Gerry Carroll
West Belfast · People Before Profit Alliance · Northern Ireland
“Yesterday morning, as others did, I stood alongside our resident doctors as they commenced a 24-hour period of industrial action. We often praise our healthcare workers in the House and more generally, saying things such as that they are invaluable and that we wish them well.”
“If we have learnt anything from the political events of the past week, it is that powerful people — powerful men, in particular — and institutions should always be held to maximum account when it comes to abuse, neglect and victims, and that victims and survivors should be believed and supported on every occasion.”
“Agency spend has, again, gone through the roof and is sky-high; locum spend has gone up and continues to go up — it has gone up by in the region of £0·5 billion over the past few years; and, almost every single year out of the past five to 10 years, hundreds of millions of pounds of public money have been pumped into the for-profit privat…”
“With bills increasing month-on-month and year-on-year, that is true, and those workers need a proper settlement that meets their needs and the ever-increasing cost of living. One striking doctor put it to me starkly yesterday. They said that they left Scotland and took a more senior position in the health sector in Belfast.”
“I commend Stephen and his colleagues in the Bill Office and the Executive Office officials, who worked closely with me to try to support, amend or help along my amendments — whatever way you want to look at it. I also want to commend the Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone who spoke out during the last few stages.”
“I commend people for speaking out on the issue, especially Sharon Burke. I think that she might be in the Gallery. She has been emailing Members on that issue.”
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“Street food, late-night bus services throughout the week, access to bathrooms — there are many other issues which I do not have time to go through.”
“or Wexford two or three years ago. This could be an important contribution to what could be the best fleadh, if not just in the North, then ever. It would be an important way to ease congestion, reduce the usage of cars and prevent traffic chaos. If implemented, it would make the fleadh an excellent event. <BR /> <BR />While they are not contained in the motion, I will mention in closing a few other issues that have been raised with me in the last few days and ask whether there are any updates on them. The greater pedestrianisation of Belfast: we saw the disaster of Hill Street, and we need to make sure that the city centre and other areas are more friendly for people walking and wheeling. Bar curfews should be relaxed, and there should be later opening of venues, especially those that are not also serving alcohol.”
“bring tents and camp out. Some work is going on on that. I appreciate the Minister's being here, and I ask her to elaborate on the work being done on that. I would like to know how far that has developed. Additionally, the Communities Minister, probably alongside the Economy Minister, needs to provide some level of communal sleeping in community halls or other appropriate buildings, so that people who are able to and want to can sleep together. <BR /> <BR />The amendment further mentions the need for free public transport to be provided for attendees at events at the fleadh. That was provided in Port Láirge”
“The Communities Minister needs to introduce regulations in that regard and work alongside appropriate bodies to prevent the hiking of accommodation costs for visitors participating in or watching the fleadh. <BR /> <BR />I know of constituents who have been evicted from non-standard accommodation during previous big sporting and cultural events. The reason for that is that it is much more lucrative to charge tourists — it usually is tourists — higher prices than to provide housing at a previously agreed price to people in need. That is totally unacceptable. It should not be allowed and should be prevented from happening in the run-up to the fleadh. <BR /> <BR />Many attendees at fleadhanna”
“for its briefing ahead of the debate. It mentioned some issues that I want to draw attention to. It has stated that the event needs to be inclusive and enduring and that that depends on continued investment in the cultural infrastructure and organisations that make the fleadh possible, and I echo that. Part of my amendment deals with that. <BR /> <BR />I have referred to the hiking of prices before sporting and cultural events. At the golf tournament that took place last summer in Portrush, people were forced to pay an eye-watering sum — a fortune — for accommodation. Part of that is because of the overuse of homes through Airbnb and other apps. That was referred to in the previous debate. It is also because there is a complete lack of regulation of the private rented sector in general and of holiday lets specifically.”
“My amendment is an attempt to strengthen the motion and ensure that the experience for everyone at the fleadh is the best that it can be, both for performers and the public more generally. Too often in this place, we have Executive parties making a song and dance about sport or cultural events that come here. They want the press and the publicity — I do not begrudge them that — but they do not want to implement the measures needed to make sure that those events can be enhanced and improved for spectators, participants and other people who attend them. As was mentioned, this will be the second time that the fleadh has been in the North, and I think that an application has been submitted for it to be in Belfast next year, if all goes well. <BR /> <BR />I want to say, "Go raibh maith agat" to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Members opposite for tabling the motion. There is no doubt that Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is a fantastic and world-renowned cultural event for people who love traditional Irish music and culture more generally. It is a real positive that that amazing event is coming to Belfast, bringing with it hundreds of thousands of people, and maybe that will touch on a million people, if the previous Member who spoke and others are correct. <BR /> <BR />It is a real chance to showcase the fact that, despite the problems, historical and contemporary, that we have in this city, we have a rich tapestry of music and culture and that, for the most part, we are a welcoming city and, across the North, are, mostly, a welcoming region.”
“In fact, one in five MLAs, at least, in this Chamber, are landlords as well. I think that it is outrageous that people who are profiteering from the system are allowed to legislate and vote on housing policy. <BR /> <BR />We need rent controls that reduce rents, an end to the social housing fire-sale scheme and a massive programme of social housebuilding. Working class communities did not create this crisis, but they are paying for it, and the Executive must stop making it worse. That is, of course, not to mention that there are at least 20,000 empty homes across the North and that number could, indeed, be much higher.”
“He should also listen to housing experts, including Housing Rights, who argue that opposition to rent controls relies on oversimplified economic models that treat housing like a competitive commodity, which is not working. Rent controls clearly work. They work for renters. Landlords do not like them, because they will be out of pocket. <BR /> <BR />Vienna has rent ceilings and the lowest housing costs in western Europe. Stockholm's tenant unions negotiate for half a million members, and rents there would be 68% higher without rent controls in place. Berlin's rent break keeps cost at £13.09 per square metre, versus London's £37. Catalonia recently won rent controls, and rents fell by about 9% last year. <BR /> <BR />Maybe the Minister defends landlords because so many of his party colleagues are landlords.”
“I welcome the fact that other parties, including the SDLP and the Executive parties, have, in the debate, finally embraced rent control. However, weak, third-generation rent controls will not cut it. They only apply to people in tenancy: they only apply to in-tenancy increases. Without a no-fault eviction ban, nothing prevents profiteering landlords from evicting tenants to hike rents. <BR /> <BR />Last week on 'The Nolan Show', the Communities Minister quoted a Swedish economist who claimed that rent controls destroy cities. Rather than quoting neoliberal orthodoxy as though it were gospel, the Minister should listen to his own constituents who cannot afford to keep a roof over their head.”
“The house sales scheme is a major reason that social housing stock is being decimated, and the most outrageous part of it is that many homes sold through that scheme have not stayed in the ownership of the families who need them. They have ended up in the hands of private landlords. In 2019, around one quarter of the houses sold were being rented out privately. We do not even know today's numbers: I suspect that they are even higher. It is a tragedy that the Housing Executive is losing its best homes to private landlords, while working-class families wait years for housing. <BR /> <BR />While selling off desperately needed homes, the Housing Executive is needlessly evicting grieving tenants through its cruel succession policy. <BR /> <BR />The motion calls for "third generation rent controls".”
“Landlords can evict tenants in order to hike rents or as retaliation for requesting basic repairs, as happens on the regular. The social housing waiting list grows longer by the day, and, at current construction rates, it will take 60 years to clear. In the middle of all of that, the Housing Executive continues to sell off its best-quality housing stock. I understand why people in my constituency or elsewhere want to buy their Housing Executive home, as doing so gives them stability and security in a very turbulent housing market, but if enough social housing is not being built simultaneously, that policy is a recipe for disaster. The figures speak for themselves. In 1981, two in five people lived in a Housing Executive home. By 2020, it was just one in 10.”
“In response to the Member, I say that it is landlords who are pushing up rents, not students or asylum seekers. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion. It raises two important demands: rent controls, which are long overdue, and a moratorium on the house sales scheme. I will not be supporting either amendment, because I think that they weaken the motion's demands. I do not think that we need another exploration of options or another review. Rather, we need urgent and radical action, which is what people are crying out for. I certainly support the proposal in the Sinn Féin amendment to have a body to regulate the private rented sector, but its removal of the demand for rent controls would weaken the motion. <BR /> <BR />The housing emergency is a perfect storm. Private rents are skyrocketing, and housing insecurity is at crisis levels.”
“Can you elaborate on what work is being done to look at the role of religious institutions, either as part of the historical institutional abuse Bill or separately? Do you believe that assets and wealth should be seized from those institutions if they destroy records or fail to compensate the victims and survivors adequately?”
“It is more than mere incompetence; it is a political choice to manage decline rather than challenge the economic model that is failing working-class people in my community and elsewhere every day of the week. Executive parties could tax wealth, end corporate handouts and build a progressive alternative, but they fail to do so. They will not do so, because, fundamentally, they are wedded to the same failed system. Fundamentally, until we break with neoliberalism and build an economy that puts people before profit, nothing will change in this place.”
“They talk about hard choices but refuse to make the only choice that matters by forcing those who can afford to pay their fair share to pay up. That is where the official Opposition falls short. It is unable or, I would say, unwilling to hold the Executive to account over their failure to tackle wealth inequality, because it hopes to get its hands on the levers of power again one day. The official Opposition will not challenge the economic orthodoxy, because it wants to manage it and not dismantle it. <BR /> <BR />The Pivotal report painted a stark picture. We are now almost two years on, and there have been no tangible improvements to people's lives. That is not just me speaking; that comes from Pivotal.”
“Those people are doomed to languish on health waiting lists unless they have money to go private. People are forced to pay extortionate rents, because they cannot get on the property ladder. Others are raising their kids in temporary accommodation, waiting years for a permanent social home. Ordinary people are working for a minimum wage, while the top 100 businesses make profits of around £2 billion. That is the reality of the system that the Executive are maintaining. They cheerlead, promote and celebrate that figure. <BR /> <BR />This is what sticks in the throat of the ordinary person: there is plenty of wealth in the North, but the Executive refuse to touch it. They will not challenge the corporations that are hoarding billions. They will not touch the industrial derating that sees tens of millions handed to big businesses every year.”
“<BR /> <BR />The issues referenced in the motion — not delivering on Programme for Government targets, siloed working, lack of an agreed multi-year Budget, underfunding and Budget mismanagement — are all hindering progress. However, none of that, I am afraid, gets to the core of the problem. People have lost faith in the Executive, because the Executive have failed to break with the regressive and punitive economic strategy advanced by the Treasury and successive British Governments. How many times has the Finance Minister told Departments to live within their means? Instead of charting a new course, the Executive have simply accepted Westminster's failed economic model wholesale. Year after year, the rich line their pockets at the expense of ordinary people.”
“There is no doubt that the Executive are failing to deliver on their core responsibilities and that the public have been completely and utterly let down. Most of the Executive's legislative programme consists of technical or catch-up Bills. Executive parties are too busy sticking the boot into one another to govern properly. They came together to veto incredibly modest proposals for a nutrients action programme to protect Lough Neagh. The DUP is obviously blocking the establishment of an independent environmental protection agency and obstructing progress on Irish language at every turn and will spend plenary time tomorrow debating illegal Sinn Féin billboards. It would be absolutely hilarious if it was not using time for that whilst our communities crumble under real issues.”
“It is long past the time that the Executive stopped facilitating the US war machine through Aldergrove, which no one has mentioned so far. It is long past the time for this Administration to stop cosying up to US presidents and diplomats. It is time to shun this gangster and to stand up against the terror state. The solution will not be found in more EU weapons and more war from EU member states. We need to build an anti-war and an anti-empire movement right across Greenland, Scandinavia and the world.”
“Trump is a gangster, like many presidents before him. He is brazen, upfront and grotesque about his aims and goals. Nunarput, which is the indigenous name for Greenland, belongs to the people who live there. It is up to them to determine their future and how they govern themselves, notwithstanding the crimes of the Danish state against the Greenlanders, including the forced sterilisation of women and other things. There is a real fear about what US intervention and annexation by the Americans could result in. <BR /> <BR />We remember Afghanistan and Fallujah and what intervention, empire and occupation result in, and we know the brutality of empire. People have the right to stand up against it, in Greenland and elsewhere. The whole saga calls into question this state and this island's approach to the United States.”
“— but the actions a few weeks ago, with the capturing of Maduro, and now the actions towards Greenland show that Trump and his regime are willing to go anywhere that suits to meet the needs of US capitalism and empire. I disagree with Mr O'Toole: I do not think that Trump is a madman. These are the illogical actions of a man at the head of a declining empire. As much as I welcome the unionist parties standing up for sovereignty, although they mentioned Greenland, there was no mention of Venezuela, Iran or Palestine. <BR /> <BR />Normally, before an invasion, the US, Britain and others promise to bring democracy or other liberal "Western values" to a land of natives through the barrel of a gun. However, this time has been completely different, and Trump has engaged, as I said, in pure naked imperialism.”
“Another week has gone by, and another attempt by the US president to engage in a land grab for resources, regardless of the impact on a sovereign people who already live in a sovereign country. Much was made of this president being a non-interventionalist by Jonathan Company — I mean Jonathan Buckley”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I am no longer on the Health Committee, as she knows, but she is. Can the Member indicate whether families who have to travel to England are financially supported by the trusts or the Department, or does that cost come out of their pocket? I genuinely do not know, and I would appreciate the answer to that question, if she or the Committee has it.”
“The Minister has to publish a comprehensive implementation plan with concrete timelines and invest in the restoration of this essential service, otherwise I fear that families will be failed for a further six or seven years or for generations to come. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion.”
“That is anything but temporary: it is moving towards permanent. It has become the new normal, and it is completely and totally unacceptable. <BR /> <BR />We urgently need investment in infrastructure, training, recruitment and fair pay for all healthcare workers to restore local services. In the meantime, the Department needs to develop sustainable all-island provision. Families here deserve better. They deserve compassionate care close to home, timely answers and support networks that they can access without travelling across the Irish Sea. They are not getting that as things stand. They have not been getting that for the past six years. Our bereaved families have waited far too long already.”
“The Minister has apparently had positive discussions with his counterpart in the South — I am sure that he will say something to that effect — about developing some kind of all-Ireland pathology network service. Like other Members, I would welcome an update on those discussions, but people need more than to hear about discussions or reports from discussions. They want action, and that is essential. <BR /> <BR />With around 100,000 births across the island each year and a relatively small population, we should be pooling resources, sharing expertise and making sure that no family faces the unnecessary trauma of lengthy travel and separation. Collaboration alone is not enough. We need properly funded local services. As other Members have said, the so-called temporary arrangements with Alder Hey Hospital have been in place for six years.”
“Fundamentally, it is a workforce crisis, and there are no paediatric pathology consultants in post here, as we have heard, due to a recruitment and staffing crisis that strains services right across our health service. I note the comments from the Chair of the Health Committee, who said that we have people training in the sector who, in theory, could be supported to become consultants or a step away from that. I do not know what the Minister is doing to try to keep those trained, skilled people here. Meanwhile, families wait months, and sometimes over a year, for post-mortem reports. That is totally unacceptable. All-island collaboration, as Members from a range of parties have mentioned, offers an important way forward.”
“Understandably, many families simply cannot face that unnatural and cruel process. They go without a post-mortem and without answers and are denied closure, because the Department of Health cannot provide that basic service locally — and it is a basic service. The Department is failing bereaved families.”
“Essentially, it is made worse when their grief is compounded by a system that forces them to be separated from their child at the most traumatic moment of their lives.”
“I thank the Members for tabling the motion. I speak with frustration because, a few years ago, I addressed this. My colleague from West Belfast on the Health Committee then and now spoke about the issue as well, so I feel frustration for those affected. I agree with others that the absence of a paediatric pathology service in the North is a complete disgrace. <BR /> <BR />Since 2019, as we have heard, grieving parents who have lost babies and young children have been forced to send their loved ones to Liverpool for post-mortem examinations. That is nearly 1,000 children — almost five a week — going to and coming from England. Behind all of those statistics — it is a big enough figure — is, obviously, a family experiencing unimaginable heartbreak, as Members have stated.”
“To what extent does the procurement process take account of pharmaceutical companies engaging in price-gouging to determine which drugs are utilised or purchased? It is well documented that, quite often, the big pharmaceutical companies engage in that on the regular.”
“I remind the Member that he was working in Westminster at the time of Brexit. His fingers are all over it, if anyone's are. You have a cheek and a nerve to accuse other people of stuff that you, more than anybody else, were complicit in. You had nothing to say about the role played by EU leaders in cheering on the genocide in Gaza because your illusions about them are so deep. It is up to the Member to live with that. <BR /> <BR />Let us add the pertinent and serious questions around super-intelligent AI into the mix of the debate. The North should not be a back door for that type of technology, which could be very dangerous. It is not just me saying that from the sidelines but people who have worked in that industry. Like I said, all of that is connected to the motion.”
“I do not think that the Member has read the motion. It talks about having an EU office in Belfast. Maybe he should read the motion. <BR /> <BR />To go back to my point, we have not had a discussion about data centres. They are key to investment and to technology in general, but it is proven that they suck up resources, leading to rocketing emissions, which raises all sorts of difficult questions about —.”
“The Member to my right shouted something. I do not know what was said, but I am happy to give way to him if he wants.”
“Absolutely. <BR /> <BR />It is ironic that this place is often presented as a place of peace and as something that came about out of negotiation and a peace settlement, but, in the debate so far, we have not heard one word about the stated drive of EU leaders. They invest in arms and support greater investment in arms manufacturing across Europe. Regardless of the tuts to my right, that is true, and it is among their stated aims. We also have the question —.”
“I know that that is something that the Member to my right is keen to support. Demanding more military spending by member states —.”
“Sure, I will do. <BR /> <BR />We are told that the organisation is about human rights and freedom, which is something that many people in the Palestine solidarity movement and beyond would question. That is not to mention the fact that the EU has funnelled weapons to Israel and elsewhere. I am opposed to an extension or expansion of that form of investment or trade, regardless of whether it creates jobs in Belfast, Derry, Ballymena, Lagan Valley or elsewhere. People need well-paid and secure jobs, but those jobs have to be ethical. They also have to be safe in those jobs, as do poor and oppressed people in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. <BR /> <BR />It would be foolish of me not to mention in closing the role that EU leaders have played in beating the drums of war.”
“That is not to mention that the European Union has been a pillar of support for Israel and that it green-lit its genocide in Gaza. EU member states also failed to adopt any measures following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) orders in the case brought by South Africa for alleged violations of the genocide convention in January 2024, which —.”
“Sledges. OK. Important stuff indeed. <BR /> <BR />Investment is mentioned in the motion. Investment in public services, in infrastructure and in communities generally is essential, but it is important to emphasise and tease out what kind of investment is being proposed, in particular what kind of investment an EU office in Belfast would advocate, because that was not directly spelt out in the motion or in the first speech. Ethical investment is key and essential. It is worth mentioning that the EU often does not engage in ethical investment, and that is putting it mildly. It had a special trade deal in place with Israel, and, on the proposal for an EU office in Belfast, it is worth asking whether it will be used to expand and deepen that deal, which was only partially suspended. It was not thrown out and still exists.”
“All my comments will be about the EU office in Belfast and everything that it could be doing. Part of the motion seems straightforward and not worth objecting to. Access to both markets has benefited suppliers and businesses in the North, which is an OK thing to note, observe and, for me, support. I have no issue with that, but I have to say that many unionist parties have over-egged some of the issues since the protocol. There was an obsession with getting and ensuring access to certain foods and goods from Britain when similar products could be acquired south of the border. That was bizarre and perplexing, and, in some cases, too much focus was placed on the flag on the packets of meat rather than on their content and on whether they were healthy and safely produced. Tray bakes and cots are new ones on me, however.”
“Minister, I am concerned that, for the people who need trials to start to get justice, there seems to be a strategy of placing blame for delays to justice at the feet of barristers who have taken strike action. I will leave it up to the Minister to say where that strategy is coming from. The strike is about addressing a broken system and allowing working-class and poor people access to justice. Will the Minister confirm that the rate that Departments pay their lawyers went up by 25% recently, and that the barristers who represent poor people are only being offered a 16% increase in real terms?”
“That does not sound fair and progressive to me. It sounds more like Keir Starmerspeak.”
“The spend on tackling health waiting lists and pollution in Lough Neagh is generally welcome. However, the devil will be in the detail. Will the money go to private companies, including some that polluted Lough Neagh or that benefit financially from the health crisis? You mentioned:”
“Do you have any concerns about the Communities Minister's social housing allocations? His Department said that an initial capital allocation of £168 million would build 1,000 social homes. He went on to say that an extra £30 million from the December monitoring round would build 750 new homes. Obviously, the maths do not add up.”
“This is not about stopping drugs. Amidst the boats that were captured by the US, 115 people who were working on the seas were killed. It is worth mentioning that the drug charges against Maduro have been dropped. Not a single ounce of drug paraphernalia was found on those boats. That is not to mention Trump's pardoning of the former Honduran president. In a rare moment of honesty, Trump admitted what it is about: oil.”
“It is up to the Venezuelan people, as it is the people of any country, to determine their leader, their Government and who rules them. From day 1, the US and the EU hated the project of Chavismo, which, to sum it up, was about limiting the power of multinational corporations and redistributing wealth and resources to poor and indigenous people. The US, the EU and Western Governments detest that — they went so far as to back and finance a coup against Chávez in 2002.”
“That empire has been forced to retreat from other parts of the world but thinks that it can intervene in what it calls its "hemisphere".”
“<BR /> <BR />The rules-based international order was always a fabrication, and the United States has always done what it wanted to do, but they did not even pretend to go through the motions when it came to capturing a democratically elected leader. The response from unionist parties in the House is absolutely baffling. Imagine the scenes, the comments and the rightful outcry if Vladimir Putin launched a campaign to kidnap the deputy First Minister of this Administration. Unionist parties would be rightly outraged. They would cry foul and oppose that and rightly so, but, when the US does it, it is, "Work away, lads. Do what you want". It is obscene stuff. <BR /> <BR />Operation Absolute Resolve is classic Yankee imperialism launched by the biggest empire in world history.”
“It is worth acknowledging the seriousness of the devastating intervention that the United States launched on the people of Caracas almost a week ago, which killed at least 50 people. We know that the United States has a sorry, brutal history of intervention, capture, overthrowing democracy and undermining the wishes of local people across the world, specifically in Latin America. However, what the Trump Administration carried out on 3 January was next-level stuff. We should be absolutely clear on what it was: it was kidnapping. That is what happened on 3 January. It is also worth emphasising that the country of Venezuela posed and poses no risk to the people of the United States or the United States Government.”