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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“I appreciate the Minister's remarks about coming to the House to give updates. Nobody could fault the Minister of Health for the number of times that he has made himself available for that. Does he accept that two separate things might need to happen: updating the House and scrutinising the decisions that have been taken?”
“Let us at least give them a fighting chance to combat this invisible enemy by providing the conditions under which they can do so. People need to think about those effects and consequences when they gather together next week. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, let me reiterate that I support the amendments and that I continue to support our Health Minister. However, that support is in no way blinkered. My support for these health amendments and for the Health Minister is very much tied to the way that business is done here. As we approach Christmas and the new year, let us stop playing catch-up and let us take the lead in debating and implementing these regulations. I support the motions and the amendments.”
“The ratification of these regulations and restrictions will have its own ripple effect, and the restrictions that we place on one Department will have effects on others. <BR /> <BR />I should also make clear at this point that the actions that we take this week will have their own direct and indirect effect, but be under no illusion about this: next week is not a free-for-all. To treat it as such is a slap in the face for our healthcare heroes. Household gatherings that breach the rules, if only in a minimal way, such as an extra household slipping in to breach the three-house-only rule, will have their own indirect consequences, such as nurses being unable to take leave or having to go outside to their car for a cup of tea during a night shift. We owe our healthcare staff much more.”
“Now, the numbers of people contracting the virus in the South are reducing significantly. That was not an easy course of action for the South, but it worked. Meanwhile, here in the North, we have had a four-week lockdown, then something resembling a reopening, then a further two-week lockdown, and now we are getting ready for a further loosening of the restrictions next week. On and on it goes, like a never-ending hokey-cokey. There must be a better and more efficient way of doing things. <BR /> <BR />I appreciate that our Health Minister is doing his best with what he has, and I will continue to support his work. However, last week he refused to answer whether or not schools should be closing at this time, as it was the concern of a different Department. That is the silo mentality that we need to move beyond.”
“17 amendment being debated today concerns restrictions on sporting events, close contact services, leisure venues, non-essential businesses, licensed premises, places of worship and hospitality. The No. 18 amendment concerns the number of people able to be present to live-stream a church service. We are being asked to debate and ratify these regulations and restrictions, but why do we continue to delay the debates until after they have lapsed? I could, at a push, understand the 28-day delay for regulations that continue to be implemented, but to debate and ratify something that has lapsed is farcical. Why must the Assembly continually play catch-up? <BR /> <BR />Look at the way business is done in the South. We saw them enter a six-week intensive lockdown that the SDLP supported and wanted to see emulated in the North.”
“<BR /> <BR />At this time, I want to pay tribute to those heroes, who consistently go over and above the call of duty to save lives and ensure that families do not suffer the devastating loss of a loved one to a most unforgiving and indiscriminate disease. Just last week, I called for a one-off payment of £500 for our health and care sector staff. These heroes have gone the extra mile for us over the last nine months, missing precious time with their families, changing in car parks, not getting breaks or time off, and £500 would be a small payment to recognise the sacrifice they have made for us. It is not beyond the reach of our Executive. <BR /> <BR />This week, healthcare staff will implement the roll-out of a vaccination that offers much-needed hope and light in the darkness. The No.”
“As ever, I welcome the opportunity to debate the efficiency of our current regulations and restrictions. Once again, the regulations being discussed date back to November and do not currently apply. Perhaps it is because Christmas is approaching, but I cannot help but think that our current way of implementing the restrictions is a little bit like the hokey-cokey: we are in lockdown, we are not in lockdown, then we are in, then we are out and, to complete the dance, we have certain parties turning around on their approach to the regulations and the restrictions. However, unlike in the song, that is not what it is all about; it is about saving lives and relieving the pressure on our health system and the heroes in our health sector.”
“The vaccines are being rolled out to the most vulnerable and to those at risk. Christmas is ahead of us, and there is very real hope going into the new year. However, our work as legislators must continue. <BR /> <BR />As we come to the end of the year once again and prepare to begin anew, let the lessons of the past few weeks not be lost on anyone in the House. Bullheadedness and digging your heels in gets us nowhere and will only set us back. Let us approach the new year with a sense of optimism on what has been done when we let the public down and with a renewed sense of clarity, collective purpose and cohesion for the Executive. While I have issues with what happened and the way in which it happened in November, we continue to look forward to the future. We support the amendments.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. Yes, we need to provide as much support as we can to businesses because they are having a difficult time, but, at the same time, we need to make sure that the protections and support that we are providing for businesses do not have an inadvertent consequence. I hope that we can provide the financial support that businesses need, and that may mean that they do not need to operate to a level that may cause some difficulties.”
“It has already been mentioned that the numbers are not dropping as we would like, and that may be because of that week when we did not shut down.”
“I thank the Member for the intervention. Holistically, we are making the point that, if we can make masks available, it is of benefit and we should continue to do that. I would welcome that. <BR /> <BR />We are looking at the overall regulations today and questioning whether they were necessary. We have all accepted that the regulations that we currently have were and are necessary, but it begs this question: why did we stop for a week in the middle of the circuit breaker, reopen everything and then close it down again for a further two weeks? That just did not sit right. It means that we will see a slight rise in cases, then, when we shut down for two weeks, cases go back down again. One has to reflect back to that period and ask whether it would have been better to have gone six weeks right through.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. I believe that those protections are in legislation and in the regulations as well. They specifically highlight that those who have particular reasons for not wearing masks should not have to wear them. I welcome those protections as well.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. I know of his continued intervention in the Health Committee, especially highlighting the situation in South East Asia, where face masks are worn regularly and have been part of the ability to control the spread of the virus there. Yes, I totally agree with him. They are not very expensive. I think, from checking DUP returns, that it costs about £48 for quite a considerable box-load of them. If you can get the face masks and make them available to people, it would encourage their use. I know that it is an extra cost for businesses, but people sometimes find themselves at shops and other places and do not have a mask and could do with one. Making them generally available would certainly help.”
“How do you encourage the wearing of face masks? Well, you can do it through the science and detail the reasons for doing it; you can do it through encouragement and asking people to wear a face mask; or, if necessary, from time to time, if people refuse, you have to levy fines. That is what resulted in conformity from about April or May through to now. Very quickly, all those measures together encouraged people to wear face masks. Fines have played their part.”
“When someone not wearing a face mask coughs or sneezes in public, you become very aware that they are not wearing a face mask.”
“I am sure that everyone in the House can resonate with being asked a question, whether by a constituent or constituency office staff, that requires you to stop and think to try to work out what the exact regulation is and what its impact may be. <BR />Let us be under no illusions: scrutinising legislation is definitely not for the faint-hearted. However, these regulations were, and are, necessary. We need to continue to do all that we can to stop the spread of the virus and help our beloved healthcare staff, who, frankly, have been the heroes in all of this. As the vaccine is rolled out, we need restrictions now more than ever. <BR /> <BR />How do we do that? We have to normalise some behaviours that previously would have seemed improbable or even impossible. For example, the wearing of face masks has become normalised for most of us.”
“Amendment No.15 concerns the circuit breaker that allowed the phased reopening for close-contact services and the gradual reopening of hospitality. Finally, amendment No. 6 concerns those in close-contact services who work in film and television production and the number of households that can sit at a table in the hospitality industry. <BR /> <BR />I do not know about anybody else, but I find that mapping out the timeline of events can be quite confusing, as so many amendments are being updated. Some will have lapsed by the time we discuss them, and some have since changed, even though we are discussing them.”
“The first vaccine in the North was given to a constituent from South Down, Joanna Sloan, who is a nurse. We welcome the fact that she has received the vaccine and wish her, and everyone else who has been vaccinated, the very best as she delivers the vaccine to people across Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No.13 provides additional requirements for food and drink establishments, further provision for social distancing and large gatherings, and increases the fines that a breach carries. Amendment No.4, on face coverings, also increases the level of fine for those who breach the regulations. Amendment No.14 gives district councils the power to attach premise improvement notices to businesses that needed to amend their protection in light of the regulations.”
“I will be making my remarks as an SDLP Member. I thank you for the opportunity to speak in the debate today. I thank the Justice Minister for coming to the House and actually bringing forward some legislation and participating in the debate. <BR /> <BR />The regulations that we are being asked to ratify take us back to the middle of November, a time that, on reflection, many in the House may choose to forget, given the chaos that was allowed to take hold at that stage. However, today is a momentous day in the fight against COVID-19, and we must keep our eyes fixed firmly on the future and how we do things from here on. It is important to note that the first COVID-19 vaccine was given to Margaret Keenan in England, although she hails from Enniskillen.”
“I thank the Minister for her comprehensive response and add my weight to the remarks wishing Minister Poots well. Does the Minister agree that something has happened? The number of wildfires in mountainous areas across the North and the island of Ireland is substantially increasing. Events supposed to happen only once in 100 years or once in 50 years are happening annually and costing millions of pounds. Does the Minister agree that climate change is playing a part and that we must respond accordingly?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Do you agree that, alongside the plan that there is going to be, there needs to be one for easing the regulations, although obviously not immediately for all the regulations? People need to have hope that, as we start the vaccine process, we will also start to have the road back to normality. People may have a concern that we are going to be looking at a vaccine that may take until the summer to deliver, and they are keen to get back to some sense of normality soon.”
“We have shown what we are capable of achieving here when we work together with a common purpose against a common foe. Every choice that we make from here on will determine our future, and therefore hope remains. Our hope for a better tomorrow is our single greatest weapon against this foe. It is that hope that will allow us to endure these difficult days, safe in the knowledge that our best days are ahead. We will reach those days, but only when we stick together. I support the motion.”
“I want to assure him of our support as he continues his work in leading our response to COVID-19, particularly where other Ministers have shirked their responsibility. <BR /> <BR />The motion suggests that we need an accountable person to lead the roll-out. I appreciate that the newly appointed head of the Civil Service will have a part to play, but I hope that there might be some sort of task force in the Department and a senior named official there to lead the roll-out so that we can interact with that person should we have difficulties in our constituencies. <BR /> <BR />The best tool that we have to beat COVID-19 is our willingness and ability to come together to form a cohesive approach that all of us can buy into.”
“While it is essential that the North receive the roll-out of the vaccine at the same time as our counterparts in GB, it is also essential that any action plan for the roll-out includes discussion on a cross-border plan. The vaccine does not recognise borders, and it does not generate in predominantly nationalist or unionist areas. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the fact that discussions with GB are already under way. I also welcome the fact that the Health Minister has conveyed to the UK Government the need for lateral flow device testing kits for the North. Although, regrettably, I have little faith in the Tory Government's willingness to deliver in the interests of the people here, I have faith in our Health Minister.”
“In the absence of a vaccine, we can follow those crucial steps of hand hygiene, face covering and social distancing to ensure the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable and our key workers. We can keep flattening the curve through our supply of common sense and personal responsibility. <BR /> <BR />The vaccine will act as another step on the road out of COVID-19. With the delivery of a vaccine will, I hope, come the loosening of the restrictions placed on the public. Important discussions will have to be had for those who want to avail themselves of the vaccine and, just as importantly, for those who do not want to take the vaccine.”
“As we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, knowing that the new year will bring with it hope for the roll-out of a vaccine will bring comfort to many. <BR /> <BR />Our primary concern, when the vaccine arrives, should be whether we have adequate supplies for those who need it most: our hospital and care home residents and staff; our healthcare staff; and our essential workers. They are the people who need to be protected now, and that is something that we could achieve quite quickly. <BR /> <BR />We have to remember that a vaccine is not a silver bullet to address all our worries about COVID-19. It will not depoliticise the virus or fix our economy.”
“I welcome the opportunity to take part in this important debate. Recent announcements of successes in the development of vaccines to treat COVID-19 have brought the greatest injection of hope that the world has witnessed this year. <BR /> <BR />I concur with the remarks made earlier about the vaccine probably being too late for many people and families. That will be difficult for them to process, so our thoughts are with those families at this time. <BR /> <BR />A major impact of COVID-19 has been loneliness — loneliness for those who have been isolating, loneliness for those who live alone and have lost their community support networks and loneliness in the face of winter darkness. The vaccine brings hope that, with the short relaxation of the regulations this Christmastime, it will help us to combat loneliness at a critical time.”
“The Minister has made serious progress in delivering on the commitments of 'NDNA'; in particular, she has clearly set the standard for all-island partnership working and progressing delivery. With that in mind, will the Minister's work towards an infrastructure commission include a focused all-island element?”
“I welcome the assurances from the Minister about the A7, not least because it will enable people from Belfast to enjoy the delights of Downpatrick much more easily. <BR /> <BR />Another road that is due an upgrade is the ring road bypass around Ballynahinch. Can we get an update on that bypass and where we are with the project?”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thought that the motion was as a result of Brexit, but maybe I am incorrect. <BR /> <BR />People are being left in disagreement with a deal that has not yet been reached, there is disarray about potential impacts on the vital supply of medicines and businesses are not clear on what they have to do. That does not sound like governance, but why should we expect the Tory Government to change the habit of a lifetime? I support the motion.”
“<BR /> <BR />Even the former First Minister, Peter Robinson, has been found in the headlines once more after saying that he believes that the British Government will put the interests of English Tories ahead of the people of the North. That should serve as an important lesson for us, but it is one that some in the Chamber would do well to ponder before falling into the role of Tory poodles just so quickly.”
“However, I am satisfied that the questions that we had about the Bill were addressed in the Committee, as were concerns regarding the need for the Assembly to have proper scrutiny and to debate any regulations before they are approved; that is something to be welcomed. <BR /> <BR />While I am broadly supportive of the motion, I maintain the position that the need for it is not based on anything resembling taking back control. It is the result of small-minded English nationalism that did not give consideration to us in the North of Ireland until the eleventh hour. Here we are, on 30 November, a mere few weeks before the end of the transition period, with no sight or sound of whether a deal will be agreed by the UK and the EU. Quite simply, that shows that we are not prepared for Brexit.”
“The legislation itself is concerned with the regulatory gap that will be left at the end of the transition period and covers human medicines, clinical trials of human medicines, veterinary medicines and medical devices. Unfortunately, the Bill is scant in detail and has been described by one Member of the House of Lords as:”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion because the voice of the people in the North is essential in any conversation pertaining to Brexit and its implications. The Bill was presented to the Committee in June, and, at that time, I suggested that it resulted in more questions than answers. I welcome the fact that the Committee was given a further opportunity to scrutinise the legislation and to ask the essential questions that we needed answers to. <BR /> <BR />While I continue to place on record my opposition to Brexit and the upheaval and chaos that it will bring, it only solidifies why we must do the best that we can with legislation such as this.”
“The deputy First Minister will be aware that today begins the last three weeks before Christmas recess. Does she have any indication of the legislative timetable that will be required to deliver the Brexit legislation that is required before 31 December? As nothing is planned for this week, how will we fit that in to the two weeks that are left?”
“The Member's point is very relevant. I am another one of those gym goers, although it may not show. I have heard from one-on-one trainers and from gym owners that, if they can get financial help in a timely manner, they will comply. It is not an issue of closing; they understand what they have to do. It is about getting the financial help in a timely manner that would help them to do it.”
“<BR /> <BR />I continue to accept the need for these regulations and their amendments, even if they have lapsed. The health and well-being of the public at this time remain my number-one priority. While I support the motion, I continue to implore the Health Minister to examine whether there is a different way that we can do these regulations.”
“<BR /> <BR />The only thing that is certain about the Executive Office's communications on regulations is the eye-watering budget that it has to spend on that communication. The businesses that are impacted make an application for help, and, for some, that application falls into a big, dark hole and they do not see or hear anything about it for weeks, not knowing if they will or will not get financial assistance so that they can comply with the regulations. <BR /> <BR />People are hurting. The Executive supply financial help, but it appears that not everyone is getting it in a timely manner. The Department for the Economy and its Minister need to pull up their socks and get their part of the COVID response right. People's livelihoods are depending on it.”
“Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, and I will, of course, comply with your ruling, but it shows once again the farcical nature of the debate that we must curtail ourselves when the public are suffering from the regulations that have been enacted over last number of weeks. They have questions and concerns about regulations, but we cannot discuss them here in a timely manner. <BR /> <BR />That is quite sad, because it raises question after question. We are sent an email on regulations to seek out that information, but sometimes it takes days if not weeks before you get an answer. The communication from the Executive Office about restrictions lacks detail and information, and it creates more questions than answers.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, but the regulations —.”
“<BR /> <BR />Many changes have been made to the regulations from the ones that we are discussing today. We are in a period of lockdown, with non-essential retail closed and many other elements of daily life restricted. My experience of the most recent regulations is that they have been as unhelpful as past ones. What is non-essential? What is homeware? How much of your produce constitutes "significant"? What about car washes? Are music lessons educational? Are Irish dance classes different —.”
“The second provides clarity for physical education to take place in an educational setting and clarity on facilities adjacent to hospitality premises. The third legislates that post-primary schoolchildren must wear a face covering on school and public transport. <BR /> <BR />I place this on the record: what does it say about us that we are legislating for children to wear face coverings, when an MP who sat in this House and was a Minister in the Executive, once upon a time, continues to throw this back in the face of those children, in believing that he is above such practices, whilst taking the money from the parents of those children via their taxes to pay for the face masks that he does not wear properly? I implore his colleagues opposite to get this knocked on the head, even at this late hour, eight months into a world-wide pandemic.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. To simplify it, I think that there is a better way of doing it. It would not take much to sit down with a blank page and to work out the best process for making sure that we can participate in the decision-making and understand it. If we understand it, we can articulate that to our constituents. How often have Members had a phone call or email about a regulation from a constituent and said, "I do not know the answer to that" and then set about the difficult process of trying to find out that information? <BR /> <BR />On the regulations themselves, the first of the issues clarifies what was lacking, specifically in regard to self-catering accommodation, indoor exercise, closure of hostels, caravans, clarity on where close-contact services can operate and some restrictions on outdoor seating.”
“Some of the regulations that we give consideration to today, as we try to wrestle with the decision of whether to agree with them, have actually lapsed. Surely, there must be a better way for us to carry out this business. A better approach would be that, when the amendments are drafted, they are brought to the Chamber for debate and discussion, so that we can interrogate the decisions taken and ask questions about their various impacts, in order that we understand the process and can go back to our constituents with the details of those decisions.”
“I welcome the opportunity to participate in the debate. I acknowledge the Minister of Health's insight into the DUP's ministerial version of teamwork, but we all know that a team is only as strong as everybody playing their part. I hope that all Ministers will do what they can to try to help with the workload of responding to COVID. <BR /> <BR />The three regulations that we are being asked to ratify are those that were laid before the Assembly on Thursday 29 October. I pay tribute to our healthcare staff who continue to fight the invisible enemy in the wards and corridors of our hospitals, in care homes and in houses. I extend my deepest sympathies to families impacted by the passing of loved ones. <BR /> <BR />Members will be all too familiar with the process by which regulations and amendments are laid in the Assembly.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. The Northern Ireland Audit Office report on Civil Service capacity that you referred to highlighted major structural problems with the local Civil Service. How can we address those challenges without a head of the Civil Service? Can you tell us when that appointment will be made?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement and welcome the fact that the neurology inquiry and this inquiry will be public inquiries with statutory foundation. <BR /> <BR />The statement refers to significant work being carried out at home or in a non-clinical setting. Will the Minister detail how widespread that practice is? Is he concerned that that may be at variance with the clinical rules, guidelines and accountability that we have? To give people assurance, might the public inquiry investigate that type of practice?”
“I am sure that our Minister will help, and she will not take as long as many other Ministers have to get programmes out through the door to help people. I believe that part B is still waiting to be delivered, some five weeks after businesses were asked to close, so let us help everybody and let us all work together. <BR /> <BR />Let this be our wake-up call. The voices from the past have had their say; it is the voices of the present and the future that are crying out for action and demand genuine leadership. We will find a way through this if we take stock of where we are and see what we have got wrong, if we speak as one with a real sense of unity and find again that cohesion of purpose so that, when a vaccine appears, we will emerge from the shadow of COVID-19 as one.”
“The Youth Forum told us that three quarters of the 2,500 people surveyed said that they have no faith in the leadership shown by our Government; three quarters said that their mental health has got worse during the pandemic; and nearly 90% said that they feel that they are not being listened to.”
“Mental health figures in the North are absolutely shocking at present, and the stories that I and, I am sure, many others have heard of members of the public being passed from service to service and from one waiting list to another would break your heart. What about our young people, who have suffered as a result of COVID, not just in their education but in their sense of social interaction? Representatives of other parties and I met the Youth Forum last Thursday night. All the parties were represented except one, and I urge the Members opposite to send a representative to be part of the political champions' panel and to listen to the voices of young people, because they can articulate very clearly to us how COVID is impacting on them, and it would be good to hear from them.”