I am not surprised that some Members have reiterated their opposition to the motion. For clarity, why was the age of 16 chosen as the starting age for National Insurance? We have 16-year-olds who pay National Insurance and have a National Insurance card, yet, for some, they are not good enough to vote. I believe that 16- and 17-year-olds in Northern Ireland are every bit as good, intelligent, progressive and politically intelligent as those who live in Scotland and Wales. In Scotland, 16- and 17-year olds have been able to vote for 10 years. Are we not part of the devolved nations? Why are our 16- and 17-year-olds treated differently?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion on votes at 16. I used my first Member's statement during this term of the Assembly in advance of the International Day of Democracy to call for votes at 16. It is a long-standing policy of Alliance and other parties in this House that those changes should take effect. However, it is accepted that, according to paragraph 12 of schedule 2 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the Assembly has no power to introduce that change, so it needs to happen on the Floor of Westminster. I think that we will say very clearly today to the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, that this Assembly does want that change to take effect. We want to be the same as Scotland and Wales, and we want our 16- and 17-year-olds to be able to vote.”
“The Minister mentioned the community and voluntary sector, further education colleges and Departments. Belfast City Council has been engaged in important, successful work to upskill and bring people into the workforce through its employment academy interventions. What engagement has the Minister had with Belfast City Council and other councils on that programme? Are there any plans to expand that model to other areas?”
“For clarification, we currently have a deadline by which a private Member's Bill has to be submitted to the Speaker's Office for consideration. The change to Standing Orders states that, once Members have got the go-ahead for their PMB, they have until the final sitting in June 2026 to submit it to the House. It does not prevent a Member from introducing a private Member's Bill; rather, it helps confirm the last date by which Members can expect the House to have the time to scrutinise it.”
“There was a risk that, after working for six years on the Bill, the time, expense and effort could have been wasted if plenary space was not available. Thank goodness that it was. When you invest so much of yourself, your staff and your resources into legislation that you are committed to delivering, it is right that Members give themselves and the rest of the House time to bring their legislation forward so that due consideration and scrutiny can be completed. Introducing a deadline by which the First Stage has to be completed, as the Speaker said, should not be seen as a target. In my experience, the earlier that you can introduce the Bill, the better that the PMB system will work for you.”
“<BR /> <BR />In closing, in my capacity as Chairperson of the Committee, I thank the Deputy Chairperson, Sinéad Ennis, and all members of the Committee for their constructive approach and detailed input to this issue and to the work of the Committee more generally. I also thank Assembly Legal Services for its assistance in drafting the changes. I hope that Members will view the proposed change as a constructive and useful addition to Standing Orders to manage the flow of PMBs during the mandate, and I look forward to the debate. <BR /> <BR />As a private Member who has brought through a private Member's Bill, which became the Integrated Education Act, I welcome the clarification. At the end of the previous mandate, it was extremely busy.”
“and that Members should aim to achieve the introduction of their Bills as soon as is practicable. From my personal experience, I echo that advice. <BR /> <BR />It is important that all Bills introduced to the Assembly should stand a realistic chance of completing their passage before the end of a mandate. Likewise, it is important that the Assembly has the opportunity to produce effectively scrutinised and quality legislation. The motion brought by the Committee on Procedures today provides for an amendment to Standing Orders that will support the achievement of those aims, assist PMBs in avoiding the significant pressures on plenary time at the end of a mandate, and implement the recommendations of the previous Procedures Committee, as endorsed by the Assembly in March 2022.”
“The Speaker also indicated that that date:”
“The handbook also references the planned introduction of a deadline of 30 June 2026 in Standing Orders for private Members' Bills in this mandate and notes:”
“Having considered the evidence, the Committee recommended that, to prevent congestion in the latter stages of a mandate, meaning that PMBs are stalled in order for Executive legislation to be prioritised, a final deadline for a PMB to be introduced to the Assembly should be set in Standing Orders for the end of June in the penultimate session of the mandate. That is what we are proposing today. <BR /> <BR />Members will be aware that the Speaker, Edwin Poots, published the 'Handbook for Members' Bills for the 2022 to 2027 Mandate'', which sets out the arrangements for the development of a Member's Bill during this mandate, on 7 May 2024. In drawing up the guidance, he reflected on lessons learned from the previous mandate, including the findings and recommendations of the review that was conducted by the previous Committee on Procedures.”
“The Committee received considerable evidence to suggest that the existence of a firm deadline for the introduction of a PMB might help the scheduling of plenary time, allow Committees to structure their forward work programme with greater clarity, and provide MLAs with more confidence in relation to the timelines for their PMBs. The Speaker at that time, Alex Maskey MLA, the Business Committee and the Chairpersons' Liaison Group all supported such an approach, with the Speaker stating that, if such a deadline were to be set out in Standing Orders, any milestones set out in the guidance for PMBs would have more force.”
“The review identified a number of refinements and improvements to be made to the process, and the Assembly approved the Committee's seven recommendations, several of which required changes to Standing Orders, on 14 March 2022. The Committee on Procedures is considering those changes as one of its priority areas of work. <BR /> <BR />During the review of private Members' Bills, while acknowledging the unique nature of the previous mandate, the Committee noted that the high volume of PMBs during the busy end-of-mandate period was far from ideal, and that, to give them a more realistic chance of completing their passage through the Assembly, a priority for PMBs should be to avoid the significant pressures on plenary time at the end of a mandate, given that Executive business takes priority when scheduling business.”
“While providing for a final deadline for introduction, the Speaker continues to retain considerable discretion to set deadlines for completion of other key stages of private Member's Bills, including the opening and closing of the submission window to gain access to PMB support and deadlines for completion of key stages, such as the final proposal. <BR /> <BR />That proposed change to Standing Orders originated from the work of the previous Committee on Procedures in the previous mandate. In 2020, the Speaker asked that the Committee consider a review of the private Member's Bill system to enable any changes or improvements that were identified to be put in place after the 2022 election. While that work was delayed due to COVID, the Committee completed the review and reported to the Assembly in March 2022.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. On behalf of the Committee on Procedures, I am pleased to bring the motion to amend Standing Orders to the House. <BR /> <BR />The Committee is considering a range of issues to improve the effective and efficient operation of plenary sittings and Committee meetings. The proposed change is the first of a number of changes and additions to Standing Orders that we hope to bring forward over the coming months. <BR /> <BR />The motion proposes an addition to Standing Order 30(2) to provide for a final deadline for a private Member's Bill (PMB) to be introduced to the Assembly on the last sitting day in June of the penultimate session of a mandate.”
“Thank you for your statement, Minister. During your conversations, was there any consideration of the standardisation of Irish and Ulster Scots? I know that there has been talk about a dictionary. The wealth and the generosity of language come from the variations. We know that "thran" in Ulster Scots means something very different in different parts of the country. What input, therefore, have native speakers?”
“<BR /> <BR />The peninsula can feel like an isolated place. The announcement yesterday has made it even more isolated. It is a shame that this type of information cannot be shared more clearly with the public and elected Members before decisions are taken.”
“Significant work has been done on the roads around the peninsula, including the dangerous A20, and I am grateful for that, but it all seems to be happening at once, and there will be a negative impact on businesses either side of the lough. <BR /> <BR />I ask that the Minister for Infrastructure perhaps meet me and my colleagues from the Strangford constituency to discuss this. Translink has an opportunity here: while a passenger ferry will be provided, albeit a limited service, a connection could be provided on the Strangford side. A bus for workers who usually take their cars would enable them to travel to work in Downpatrick. Had we had the opportunity to meet the Minister or officials in advance, we could have arranged all that and taken the sting out of the news that the ferry will be taken off for five weeks.”
“I would have thought that something as devastating as having a ferry removed for five weeks would have called for a meeting with local representatives or the local community. When I spoke to Members and business owners in the local community yesterday evening, they confirmed that they did not know about it either. <BR /> <BR />It is time for the Minister for Infrastructure to clarify what the impact will be on the community around the Ards peninsula and Strangford of the removal of the ferry for such a significant period. I understand that the reason for its being off for five weeks is to do with health and safety repairs required at the quays. I am not sure whether that is at Strangford, Portaferry or both, but it would have been nice to know in advance.”
“I rise today with a concern, which is that the Minister for Infrastructure and the Department for Infrastructure have announced that the Strangford ferry crossing will cease for five weeks from 14 October. That will have a huge impact on the Strangford constituency, particularly those in the Upper Ards who use that ferry daily to get to work and access hospital services and, particularly now that children are back at school, the hundreds of children who cross every day to access schools in Downpatrick or Ballynahinch. <BR /> <BR />The fact that there was no formal announcement of the suspension other than an appearance on TrafficWatchNI and on social media yesterday is astounding.”
“Thank you, Minister. You mentioned that the housing strategy is coming forward. Can you share with the House what priorities you will have to ensure that all people have access to an appropriate home to prevent homelessness?”
“Minister, when it comes to the winter fuel payments, we know that affordable warmth is important. Can you confirm that the Housing Executive will direct that scheme first at pensioners who live in homes that have not yet been retrofitted, in order to make their heat as affordable as possible?”
“Thank you, First Minister. I am delighted to hear your answer about the oversight board. You talked about collaboration, co-production and co-design: does that mean that, as part of the oversight board, the community and voluntary sector will continue to have a role in updating and amending the framework moving forward, if needs be?”
“Like you, Minister, I am totally opposed to Westminster's decision, and I encourage you to continue to make representations for support for vulnerable people, particularly older people, who are living in poverty. We are thinking about solutions, so can you confirm that you will include targeted and clear actions in your upcoming housing strategy that will deliver affordable warmth for pensioners who do not qualify for pension credit and, therefore, will not receive the winter fuel payment? <BR /> <BR />If I may, and if your diary permits, I invite you to Room 115 at 1.00 pm to meet Electrical Safety First to discuss with organisations the pressures that face the most vulnerable, including pensioners.”
“DAERA will be looking at rural and coastal communities and will want to have those included. The Department for Communities will be looking at people and place, and the Department for the Economy will be looking at employability. It is right that we drive that forward. We should take it forward and take it to the UK Government, hopefully with the lead of the Minister of Finance, to say, "Guys, we can do so much with this money. Let us use it in the way that would be best for Northern Ireland". Furthermore, the amount of money needs to be negotiated to make sure that we have an appropriate amount that can be spent sustainably in the way that we want.”
“<BR /> <BR />I heard Brian say that if we put it into the block grant, it would not be there specifically for those purposes, but it is up to us to make sure that money is set aside for our partners in the community and voluntary sector. After all, we have the concordat. What I would love to see from our Executive is a re-signing of the updated concordat — the partnership agreement between us and the community and voluntary sector — that at long last recognises how much we all need its work. Communities could not exist if our community and voluntary sector was to disappear. It needs sustainable funding; we need its sustainable programmes and intercessions to help our community. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Members for tabling the motion. There has to be consideration across all Departments.”
“There is short-termism there but not multiple savings. I could talk to you all day about how much I could have saved if I had been allowed funding over seven years instead of three years when I was buying minibuses. I could have had a longer repayment period instead of having to do it all in three years, costing me twice as much. We need to think about sustainability. European funding came in blocks of time, and we have people who are employed for blocks of time. We invest in the skills of those people for blocks of time, but we need to develop it across time so that the benefits of bringing people into employment — improving community and place, and improving peace-building — are stretched out over a longer period.”
“<BR /> <BR />When we are setting our priorities for Northern Ireland, I do not want to see the community and voluntary sectors tearing each other apart trying to apply competitively for grant funding that sees some of those organisations disappear. We almost had that with the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. There were supported employment programmes that saw one side compete against the other at a time when we had the worst figures for the number of people with disabilities in employment. We need all those sectors to come together and deliver for Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />We also need to consider sustainability. Any of you who have worked in the community and voluntary sector will know exactly what I am talking about. When long-term funding is not available, all of a sudden, you have to invent programmes in order to apply for the money.”
“Those priorities are key. They have been put into the Programme for Government for a reason. They have been put there as reasons why we can make this place better, and that is what we should be doing. It is not a lot of use to us in Northern Ireland to take forward priorities that are more useful in England than they would be here. Let us take the rural development programme as an example. I come from a rural area, and I know how vital that programme was to our rural communities and our coastal communities, which I am also part of. Quite often in big programmes, those areas and communities are ignored.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am not going to turn away money that is going to replace European funding. Of course we need that, but I sat with the permanent secretary in the Committee for Communities when he told us that he had asked the UK Government whether they could control and manage the payment of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund money out, because there was a fear that there would be duplication. That control and management were not allowed to happen, and there was duplication. There was duplication of work that was being done by our councils, other Departments and sections of Departments, and it did not make sense. If we are going to ask the British Government to replace the money, we should ask them to allow us to set the priorities. <BR /> <BR />Today, we had the draft Programme for Government, which has set out Northern Ireland's priorities.”
“I thank Colm Gildernew from Sinn Féin for proposing the motion and Diane Forsythe for tabling the amendment. To be honest, I support both, but I will support the amendment, because it names a Minister and asks for consortium working. <BR /> <BR />Newbies in the House may not know — others are bored of me saying this — that I worked in the community and voluntary sector for a very long time — it was in excess of 23 years — and in community transport for the 16 years before I came to the House. I will say honestly that European money is not the answer to everything, because, in the 16 years that I worked for community transport, I had one period where I had an employment contract that lasted for more than 12 months. Our Government do not fund the community and voluntary sector in a sustainable way.”
“— you have the time, please bring the vote forward.”
“The Assembly has no power to make the change. That would need a Act of Parliament, so I wrote to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to ask that the legislation regarding the voting age in Northern Ireland elections be updated to enable people who are aged 16 and above to vote. The Secretary of State responded, confirming that it is his wish to extend that democratic right to 16- and 17-year-olds. Indeed, Labour committed in its manifesto to extending the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds. <BR /> <BR />In 2012, Sinn Féin's Megan Fearon tabled a motion calling for votes at the age of 16, and the House passed it, so I say to the Secretary of State —”
“Sixteen- and 17-year-olds were far from predictable and were found to replicate the voting patterns of other age groups. <BR /> <BR />It is important to remember that younger voters want to vote. In a recent NUS survey, 97% of respondents said that they would vote in future elections. If only all age groups would turn out in such a high percentage. If Scotland and Wales can do it, Northern Ireland should enable 16- and 17-year-olds to have democratic rights that are equal to those of their peers elsewhere in the UK. <BR /> <BR />We have all been elected as MLAs because of the democratic process. Enabling votes at the age of 16 for council and Assembly elections would be a positive and progressive step for Northern Ireland. As many in the House know, voting age is a matter that is excepted under paragraph 12 of schedule 2 to the 1998 Act.”
“We have a female First Minister, a female deputy First Minister and a female Minister of Justice. Each year, politicians and society celebrate how well our 16- and 17-year-olds do in exams. Why, on the one hand, are those intelligent and amazing people being celebrated for their achievements but, on the other hand, are being denied the ability to vote? Why do we celebrate our Youth Assembly and youth forums across Northern Ireland but exclude them from their democratic right? <BR /> <BR />Negative assumptions about the ability of younger voters are discussed in a blog that Professor David Runciman of the University of Cambridge published in June 2024. He sets out how presumptions about younger voters did not materialise in Germany, Belgium or Greece when their voting age was lowered.”
“This coming weekend, on 15 September, is International Day of Democracy. Each one of us is in this Chamber because citizens used their vote to elect us to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Some people in Northern Ireland, however, are excluded from being able to vote. In Scotland and Wales, 16- and 17-year-olds are able to cast their democratic vote to have a say in who will govern in their local government area and local Parliament, but our 16- and 17-year-olds here are not entrusted with the same democratic right as those elsewhere across the UK and it is time that that were changed. <BR /> <BR />Some say that a 16- or 17-year-old is too young, not able to understand or too inexperienced to cast a vote. As a woman, I know that 100 years ago — more than 100 years ago — they were saying that about women, and look at how that has changed.”
“In wheelchair basketball, we had Katie Morrow — fantastic. In paradressage, we had Jessica McKenna. Finally, we had wheelchair rugby player David Ross. They are an amazing group of Paralympians. I cannot wait to see them when they come to the House and celebrate with the Minister for Communities. <BR /> <BR />Speaking of communities, I think that now is the time, as others have said, when we need to look at investment in grassroots sports, so that the young people who are coming forward, who are looking at Rhys, Barry, Eimear and all those athletes, think, "I can do that too. I could be at the next Olympics or Paralympics, like they have been". Investment in grassroots sport to help people to become premier in their sporting field would be amazing.”
“As the third Strangford MLA to speak, I too congratulate all our Olympians and Paralympians, particularly Rhys McClenaghan and Barry McClements. They have done the area so proud. I remember watching the television when Rhys was waiting to find out, after the last person had used the pommel horse, whether he had won his gold medal. I was in tears along with him. Congratulations, Rhys. For those who are not involved in sport to see him achieve something that is so amazing is fantastic. <BR /> <BR />We always talk about the Olympians. As someone who is so invested in disability, I pay tribute to our Paralympians. I recognise Claire Taggart in boccia — what a match. We had Barry McClements, Dearbhaile Brady and Deaten Registe swimming in Paris. In the paratriathlon, we had Chloe and Judith MacCombe, with Catherine Sands and Eimear Nicholls.”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am not rising to challenge the earlier decision; I accept it. I ask the Speaker's Office to write to all Ministers to remind them of Standing Order 18A(2), which states that statements should be made available to Members at least 30 minutes before their delivery to the Assembly.”
“With over 10,000 people being homeless at the moment, how does that fit in with housing allocation points? Will this intermediate rent just ignore that allocation?”