Colin McGrath
South Down · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“Minister, regardless of where people stand on the exact figure, surely we can all agree that a health service cannot function without the doctors whom it trains.”
“Minister, climate change is happening, and extreme weather events are taking place. We saw that in Downpatrick a number of years ago when the town centre was ravaged by flooding, and it has taken the businesses affected many years to try to get over that flooding.”
“Minister, given that capital funding is, generally, being decimated, the extent of which may increase as a result of the Executive's not agreeing a Budget, what impact will that have on any final road maintenance strategy, and are any contingencies being put in place to manage that?”
“<BR /> <BR />Since March 2025, the parliamentary excellence programme has delivered dedicated sessions with the Executive Office on the strategic framework and its delivery plan, enhancing Members’ understanding of the cross-government approach and their role in scrutiny, legislation and constituency engagement.”
“<BR /> <BR />More broadly, the Assembly Commission supports Members and Committees in carrying out their scrutiny functions, including in relation to the Executive Office’s work on that framework.”
“As the Member mentioned, one example is the Assembly's Women's Caucus, which has a particular focus on supporting women in public life and highlighting the increasing challenges that women face in the digital sphere, including online abuse.”
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“All those conditions, however, could be addressed through our willingness to work together through a scheme that costs a fraction of our healthcare budget. It is an efficient use of our healthcare funding. You cannot put a price on the impact of those operations. If people did not have them, the impact on their quality of life would be enormous. <BR /> <BR />It should also be noted that the second scheme that I referenced was delivered by a unionist Health Minister. It is an important point to make, as it recognises our ability to reach beyond ourselves and deliver positive outcomes for all members of the public, regardless of our own views or constitutional aspirations. That must surely be the sort of vision that we need to look for in our Government working together.”
“Between its introduction and closure, there were over 3,500 reimbursement claims at a cost of just over £21 million. If people did not have that system to invest in, they might end up going privately. If they do so, they will get nothing back. At least this way means that those who have the money can pay for the service, get treatment and claim it back. That takes pressure off the system, which will help others to avail themselves of services. It is an imperfect system, because it addresses a problem that should be resolved in a different way. <BR /> <BR />Think of the 6,500 people whose lives have been supported and improved through our capacity and willingness to work with our colleagues in the South, whether they needed a new hip, cataract removal, scans or cardiac surgery. The schemes covered a range of interventions.”
“I do not disagree with what the Member said, but, of course, the greatest inequity is that people are not getting their healthcare and are being forced to use their savings to pay for it up front. I want to see a system whereby people do not have to claim money back and, instead, treatment can be approved so that they can get it without having to make any payment. That would remove that inequity from the system. The bottom line, however, is that, if that system were not in place, none of them would get any treatment or relief from the symptoms of illnesses that some have been living with for a long time. <BR /> <BR />I will mention again the number of people whose pain has been alleviated. There was also the Republic of Ireland reimbursement scheme, which was introduced by Minister Swann.”
“To set it in context, between 2019 and its closure, there were well in excess of 3,000 reimbursement claims for the cross-border healthcare directive at a cost of just over £15 million. The former Minister of Health, Robin Swann, then introduced —”
“Receiving healthcare in Dublin will not make those here who are British any less so. <BR /> <BR />There is nothing new about cross-border healthcare. The provision of such healthcare has been a key element of the European Union for many years. As a result of our exit from the EU, many here who had been able to avail themselves of care in the South through cross-border healthcare were worried about what the future of that provision might be. As one that does not support Brexit, our party was committed to ensuring that we minimised the adverse impact that Brexit threatened. Therefore, we were concerned about the loss of the cross-border healthcare directive in 2020.”
“I welcome the opportunity to open the debate on cross-border healthcare. The SDLP tabled the motion with the public firmly in our minds. We are very much an ageing population, and I certainly feel that myself as the years go by. That being the case, our reliance on our health system will only increase over time, whether that be for one-off visits or for people who require more sustained and repeated care. At the heart of today's debate are two words that sum up what our approach to healthcare on an all-island basis should be: "efficient" and "compassionate". At the outset, I want Members to know that, in approaching the debate, whilst we are discussing people's ability to avail themselves of healthcare in the South, that in no way diminishes anyone's sense of national identity.”
“<BR /> <BR />In remembering Eamon Byrne, Barney Green, Malcolm Jenkinson, Dan McCreanor, Patsy O'Hare and Adrian Rogan — who was the father of a former MLA — the pain that is felt for them goes on, but the support of the community for their families is as strong as ever.”
“<BR /> <BR />I was in Donegal that night with friends from Loughinisland. That was before social media and before mobile phones were really in use. I remember the car journey home as the news was coming through. Then the names came through. Each one was known to my friends, and the sense of pain was palpable. The fact that there has never been any justice is frightening. That is the case not because those who did those horrendous murders are unknown but because our system is unwilling. We must change that. Families must get justice. The pain that Loughinisland still feels must be allowed to heal, but, for so many, that cannot and will not happen.”
“As an MLA for Loughinisland, I add my voice to those of my colleagues in remembering those who were so grossly murdered that night 30 years ago and their families, who live with that tragedy every day. For the benefit of Members who have never been to Loughinisland, it is a small place: a rural village with a school, a chapel, a pub and a few houses, where the local shop is a few minutes' walk away. It is nestled off the main Belfast to Newcastle road. Thousands will have passed it, but most will not have given a thought to what happened there 30 years ago. On that night, the pub was packed with people watching a football match. With the Euros currently on, that could be happening in many places this week. Those people went out to watch a football match and to have a few pints, but the carnage that occurred brought an end to that.”
“As a personal reflection, in two weeks' time, it will be 29 years since my father died from cancer, which meant that, for most of my adult life, I did not know my father. That is a story that any one of us would be able to tell, because it impacts on us. Let us honour their memory and work together to end this disease once and for all.”
“It is not missed to me that the motion comes from the party that has responsibility for finances and asks for better outcomes for cancer, which is managed by a strategy that is underfunded. We need to cooperate better and get the most out of those budgets. We know that the Patrick G Johnston Centre does groundbreaking research. Why can we not help to fund it, given that we do not do so at present? We have to do this to be able to fight cancer. If we focus on working with each other, as opposed to against each other, we should be able to help that fight against cancer. Let us get real about our budgets and do what we can. <BR /> <BR />All of us have known fellow MLAs, family and friends — kind, honest and compassionate people — who have died from this indiscriminate, conniving and cheating disease.”
“At least 50% of skin cancers are preventable, yet the cost of treating skin cancer has increased 10 times in the last decade, due to the increasing cost of chemotherapy. Meanwhile, we have a skin cancer prevention strategy and action plan that expires in September. The previous Health Minister confirmed to me that the Department cannot review how effective that strategy was due to other pressing demands. It is anticipated that melanoma cases in the North will increase by 28% in the next 12 years, which will increase those costs by almost £4 million per year at least. <BR /> <BR />Where will the money come from to fund skin cancer prevention and the extra care that is needed?”
“It recognises that Northern Ireland is too small to challenge the scourge of cancer alone and understands that we are better when we work together to challenge cancer. The amendment suggests that we should work on a United Kingdom and all-island basis, and I take no issue with that. When I think of family members who received a cancer diagnosis, I would not have cared where the cure came from; I was just interested in them getting back to good health as quickly as possible. <BR /> <BR />Let us look for a moment at the reality of cancer. I will focus on skin cancer, the most common cancer across the North with over 4,000 new cases each year. The cost of treating the condition is £21 million per year and rising.”
“<BR /> <BR />How can we as legislators, from our different backgrounds and political views, support the researchers and clinicians who harness the ability to care for those with cancer and even cure what was once a death sentence? Cancer does not recognise political opinions or constitutional positions. The age profile of its victims is also indiscriminate, and, like other sicknesses, once it takes hold, it does so with relentless venom. A cancer diagnosis brings home one of the greatest fears that we as humans can have: to be told that our life might be limited. When people have cancer, they simply want to know whether they can be cured. Can they get rid of it? Can they get on with living rather than have to face dying? <BR /> <BR />Today's motion is welcome.”
“I pay tribute to the many people who work tirelessly to eradicate this disease from our community. Whilst Northern Ireland is known for many things — we have lots of natural landscapes and iconic structures that automatically make us think of home — there is one building that will not feature in any of the advertisements, and it has already been referenced. It is nestled on the Lisburn Road as part of Queen's University, and it is the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research. The building is named for the former vice chancellor of Queen's University, who pioneered so much cancer research and tragically passed away in 2014.”
“In the interests of clarity, will the Minister confirm that there is no rule or law preventing the calling of an independent inquiry now, and that that is a decision that the Minister is taking?”
“I therefore hope that the situation can be assessed as a result of the amendment, which I support.”
“There is an opportunity, if the amendment were to pass, for the Department to assess whether external decisions resulted in the state that the homes are in. Like the residents of Victoria Square, as well as other examples on these islands, those people bought their home in good faith. The houses are, in some instances, crumbling around them. The houses are not functioning as they should, and the residents are being left to deal with the situation, because they purchased them when none of the issues was evident. <BR /> <BR />The amendment would provide some support and give the residents a glimmer of hope that, down the line, there may be a resolution. The residents have invested their life savings in their home, which is being ruined before their eyes.”
“<BR /> <BR />One significant issue is that, when planning was approved, the houses were not on the floodplain, but the floodplain has moved. Subsequent planning decisions resulted in its redirection, and that has compromised residents' homes. Planning applications in other parts of the town have thus contributed to the pain that the residents are feeling. That is why the amendment may give them some hope, because proposed new article 4B(1)(d) states:”
“The road in that small development is bumpy in places, and, as a result of the land movement, it has not been adopted. <BR /> <BR />Here is a list of things that the residents are facing: their neighbours' houses have already been knocked down because they were collapsing; the sewerage pipes are cracking and giving way, which is causing sewage issues; the road network is breaking up and unadopted, which causes problems for bin collections; and no yellow grit boxes have been placed in the development, because it has not been adopted. All of that became evident after the 10-year deadline had passed for residents to use the new building insurance scheme. They have struggled to rest easy. They are having difficulty sleeping at night. They cannot sell their houses, because people cannot get mortgages to purchase them.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for my late addition to the list of Members to speak. I appreciate being called. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the amendment that my colleagues tabled. I want to speak for the many people whose homes are in danger owing to circumstances beyond their control. Last week, during the Second Stage debate, I referenced the pain felt by residents of Hunter's Mill in my constituency. <BR /> <BR />The development is, in part, sinking. The houses are listing, and some have been knocked down. The sewerage infrastructure is compromised, and the development's roads are uneven. NI Water has suggested that it might be 30 years before the land settles and it can do any work on the sewers, because otherwise they will simply give way once again. That has caused a difficulty with flushing toilets in some houses and with water flowing away.”
“Whilst I appreciate that it is not the Minister's fault, when we met officials after the floods, we were told that the report would be available by June of this year, which might have allowed some work to take place over the summer and, therefore, ease business owners' concerns that the floods might happen again in October. To hear that it has been pushed back to next year will make business owners very concerned. Is there any mitigation available in the time in between? We do not want to see a repeat this autumn of what we saw last year.”
“We must have more ambition for this place in order to be able to deliver much, much more.”
“Alternatively, as has been mentioned, we will end up with such a short period of time to deal with an issue such as transformation that we will probably mess it up, because it will be rammed through with not enough time for scrutiny or interrogation of the Bill to make sure that it will be done properly. <BR /> <BR />That brings me to the next piece of legislation, which is to do with hospital car parking charges. Only this Executive could pass a Bill about cars that involves a U-turn. They overturned their own decision that they took only two years previously. They rammed it through in the time before an election when there was not the proper time for scrutiny. <BR /> <BR />I believe that the legislative programme will deliver some work but not enough.”
“Thank you. It should be an extra minute and a half, because he covered the next 30 seconds of my remarks, which deal with the fact that the available budget will not even be able to do what is currently expected of the Department of Health and that the Department, when the Bill is passed, will not have the money from the Finance Department or the Executive to be able to deliver what is needed. <BR /> <BR />There is not one MLA in this room who has not heard, time and time again, that our health service needs to be transformed. We urgently need transformation in order to make our health service fit for the future. Is that in this year's legislative programme? No. All that we will be left with, then, is two years to pass some legislation to deal with transformation. I do not believe that that will happen.”
“One arm of the Executive — the Health Department — is going to propose the Bill, which will include a requirement for the recruitment of a huge number of new social workers. However, there is no money from the Finance Department to go to the Health Department to deliver the new staff who are required. I have no doubt that we will pass the Bill, but then there will be a crisis, because we will not have the staff, as the money will not be there. That is what happens whenever we deal in silos.”
“Again, the adult protection Bill is there as a response to some current issues, but some, especially those that are to do with Dunmurry, showed how out of touch the legislation was as it was not able to deal with any of the issues that were being presented. That is why there was an urgency about updating those matters. Again, however, that is being done out of desperation. When problems arise, we have to rush and get some sort of legislation to try to cover the cracks that have been exposed. That is not planned or strategic, and it does not present a better future for people. It is about doing the barest minimum that we absolutely have to do because of what has taken place. <BR /> <BR />Things like the adult protection Bill expose how we operate in silos here.”
“It is out of desperation that we need some of the changes and that is why that Bill is coming forward. If we look back at the COVID period and how a lot of those regulations came in and at the difficulties that there were, we will see that the Department is saying that it needs the new legislation in order to be able to deal with things in a better way for the future.”
“<BR /> <BR />With regard to the health portfolio that I carry for my party, I am looking at things such as the public health Bill. It has been suggested that it will replace legislation that has been there for over 50 years.”
“I rise as a Member from the Opposition to do what the Opposition do: provide scrutiny of the legislation and statements that are presented to the House. That is what the Opposition do here. I am pretty sure that it is what the Opposition do 100 miles down the road. That is our task. I certainly will not be taken to task for providing that scrutiny. <BR /> <BR />I welcome that, at least, the legislative programme is being offered. However, I agree with my colleagues: there is not much in it. It deals mostly with the mundane and things that, Departments say, have to be done, rather than being strategic or planned or offering something for the future. It simply deals with a lot of things that, Departments have said, need to see some movement after seven years when there was not much government here.”
“I thank the Minister. There are new modifying therapies awaiting approval, and some of them are very beneficial to those with an early stage of Alzheimer's, but not other forms. Therefore, having that data and understanding that data is critical to early intervention, which will help people to live with the condition for longer. Does the Minister agree that getting that early diagnosis is crucial to helping people?”
“The best involvement that children can have with social services is no involvement because it is not required. When we asked Professor Jones that question last week, he cited things such as the two-child benefit cap and the lack of a poverty strategy as contributors to the conditions that mean that children will require involvement with social services. What work is the Minister doing with Executive colleagues to try to prevent poverty and enable children to stay away from social services?”
“Given that Peace moneys can often be delivered to the community and voluntary sector in the absence of funds from the Executive, is the Minister aware of any additional emphasis being placed on mental health? Groups across my constituency are struggling for funds and absolutely need additional moneys to do their work. They are groups such as Pop Up Art in Downpatrick; MyMy in Newcastle; the Well in the Kingdom; and even neurodivergent groups, such as the ADHD hub in Newcastle.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Commission seeks the Assembly's agreement to the FAPP scheme 2024 as set out in the motion. I commend the scheme to the House.”
“<BR /> <BR />That, along with examining how similar schemes operated in other jurisdictions, made it necessary to simplify the scheme and revise the amounts payable to ensure that the financial assistance offered was aligned to party size. It is recognised that, for the revised scheme presented for consideration by the Assembly today, agreement by the Commission was not unanimous. However, it was agreed by a majority. <BR /> <BR />In considering the FAPP scheme 2024, the Commission has endeavoured to ensure that the recommendations agreed by the House for Opposition funding were implemented in the most cost-effective way, remaining cognisant of the wider public-sector budget constraints while not diluting the support offered to other parties.”
“I will move on and will take no more interventions, because I have only a page to read, and it is taking me forever to do it. <BR /> <BR />It was also necessary to ensure that the scheme properly reflected the various agreed recommendations that were made through New Decade, New Approach and the Assembly and Executive Review Committee's review of Opposition funding. The fundamental structure of the FAPP scheme and, therefore, the nature of the split of the funding under FAPP between parties of certain sizes and the two elements of the scheme — the general party funding and the funding for the administration of the Whips' offices — was also a consideration of the Assembly Commission at this time.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. He has been very strong in being unhappy with this. His colleagues can know that that was done. <BR /> <BR />I was not there at the start of the process, because it goes back and predates my being involved, certainly on the Commission. There was an intention that it would see certain levels rise so that staff could get additional money. I hope that the inflationary rise that will be applied will allow additional moneys to be passed on to staff so that their wages do not stay static and that it will be done in steps and will increase each year. <BR /> <BR />I took interventions from both Members because, hopefully, the Division will happen only once, and we have a little bit of extra time.”
“I did say when I took the previous intervention that it would be the last one. I will take one more, and then we need to move on.”
“It was protected. I do appreciate that it does not rise for the party and that you may feel sore as part of this process.”
“I am at risk of saying that it is done in multiples of 10, which is relatively easy to calculate, but that is exactly how it is done. We examined all the other legislatures that were presented to us in various tables, and the description was given of, for each Member, £10,000 calculated out. Your party is receiving a little extra because, previously, it had a higher level, although that level was protected”
“For the final time. I will give way to you.”
“Again, I think, in the unedifying way that this —.”
“I will answer that in two parts. First, I am of a party of the same background; that is to say, it is regrettable that we do not have more Members. If we had more Members, we would have more funding. That is why the model used for the scheme is attached, as with all the other legislatures that were examined, to the number of Members that a party has. Secondly, your funding will increase with an inflationary uplift from this point onwards to reflect that you will be able to give your staff additional funding because it will rise with inflation, and that means that you will be able to increase the wages of your staff, should you wish, at an inflationary level going forward.”
“I thank Members for their contribution to the debate. The main objective of the Assembly Commission in revising the FAPP scheme was to ensure that the scheme remains fit for purpose, reflecting an increase in underlying costs since it was last revised, with funding levels protected against future economic uncertainty by the inclusion of the inflationary uplifts that are protected for the future.”
“We know where we stand, and we need to just progress and get the ban implemented.”
“No, because you put into other people's mouths words that are not what has been said. Previous interventions have been so misleading that I do not wish to take any more in the debate. <BR /> <BR />If somebody assesses another individual and says that their lifestyle and the life that they have are wrong and need to be changed while trying to push that person to convert from who they are, those are practices that we should see banned. Nobody here wishes to see anybody who wishes to speak to their religious leader being banned. However, the DUP amendment suggests that we go back to the drawing board and go out and consult again. It suggests that we take that consultation and try to progress some legislative options. That is pushing us back to the starting line. Those practices have been done.”
“Actually doing that would be absolutely and utterly unfortunate, so that is not something that we should ban.”
“Those are absolutely not my words. They are yours, as you have just stood up. They were at no point any of the words that I used. <BR /> <BR />I think that that gets to the next point that I was about to make, which is on the DUP amendment. This is where we need to be utterly careful about remarks such as those that the Member has just made, because this is not about banning people's ability to seek pastoral care. It is not about banning an individual who wishes to go and pray with their religious leader.”
“<BR /> <BR />There may be those in the Chamber who claim that members of the LGBT+ community seek conversion therapy of their own volition, but such an argument is misleading and fails to recognise that most enter into such practices under the fear that they will be ostracised from their families, shunned by their friends and condemned to live on the uneasy margins of society. Those attitudes are the very hallmark of homophobia.”
“All forms cause great harm to vulnerable individuals and erode their sense of dignity and self-worth. All those who have spoken out about their experiences of conversion therapy have unanimously stated that they are not just a waste of time and money and do not work but that they are in fact invasive, manipulative and predatory by design. <BR /> <BR />The fight to end homophobia in this country will not end with the banning of conversion therapy, but it will be yet another step in the right direction. We, as Members of this House, must move swiftly to end what is, frankly, a brainless practice that is pushed sometimes openly, sometimes quietly, but a practice that always fails the people who are at its heart.”