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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“Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. <BR /> <BR />What a vicious and nasty arena this room can be, but is it not a pleasure that we have just got through a debate in which we all agreed on something and that we are trying to put our thoughts in the right place to help those who elected us to be here? The debate has managed to restore a bit of faith in what we can do when we discuss things that we agree on and scope out whether we can pitch something to Ministers to see whether there is a way in which we can influence them to change the policies that will guide our constituents and, hopefully, help people as they face some of the problems that have been so eloquently expressed by Members this evening.”
“The people of Warrenpoint absolutely agree with that, because somebody has to wonder who under God the NIEA works for, because it is not the people of Northern Ireland. NIEA certainly does not keep an eye on the environment. I hope that this agency replaces the NIEA and that we can scrap it and get rid of it, because it is utterly useless. <BR /> <BR />Minister, will the new independent authority get cross-party buy-in and powers from other Ministers? For instance, the Department for Infrastructure looks after the ports, and, unfortunately, it is the people in areas such as Warrenpoint who lose out.”
“I welcome the statement. I welcome this line:”
“If the Assembly is to mean anything, it must mean that we do not look away when systems fail those whom they are meant to protect. The women who were caught up in this scandal did not ask for heroism, but they have absolutely shown it. They have done what the system could not: they have stood up for the truth. Their courage and steadfast resilience demand that we now do the same. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion and the amendment. I certainly hope that, after we get the report on Thursday, we will see a public inquiry, if it is required.”
“It speaks to a system that has lost resilience, that lurches from one crisis to another and that leaves women bearing the emotional cost of that bureaucratic dysfunction. <BR /> <BR />As a man, I will not fully understand the fear, the anxiety or the deep sense of betrayal that so many women have felt because of the scandal. However, that does not absolve me or any of us from a responsibility to make sure that we learn from it. It is precisely because I will never experience this directly that I have sought to listen more carefully, to speak more honestly and to act more decisively in standing with the women whom I have met as part of their campaign. The safety and dignity of women in our health service is not just a women's issue; it is a matter for all of us.”
“I pose this question to the Minister: if the report confirms that there were serious failings and shows that systems were broken, that warnings were ignored and that oversight was missing, what threshold will he set for supporting a full public inquiry into this most horrendous scandal? How bad does it have to be before we draw a line and say that the public deserve the full truth and not another internal review? <BR /> <BR />The DUP amendment is important. It highlights that, even now, we face further problems: technical failures at the Belfast HPV lab, thousands of tests being sent to England, more delays and more stress for women who are already anxious about their results. That is not just a technical issue.”
“No amount of whitewashing, spin or polished press releases from the Department can disguise that reality, and the public can see right through that. The women affected certainly see through it. The trust between patients and the health service, which takes years to build, has been shaken to its core. The families of Erin Harbinson from Tandragee and Lynsey Courtney from Portadown, whose lives were so tragically lost as a result of this scandal, also see through that. Those who developed cancer or had precancerous cells identified can see through it. We are told that the report will be published on Thursday, and all of us here welcome that.”
“In beginning my contribution to the debate, I want, on behalf of the SDLP, to recognise Ladies with Letters. Those women have shown extraordinary courage and determination. They have carried this issue from local communities through to councils and up to the Assembly, and they have rightly refused to be silenced or brushed aside at times when this place was collapsed or while it stands. Their persistence has exposed not only the truth of what happened in the Southern Trust but the deeper truth that, too often, our health service fails to listen until it is forced to do so. <BR /> <BR />This scandal has laid bare something far beyond the failure of individual screeners. It has revealed a system that is crumbling while we have watched on.”
“Minister, your party has held the Health portfolio for most of the past 10 years, except for those times when, inexcusably, this place was down. In the past 10 years, however, the percentage of patients that are being seen within the14 days has gone from 84% down to 6%. Will you develop a specific plan to address that matter that, as Members detailed, is more than what you have been offering us, which is just regionalising the service and making everybody deal with long waiting lists?”
“His time in office reminded us that leadership can be both principled and compassionate and that words, when used with care, can help to heal and unite.”
“The people of the island share one nation, one culture and one destiny, and our democracy should reflect that truth. As Catherine Connolly prepares to take up the mantle of the presidency, Ireland stands as a proud, progressive nation that is confident in who we are and hopeful about who we can yet become. She embodies a politics that will listen, that uplifts and that remembers that the measure of any republic is how it treats its people, especially the most vulnerable. <BR /> <BR />As we celebrate this new chapter, we pause to pay tribute to the outgoing president, Michael D Higgins. He was a poet and a thinker who was rooted in the shaping and forming of ideas, and he was a champion of human rights who inspired not only Ireland but the world.”
“On behalf of the SDLP, I join in the congratulations to Catherine Connolly on her election as president. It marks a significant and hopeful moment in the story of our nation. Her election as president is a milestone for social justice, workers' rights and the inclusive, compassionate and new Ireland that so many of us strive to build. Catherine Connolly has long been a voice for fairness, equality and the dignity of every person. Her presidency will carry that same spirit, one rooted in courage, integrity and a deep commitment to the common good. <BR /> <BR />As we look forward, we in the SDLP want the Irish Government to look north, because this must be the last presidential election in which Irish citizens in the North are denied a vote for their head of state.”
“I urge Members to support the amendment. Now is the time to set out a credible, coordinated and ambitious road map for low-carbon housing to give people homes that are warm and affordable and to show that, in tackling the climate crisis, we are also tackling fuel poverty, economic inactivity and inequality. This is not just about climate policy: it is about dignity, health and the futures of the people whom we all represent.”
“While the North is, of course, smaller in scale, the challenge here is just as urgent. <BR /> <BR />I want to echo points made by others about the future. The reality is that we are still building the houses of the past even as we move into the future. Grainia Long of the Housing Executive has been absolutely clear:”
“The amendment that we have proposed is based on detailed proposals set out in the SDLP's 'Building Firm Foundations' paper on housing, which was a plan to deliver warmer, more affordable and more sustainable homes across the North. It reflects our approach as a serious and constructive Opposition, one that brings forward new ideas and credible policy solutions and not just criticism. <BR /> <BR />Some Members spoke about the scale of the challenge, and they are right: it is absolutely enormous. In 2021, the UK's Construction Leadership Council estimated that it would take 20 years and cost around £525 billion to retrofit Britain's 29 million homes. Those figures underline the scale of what is ahead but also the scale of ambition that we must bring to the issue.”
“As many Members will have heard in their constituencies, that story is not unique. <BR /> <BR />Several colleagues rightly drew attention to the longer-term impact on health, poverty and economic inactivity. We know that prolonged exposure to cold contributes to illness. It keeps people out of work and locks families into poverty. That is why the SDLP tabled its amendment. What we are calling for is clear: it is cross-departmental working, because this is not an issue for one Minister alone. It demands cooperation between Communities, Economy, Infrastructure and Finance, and it demands more than words. It demands a credible, low-carbon housing road map with measurable targets for retrofitting, improved standards for new builds and targeted support for low-income households.”
“<BR /> <BR />A number of Members highlighted the importance of driving down energy costs through renewables and energy security. That is vital. As others pointed out, however, if the heat generated is simply escaping through poorly insulated windows and walls, we are setting people up to fail. As an MLA for South Down, I see that every day. A moment during one of the colder elections has stayed with me. I spoke to a woman who, due to being so cold, was wrapped in two blankets, and she begged me to take her gas canister with me when I left because it was doing absolutely nothing for her. The real issue was that her windows would not close properly, and any heat in the home was simply escaping. That was a problem not of poor heating but of poor insulation and shoddy housebuilding.”
“Thank you very much, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. Thank you, again, to the Members who tabled the motion and to colleagues across the Chamber for their contributions to what has been a constructive debate. We may not agree on all the details, but there is quite a lot that we agree on, and that, in this place, is something to grasp hold of. <BR /> <BR />Much of what was said reflects what I have been hearing in my constituency, namely that fuel poverty, poor insulation and rising energy costs are not an abstract policy issue but the lived realities for far too many of our constituents. Members on all sides will agree that the condition of our housing stock is simply not good enough and that tackling that has to be a priority if we are serious about climate action and tackling poverty.”
“Should it come to strike action, let no Member from an Executive party have the gall to stand on a picket line. They cannot preside over the delay, dither and indecision and then turn up for a photo opportunity to show their so-called solidarity. Nurses do not need empty words or sympathetic tweets from the Executive; they need fair pay and action. It is time that the Executive stopped making excuses and started making payments. If the Executive truly value our nurses and want to avoid strike action, they must pay nurses what they are owed — what they have worked for and what they have been promised — and they must do it now.”
“I asked the Finance Minister for an update on the pay award: he was cautiously optimistic. I asked the Department of Health permanent secretary, who was hopeful. In the Chamber yesterday, I listened carefully to the Health Minister's response to my question. I wanted to hear a clear answer — a date, a commitment, a sense of urgency — but there was none. That silence speaks volumes. At this rate, with the way that the Executive are going, we will be in the next financial year before nurses see a penny of what is due to them this year. That is simply unacceptable.”
“Once again, we find ourselves in the deeply regrettable but, frankly, avoidable position in which our nurses, the backbone of our health service, are forced to consider strike action. The Royal College of Nursing has begun balloting its members on whether to take to the picket line not out of choice but out of sheer frustration and necessity. It is a disgrace that, six months into the financial year, our nurses still wait for their pay uplift. They have cared for us through crisis after crisis, through the pandemic and the worst winters in living memory, yet here we are again, watching the Executive dither and delay while those dedicated professionals are left wondering when they will be paid what they are rightly owed. <BR /> <BR />I recently wrote to the First Ministers to ask for an update on the pay award: I never received a reply.”
“Minister, while we all want to see this succeeding, because it is important work, just an hour ago, we heard from the Health Minister that he does not have enough money to fund the mental health strategy, and that is a major barrier to getting people into work. Under this strategy, what sort of cross-departmental work will take place to help people to get back into work who are not being helped due to the lack of investment in the mental health strategy?”
“When a murderer was being held down in the street in my constituency, it took the police 28 minutes to respond, yet we can send officers over to London to help arrest people for wearing a T-shirt. Does the Justice Minister not accept that there is some lunacy in taking that approach that we, as political leaders, need to address here?”
“Minister, in light of the recommendations from the Belfast Trust, you said that its reputation was in the gutter, and you requested that a further review take place. That further review concluded that the Belfast Trust's recommendations were sound and that its governance is acceptable. Who got it wrong: you or the trust? Did we need the delay that has been caused by the additional review, not to mention the additional cost, given that it changed nothing?”
“— of the Executive; the Executive say that is the responsibility of the Health Minister and the Finance Minister; and nobody is paying our nurses. For openness and transparency, when will see the payment for our nurses?”
“It is obvious that we are dithering in delivering the payment that was promised to nurses. The frustration among nurses is absolutely palpable, to the point that they are going to strike because they cannot get the money that is owed to them. That will have a detrimental impact on our health service. The Minister says that it is the responsibility —”
“Rubbish. You cannot even answer the question.”
“Given that the framework states that the responsibility for the strategic framework's implementation "lies with everyone", and given that leadership starts at the top, will the junior Minister agree that it should be a standing item on the Executive's agenda so that every Minister can take responsibility for what they need to deliver in the area in order to ensure that the strategy will not be left on a shelf and that we will have more than just words for women who need to be protected by it?”
“I thank the Minister for her first answer to the House. I appreciate that is on an issue of great importance and one that she will fully endorse and support.”
“Let us protect young people and give them the support that they need and, ultimately, the future that they deserve.”
“I get it that nobody wants to see drugs at festivals, but just being tough does not always work. Sometimes, that pushes things underground and makes them more dangerous. We need to be smart; we need to be compassionate; and we need to meet people where they are. <BR /> <BR />I would like to see more joined-up work across this island and these islands, because drugs do not know borders, and they surface in all places. It is about sharing expertise and knowledge. If that little bit of sharing of expertise and knowledge can help one young person, it is worth doing. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP is happy to back the motion. We welcome it. We do not have any real issue with the amendment. All of us working collectively will, hopefully, help to make the community safer for our young people.”
“The motion is not about encouraging drug use but about facing reality and protecting people. Here in the North, we have that expertise, with the PSNI, Forensic Science NI and Queen's University working on a rapid testing scheme, but we remain the only part of these islands without the necessary infrastructure in place. That is not good enough. We need the Minister of Health to step up and tell us when that infrastructure will be rolled out. The health service and the Executive need to get it done. <BR /> <BR />I will speak directly to young people who had bad experiences over the summer. You deserve better. You deserve to feel safe when you go out with your friends. You deserve support, not stigma. Your lives are worth protecting. <BR /> <BR />The amendment takes a tougher line on drug use.”
“I am glad to have the chance to speak to the motion today, because it is about something that really matters, which is keeping our young people safe. Over the summer, we witnessed some heartbreaking incidents in which young people went out to enjoy themselves at festivals and concerts and some did not come home. Families were left devastated and communities were left asking why more was not done. <BR /> <BR />The motion is about doing more. It is about putting in place harm reduction measures such as rapid drug testing at events so that, if dangerous substances are circulating, we can act fast. That has worked well at Electric Picnic and other festivals in the South, which have been able to test drugs on-site in order to warn people when something lethal is going around, and that ultimately saves lives.”
“I felt like going, "Blah, blah, blah" with that answer, as we simply blame everybody else for not taking responsibility. You said that our healthcare workers "deserve" this money. It was promised to them. It is their pay uplift. It was due on 1 April, and tomorrow is 1 October. The Health Minister says that it is not up to him and that it is up to you as the Finance Minister. Do you have the money? Will our nurses get their pay rise?”
“That is not great. What are you doing to improve that?”
“Whilst this Minister may be forthright and offer his views on it, that is not to say that, in the future, with different Ministers, the priorities might not change, and that might mean that that discretion will change. We feel that the principle is right but the product is weak. It is disappointing that much that could have been put in place to strengthen the Bill never even made it to the Floor of the Assembly. The SDLP will do what it can to strengthen the Bill, but parents and pupils deserved a stronger, bolder piece of legislation than the one that is progressing today.”
“It is supposed to make school uniforms more affordable, to bring transparency into school policies and to ensure that no child's education is compromised because their family cannot meet unfair costs. Every amendment should be judged against that purpose. The amendments that we support move us closer to the goal, and the ones that we have difficulty with move us away from it. Families across the North expect the Assembly to ease the burden, not to entrench it. That must remain our guiding principle with this and other legislation that we bring to the Floor of the House. As we step back, we feel that that is a problem with the Bill as a whole. The safeguards are not strong enough, and too much has been left to ministerial discretion.”
“We feel that, by removing clause 5, the Minister is, again, hollowing out that duty. In its place, we are offered amendment No 12, which creates new clause 14B. That amendment weakens the obligation. Yes, it stills require a report every three years, but it waters down the detail. The mandatory detailed reporting in clause 5 is gone. Families deserve transparency that they can rely on, not vague summaries that depend on ministerial discretion. <BR /> <BR />While we support amendment Nos 7, 8, 9 and 10, we have concerns with amendment Nos 1, 5, 11 and 12. Parents need genuine transparency, not the watered-down version that is being offered. <BR /> <BR />We must remember the purpose of the Bill.”
“While some may think that it is not much use, it is there; it is another avenue; and it provides an additional opportunity. Therefore, we welcome it. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 10 strengthens transparency. If the Department issues directions to a school, it must publish the text of those directions within three months. That is a clear, unambiguous obligation, and we will therefore support it. <BR /> <BR />The real concern in the group is what will be removed. Amendment No 5 from the Minister deletes clause 5 entirely. Clause 5 was on the hard reporting duty that required the Department to publish detailed information on uniform costs every three years and to explain whether expense caps were being used and why or why not. That was one of the strongest accountability tools inserted in the Bill.”
“Amendment No 8 is a helpful amendment, providing a degree of flexibility where it is needed. It will ensure that the Department's enforcement powers applied only where pupils are subjected to undue disciplinary disadvantage. Again, we are concerned that that narrows the scope. It protects pupils from unfair or disproportionate sanctions because of uniform costs, while recognising that schools must retain the right to enforce reasonable uniform rules. We would like to see that balance. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 9 adds an additional trigger for departmental intervention, allowing the Department to act if the ombudsman reports on a school policy under section 43 of the Public Services Ombudsman Act 2016. That is a valuable safeguard, ensuring that independent scrutiny feeds directly into uniform policy enforcement.”
“They put pressure on schools and the Department to act fairly and give parents confidence that their concerns are not just filed away in a drawer. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 1 would remove subsection (6) of clause 1, which requires the Department to consider the affordability of uniform and PE clothing when drafting guidelines. We feel that taking that subsection out would narrow the Bill from the start. In its place, the Minister has proposed amendment No 11, which alters the way in which the Department's report would be laid before the Assembly. While that change seems small, it softens, in effect, the accountability mechanisms in the Bill, so we have difficulty with it. Affordability, transparency and accountability are not optional extras.”
“Too often, parents are left in the dark, not knowing how uniform costs in their schools are made up or how they compare with those of other schools. They do not know whether the Department has even looked at affordability in any serious way. When schools set out policies that burden families, there is little confidence that the Department will intervene. As we have rehearsed in previous debates, that lack of oversight leads to blazers costing over £100, jumpers costing £40 and PE kits running to over £70. Those are the prices per child. For families with a number of children at school, the costs are massive. That is why the reporting duties, with independent oversight and published directions, really matter. They shine a light on practices that would otherwise remain hidden.”
“I have been called to speak a lot earlier than I had expected, so I will gather myself. <BR /> <BR />We welcome the Bill's progress. We all understand the absolute need for it in our community and for our constituents. They face crippling school uniform costs, and we need to do all that we can to address that issue and make life easier for people. We are a little concerned, however, that the Bill that we are considering today, compared with the Bill as it was at the start of its journey, is weaker and a little hollowed out. A stronger, more modern framework could have been put in place. <BR /> <BR />The first group of amendments relates to oversight and transparency. Those are not just woolly words; they are essential if the Bill is to make the difference in the real world that we want to see.”
“<BR /> <BR />I say this to the families who are here today: we see you, we hear you, and we will keep fighting for you. The Assembly cannot bring back Catherine or any of those whom we have lost to that most indiscriminate and horrible disease, but we can make sure that Catherine's story is the last of its kind. Let us resolve today that no one in the North will be left behind in the fight against cancer. Let us deliver CAR T-cell therapy here. In the meantime, while we get ready to do that, if it is going to take a number of years, let us work with our neighbours to provide care close to home. Those battling that illness want to live; they do not have the luxury of time. Let us not leave them waiting any longer.”
“for CAR T-cell therapy. In many ways, Belfast is a trailblazer when it comes to cancer care, with the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, but it should be a centre of excellence for cancer care, and we cannot keep pushing delivery out to the next decade. Those battling cancer simply do not have years to wait. While we work to build that service here, there is an immediate step that we could take: we could cooperate with Dublin. St James's Hospital in Dublin is already treating patients. The service in Galway will soon be operational. It makes no sense that patients from Newry, Armagh or Derry must fly to London when some of the best cancer clinicians in the world are just down the road. It is about fairness, but it is also about compassion and justice for families who have already endured too much.”
“Families are being forced into impossible choices, and people here are being denied equitable access to treatment that others on these islands can receive closer to home. <BR /> <BR />The motion is simple. It calls on the Health Minister:”
“Catherine's family and many others who are here and who have reached out to us today remind us that, behind every one of those statistics, there is a life, a family and a community. <BR /> <BR />CAR T-cell therapy is one of the most advanced life-saving cancer treatments available today. It is already being delivered in Dublin and soon will be in Galway, and it is delivered in various centres across Britain, yet here in the North, our patients must travel to London, Manchester or Glasgow. They face separation from loved ones, the stress of travel and the additional costs of that all while they are battling cancer. Whichever way you slice it, that is just cruel and plain wrong. What we have now is not working.”
“Thank you very much, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. It would be entirely remiss of me to commence the debate without mentioning someone who made a significant impact on so many people's lives. I am referring, of course, to Catherine Sherry, a young mother from Armagh, who lost her life earlier this year while receiving CAR T-cell therapy in London. Her aunts are representing the family in the Public Gallery today, and I thank Anne and Marie for being with us and for the way in which they have raised the issue and want to see a resolution to the problems. <BR /> <BR />Catherine should never have had to travel hundreds of miles from her home and her family in the final months of her life. Who of us can imagine having to do that? It is unbearable and heartbreaking. That is the human cost of the gap in our system.”
“The point is made. We need to get the facts out there. The problem is that, in here, some representatives amplify too much, and the noise that they make gets out, goes down the hill and gives people the justification for the actions that they display. If we stand here and say that the behaviour is wrong, the behaviour is wrong. We can all make sure that we get the facts, but it should not justify hate. Those facts, by the way, will come in various Executive policies and strategies, like the racial equality strategy, which we are only halfway through, and the tackling paramilitarism programme, which we need to see changes to. Those can all be used as a vehicle to try to address the behaviours that are out there in our community.”
“Thank you for that. Yes, that was maybe just in the interpretation. I am suggesting that there is a sense in the community that we are completely overrun with people. It is that sheer perceived volume that people use to motivate their actions, but it is not rooted in reality, and that lack of reality allows people to increase —”