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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“<BR /> <BR />I have witnessed group work and one-on-one work with young people that has taken place via Zoom and various technological means. I have also seen innovative opportunities for participation, because many young people were totally isolated during the pandemic. I have seen youth organisations send art and craft packs to young people, and then they all came on via Zoom and followed the direction and support to be able to take part in the activities. For many young people, it was the only opportunity they got to engage with other young people in a week. <BR /> <BR />We should recognise the contribution that was made by the Youth Service.”
“Youth workers have played an invaluable role right across Northern Ireland in youth centres and in different youth organisations and groups. <BR /> <BR />The youth worker has a special relationship with young people. They get an opportunity to build a relationship, and they use that opportunity not only to positively influence the lives of the young people but also to provide direction and support. Quite often, the young people who engage with youth services do not engage fully at school. However, there are also many young people who engage with youth workers and the different organisations, and that relationship is critical to their mental health and participation in society. It helps them with their friendships, their skills development and their formal education, and that work has continued throughout the pandemic.”
“Thank you very much, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. We have heard lots about grace periods in the past year, and I think that we should stay clear of them as best we can. I am glad to have the opportunity to support the motion. I will declare an interest as a volunteer in the Patrician youth centre in Downpatrick that has worked with young people during the COVID period. <BR /> <BR />I am glad to have the opportunity to speak about youth services. We specifically included that in the motion, because an absolutely massive amount of work has taken place across all our communities by the band of youth workers in the voluntary and statutory sectors, to deliver to a very specific set of needs of our young people.”
“North/South cooperation works for people on this island. It delivers for the people of Northern Ireland and for the First Minister's constituents. By not attending those bodies, we prevent delivery on this island. Is that not a monumental example of cutting off your nose to spite your face?”
“If the person takes up their post in January, that will have been 16 months since there was last a person in place. Will you agree that you owe an apology to the victims and survivors sector for leaving them so long without a voice?”
“In the COVID recovery plan, there was a commitment to an infrastructure commission, which would undoubtedly help with the delivery of these projects and others. Will the Minister provide us with an update on the infrastructure commission and detail whether there are any delays to appointments to the commission and where those delays come from?”
“Thank you very much, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. I welcome the statement from the joint Ministers on the NSMC meeting in July. <BR /> <BR />Before asking a question, however, it would be remiss of me not to highlight the fact that future meetings are imperilled because of the inability in the Executive Office to make appointments to attend the meetings. Once again, it is a further example of the joint nature of the Office of First Minister and deputy First Minister and the dysfunction that continues in that Department. One cannot act without the other and, on this occasion, one's refusal to act hinders the rest of us. <BR /> <BR />There is a lot in the statement and much information about the delivery of infrastructure projects, including the A5 western transport corridor and the Narrow Water bridge in my constituency.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer and for the commitment within her Department's remit to challenge the climate crisis and emergency that we face. I also thank her for calling for a climate summit of the Executive to push them to do all the work that they can. Will the Minister give an update on the work of that climate summit and on the preparations for the Conference of the Parties (COP) 26?”
“Then again, the public are quite used to hearing such election pledges from them. It is time to deliver.”
“Sinn Féin may want to rewrite the history of its role in the delivery of austerity and welfare reform, much like the DUP refuses to acknowledge its role in Brexit, but that is a story for another day. History will remember, and so will those who are affected by this disastrous system. We will hear plenty today about Tory austerity, but let that carry a major health warning: when the Tories could not deliver welfare reform here, Sinn Féin and the DUP handed it back to them. They caved in to the most right-wing bunch of Tories to darken the doors of Whitehall. Remember that when their political spin machine kicks in and tries to pull the wool over your eyes. Today, the Sinn Féin Minister has a chance to do some good by ensuring that the most vulnerable are not adversely impacted further.”
“This is the same Prime Minister who said at the weekend that the most important metric was not life expectancy or cancer outcomes but wage growth. <BR /> <BR />Sinn Féin is scrambling to reclaim its position as the voice of the vulnerable. It is as though it had no choice but to do the Tories' dirty work six years ago, but it did. It had a choice then, and it has a choice now. The Communities Minister must deliver on the long-awaited anti-poverty strategy. Also, as an aside, we are still waiting for conversion therapy to be banned. Delivering on those would be something. However, in the immediate future, she can seek money from the Finance Minister to retain the uplift. It is quite simple. <BR /> <BR />Boris Johnson has shown his cards and proven that he is not to be trusted when it comes to the most vulnerable.”
“I will move on with my speech. <BR /> <BR />The most vulnerable in our society are still living with the consequences of that action. We all know the examples, because we see them every single day in our constituency offices. I look to Newcastle and Downpatrick, where the Pantry and Fountain food banks operate around the clock. Their volunteers, who support the most vulnerable, are heroes in our community, but it is a scandal that, in the 21st century, such services are needed. It is almost criminal that people still rely on those services, and that should cause us all the most abject shame. <BR /> <BR />In the latest round of Tory cuts, the Prime Minister seeks to remove the £20 a week universal credit uplift payment, equating to over £1,000 a year, from the most vulnerable.”
“Implement welfare reform and introduce PIP, and big business will get tax breaks. Was it worth selling your soul for?”
“That is something that challenges us to this very day. <BR /> <BR />As we attempt to understand and consider its implications for our actions as legislators, let me take Members back to a day in November 2015 that many in the House will remember and that some may wish to forget. On that day, the DUP, Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party voted for the Welfare Reform Bill. That paved the way for PIP, universal credit and the bedroom tax in the North. Thank goodness that Alex Attwood had the sense to force a recorded vote on that day. <BR /> <BR />Those parties may not want to remember that, but history will. History will also remember why they did what they did. They may say to this day that they did not have a choice, but, by doing the Tory party's dirty work, the DUP and Sinn Féin got the power to cut corporation tax in return.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion, to reflect the views of people who will feel this savage cut the most and to give a voice to the many who feel that they are voiceless. <BR /> <BR />Gandhi once said:”
“I beg to introduce the Education (Curriculum) (CPR and AED) Bill [NIA 38/17-22], which is a Bill to require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and automatic external defibrillator (AED) awareness to be on the curriculum for pupils at key stage 3.”
“If we are ever to adequately address the legacy of our past, it cannot be done by cherry-picking the elements that make us uncomfortable, which today's motion, as introduced, does. Such piecemeal reconciliation cannot and will not deliver for all victims. For that reason, the SDLP will support only the amended motion.”
“Similarly, I ask those who tabled the motion what have they delivered for victims in the 14 years that their party has jointly headed Government? Even now, the proposers are not looking forward; they continue to look back over their shoulders to try to outmanoeuvre their opponents because of one poll. That is shameful. <BR /> <BR />Justice, accountability and truth are not mere words; they are the ideals that we must seek in building a better and more reconciled society than the troubled one that we have inherited.”
“Eames/Bradley provided, and continues to provide, the best model for dealing with legacy, but one of the major difficulties with our response to legacy has been the lack of resources for the various strands to be able to deliver their work. We must see adequate resources for all the various strands. <BR /> <BR />Too much time has been wasted in trying to address the legacy of our past. That has resulted in a void that the extreme elements of republicanism and unionism have filled with their accounts of history rather than allowing all of us an agreed consensus. Further to that, Sinn Féin's insistence on the absence of this place for three years did nothing to progress the cause of victims and deal with the legacy of the past.”
“There has been no greater enactor of collusion than the British state, so to attempt to raise one without addressing the other is imbalanced and altogether unhelpful in the entire legacy conversation. <BR /> <BR />In South Down, we know about the impact of British collusion all too well. Six victims were shot dead in The Heights Bar in Loughinisland in 1994. Horrendously, when journalists tried to, and did, shine a light on state collusion in that massacre, they found themselves being arrested. Where was the justice, accountability and truth for them? <BR /> <BR />An imperfect consensus on how we address such matters was found in the Stormont House Agreement in 2014. That was an imperfect solution, but it was a solution nonetheless.”
“Lives have been lost, livelihoods have been destroyed and generations are still living with the legacy of our collective past. Their truths needs to be heard in every home, every school and every town hall. <BR /> <BR />There is consensus. Unfortunately, such consensus is not often deemed to be newsworthy, rather the divergence among the parties is what grabs the headlines. Let that serve as a reminder to all of us when we consider the tone of this debate. <BR /> <BR />After welcoming areas where there is consensus, let me come to some areas of divergence. Today's motion isolates the Irish Government for criticism and examination. However, that is counterproductive.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. Before there is any suggestion that there is not consensus across the House, there are elements of the motion that I do agree with: justice, accountability and — the highest ideal — truth. <BR /> <BR />On justice, our parties can agree on our opposition to the British Government's Command Paper of 14 July, which, in the most horrendous fashion, introduced a statute of limitations. <BR /> <BR />In terms of accountability, we can agree that everyone is equal under the law and should be equally subjected to the law, whether they were a member of a paramilitary organisation, a general in an army or a member of the Government. <BR /> <BR />On truth, all of us can agree that too many families, such as the family of Ian Sproule, have needlessly suffered the loss of a loved one.”
“I welcome what the Minister has said today. I sure that those words will be of comfort to people in the independent sector, because they know that the payments will come; it is just a matter of when. Given the number of Members who have spoken about it today, will the Minister undertake to write to Members to detail what will happen? Workers in the independent sector often are not part of a union, so they do not get the information, and that is why they come to MLAs. A standardised letter from the Minister that we could distribute to our constituents would give them great comfort.”
“I welcome the deputy First Minister back after her recent illness. It is good to see her back. <BR /> <BR />May I ask for details of the legislative timetable going forward? The Business Committee and the Executive Office are keen to see the work that will happen between now and the end of the mandate. May we get a full list of all the legislation that will be tabled in the coming period?”
“Injustice and sectarianism, not each other, are our enemies. We will therefore not be able to support the Bill.”
“Imposing a blanket ban on any person who has served a sentence of five years or more from being appointed by political parties to a public board, subject to that review panel, is just a step too far. We would be ignoring the purpose of our justice system, the principles of the Good Friday Agreement and the examples of many other peace processes around the world. <BR /> <BR />Let us continue to be humbled and guided by those first principles of the agreement, in which we declared:”
“I do not believe that it is in the same spirit as the Good Friday Agreement, and that is why we will be unable to support it. The Good Friday Agreement promotes inclusivity and diversity and is underpinned by a spirit of reconciliation, but this Bill goes against that. The SDLP has always been a party of non-violence and of reconciliation, and nobody has to bring us to that conclusion. It has, and always will be, amongst our core tenets. We abhor violence. <BR /> <BR />Our justice system exists so that those who commit crimes against humanity and against the state have the opportunity to rehabilitate, to learn from them and to become full and contributing members of society again.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. As I do so, I am cognisant that today is the United Nations International Day of Peace, when we are called to remember the need for and pursuit of peaceful objectives, even when doing so is painful and feels counter-intuitive. The Good Friday Agreement is one of the single greatest peacebuilding feats of the 20th century. Without that agreement, without the compassion that was shown by the parties that signed up to it and without the willingness to compromise, these institutions would not be in place, and we would not have had the past 20 or so years of peace. <BR /> <BR />With that firmly in mind, I come to the matter in hand, which is Mr Allister's Political Appointments Bill.”
“With nine level 1 emergency departments that are full to overflowing and about 50 to 55 ambulances on at any given time, just one ambulance waiting outside an emergency department in each of those locations means that 20% of our ambulances are not available. The service is broken. We all know that we need to have reform. I hope that we see that reform soon and that there is support from everybody for it.”
“We now have multiple examples in my area of people bringing somebody who has taken a stroke directly to hospital in their car, because they cannot depend on the ambulance getting there in time to help that person. <BR /> <BR />If you were to arrive at any time at any of our emergency departments, you would see a queue of ambulances waiting to pass their patients on. They cannot leave until they have passed them on. Ambulances become trapped at the emergency department, and the strain on the service is unfair. It is unfair on the paramedic, who does not want to be sitting in an ambulance outside a hospital. It is unfair on the patient who is in an ambulance and should be in the emergency department. It is unfair on the people who need to dial 999 in order to get that ambulance to come to help them.”
“Our system is built on the acceptance and understanding that, if you dial 999 in your time of need, somebody will be with you in a timely manner to help you. I do not think that that is uniformly happening. In my constituency of South Down, we are hearing horror stories. Just last week, a 94-year-old lady was left on the floor of her kitchen for five hours with a suspected broken hip and broken arm. The first call went in at about 7.30 pm or 8.00 pm, and it was 1.30 am before the ambulance arrived to help her. We have examples of cardiac arrest calls not being responded to within the eight minutes in which they are due to be met. In rural areas, it is sometimes double or treble that time before people get help, and patients are dying as a result.”
“My contribution is about an issue in my constituency, and I know that many other Members have dealt with it as well. It is the issue of ambulance response times. It is an especially acute matter in rural communities. <BR /> <BR />I begin by thanking our staff in the health service in general and specifically ambulance staff. Their work in very stressful situations is immeasurable, and the contributions that they make to saving lives are absolutely fantastic. I put on record my support for them and their work. We often hear stories of staff who have to go a full shift without getting any tea breaks or even toilet breaks. They are pushed to the extreme in the work that they do. <BR /> <BR />The public, however, feel that the system is a little bit unfair.”
“Does the Minister have any update on the overall funding for the scheme? There remains significant ambiguity about that, and we cannot allow any of the stakeholders, such as the British Government, to shirk their responsibilities. We must ensure that our Executive coffers do not have to fund the scheme when others have responsibility as well.”
“Will the First Minister explain how that road map can be effectively delivered, given the reckless remarks from his party leader about bringing down the institutions? What message does he have for the businesses, communities and people out there if the message from his party leader is that this place can be brought down and that decisions will not be able to be taken?”
“I thank the Minister for her answers, which include the reference to the substantial investment that is being made in Northern Ireland Water. Northern Ireland Water has been looking for that investment for a long time, and it will undoubtedly also go a great way towards resolving a lot of the problems in the construction industry. Will the Minister detail how long it will take for Northern Ireland Water to assess the capacity concerns so that people can start to get some sort of timescale to assist them with their work?”
“What does that therefore mean? That the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Adviser will still wear masks but that everyone else is OK? That type of mixed messaging is ludicrous. Will the Minister tell us in detail what discussions there were, at the summit meeting and since, about the different paces of relaxation to COVID and whether the different pace in GB and the island of Ireland will have any impact upon people here?”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Chairs of Committees are also afforded the opportunity to make a few introductory remarks.”
“<BR /> <BR />Bonkers Boris announced yesterday that he intends to relax many of the key regulations that are in place in England, and that is being done in the face of many of the scientific facts. Even his most senior advisers suggest that they will continue to wear masks in crowded environments whilst telling everyone else that they do not have to and that it is a choice.”
“I thank the joint First Minister for her statement, and I welcome the fact that the British-Irish Council meeting took place, albeit in difficult circumstances. It is really important that everyone working for people and in communities right across these islands be given the opportunity to come together to discuss matters of common interest and to share ideas and practice that will help develop the work that we do. COVID recovery was high on the agenda, but COVID is still very much on people's minds. People are still worried about the virus, and the numbers that we are hearing over the past week are very worrying. There is some comfort to be taken from the fact that hospital admissions and serious illness from the virus are not translating into intensive care admissions yet, but the key word is "yet".”
“<BR /> <BR />I will finish by thanking the Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse for her close cooperation with the Committee; the Assembly's Research and Information Service for supporting the Committee with its information needs; and, above all, the groups and individuals who entrusted this issue to the Committee and in whose name we propose the motion today. I commend the motion to the Assembly.”
“<BR /> <BR />Messaging is also important. Getting that right is critical. What message would it send if the Executive Office refuses to intervene and order a review? What would that say to those who are going through the process? What message would it send back in time to the defenceless children who were left, by the state that was there to protect them, to be subjected to traumatic and life-changing abuse? We have a chance to get this right. We have an obligation to get this right. We must get this right. The SDLP supports this motion and demands that we do what is right.”
“I welcome that the Committee that I Chair, and its predecessor Committees, have been with them at all stages of that journey. <BR /> <BR />The state truly let these people down as children, and we cannot allow that to happen to them again as adults. If any system within our government is not working, it is incumbent on us, as an Assembly, and the Executive to evaluate that and get it right. The problems with the scheme are well-rehearsed and will be repeated: the process is too impersonal and too legalistic; it threatens to re-traumatise people; it takes too long; and there are inconsistencies in the payments. It is possible to change all of the above by examining the resources and the approach. There is little to the problems being faced that will not be fixed by a review and a modification of the approach.”
“One group told us that survivors are at a crossroads and feel that no one is listening or willing to challenge the current predicament that they find themselves in. I urge Members to support this motion to demonstrate that we are listening and are willing to challenge the predicament that those people, who have suffered enough, find themselves in. <BR /> <BR />I will now make a few, short remarks in my capacity as an MLA. I will echo all the remarks that I have made in my role as Chair of the Committee. I do not think there will be much dissent about that today. I will acknowledge and applaud the dignity with which the victims and survivors have approached this entire process. Their evidence is some of the most disturbing and harrowing given to any inquiry or Committee here, and the way they have championed their cause is truly inspiring.”
“The scheme has been operating for over a year, and this is an opportune time to examine how it is working. The survivors' groups have called for a review, and the Committee fully supports that call. The redress board has also said that there should be an all-encompassing review. The Committee agrees that such a review must look at every part of the process. <BR /> <BR />However, the Committee has one particular concern about the impact that any review will have on the current delivery of the scheme. Yes, a review is intended to look at what needs to change and make recommendations, but it must not interfere with the process of assessment and payment while it does that. No one should be disadvantaged or have their payments delayed because of the review.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. Yes, of course. It is well recognised in all parts of the House that there needs to be some redress from the institutions. The joint First Ministers will have worked on that matter and may be able to give an update on that today. <BR /> <BR />The redress scheme in Canada gives a standard award to anyone who was in a particular institution at a time when abuse was taking place and an additional sum for each year of residence. The scheme removes the need to prove abuse that took place so long ago and is so painful to recall. The Committee has also heard evidence from the Department, the Victims and Survivors Service (VSS) and the redress board. We were left with the sense that the issues with the system are due to the way that it was set up. <BR /> <BR />Let us have a look at the whole process.”
“Therefore, it is not worth taking the long-awaited redress money if you live in Great Britain, if it means that you lose the support that you need. The state is giving you money with one hand and taking it away with the other. <BR /> <BR />There seems to be an insufficient understanding of the legacy of having experienced a harsh environment. The impact of being in such an institution, even without evidence of direct abuse, is abuse in itself. The redress scheme in Canada gives a standard award for anyone who was in a particular institution at a time when abuse was taking place.”
“Put yourself in the position of an applicant: you have been struggling for decades with the impacts of what has happened to you, perhaps you have suppressed long-forgotten events or memories that are just too painful to retell. Do you risk trying to recall such memories for an adequate payment? Or do you just say what you can cope with and settle for a lower award? Besides, your memories are those of a child — an abused child — and what will the panel make of that? Light needs to be shone on the way in which the panels make decisions and how that reflects the experiences of the applicants. <BR /> <BR />People who have subsequently moved to Great Britain are disadvantaged. The legislation only applies to Northern Ireland, including disregards for tax, national insurance and means-tested benefits.”
“That is a particular issue for those who are unwell or advanced in years. Sadly, we have heard about individuals who have passed on before their payments have come through. The redress process is too judicial and impersonal. It has been set up in the legislation in that way, that is true. There are some lay panel members, but, elsewhere, such processes have more of a mixture of people from different backgrounds. Contact with the board is through a solicitor, which makes the process seem even more legalistic. Some would have preferred to speak directly to the assessment panel, but that does not seem to have been an option. How are people supported while they give their testimony? A review can look at how that can happen. <BR /> <BR />There seems to be inconsistency in the amounts of awards and the rationale for them.”
“Victims have waited long enough up until now, but too few applications are being processed by the panels.”
“Former Deputy Chair of the Committee Doug Beattie and I informally met groups representing victims in January and May of this year. I pay tribute to Doug for his work on the issue when he was with us on the Committee. The Committee was pleased to hear from the Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse (COSICA) in January and April of this year. She was hearing the same issues as we were, and we committed to working together to address them. The groups were invited before the Committee to give evidence on 23 June. Some did so personally, while others did so through written evidence. I felt humbled by the dignity and eloquence with which the issues were presented to us. <BR /> <BR />What have we been hearing? We have heard that the redress process takes too long.”