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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“I will just say to every Member who is worried about the money that, when you have had a miscarriage, you could not give two hoots about the money, because you are grieving the death of that possibility and of the child who will not be there. Let us set the money aside. Minister, I will get to your amendment No 4 and say why there is a problem with it, but I will say this to every Member: do not assume that anybody who has had a miscarriage will look for miscarriage leave. Someone on the DUP Benches made a good point, which was that, when you have had an early miscarriage, you have not told anyone. Believe me: while you may say that there are good employers, there are still many employers who do not want women of childbearing age in their workforce because they will take maternity leave. So women hide it.”
“The long-term cost of not recognising miscarriage in employment happened to me. I had three months off on the sick, and a doctor put me on diazepam to cope with the grief. Eventually, after three months, when he decided that I was not going to throw myself off a cliff, he took me off the diazepam and sent me home with a note to go back to work. I left that work. I was a skilled employee in each of those jobs, and I left them. I said, "Stuff them", because I was sitting beside other pregnant women. I was sitting in a room with people whose families had all those joyful occasions, and there I was, the pain sitting in the corner. Nobody wanted to talk about my grief or why I got sad on different dates. The long-term impact of miscarriage damages our workforce. <BR /> <BR />I want to talk about the money side of things.”
“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. <BR /> <BR />As my colleague said, I was working on amendments. I decided not to take those amendments forward when it became clear that the Committee was taking forward amendments that appeared on the Marshalled List. I was going in the same direction as the Committee. We have the opportunity to move Northern Ireland forward and to be a leader in recognising that parents who lose a child during pregnancy before 24 weeks matter. <BR /> <BR />I have miscarried and, unfortunately, miscarried many times, and the only reason why I am not in tears here is that I promised lots of parents that I would stand on their behalf. I was an employee in a number of companies, and, while lots of Members have said here that there are great employers, that was not my experience.”
“I am taking an intake of breath here because, as Members will know, this is something that is very close to my heart. I start off by declaring an interest: of my 14 pregnancies, 13 ended in miscarriage. I have been a bereavement counsellor for Remember our Child, which was the Northern Ireland miscarriage organisation. Unfortunately, it is no longer there, but we have the Miscarriage Association. As I said at Second Stage, I apologise if the debate triggers upset for any parents who have lost a child. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Minister for introducing the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill. You have no idea how much that will help parents across Northern Ireland. I also thank the Committee for tabling the amendments to include miscarriage. We are the forgotten grief; we are the taboo grief; and we are always left behind.”
“The Welsh Government have announced that they are making £51 million available to provide support for families who are facing the cost of living crisis that Mr Allen brought up. <BR /> <BR />Advice NI and National Energy Action (NEA) have put in a bid for fuel payments for very vulnerable people. Can you give us an update as to whether that bid will be considered as part of your plans?”
“As you know, Minister, it is the run-up to Christmas, and every year there is the unfortunate instance where people get puppies for Christmas. Will there be a public engagement campaign in the run-up to Christmas or just after to make the public aware of the issue of pet theft and ensure that they know exactly what steps to take should it happen to their family?”
“I am somewhat surprised by that answer, First Minister. What, then, will you and the deputy First Minister do to ensure that the New Decade, New Approach commitment to deliver a bill of rights is not breached?”
“Minister, Newry, like many of our larger towns, has a huge problem with parking. What consideration has your Department given to expanding the successful park-and-ride facilities for those who want to commute to not just city centres but our larger towns across Northern Ireland?”
“I pay tribute to the staff of the Ards minor injuries unit and hope that their leaking roof gets fixed soon. We are talking about reopening, Minister, but I have asked you before about day centres and respite care. Those centres have still not fully reopened, and carers are exhausted. Is there any update on when those centres will be fully opened by the trusts?”
“The revenue that can be generated from online gambling would be substantial and would certainly go a long way towards helping both our racecourses. As a long-established and popular pastime, horse racing has a vibrant support base across Northern Ireland, as well as being a significant generator of activity for the local economy. <BR /> <BR />Whilst I am happy to support the Bill based on these technical and legal amendments, I am hopeful that similar provision or legislation in the future will be broader in scope and will perhaps be more focused on increasing participation in sports. In the meantime, at this stage, the Alliance Party is happy to support the Bill and the amendments.”
“Thank you, Minister. On behalf of the Alliance Party, I support the progression of the Horse Racing (Amendment) Bill and the amendments to it. The Bill is largely technical in nature and has been introduced ostensibly as a result of nuances within the Horse Racing (Northern Ireland) Order 1990, which governs the management and allocation of payments from the horse racing fund to Down Royal and Downpatrick racecourses. <BR /> <BR />The Minister has said, rightly, that the Department for Communities is taking through the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Amendment) Bill. That is ongoing. Indeed, the Committee Stage investigation is still happening. The Minister has confirmed, rightly, that the Bill being taken forward by Communities will not deal with online gambling. That will have to happen in the next mandate.”
“The Minister of Education has been to the Treasury and got agreement for re-profiling some of the Fresh Start money. I am concerned, because 17 integrated education schools are in planning and have been told that they will proceed. Is there any risk to those schools?”
“Minister, what considerations have been given to seeking the ability to levy a carbon tax on all fossil fuel company emissions?”
“We need to get clarification on the matter that I just mentioned. We also need to find out what is happening with the Department of Finance to ensure that all properties are on the title register in Land Registry so that we can ensure that there is security on those loans. There is much to work through, but I promise you, Minister, that we will work on this as hard and as fast as we can. You are certainly giving us a lot of legislation to work through, but our Committee is up for it.”
“When I asked for clarification about that "default event" — for instance, sadly, when someone has their house repossessed — and whether the loan would be recouped from the assets or the money from the sale of that house, the Department said that that would be the case only if money were left. I am concerned about that. If someone has an SMI and their home is, unfortunately, repossessed, it sounds as if we, as government, will lose money and that debt will be written off. I do not wish to cause more problems for people who find themselves in that horrendous situation. However, if we are named as a creditor and, as government, are able to claim back that money, we can protect the public purse. <BR /> <BR />Minister, I support what you are trying to achieve with the Bill. It will go through Second Stage. The Committee will discuss the Bill.”
“On behalf of Alliance, I start by saying that we will, of course, support the Bill through its Second Stage. Unfortunately, Mr Durkan stole some of my thunder when he referenced the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. We need to help our homeowners. Many struggle, and many people are now known as the "working poor". <BR /> <BR />Minister, when I hear "write off debt", as a Committee member, my ears prick up. We have to protect public money. I raised that when you briefed the Committee. The explanatory and financial memorandum states:”
“Minister, when teachers go through their pay reviews and assessments to see how they are behaving in their job, it does not matter how well they perform; it seems that there will be no pay reward unless there is additional money. Can you assure young teachers that there is a career pathway for them to develop through, given the fact that you are saying that a pay increase will depend on how much money Education will get?”
“There are a number of questions there. <BR /> <BR />There have been criticisms in the House of other projects that have overspent. For example, I sit on the Committee for Communities, and there has been so much criticism of the overspend on Casement Park. Here we are with Strule: another overspend and another problematic project. It is time to bring in anyone that we can to help the Department of Education so that those 4,000 children, their families and the future pupils of Strule do not have to wait an eternity for those buildings to open.”
“We do not want that to mean that most of the budget will be taken in one campus.”
“Money is now being spent on maintenance in those schools, but that is throwing good money after bad, because those schools have been waiting an eternity for the new schools to be built. <BR /> <BR />I am also aware, Minister, that on 11 August 2020, the chief executive of the Strategic Investment Board confirmed that the then Minister had spoken to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in respect of Strule. What was that for? As, I think, Mr Buchanan said, the foot on the pedal needs to happen but not if that means harm to other sectors. I would love to have clarification of whether that meeting with the Treasury was to take more money out of Fresh Start for Strule, when we know that 17 integrated schools are ready to go and there are another five that we await.”
“However, we recognise that, given how far along in the process we are, for right or wrong, our priority is to make sure that we provide certainty to the children who are to be educated on the Strule campus and their families. <BR /> <BR />I have a few questions for you, Minister, and I am delighted that you are here this evening to respond to Ms Brogan's Adjournment debate. I know that ministerial direction has had to be given twice, by two different Ministers, on the Strule project. Is there any possibility that the project will not be delivered? How far above the budget can you go before someone says, "Enough is enough"? What help has been sought by the Department of Education to get the project progressed and across the line? What state are the schools in that are waiting for new builds?”
“Unfortunately, the Strule project outside Omagh has been dogged by delay, overspending and concerns that were raised by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO). It is now synonymous with overspend and delay, which means the absolute death knell for any future or further shared campuses. Not all of that, of course, is the Minister's fault — we know about the procurement issues and so on — but it is disappointing that 4,000 children are waiting for what is to come. As everyone in the House knows, Alliance's preference is the integrated model, where children are educated together under one roof.”
“I am sure that everybody is looking at me and wondering why a Member for Strangford wants to talk about Strule. It is because, over the years, my opinion of shared education has grown and developed. I have to admit that I started off thinking that it was a waste of time and energy. I thought that separate education, bringing children together for part of the day and not all of it, was not the right way. Then, I met the people from the Fermanagh Trust, who talked me through their model. I wish that that model had been introduced throughout Northern Ireland; it is such an opportunity. I hope that Strule will eventually adopt that model. <BR /> <BR />Today is frustrating, because we have about 4,000 children who are waiting for access to modern, state-of-the-art facilities to learn in.”
“I am a member of the community that had a bus burnt out in my area, and people other than the MLAs who represent that community seem to think that they can speak on its behalf. Minister, do you agree that the thugs, the gunmen, the people who wielded knives and the people who had petrol to pour over the buses are those who take full blame for this? If members of the community want to get their buses back as quickly as possible, they should bring information to the police to make sure that these thugs and criminals are caught. As MLAs, we are supposed to say that these actions are wrong rather than sitting here giggling.”
“Minister, as a former manager of community transport, I understand the responsibility that drivers have to provide safe passage for people across Northern Ireland. I absolutely give my support to all fellow drivers — I still consider myself as one — Chris Conway and the whole of Translink. Minister, do you agree that, irrespective of the sniggers that have happened across the House — I have to say that I am quite disappointed by the backbenchers of the DUP who are sniggering during a debate about two buses being burnt out, two drivers being attacked —”
“— and all of us know why it is important to do that since the renewable heat incentive (RHI) inquiry. It is important to note that, if parties in an official Opposition are designated as "other", the Opposition vote will not count in a cross-community vote. That needs to be considered.”
“<BR /> <BR />Importantly, the recommendations proposed today will mean a significant change to the way in which the Northern Ireland Civil Service deals with Members who are not part of the Government parties. By having an official Opposition, the Civil Service will have to provide adequate access to information from Ministers and their Departments. The AERC considered how to ensure transparency and access to information in recommendation 18 and asks that it is tasked to explore how best to progress such access either in this term or to review and implement it in the next term. It also means that Committee papers must be made available to Government and Opposition parties. That is a very welcome change to processes. It will make for better scrutiny —”
“<BR /> <BR />Recommendation 12 provides the Opposition with access to resources. It will be up to the Assembly Commission to revise the FAPP scheme to ensure that a reasonable level of financial support is available to Opposition parties for them to deliver the effective scrutiny of Government, as happens in other Parliaments, including Westminster. <BR /> <BR />The AERC did not agree to the salary cap for staff employed to support Opposition parties. That is because we have already seen how the Members' determination places such an unfair cap on staff, preventing them from accessing a cost-of-living increase. I fully expect there to be a salary scale like the one for MLAs' staff. The new FAPP scheme will allow staff who reach the top of the salary scale to have the opportunity to be awarded a cost-of-living increase, if there is one.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Procedures Committee will be tasked with taking forward a number of the recommendations, but I draw Members' attention to recommendation 8, through which the Assembly and Executive Reform (Assembly Opposition) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 will be fully implemented. The Act already defined how the Opposition should be formulated. It enabled parties that turned down a Ministry to enter opposition. We already saw the outworkings of that in 2016 when the SDLP and UUP formed the Opposition. However, not all of the Act was implemented in 2016. Parties that were not entitled to a Ministry but that met the qualifying threshold of having 8% of Members should have been able to join the Opposition but were denied that opportunity. Recommendation 8 fixes that.”
“<BR /> <BR />As we know, the AERC is comprised of representation from most parties, as decided under the D'Hondt system. I have been the Alliance member of the AERC since the Assembly returned in 2020. As part of the Committee, we established the review’s terms of reference and advertised for an independent person to undertake it, and here we are today with the AERC report in front of the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />The Committee agreed a number of recommendations. As the report requests, those recommendations, if agreed by the House, should now progress to the Procedures Committee or the Assembly Commission to be acted upon. However, if a cross-community vote is used to take forward some of those items, it will mean that I will not get to have a vote that will be treated in the same way.”
“I have issues with our political system. A recent Alliance Party motion highlighted that, in a cross-community vote, my vote and the votes of those who are designated as "other" are not treated the same as the votes of those of other designations. I also have issue with the mandatory coalition. We have witnessed in the House how parties that will never share political ideology are in the Executive together but work in silos not trusting each other, not sharing budgets and delivering a far-from-exemplary government for Northern Ireland. It is time we had an official Opposition that can hold our Government to account. The AERC has provided recommendations to enable such an Opposition to finally, but not fairly, be a key element in the Assembly.”
“The Institute for Government confirms that, historically and constitutionally, the Opposition are understood to have three main roles:”
“I rise as a member of the Alliance Party to support the report produced by the Assembly and Executive Review Committee and to ask that its actions are taken forward before the end of this mandate in order to enable entitlements for an official Opposition in the mandate after the next election, which, as we know, is expected in May 2022. The review of the statement of entitlements for an official Opposition arose from 'New Decade, New Approach', which confirmed:”
“First, I offer my condolences to my fellow Strangford MLA Peter Weir. I also wish him well as he recovers. If you need me to push you round the doors during campaigning, Peter, I am certainly happy to do that.”
“The Economy Department is working on that. Will you assure the House that, in the three-year Budget that will come forward, capital investment will be secured to enable all homes to have those energy performance certificates so that we can, at long last, be free of the hold of fossil fuels on our houses?”
“Thank you, Minister. I am disappointed that the conversation with you today about the issue has become very dour. It is a strategy that we should celebrate. It is a cross-Executive strategy. <BR /> <BR />In February 2020, the Assembly declared a climate emergency. Thank you very much for bringing forward the green growth strategy as it is today. I hoped that you would have included a green growth impact assessment to hold all of our feet to the fire and make sure that we deliver on it. <BR /> <BR />You talked about cross-departmental working. One of the things that we can improve on, of course, is how our homes are heated. You mentioned that just now with regard to hydrogen. The Communities Committee is taking forward the Private Tenancies Bill. That needs to have some consideration of energy performance certificates.”
“Where are you with the Bill sponsor of the other Climate Change Bill, and how far forward can we get with the Bills?”
“I thank the Minister for that welcome statement this morning. Minister, you said:”
“However, if they do not, will there be a wash-up period before the end of the financial year to spend those last few pounds in Northern Ireland?”
“I start by thanking the Minister. I know that he might not get that too often. I contacted him by email, he phoned me back, and my constituents' issues have been resolved. I thank him very much for that. I also wrote to him to ask for an extension, and he has done that, so there are two things. <BR /> <BR />However, as a married woman, what I will say is that we need to learn from this. I am not sniping from the sidelines, but gender needs to be considered. I have had this problem quite often in life because the name on my birth certificate is not my married name, and people do not realise that. I ask that we learn from this and carry through some gender consideration when developing proposals. <BR /> <BR />I will follow on from what Mr Newton said, we hope that every single person will spend absolutely every penny that is on those cards.”
“Homes should be a safe place for every citizen, not only for some citizens. Homes should be available to everyone, not only to some people, because areas are presumed to be of one culture or another. We have a housing crisis, and we have a lot of work to do. I support the motion and call for action on the housing crisis to be moved forward quickly.”
“The housing supply strategy must embrace the agreements already made to ensure that shared housing is prioritised.”
“That means local government working with the housing sector to ensure that need is met and housing is planned to develop community and enable access to public services. We also need our local planning offices to progress planning applications within time limits and not with the years of delay that we currently have. We need to reform the Housing Executive, which has been mentioned, sort out the points system and decide what mechanism will be used to allocate social homes. <BR /> <BR />We need to consider whether homes are able to adapt to society's changing needs. More citizens present with housing crisis in their later years or when they need adaptations to suit their disability. We need homes designed to suit all life, not part of life.”
“<BR /> <BR />I fully support the Minister's work to protect renters from eviction during the pandemic, and that protection is in place until May 2022. What happens after that? If the Private Tenancies Bill passes in time and Royal Assent is secured, there may be a longer notice period, but, as the definition of homelessness will stay the same, people being evicted — even with notice — who cannot access another place to live will not be defined as homeless until they are four weeks away from having to sofa surf, go to a shelter or sleep in their car. <BR /> <BR />To stop the housing crisis, we need an effective housing supply strategy and action plan. We need effective area planning and community plans.”
“Moreover, you cannot buy through co-ownership incomplete homes or homes that do not front onto an adopted road: in my constituency, that basically refers to every new build that is happening. We need to review that to see whether Co-ownership can offer support when people need it. <BR /> <BR />The increase in rental costs is placing more and more people in debt just to rent a home. Thankfully, the Department, the Minister and the Committee for Communities are working on the Private Tenancies Bill, which seeks to cap deposits and limit how often rental increases can happen. It is likely that we will work to limit the amount of rent to be paid in advance. That work will help to deal with some of the issues that groups such as Renters' Voice have brought forward.”
“Truthfully, I believe that we will have the current draft Programme for Government until the new mandate and until the new Programme for Government is negotiated. That means that I do not expect a housing outcome to be introduced before the pre-election period, from the end of March. That is just my honest opinion. <BR /> <BR />On the cost of housing, we all know that the cost of a house has increased. The increase has placed that option out of the scope of many who are trying to get on the homeowner ladder. There is an issue with co-ownership. Co-Ownership's website confirms the types of properties for which people can access support. It confirms, for instance, that you cannot buy a one-bedroom home using co-ownership: surely, with the bedroom tax situation, you should be able to buy a one-bedroom home.”
“On behalf of Alliance, I confirm that we will support the motion, and we thank the SDLP for tabling it. I suspect that the whole House will support the motion. <BR /> <BR />Earlier today, the Minister for Communities confirmed that she will take forward a housing outcome. I welcome that — why would I not? All five parties of the Executive agreed that there would be a housing outcome in New Decade, New Approach negotiations. Given how vital an issue housing is for all citizens across Northern Ireland, it is astonishing that we do not already have a specific housing outcome. I am not surprised, however, that the Executive Office has not brought forward a new Programme for Government this close to the end of a mandate. I expect that, after negotiation, the new Programme for Government will be brought forward by the next Executive.”
“Minister, given the pressure on emergency departments and the predictions of a winter crisis in our hospitals, will you explain why you were content to support the reopening of nightclubs? I understand that nightclubs are under a lot of pressure and that they need to open at some stage, but, without any mandatory mitigations in place, and having witnessed the queues at the weekend at our hospitals, does you still believe that it was the right decision?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer and the work that she is doing. As I mentioned, I am the mother of a teenage girl. One issue that has come to light for me is that, when she walks home, she faces indirect violence through street harassment. Street harassment seems to come up more and more often for young women. The Minister will be aware of the ongoing harassment of women outside the John Mitchel Place clinic in Newry, amongst other locations. Does she agree that buffer zones or safe-access zones are necessary to protect young women who are accessing healthcare, as well the staff who provide those services?”
“<BR /> <BR />How about this: New Decade, New Approach? We had a citizens' assembly. Why do we not give the citizens' assembly the ability to come up with an energy strategy? It could be our task force. They could be the people to bring that forward and say, "This is how we need to pull ourselves out of constantly rising fuel costs and energy crises".”