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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“Thank you very much, Minister. I declare an interest as the mother of a young person who is going through their A2s shortly. You must feel for me. <BR /> <BR />Minister, you mentioned the COVID allowance or tariff. When will that be published? Will it, for instance, specify how many missed school days will be necessary for a pupil to receive the COVID grade tariff? Young people need confidence now, and if we can publish such specifications, it would help them.”
“Thank you very much, Minister. One recommendation from the all-party group on climate action was the need to put better insulation into the homes that we already have. That would be one way in which we could reduce emissions. Obviously, an enormous amount of money would be needed for that, but we pay out an absolute fortune in corporation tax for the Housing Executive. Can you give us an update on how we are getting on with trying to get some of that money back from the Treasury?”
“I thank the First Minister very much for her answer. In the run-up to the centenary of Northern Ireland, does she believe that it is time to change the designations so that people, like myself and others, who are designated as "others", will have an equal voice in the House?”
“Of course, I thank the Minister for bringing forward £20·5 million for the community and voluntary sector. Who would criticise that? However, talked about resilience, and, throughout COVID, those organisations saw their sustainability eroded as requirements to spend their legally held reserves were brought in by many of the funders. The strategic action plan for the dormant accounts fund for Northern Ireland is absolutely welcome — multi-year grants of £100,000 a year are fantastic — but when will procurement be amended to make it a fair, level playing field so that community and voluntary organisations and social enterprises can, at last, be contracted with fairly?”
“<BR /> <BR />As Mr McCrossan said, there will be naysayers out there and the people who will never take a vaccine. It would not matter what the vaccine was for; they would never take it. They will say that it is all rubbish and that the Government have made it all up. However, this will save lives. Those scientists — our heroes — have come up with something that will save the lives of people across Northern Ireland. We need to ensure that the public come with us, that their expectations are managed and that they have confidence. The best place that they can get that confidence is here in the House. Leadership is unity, and unity is what is needed in the time ahead. We have lost over 1,000 people: we do not need to lose any more.”
“I ask the Minister of Health to work with the Minister for Infrastructure to ensure that older people, people with disabilities, people with limited mobility and rural dwellers all have access to a public transport solution if needed. <BR /> <BR />I ask everyone to consider 2013. In 2013, we had one of the heaviest snowfalls in Northern Ireland for years. If that happens in 2021, what will we do? We need to think about the worst-case scenarios and give people an honest-to-goodness solution. I ask the Minister for a clear public messaging campaign that needs to start as soon as he has a clear idea of what the programme will look like. We do not need any more podiums of doom, Minister; we need to look at people and ask them to work with us.”
“It should come as no surprise to the Minister when I say that the absolutely exhausted, unpaid carers should be in that first wave. <BR /> <BR />Mr McCrossan mentioned access to the vaccine. I worked in community transport for years before I became an MLA, providing access to services for older people and those with disabilities across Northern Ireland. It will be a key issue to ensure that people who are defined as vulnerable can get to where the vaccine will be administered. It does not matter who says what and whether it is a church or a GAA hall, a school or anywhere else: if you cannot get to it, there is no point in it being there.”
“As others have said, there needs to be clear guidance for the public. We need to manage their expectations and give them confidence that the vaccine will work. <BR /> <BR />In considering how the vaccine will be rolled out, I expect that a well-organised system will break down the population into priority groups. It is, of course, vital that healthcare staff be among the first to receive the vaccine, but I urge the Minister to ensure that all key workers and front-line staff, as mentioned by the Chair of the Health Committee, are taken into consideration in the first wave. That should include the police, public transport staff, people who work in residential and domiciliary care, Prison Service staff, teachers and classroom support and foster and kinship carers.”
“This is the first chink of light, the first real hope of a solution that will bring the misery of COVID-19 under control and, hopefully, lead to the eradication of the virus. <BR /> <BR />The planned, large-scale vaccination programme is, I am sure, being developed with the engagement of multi-professional health experts across the system, including primary care, general practice, pharmacy, community services, care homes and school health. It is potentially linked to acute services, for example A&E and outpatients. While all that goes on, we need to consider the public. Our population needs infrastructure availability and service capacity, and all those demands need careful consideration. If we are to take forward a vaccination programme, the House wants to learn more about it.”
“I welcome the motion, as it provides an opportunity for the Health Minister to confirm his roll-out of the vaccination programme across Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I will take all of us on a step back. On behalf of the Alliance Party, let me say that we are extremely grateful to the scientists, biochemists, doctors, researchers, nurses, lab technicians and all who have helped to get us to the vaccine. <BR /> <BR />We all have concerns about circuit breakers and about not being able to see vulnerable family members. Some businesses are at breaking point, and, sadly, some have already closed. In the House, we are acutely aware of the pressure that the Department of Health and all working in it are under.”
“I thank the Minister very much. As he is probably aware, the Care Quality Commission had growing concerns about failures to discover serious medical issues during private baby scans in England. While he says that some of those places are not regulated but that radiographers may be, what assurances can he give to families here that serious medical conditions will not be missed?”
“As I mentioned, next year brings forward the 100th anniversary celebrations and centenary, however people want to recognise it. Given that Northern Ireland has come so far in the last couple of decades, can the deputy First Minister confirm whether, moving forward into next year, any considerations will represent all the citizens who live in this place, including those of us who designate as "both" and "other", in order to ensure that, if there is any production of flags, memorabilia or anything, it is actually inclusive?”
“Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I thank the deputy First Minister and my colleague for that —.”
“Thank you very much, Minister. You are right to pay tribute to Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency for all their work during COVID and beyond. <BR /> <BR />You said that the North/South Ministerial Council wants to provide for and promote the Irish language and Ulster Scots. We know that legislation needs to be brought forward for the commissioners for both. Will the Minister confirm how soon that legislation will come forward? Will it be under accelerated passage, or will it just come through as normal?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. One of the outcomes of producing hydrogen is oxygen, and there is a world shortage of oxygen. Northern Ireland not only could be one of the higher producers of hydrogen but could resolve an oxygen problem. Does the Member think that there should be investment in hydrogen production on a massive scale?”
“<BR /> <BR />Energy policy affects us all, so we have to get this right and ensure that everyone in our society is invested in this. Northern Ireland deserves clean and healthy air, a protected environment and a sustainable and secure energy supply. I look forward to the Department's consultation on an energy strategy, taking into consideration this report in order to secure it.”
“That needs to be taken into electric vehicles and a hydrogen infrastructure for cars. It should absolutely mean that public transport runs on electricity or clean energies, certainly not petrol or diesel. With the Department for Infrastructure and Northern Ireland Water, we have an opportunity in Northern Ireland to consider whether there are options to develop hydrogen production. As we know, that needs a steady volume of water and, given that Northern Ireland Water is one of the highest users of electricity, it is in their interests to be part of that process. We may even be able to resolve the ongoing issue of the cost of running a water system and keeping it at the required standard by bringing energy production options into consideration through Northern Ireland Water.”
“There are many opportunities in the decarbonisation of heat already, and more needs to be done in integrating these into plans and planning regulations for the future. This will require investment in our energy infrastructure and breaking down barriers that prevent necessary and eco-friendly projects from progressing. <BR /> <BR />Energy storage will also be key. In particular, as the report highlights, we should be looking at our mix and at whether offshore wind and other marine technologies could play a considerable part in this. <BR /> <BR />Finally, there is transport. As has been mentioned, we are a heavily car-dependent society. Until COVID, private transport was having a renaissance, more out of necessity, but, when things start to return to normal, major investments in transport will be needed.”
“As communities spokesperson for the Alliance Party, I know that our housing stock does not perform particularly badly, but many of the poorest live in poorly insulated private rental homes. Our entire housing stock will need to be looked at, and serious amounts of easy-to-access funding provided to people to live them to adequately heat and light their homes. <BR /> <BR />Our public buildings, too, will need improvement. That is why the Departments of Education and Health, which own a huge portion of the public buildings of Northern Ireland, need to be brought in. Let us not forget the roles of the Department for Communities and Department of Finance with the number of publicly owned homes.”
“Many have already pointed towards a green new deal. The transition to a greener economy must also be clearly interconnected with the relevant skills training. We must not leave people behind as the deindustrialisation of the 1970s and 1980s did, causing massive ongoing impacts on our community today. <BR /> <BR />One particular area that the report and respondents noted in the decarbonisation of heat was the issue of fuel poverty. That has been a persuasive issue for this part of the world, and must always be a key priority for policymakers. We must make sure that, as we invest in the future of green energy, the costs do not fall on the vulnerable. So much more could be done in home insulation.”
“We can, and should, be out front, as others have mentioned, leading not only in the UK and Ireland, but in the world, and we have the potential for this. I echo Dr Aiken's point: I see the Department setting an ambitious target for renewable energy generation. Ultimately, we want 100% of our electricity to come from renewables. I note that Scotland is aiming for 100% by the end of this year, so this is clearly doable. <BR /> <BR />Time is short, so I want to highlight some of the key points made by respondents, if I may. They highlighted the need for energy issues to be interconnected through partnership across government. Departmental silos will harm our ambitions for a better future. Departments, especially Finance, Economy, DAERA, Communities and Infrastructure, must ensure that close and functional working relationships are the norm.”
“On behalf of the Alliance Party, I welcome this special report and its contribution to the debate on our energy future. I thank Dr Archibald, the Committee and all its staff for the work they have put in on this. It is a really informative document on the choices and issues that we face in energy policy. <BR /> <BR />When it comes to energy policy, we must always pursue an evidence-based approach. This is a huge issue that affects our everyday lives. We face a climate crisis right now, and we must act to reduce emissions, protect the natural environment and make our ways of living more sustainable for future generations. Northern Ireland has done well in the past in increasing our energy efficiency and, especially, our renewable electricity generation, but we must not consider this to be mission accomplished.”
“Ring-fencing new-build social housing will mean that opportunities for builders will increase fantastically. However, there is an issue about the number of apprentices and younger people going into the industry. Is the Minister working with the Department for the Economy and the Department of Education to identify opportunities so that more people can be brought into the workforce?”
“Minister, I am glad to hear you talking about an alternative to telephone as a means of communication. Videoconferencing would be very much welcomed for PIP assessments. I ask the Minister whether whatever system she is considering will be hearing-compatible for those with hearing impairments. Can those who are using this new type of system have someone with them? Quite a lot of people have had mental health issues due to the way that they have had to go through assessment so far.”
“Thank you very much, Minister, for your statement. Minister, the devil is in the detail, and there is a lot of information in your statement. I am particularly interested in the allocation to the Department for Communities, where the statement talks about a one-off heating payment of £200 to disabled people on higher rate allowances and older people in receipt of pension credit. I am sure that the detail will come, but do you know, at this stage, whether that is a payment per person or per household? We have many elderly carers who have not received an additional payment of carer's allowance throughout the pandemic. It will be interesting to see whether this, at long last, will be two payments in one household as opposed to just one.”
“Can you, please, confirm that something will be done with the trusts to make sure that there is equitable provision across Northern Ireland to support our carers in the run-up to and over Christmas?”
“It will not come as a surprise to the Health Minister when I ask him more about carers. I thank the previous Member for asking that question; I was going to ask it. Minister, I will say this to you clearly: carers across Northern Ireland, whether they receive extra payment or not, are exhausted, and I ask — plead with — you to go back to your trusts and ask them what supports will be made available over Christmas for carers, before we end up putting more pressure and more challenges on the health service due to the breakdown of older carers, most of whom are women. They are at breaking point. That is not an exaggeration. I have had people in tears who cannot cope any more; they are working 24/7 and are exhausted.”
“Parents who do not live with their children and are being alienated from them need that sort of provision. I welcome that. I said that I would be brief tonight.”
“To do it more slowly, after engaging with stakeholders and scrutinising it properly, is the way forward. I appreciate the fact that Women's Aid and other groups have put their positions across. I am one of many people whom they have emailed. However, we need to look at the unintended consequences. That is why, at this point, I support the Minister and oppose the new clause that would be created by amendment No 14. There are ways in which we need to help people. I do not believe that amendment Nos 13 and 14 are the way in which to do that. <BR /> <BR />I am delighted that the group 2 amendments deal with parental alienation. How many of us have dealt with men or women who no longer have access to their children, with children being used as a battering ram against them? The new clause that would be created by amendment No 12 is fantastic.”
“That makes it very difficult for someone who is on benefits and may have been denied access to money. If we are thinking about the victim here, we need to think about that cost. A victim of domestic abuse whose abuser has not been convicted of the relevant offence would not be helped by that amendment. <BR /> <BR />Legal aid is complex. I absolutely support Mr Frew when he says that legal aid needs to be sorted out. As much as that needs to be sorted out, unfortunately, the Bill will not do that. More work needs to be done on that to scope out its consequences, including any unintended consequences — for instance, the victim may not be the only person who gets legal aid. <BR /> <BR />The Department of Justice already has the power to do some of that.”
“While it may not intend to do so, amendment No 13 would relegate to secondary legislation provisions that are made under 35 clauses in English and Welsh legislation, as others mentioned. <BR /> <BR />Moving on to the new clause that is created by amendment No 14, as the Minister said, the judiciary can prevent repeated cases being brought to court. However, we must also remember that that would confer discretionary power on the Legal Services Agency to waive the financial eligibility test in private family law cases in circumstances in which the applicant has been the victim of a domestic abuse offence. While I can certainly understand the intent of the amendment, there are several technical reasons why it would not do what it is intended to do. As the Minister said, victims may need to pay something up front.”
“As I did with my comments on the group 1 amendments, I will not take too long. The House has had much debate so far, and people mentioned issues that I wanted to talk about. I stand tonight in support of amendment Nos 9, 11 and 12. However, having listened to the debate, I agree with the Minister and must oppose amendment Nos 13 and 14. With regard to the new clause that is created by amendment No 13, the rationale for my opposition is that the domestic abuse protection notices and orders provisions should be included in future primary legislation. The Minister said that those provisions are being planned for inclusion in the miscellaneous provisions Bill, where the details can then be set out.”
“I know that this will be a long debate tonight. There will be a lot of groups out there listening to this debate and hoping that we take this forward as quickly as possible. I ask all Members to work with the Minister and the Committee and let us get this passed as quickly as possible.”
“I thank those who have tabled amendments, including Mr Frew and Miss Woods. The type of considerations that have been made for this Bill are so important. All of you could be like me and be sitting in your office on any day of the week when a victim walks in to ask about something as simple as a food-bank voucher or a school place for a special educational needs student and you end up in conversation with that person and hear what has been going on with them for years. I sincerely hope that the Bill is passed as quickly as possible so that there are no more victims like the lady who was in my office and her mother, who now cannot remember her daughter's name, where she is living or that the abuse actually happened to her. I encourage everyone: let us get this done.”
“For instance, in the welfare benefits system, we have already separated welfare benefits because we recognise the threat of harm and economic control, yet we do not have anything in law to recognise the impact on victims. It is right that we have that and right that it is included.”
“There are other things that we can say about harm. For instance, there are some things that are not crimes at the moment. For instance — some of the papers from Westminster that I read talked about it — if someone discloses sexual, intimate photographs of a person, that is a crime, but threatening to do it is not. So you can have control over a person without physically doing something to them, and you may have that psychological harm, but there is no criminal offence of saying, "I am going to share photographs of you". Being harmed is not covered in law, but this part of the Bill is about the impact on the victim. In Northern Ireland, we already see things and are doing things to help to protect victims.”
“I have to say that, while children of victims may be under 18 and mentioned in this Bill, adults who have been children within a family where domestic violence has taken place carry that with them. Unfortunately, in my lifetime I have spent some time with charities that work with those children who are out the other end. They have grown up and moved away, and you will see the same coercive behaviour happening and the same situations happening within households. Some girls are prepared to put up with so much, and some men are prepared to do so much. It is sickening. That is why, when this Bill is going forward, the importance of clause 3 is there. <BR /> <BR />As the Minister has said before, this is about criminalising the behaviour as opposed to just the outcome, and that is why it is so important.”
“She did not live in the house and she was not beaten, but she is now living with the fact that she feels so guilty that she did not protect her parent. She was not able to stop that abuse, and now her mother is dying in front of her. <BR /> <BR />Harm is horrendous. It is very hard to put a finger on or to define. I know that, when the domestic abuse Bill across in Westminster was being considered, many other options were added in. Mr Frew has mentioned some of them. He talked about strangulation and rough sex. Those are things that are within that intimate relationship between a man and a woman, a man and a man or a woman and a woman, but there are those implications, and this Bill is trying to deal with that when it comes to children of victims.”
“I know that the Committee has been talking to a number of people and will realise the emotion that you can have when you are dealing with the victims of domestic abuse. I was very recently dealing with a case where the victim was a woman whose mother had been the victim of domestic abuse. This was an adult woman who was at her wits' end. We talk about harm and say that it is not defined in criminal law. All I can say is that I witnessed a person who had been absolutely harmed by domestic violence. I will not go into too many details of the case, but her mother had been beaten so badly that she now lives in a care home and has dementia. The daughter has no recourse. She is watching her mother disintegrate, and because of COVID she cannot get to visit her very often. I see her as a very definite victim of harm.”
“I will not be very long with this, because I appreciate that it is a very long debate, and there have been fantastic contributions so far. There have been a lot of thanks this evening, and I thank the Justice Minister, the previous Justice Minister, the Chair and members of the Justice Committee and, of course, all the staff who have been involved in getting this Bill this far. I rise, as my colleague Paula Bradshaw did earlier, to support most of the amendments that have been tabled. Unfortunately, I cannot support amendment No 1 and the opposition to clause 3, and I will explain why. <BR /> <BR />I am not on the Justice Committee, but I am a constituency MLA. Just to give a bit of an idea and a personal connection —.”
“Has there been any discussion on coastal management? We have a situation at Anne's Point, outside Greyabbey, where the reclaimed land has been breached. The lough has come in and basically poisoned it. You can see that the trees are dead now. Is there anything on that modelling and governance? For instance, has taking away the Bateman principle and bringing something new on board been discussed?”
“Minister, as you will know, I am from the Ards peninsula, and one of the areas that is extremely important to me is the work of the Ards peninsula coastal erosion group, on which a number of your colleagues work. Earlier today, regarding climate change adaptation, you talked about:”
“Any enhancements to payments that can be made to people who are vulnerable, at this time, are very welcome, so thank you very much. Your statement indicates that your front-line staff are the decision makers. Ms Ennis asked about promotion and the knowledge that people have. How much training will your decision makers have? Do you have enough money for this and have you enough money set aside pay out because, hopefully, people will take it up?”
“For clarification, will domiciliary care workers and unpaid carers, who have not had a break in nine months, be included in the vaccination programme? <BR /> <BR />All of us are looking for clarification. For instance, it talks about unlicensed premises such as cafes and coffee shops, but many of those cafes and coffee shops have bistros that open in the evenings with licensed services. Does that mean that they are closed for the whole day? We need clarification for the businesses that can open. I ask the deputy First Minister to give that clarification either now or in the regulations as they come forward.”
“I am delighted to hear that the deputy First Minister no longer supports or does not support the use of the cross-community vote. As someone who does not have their vote counted because of the cross-community vote, I think that maybe it is now time to change that, to modernise the Assembly and move on. <BR /> <BR />Deputy First Minister, you mentioned that last week was a bad week: I do not want to continue that bad week any further. You talk about supporting people to isolate. On that basis, when we look at your statement where it talks about the roll-out of a vaccination programme, we need clarity on how some of the things in the statement will work. That is one on the things that we can give people clarity and certainty on.”
“First Minister, I am delighted to hear that the BIC has been talking, but I am wondering whether there is any coordinated approach being taken to the Christmas holidays and the restrictions that there may be. When we think about young people's mental health and that of families, getting our young people back from universities across the UK is vital at Christmastime.”
“Can the Minister provide an update on the independent panel set up to examine the role of civil servants in the RHI scheme, and on the independent panel that is to be established to investigate breaches of the ministerial code?”
“I appreciate that the Minister may not be able to provide me with this information, here, today, but I would appreciate it if he could get it to me. Following on from his response, will he provide a breakdown of how many meetings there have been with the Association for Quality Education and the Post Primary Transfer Consortium and his Department, his ministerial office and his special adviser, please?”
“Minister, the work of neighbourhood renewal projects is to be celebrated, but one of the areas of the anti-poverty strategy that cannot be forgotten is rural areas that do not have neighbourhood renewal projects. You have already worked with the AERA Minister on rural projects, so is there any update on how those will be included in the anti-poverty strategy?”
“I want to ask the Minister whether her mitigations will include payments or give people fast-track access to PIP in advance of DWP taking that forward at Westminster.”