Sinéad Bradley
South Down · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“<BR /> <BR />Periods have had many different names and have come, as Emma correctly pointed out, in many different colours. Mostly, they were talked about in hushed tones, but that is no more.”
“I, too, support the Bill, and I thank Pat Catney, my friend and colleague, for introducing it. <BR /> <BR />As a Member who sat on the Justice Committee, I am all too aware of some of the harrowing circumstances that young women face every day.”
“Pat's charm allowed everybody to embrace what he is trying to achieve today. I genuinely mean this: the people of Lagan Valley served the House proud when they put Pat Catney here. It is having people like Pat, with a good heart and good intentions, in a place where change can happen that results in days like today.”
“I am privileged to support the motion on behalf of the SDLP. Like other Members of the House, I have heard at first hand about the horrendous and heinous acts that led to the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act.”
“I thank Members across the Chamber for their kind words. <BR /> <BR />I suppose that all of us like to consider ourselves to be fair. I include myself in that.”
“I thank my party leader, Colum Eastwood, for hearing my calls, understanding the importance of the Narrow Water bridge and making sure that it was included in the New Decade, New Approach agreement.”
The complete record
Every one of 747 lines we hold for Sinéad Bradley, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 15.
“At the outset, I thank my party colleague, Colin McGrath, for bringing forward this topic for debate. It is timely because, as Mr McGrath and Mr Wells alluded to, we, as politicians, in good faith worked with the trusts and the Minister to respond to an immediate COVID need and the need to step down services in the Downe and Daisy Hill Hospitals. At that time, I spoke with the chief executive of the Southern Trust and assured him that I would give endorsement to that, but the Minister will appreciate that I did so with a caveat. I deliberately pinned down the wording on which the plan was presented, because I did not want a vacuum to be created that would give rise to a conversation around, "Can the trusts be trusted?".”
“Minister, have you been given any indication of the potential number of applicants and the cost of the scheme, and can you speak more to the money behind it?”
“<BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I support addressing the glaring omission in the Programme for Government, and I hope that the motion will be the catalyst to allowing the issue of end-of-life care and the bereavement that comes with it to not only be taken seriously and acknowledged but resourced. Again, I thank the Member for tabling the motion.”
“They talked about the care register and how a relatively small number of people are on it. I think that they suggested that more than 15,000 deaths are recorded in Northern Ireland in a normal year, meaning that 11,250 people should potentially be on the palliative care register who are not. The actual number during the past five years has been less than half of that. <BR /> <BR />It is important that we have these conversations, and, as other Members have said, advance care planning brings some element of certainty where there is none. That is a really important conversation and a difficult one to open up, but if it is scripted, planned and prepared for, people can grab the mechanisms and the framework, and use that as their lead to take them through a really difficult, vulnerable time in their life.”
“An example of some of the amazing work is shown by Deirdre Morgan and Michaela Kane, who recently successfully completed the European Certificate in Essential Palliative Care. They are able to take that resource and go to the homes in our communities, and we are so thankful to them and others like them who help people at that final stage of their life. <BR /> <BR />We have to recognise that there is a void in strategic policy on this whole issue. The motion is a call to fill that void. I call on everybody to support it, and I do not doubt that everybody will. <BR /> <BR />It is important that we plan for good end-of-life care. It will not just happen. Like everything in life, it has to be planned for. In the Marie Curie submission, they talked about the issues that we should consider in that planning.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. He, quite rightly, pre-empted my next comment. <BR /> <BR />It was not just in the hospital setting; there are people across our community who stepped up, be it in care homes or in their own homes, and they were reliant on the palliative care workers and community care workers. At the outset, I mentioned the Marie Curie organisation as one such example of people who step up and step in to support people at their most vulnerable time, but there are also the hospices and the services that they provide. <BR /> <BR />In my constituency, the community response to the void in our Programme for Government has seen the creation of Life & Time, which is a charitable organisation that recruits nurses and trains them up. Those nurses then go to the homes of people who are dying and in need of palliative care.”
“<BR /> <BR />The difficulties and situations that we faced, which were, largely, beyond anyone's control, led to the passing of individuals in a way that has traumatised family members because they have so many questions about their passing and how different it might have been if only they had been able to be by their side. <BR /> <BR />I could not make that comment without putting on record our absolute indebted thanks to the NHS staff, who were there with those people, for the comfort that they were able to offer to the family members, who knew that their loved one did not die alone and that somebody was there and held their hand. That is a huge comfort. To those NHS staff who had to do that routinely, I thank every one of you. I know that that cannot have been an easy task, on top of dealing with COVID and managing those wards.”
“First, I place on record my thanks to Joanne Bunting for tabling the motion and to Marie Curie, which, I know, has supported her role on the APG. <BR /> <BR />When the motion was presented to me, I put my name to it without hesitation. As the mover of the motion quite rightly pointed out, it is a glaring omission from our Programme for Government that this issue has not been tackled. It is important that we have the motion and discussion today. I say that at a very poignant time. During COVID-19, the many horrendous stories of people dying without a loved one at their bedside will resonate with all of us, and beyond this House, for a very long time.”
“I thank the First Minister for her reply. I think that all in the House can agree that Brexit and the outworking protocol were inevitably going to raise issues and a challenging transition period, but will the First Minister agree with me and the many business people who recognise that all those problems are solvable and can be worked through? Does she believe that this place has a duty to reach out and support all those businesses and not be an obstacle to finding solutions?”
“While they are history-makers, I have no doubt that their star will shine brightly in the future, and I look forward to being part of that.”
“I, too, thank the Member for bringing forward this Matter of the Day and support his calls for more support for the team. I want to say three things to the Northern Ireland women's team. First, congratulations. Each one of them will know their personal story behind that victory and the commitment, dedication and sacrifices that had to be made to achieve it. I also thank them, because we all shared in that victory. At a time when we were all welcoming any good news, it definitely brought a positivity to people everywhere, and it was much-needed at a difficult time. <BR /> <BR />I will be swift in my congratulations to those on the team, but thirdly, good luck to them going forward. No doubt, they are buoyed up by this success. All eyes are on them now, and we are all watching with great anticipation.”
“I appreciate the Minister's words. Would you also agree that there is a perception that it is just young women? Violence is directed towards all women equally, and older women are more hesitant to come forward and tell their story.”
“I thank the Member for giving way and for citing those numbers. Does that not make the point that Women's Aid and organisations like it need to be associated with any strategy and funded to implement any resources that are required from it?”
“However, we want to make it clear that it may be a limiting factor as we go forward, and I hope that people are respectful of that. <BR /> <BR />I cannot state enough the need for Northern Ireland to act on the issue. I look forward to hearing Members' contributions, and I urge all Members to support the motion.”
“The one significant deviation that it appears to make is that it calls for the standardisation of the relationships and sexuality education (RSE) programme in schools. I made the point in Committee and will make it again in the House that a large body of work could be developed in the form of an RSE programme before any Member would diverge from their views. The basic building blocks of respect and love are fundamental to all healthy relationships. Standardising may set a limit on how far those age-appropriate conversations will go and does not negate the critical role of parenting. The rules of respect are universal and need to be promoted and reinforced by all. Therefore, we have no objection to the amendment and will support it.”
“I welcome the First Minister and deputy First Minister being in attendance, and I note the First Minister's comments in the media in support of this type of strategy. I also give recognition to the Minister of Justice, who, originally a little hesitant to see the need to break this down in a gender-specific way, has more recently come out to suggest that she is supportive and has acted on her word by bringing that paper to the Executive. <BR /> <BR />I urge every Member to support the motion. I also wish to take a moment to speak about the amendment. The amendment reorders the wording, I suppose, but I was trying to find where it actually brought a differential to the original motion.”
“It could include providing age-appropriate and timely education on healthy, loving relationships and the better identification of early signs of abuse. It could prevent abusive behaviours becoming normalised or entrenched, seek to prevent perpetrators moving from one victim to the next and offer critical support before a crisis develops. Whilst I, like many others in the House, am not privy to the ministerial paper that was presented to the Executive, I am hopeful that it will include topics such as those. <BR /> <BR />Through open conversations and debates such as this, we blow away the myths associated with victim blaming and stigma. We remove any remaining taboos and begin to empower women.”
“Domestic abuse and gender-based violence are, of course, not exclusively female problems, but there is no escaping the fact that females are disproportionately affected. I commend groups such as the Men's Advisory Project, which correctly points out that men often also experience domestic abuse. That is a valid concern, and it will have its own targeted measures to help those men, because we cannot say that men are immune to this; they are not. However, it really paints a picture when we look at the disproportionate affect of domestic abuse on women. <BR /> <BR />The need for us to urgently intervene to keep women safe and alive cannot be overstated. A fully resourced strategy could seek to adopt a preventative and proactive approach.”
“There were 11 murders linked to domestic abuse in 2017-18. Since lockdown began, eight women have been brutally murdered in Northern Ireland.”
“In a call for evidence during those deliberations, the Women's Aid Federation, which I must commend for being so steadfast in its determination to see a strategy developed, submitted a paper that shone a harsh light on the reality of domestic abuse that is only a partial depiction of the abuse that women face. In June 2020, it noted that there were a total of 16,182, domestic abuse crimes reported in 2018-19. That is 16,182 abuses too many. In 2019 and 2020, which included lockdown, the PSNI reportedly responded to 32,105 incidents of domestic abuse, with domestic abuse accounting for 17% of all crime reported to the police.”
“The innocent sharing of memes that degrade women, or the normalised register of language that would never be uttered offline, depicts a fertile environment for hate to grow. <BR /> <BR />I acknowledge that these are complicated and complex matters, with no easy fix, but we must try. It is simply not good enough that we are lagging behind all other parts of these islands in forming a strategy that seeks to make a fundamental change to our culture and to how we view the topic of gender violence. <BR /> <BR />During our deliberations on the now Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act, it was made abundantly clear that the levels of violence being directed towards women and girls were and are frightening.”
“<BR /> <BR />Our motivations to deal with the horrific circumstances that lead to such brutal and final outcomes for so many women should be drawn from our genuine hope and aspirations to make this place — our shared home — a safer place for all women. We must collectively weed out misogyny and the behaviours that it provokes. We must find a serious and concerted way in which to recognise that our world is changing, and changing at a very fast pace. Addiction to being online is prevalent and has been spurred by the isolation of lockdown. The anonymity afforded to online users reveals a level of misogyny that is not otherwise captured by any data. The casually or thinly disguised dislike, contempt for or ingrained prejudice against women can be found on many social media platforms in a matter of seconds. One search reveals plenty.”
“I am proposing the motion on behalf of the SDLP. It condemns violence against women and girls in all forms and seeks to get the support of the House for plans to devise a specific strategy to tackle gender-based violence and abuse. <BR /> <BR />In doing so, I am particularly mindful of the horrific events that occurred in Newtownabbey over the weekend, and I place on record my sincere condolences to the families of the deceased. The images of Karen and Stacey flooding our media are simply heartbreaking, coming as they do so soon after the loss of Sarah Everard. Many families are left grieving and feeling re-traumatised each time that another woman loses her life.”
“On behalf of the SDLP, I welcome the motion. It and the reasoning behind it have been elaborated on. I agree with the Member who spoke about the appropriateness of responses. We all need to be mindful that, in our duties not just at Committee but in the House and outside it, we reflect the values of society and that the people who are listening to us expect a standard to be set. This is an attempt to do that. I will keep it short. On behalf of the SDLP, I will say that we welcome the proposed review.”
“I thank the Commission member for the answer and welcome the detail, particularly on the timeline for recruitment. Will he elaborate on how the Commission will make sure that any Youth Assembly reflects our increasingly diverse society? Does he anticipate that the use of technology, as he is so ably demonstrating today, will be used as a tool to allow more young people to engage with this place?”
“Given the circumstances that we know that they face, does the Minister intend to target investigatory work into areas where it is known to happen — as the phrase goes: the dogs in the street know that it is happening — and postcode areas where it is most prevalent?”
“The Minister, quite rightly, spoke about the nuances behind this and people genuinely believing that the person lending the money is in some way their friend or giving favour, which we know is not true. It is, on reflection, difficult to see who would be reporting these crimes if that were the belief of the recipient of the money.”
“I thank the Minister for bringing her statement to the House. She will be aware that retired judge Sir John Gillen criticised the slow response from the Department of Justice on the implementation of his report into how our justice system handles sexual offences cases, and today the Minister has presented myriad reference groups and action plans. However, I have sincere concerns, Minister, that there appears to be no reference to resource being attached to this. While I do welcome the acknowledgement that the problems exist and that there is a need for coming together to resolve them, it does all appear pointless if there is no targeted ambition to pull down resource to implement any recommendations that come out of those reference groups. Can the Minister speak directly to that point, please?”
“Surely, that is the very definition of discrimination, discrimination that is, unless we change it, legislated for and delivered in a calculated and targeted way. We cannot claim to be supporters of the Disability Discrimination Act yet ignore this blatant breach of the principles in the current abortion regulations. To my many constituents who have shared emails with me in the lead-up to this Bill, I thank you. I thank you for the personal content that they contained and the show of affection and love, where they recognise the disabled person in their family and the love that they bring to that family. <BR /> <BR />I wish to put on record today that I choose to see your ability, not your disability. I will therefore support the Severe Fetal Impairment Abortion (Amendment) Bill.”
“Regulation 7(1)(b), however, denies those safeguards to children who have physical or mental impairment. It specifically profiles the child on the grounds of disability and sets them apart as not deserving equal treatment due to their disability. In the absence of those safeguards, the profiled disabled child, unlike the child with no known disability, can be aborted at any stage. We could debate, and courts might engage in determining what the definition of "seriously disabled" might mean, and we might never agree, but to dwell on that detail today, in my view, is to miss the point of the Bill. <BR /> <BR />The crux of the matter is that current legislation profiles and separates children based on their having or not having a disability.”
“It reported that as many as a fifth of new and expectant mothers are likely to experience some form of mental health problems and that at least half of women cannot access the help and support that they need. The RCM says that there are barriers such as women fearing that they may be judged as being unable to look after their baby or not recognising that they need help. Poor service provision is also a factor. That must be addressed so that women can get the support that they often desperately need. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Westminster did not choose to deliver on this for the women of Northern Ireland. Abortion has been offered as the solution. <BR /> <BR />Turning to the technical part of the Bill, the current legislation offers some safeguards for some children at 24 weeks.”
“Furthermore, the legislation that was imposed on us from Westminster gave no consideration to the lack of support that should accompany women through any pregnancy. How can we have arrived at a point where we debate the rights and the wrongs of abortion up to birth when there has never been a concerted effort to address the absence of the critical support needed by women who feel that they are in crisis? Where is their support? <BR /> <BR />On 19 January this year, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) identified that more investment and training is needed to enable midwives and maternity support workers to offer better mental health support for women throughout pregnancy and postnatally.”
“I begin by thanking the Member for Lagan Valley Mr Givan for bringing this Bill to the Floor of the House. In preparation for today's sensitive debate, I listened to the Health Committee discussion and wish to note the informative and very helpful contributions of Lynn Murray from Don't Screen Us Out and, I have to say, the mightily impressive campaigner Heidi Crowter and her mum, Liz. Thank you. I will take a moment, if you do not mind, Mr Speaker, to congratulate Heidi and her husband on their marriage. <BR /> <BR />Heidi, in her presentation to the Committee, said that the law tells her and people with Down's syndrome that they are worth less than those without disabilities. Sadly, Heidi is correct. The law, as it stands, does just that.”
“Rightly, I accepted the argument that, at the very highest level of legislation, there was a need to be gender neutral, but that does not allow us to walk away from the responsibility that we have in this House to understand the gender crime that is targeted towards women, which is horrific and persistent. <BR /> <BR />It is one thing for us to stand here in unison and call for a strategy, but it must be fully understood and resourced, with all the training and back-up that is required. This is an ask about keeping women safe and keeping women alive.”
“In addition to that, the appalling scenes that we all witnessed over the weekend in London cannot have offered any comfort to those people who are so deeply grieving. <BR /> <BR />In the context of Northern Ireland, I want to register my absolute disgust at the lack of support that we have been able to offer women, especially those women who were murdered during lockdown. Their families have been left grieving in an absolute void of silence, where there is nothing happening to support them. <BR /> <BR />During our hearings on the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Bill, we repeatedly heard quite distinctly about the different crime that is targeted towards women.”
“I too put on record my condolences to Sarah Everard's mother, family and friends. I simply cannot begin to imagine the pain that they must be going through at this time.”
“However, claimants are brought into the equation, and we are now being told that if our scrutiny takes too long, it is on us and we can answer to claimants. That is quite offensive, and I want to place that on record.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I am mulling over the comments made by the Minister earlier. At the outset, the Minister quite rightly said that this is a very technical Bill that aims at delivering 100% compensation and that that should be our only motivation. However, twice in her previous comments, the Minister referred to the request for accelerated passage being motivated by the need to reach claimants. <BR /> <BR />That contradicts trying to focus wholly on the 100%. Is accelerated passage motivated by the intention of reaching claimants? Then to park an element of blame on the Committee sits uncomfortably with me, as we are doing our very best to scrutinise and to reach the 100% target.”
“I appreciate the Member giving way. Is it not true to say that the target is 100% and that the effect is the effect on either side of that? There are conflicting agendas here, and the methodology set in the legislation could lean towards one of those agendas over another. The conundrum is how we get to the 100% and remove any bias. I believe that that has been the focus of the Committee members to date. I also believe that there will be a lot of noise from outside parties, and it is only fair to hear them, but we are all still focused on that same target of 100% compensation.”
“<BR /> <BR />The SDLP will be at the Committee and, with all other Members, will scrutinise the information in front of us. When the information is not there for us to make an informed choice, we will not be shy in calling that out, because it is in everybody's interest that we get it right. We have to have a steady hand and, while the clock is ticking for the claimants in the background, reach out and find solutions to improve their lives while we take the time necessary to get this right. I thank those who have spoken and look forward to working with Committee members.”
“<BR /> <BR />On the detail of the Bill and the commentary that has played out in Committee, the Minister will be aware that I was particularly cautious because, while the model was very much framed on the Scottish model, there was a deviation from the 30-year period to 43 years. I was eager to get a fuller understanding of the potential implications of that. We are all mindful that we do not take legislation and tweak one part of it without realising the unintended consequences. We all have a duty to satisfy ourselves that there are no unintended consequences of such tweaks. I appreciate the Minister's work to date, but there is still a deeper understanding to be acquired before I can give any explicit commentary on that either way.”
“<BR /> <BR />That is why I will repeatedly bring up the possibility of the interim payment and the fact that all claimants should be aware that they can sit down with their legal representative and discuss access to that payment. That may give rise to a later calculation that will have to take it into account that the full amount of the lump sum was not payable at a set date, but such calculations can be agreed and arrived at. No victim should be making do or trying to bridge the gap while we go through the politics of what has to happen. No victim's life, lifestyle or what they are able to achieve in their life should be limited by the time frame that the Committee or the Department needs to bring this to a conclusion.”
“It is not about having a great lifestyle; it is about making adaptations to your house — for example, building a downstairs bathroom and downstairs sleeping facilities — and making changes that will make your life more comfortable following the horrific outcome of the accident that you have experienced. That has to be at the core of what we are trying to achieve, and, while I have no doubt that we will scrutinise the Bill in the Committee and go through the detail — it is only right and just that we do that — the pressure on all of us should come from the question of whether those people have access to the money that they need today and what the barriers are that prevent them accessing that money.”
“<BR /> <BR />In considering what we are trying to achieve in the Bill, I think that we are talking about a margin or a percentage. We have to ask this question: are all claimants aware that they are able to sit down with their legal representatives and have the discussion about receiving an interim payment of their settlement? As an example, I throw out the fact that 90% of their payment would not touch the rate that will be set via the Bill. I heard the Department say that it is very much a private matter and the discussions on those settlements will happen between the claimants and their legal representatives. However, many of the claims may be in the public sector, and there is a duty on all of us to make sure that we help any claimant who is awaiting money to make their life comfortable.”
“I thank the Minister for her intervention. That is a fair risk to have placed on the record. <BR /> <BR />As we look at the Bill and what it endeavours to do, I am mindful of the eagerness of those who have proposed the interim rate. I believe that their duty to try to help those people comes from a genuinely good place. It is about reaching victims who await access to money that is rightfully theirs so that they can set up a life that addresses the issues that they face. That said, I genuinely believe that there has to be a more honest and open conversation about the potential for claimants to access an interim payment. When I raised that in Committee, it received a short airing, although Doug Beattie followed up on my question and raised the issue of interim payments.”
“Regardless of which party holds a view on the settlement, both parties will inevitably run a calculation that compares it with the final legislative rate that, they believe, may be set. It only takes one party not to agree for there not to be a settlement, which is, I fear, an inevitable outcome of an interim rate. While I appreciate that the details of the calculations and proposed procedures for arriving at methods are complex and that the Bill endeavours to address this issue —”
“Our understanding is that the Department is compelled to deliver the rate set in legislation. The 100% rate is, without doubt, in everyone's interest. It compensates the victim fairly and allows the industry scope for further insurance offers that, sadly, as we all know, will be the basis for future claimants. The only fair and workable way forward for all is that we reach the 100% target. <BR /> <BR />The argument about the interim rate has been had in Committee. Having listened carefully to the debate for and against the interim rate, I have yet to be convinced that the proposal will significantly change the problem that is currently faced. We are aware that parties are reluctant to settle because, if they do so before the final rate is set in legislation, it may be to their disadvantage.”
“All in the House will acknowledge that the personal damage in such cases cannot be repaired — it is irrecoverable — and that this crude instrument of financial compensation is used in an effort to honour the claimant's potential life earnings and cover the additional expenses created by the injury, such as adaptations, medical expenses and caring costs. <BR /> <BR />Compensation can be paid in two forms. There is the option of a periodic payment order, which is, I understand, a much less common type of payment, or the option of a lump sum. As we have heard, those who opt for the lump sum will know that a financial return on that lump sum could be realised. Therefore, an effort has to be made to ensure that the desired 100% compensation is reached. That is done by introducing the discount rate, which has to be struck.”
“I rise at the Second Stage of the Damages (Return on Investment) Bill as the SDLP spokesperson on justice and a member of the Justice Committee. I thank the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Committee for putting on record a clear timeline of the events that led to this. <BR /> <BR />The legislation seeks to ensure that those who have been unfortunate enough to have had an accident that has caused life-changing injuries and are seeking financial compensation receive 100% of the compensation due to them.”
“On International Women's Day yesterday there were powerful words from women, including the First Minister, with whom I fully agree on the absolutely toxic environment that the online world can be. Is there a shared view at the British-Irish Council that we all need to put our shoulder to the wheel to make it a safer place for everyone?”