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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“I welcome this important motion. The decision to grant seven mineral licences despite overwhelming public opposition flies in the face of reason, logic and science. Friends of the Earth and Save Our Sperrins — I welcome Fidelma, Cormac and others who are in the Public Gallery — have highlighted multiple worrying issues about an inadequate and predetermined consultation process, which is what has happened. They have also raised concerns about a lack of equality, strategic environmental assessments and proper environmental screening and about superficial due diligence. As we have heard on the issue of public consultation, over 2,000 people and four councils — 99·5% of respondents — objected to the licences being granted.”
“Do the Member and the party opposite have any concern that there has been an attempt to gut that part of the motion?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does the Member have a concern that there appears to be a circling of the wagons by the Executive parties on the amendments, which try to remove the part in your motion that says:”
“I appreciate the Member's giving way. Does the Member share my concern that the Minister has refused to introduce a no-fault eviction ban to ensure that constituents such as hers, whom she mentioned, and mine are protected, given the lack of such legislation?”
“The more energy the Executive spend on firefighting the crisis, throwing good public money after bad, the less money will be invested in building permanent social homes, and the cycle of homelessness will continue. <BR /> <BR />If the Executive truly wanted to reduce the demand for temporary accommodation, they would act to stop people becoming homeless in the first place. The Minister could introduce rent controls, but, as we heard earlier, he is opposed to them. He could introduce a no-fault eviction ban so that people could stay in their homes in the private rented sector, but he is opposed to that as well. The Executive could invest far more in homeless prevention services, such as Supporting People. Only £4·5 million was spent last year on homelessness prevention. <BR /> <BR />Another way out of the crisis —.”
“<BR /> <BR />There is a simple way of making sure that there is social housing for everyone who needs it. Rates of social housebuilding have been falling year-on-year. The targets in the Programme for Government and the housing supply strategy are nothing more than a pipe dream. Capital allocations for social housebuilding are paltry. By contrast, the money spent on temporary accommodation is eye-watering: £38·6 million was spent on temporary accommodation last year alone, over £12 million of which lined the pockets of hotel and B&B owners. Over £21 million of public money was spent on single lets, going straight into the wallets of landlords without any rent controls or reductions.”
“Thank you. The amendment submitted by the Member's party removes the requirement for the Executive to act, which weakens the motion. It is not strong enough. The motion is better without the amendments from the UUP and the Alliance Party. <BR /> <BR />The UUP amendment mentions the 49,000 families who are waiting for social housing. Of those, 65% are officially homeless and 5,135 live in temporary accommodation without a permanent, secure place to call "home". That homeless figure includes over 5,700 children who are growing up in Belfast, almost half of whom live in my constituency of West Belfast, which is scandalous. My constituency has also seen an increase in poverty in recent years. We are clearly in a housing emergency, but the Minister will not admit it. The amendments do not admit that either.”
“They are victims of a Home Office policy that treats them as suspicious, racially profiles them and treats them as prisoners inside temporary housing. Over the past week, the airwaves have rightly been dominated by coverage of the racist pogroms, but people are organising to fight back against the housing crisis while the Minister dithers. People have been organising in Belfast, Derry and everywhere in between. I commend them for doing so. To repeat: landlords are driving up rents while the Government allow them to do so. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion in its original form. The amendments weaken it and give the Executive a bye ball and an easy time. Currently, over 49,000 —.”
“The housing crisis is one of the greatest scandals that the Executive oversee. Despite recent events and what we have heard over recent days, the housing crisis and the wider crisis in public services are not caused by migrants, migration or asylum seekers. The crisis in public services is caused by a cruel economic agenda that says that it is OK to wield an axe to the services that people need at the same time as justifying, excusing and celebrating a huge ballooning of corporate and billionaire wealth. <BR /> <BR />Migrants and asylum seekers are not to blame for the crisis. According to the people who come into my office and, I am sure, others each day, they are subjected to substandard housing, including damp and mould.”
“Amidst all the bluster with the statement and the strategy, no new money or resources have been announced. The only way to reduce poverty is to reduce prices or put more money in people's pockets, and the Minister is not proposing to do either of those things. Will the Minister indicate whether the co-design group endorses his strategy? If he wants ideas on how to reduce poverty, I suggest rent caps, rent controls and rent reduction as quick ways of doing so. The Minister could get on with that work right now.”
“I pay tribute to Alma and all the campaigners in my constituency who stand for proper support and services for people with SEN. <BR /> <BR />Minister, your statement referred to different pathways for young people, apprenticeships and other items. I am concerned about reports that I hear — I wonder whether you hear them too — of people going into work and being underpaid compared with their colleagues and, in effect, being exploited because of their disability. Is your Department aware of that, and does it plan to take action on it?”
“In the House, we often hear attempts to blame migrants or asylum seekers for the real crisis in our public services, which is caused by underfunding, not by migration. Will you, Minister, take the chance to distance yourself from those comments and say clearly that migration adds to our communities and to the fabric of our society and does not put pressure on our services? People are living in terror and want to know that the deputy First Minister, at least, has their back.”
“Minister, there have been, unfortunately, plenty of victims over the past week. You are not one of them. There are only two possible explanations for your actions over recent days: either you are so ignorant and lacking in judgement that you did not foresee the risk of violence occurring as a direct result of your social media post, or you saw the risks and decided that it was OK to put a target on the leisure centre and on those inside it. Which is it?”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. I hope that he agrees that there is a lack of services. There is no NHS-funded centre for endometriosis treatment despite the efforts that have been made by campaigners. Do the Department, the EA or schools have a database on the number of days that are missed by people suffering from endometriosis? Would he support more work being done to try to get endometriosis advocacy groups into schools to talk about the unit 5 resources and other resources to make people more aware of the condition?”
“Minister, you said that an extra £600 million would be made available. How much, if any, of that will be used to address and resolve the housing crisis, and, if there is money, what will those plans be?”
“Did they listen? You can guess the answer to that. <BR /> <BR />An Act Now petition that opposed any pay rise for MLAs attracted almost 1,400 signatures. Those people, again, were ignored by the Ad Hoc Committee and by the parties in the House and those that dominate the Executive. Public opinion is crystal clear. The Bill is completely tone-deaf and unwanted, and, once again, I will vote against it.”
“The increase might not be the £20,000 all at once, but I guarantee that it will be much bigger than the paltry increases that have been offered to those who prop up our health service, teach our children, clean our buildings and serve the public in retail and hospitality. <BR /> <BR />It is worth repeating for the benefit of those in the House and those who are listening that almost 70% of respondents to the Ad Hoc Committee's call for evidence disagreed or strongly disagreed that the board should have regard for the much higher salaries that are paid to politicians in other jurisdictions. Did those submissions matter? Did they hell. Contempt for the public has been shown once again by those in this Building and the parties that run it. The majority of people disagreed that powers to determine allowances should be set by MLAs.”
“Stormont has presided over a crisis of its own making. Working-class communities, including in my constituency, where there has been the highest increase, are being destroyed by rising rates of poverty. The health service is in terminal decline. We have stagnant wages, a shortage of school places and ecological collapse. Ordinary people will rightly argue that, rather than get a pay hike, MLAs should probably have their pay cut and that they are paid too much as it is. Members can continue to deny that the Bill will entail a massive pay increase. I say this to them: you are taking the public for absolute fools. Mark my words, months down the line — I will be back to remind people of this — it will be reported that the so-called independent remuneration board recommends a pay increase.”
“It also transfers the power to determine allowances and expenses to MLAs, which puts the Assembly out of kilter with other Parliaments on these islands. There was a claim for £4,000 for a year's worth of heating oil. There were mileage expenses of £19,000 for an MLA who did not drive. There were research expenses of £700,000 — almost three quarters of a million pounds — for a non-existent company. Executive parties have proven time and again that they cannot be trusted to oversee their expenses. <BR /> <BR />It is particularly disappointing that the official Opposition cannot muster the courage or common sense to oppose the Bill. Do Opposition Members really believe that the Executive parties deserve a pay increase?”
“My position on the Bill is clear, so my comments will be relatively brief. Underpaid workers across the North, including those in this Building, would bite your hand off for the chance to have their mates set their salaries and expenses. They are not being given such an opportunity, but, with the vote on the Bill today, MLAs are. <BR /> <BR />The legislation allows former MLAs to join the so-called independent panel that sets MLAs' salaries and pensions. Níl an coiste neamhspléach.”
“I pay tribute to everyone who has gone to Cairo, particularly to everyone from Ireland — including my party colleague Paul Murphy TD and my constituents Conor McCarthy and Brian Mac An tSionnaigh — who has gone out of their way to take a stand against Israel. They should be commended and congratulated for their important and brave work.”
“At least 66 Palestinians, if not more, have been killed in the past few days whilst they sought aid to prevent themselves and their families from starving. That violence comes on top of the collective violence of the mass starvation initiated and maintained by the Israeli state and backed by most Western Governments. Israel's actions have been so appalling that even that well-known Hamas supporter Ehud Olmert, a former Prime Minister of Israel, has come out against Israel. <BR /> <BR />Whilst business as usual continues for the arms suppliers and friends of Israel, people are really taking the extra step to do all that they can to end the slaughter. I commend everyone who has taken part in the Global March to Gaza from Cairo. Whilst Governments back and fund Israel, it is people across the world who are marching and defying normality.”
“Israel has no right to be the bully and America's attack dog in the Middle East. It is worth remembering — by the Members to my right as well — that the previous time that a US- and Western-backed regime was imposed on Iranians, it was that of the brutal, autocratic Shah of Iran. It seems that Israel wants not only to implement a scorched earth policy in Gaza and the West Bank but to extend that to Iran, Syria, Lebanon and who knows where else. <BR /> <BR />On another level, in recent days, Israel's actions towards Palestinians seeking aid and assistance have been particularly heinous and disgusting. Israel, alongside the US, set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), but, when Palestinians go to seek aid, what happens? They are assassinated. They are killed. They get shot down.”
“Over the past few days, we have witnessed the lengths to which Israel will go and the lives that it will take to maintain its genocidal project. On one level, we have the attacks on Iran and the death and destruction that they have caused. When it comes to who is the main instigator and perpetrator of violence in the Middle East, we should be in no doubt that the blame lies at the door not just of Netanyahu but of the Israeli generals, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli state itself. <BR /> <BR />It is up to the people of Iran and the wider Middle East to decide the nature of their Governments, their states and their rulers and whether they want to keep them.”
“I welcome the backtrack as well. I pay tribute to all who campaigned against the Labour Party's decision and the Minister's decision to cut the winter fuel payment. In particular, I pay tribute to Unite the union, of which I am a member, and its retired members branch. Pressure from below clearly worked. <BR /> <BR />Minister, you talked about recovering payments from people who earn over £35,000. In the past, you have talked about IT costs and other aspects of benefits. There will be an administrative cost to the clawback: do you have any idea of how much it will be?”
“On a point of order, Speaker. Can you indicate to the House what business attire is?”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Despite rising to speak on the Matter of the Day today and yesterday, unfortunately I was not called while other parties were called multiple times. Can you indicate to me, but, more importantly, to my constituents, why that was the case?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Does he agree that any positive changes from the British Government will be more down to the Labour Government looking over their shoulder at the Reform party and feeling the pressure in red wall areas and other areas in England where they have faced opposition to their economic policy, rather than anything that Executive Ministers did or did not say?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. How can the Minister stand by the Budget when poverty levels are increasing, and the highest level is in West Belfast? How can he defend the Budget in that context?”
“There is plenty of wealth in our society, and it should be properly taxed and used to fund public services and to protect the poorest. This Budget, however, is business as usual, and I will therefore not support it.”
“Some of those hugely profitable companies pollute our airways and waterways, mistreat workers and abuse animals, yet the Executive reward them with rate relief to the tune of £70 million a year. Last week, it was revealed that nearly 30 employers here, including wealthy hospitality businesses and property management companies, failed to pay the minimum wage to 1,650 workers. Invest NI has handed £19 million of public money to four companies in the North that manufacture parts for F-35 fighter jets, which are the warplanes that are dropping bombs on the people of Gaza. <BR /> <BR />Enabling the rich to get richer while the poor are bled dry is a conscious political choice, but it does not have to be that way.”
“The target is 2,000 homes a year, but less than half of that target will be met out of this Budget. All the while, private landlords hike rents and evict tenants at will, while spending on temporary accommodation skyrockets. <BR /> <BR />In all but one council area, at least one in five children is growing up in poverty. In West Belfast, it is one in three children. A small minority, however, are thriving under austerity. The super-rich and the wealthy corporations across the North are raking in profits like never before. This year, the 100 wealthiest companies in the North made pre-tax profits of £2·5 billion, which is an increase of 26% on last year, and the Finance Minister generally supports and applauds that economic approach.”
“Executive parties say that they value strong, resilient public services, but, time and time again, their actions prove otherwise. The Budget will have real and serious consequences. Cutting social security means more families trapped in an endless cycle of poverty and destitution without access to well-paid, stable work. Poverty levels are shooting up, most acutely in my constituency of West Belfast. Cutting funding for youth clubs such as Clonard Youth Club that deliver early intervention and prevention programmes means that there are more people on the streets who are at risk of falling prey to paramilitaries, interface rioting, sectarianism or worse. <BR /> <BR />One of the few concrete targets in the Programme for Government is the construction of just under 6,000 social homes by the end of the mandate.”
“The Health Minister is right to prioritise pay in his Department's budget, but fair pay should not be funded by extremely difficult and painful cuts elsewhere in the system or by stealth privatisation in the guise of tackling waiting lists, which will put more pressure on health workers when they are in work.”
“Are over a decade of declining living standards and disposable income, stagnant wages, rising homelessness and health inequalities not proof that the way in which we fund and deliver public services is not working? It does not matter whether it is a Tory or a Labour Government: Westminster is clearly capable only of financial cruelty. It should be a source of shame for the Executive that, with each Budget, health and social care workers are left wondering whether they will be granted pay parity with NHS workers in Britain.”
“Another year, another austerity Budget that fails to deliver the public services that people need and deserve. People are sick to the back teeth of hearing the Executive talk about doing the best that we can with what is handed down from Westminster. It is true that something should be done differently. Not every problem in Health and Social Care, Justice or Education can be solved by more money alone. Injecting a bit of cash into pilot projects here and there without reversing the effects of over a decade of underinvestment in core services is just fiddling while Rome burns. <BR /> <BR />Every Executive party agrees that this Budget does not provide enough money to meet people's basic needs. The obvious question is this: why are Executive parties hell-bent on playing by the twisted rules set by Westminster and ramming the Budget through?”
“It has been raised with me that some of the people who were affected by bullying at the Royal were targeted because they are members of the LGBT+ community. Are you aware of that and, if so, do you know how many people were impacted on by it? More crucially, what are you going to do about it?”
“I also condemn the death threats against you, Minister, and offer my solidarity and best wishes. <BR /> <BR />Mobuoy was one of the biggest illegal dumps in Europe. I welcome the action taken against those implicated. I commend all the activists in Derry and the north-west. It would be remiss of me not to mention my former MLA colleague Eamonn McCann 's work as a journalist in highlighting the Mobuoy site. <BR /> <BR />Minister, do you have a grasp of how many smaller Mobuoy sites may exist across the North? Do you agree that the example of Mobuoy underlines the need for an independent environmental protection agency?”
“Minister, do you believe that the granting of prospective mineral licences will impact on whether a climate action plan is deliverable, given their cross-cutting nature, and what do you believe will be the wider impact on our water and environment in general?”
“<BR /> <BR />The community is not waiting by. Participation and the Practice of Rights has organised a defence protest this Friday at 12.00 noon outside the family home at Colinview Street, off the Springfield Road. I encourage everyone who is interested in standing against displacement and state violence to come, show support and stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder, against this appalling act of violence and in support of this family.”
“I say this directly to the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer: intervene and put a stop to this appalling situation, which will see those people's lives upended and the relationships that they have built torn apart by the Home Office and the British Government. You are supposed to be a human rights lawyer: show some interest in human rights for the Khan family and everybody else who is affected by this situation. <BR /> <BR />I have submitted a question for written answer to the First Minister and deputy First Minister on the issue. They need to intervene to support and protect the Khan family. This is an appalling act of injustice, and the Justice Minister cannot turn her head and close her ears to it. It is clear that Ministers need to act to stand up for this family. The British Government need to reverse their decision as well.”
“Thanks, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. Yesterday, I met a constituent of mine Saira Khan, who I have known for many years and who has lived in West Belfast for around 10 years. Despite that and the contribution that she and her family have made to the community in the west and beyond, her brother and mother face deportation to South Africa against their wishes and needs and despite having submitted all the documentation and information asked of them by the Home Office. Both face a really disturbing situation of state violence and displacement. In less than two weeks, both face deportation. <BR /> <BR />To be unequivocally clear, the family lives here. It wants to remain here, it contributes to here and it wants to stay.”
“I am astounded by what I have heard today. Minister, I do not want to cast any aspersions on the chair of the trust, but I hope that your meeting with the chair will not be used as an excuse not to release important information into the public domain. <BR /> <BR />My question follows on from the question from the Member for Mid Ulster. Is there any indication of how many people have been misdiagnosed? Is your Department looking at the impact on women in particular, given that, often, when they present with heart issues, they are dismissed as having an anxiety or panic attack?”
“I agree, and I thank the First Minister for her answer. Maybe the problem was that the individuals did not have a letter from Jonathan Powell. <BR /> <BR />First Minister, you said that you met Keir Starmer last week. Did you raise the specific case of Liam Óg with him, and, if not, will you commit to raising that issue and issues regarding other Palestine solidarity activists and how they have been clamped down on, tackled and seemingly silenced over the past week or so?”
“Minister, as you stated, ending violence against women and girls is a priority in the Programme for Government. Will you detail what dedicated funding, beyond the local change fund's being rolled out through councils, exists for families and women who are in an emergency and seeking to get out of that dangerous situation?”
“The Member from the UUP mentioned there not being enough money to afford to do some of that, but I say that we cannot afford not to do it, because people's oral health is at stake.”
“<BR /> <BR />Dentistry has been starved of the funding that it needs to treat all patients regardless of their income, postcode or where they come from — where they were born. It is not good enough to shrug our shoulders and say that the money is not there. We need much more radical change to NHS dentistry to guarantee that everyone gets the treatment that they need and deserve, not just another strategy. <BR /> <BR />Ultimately, there is no free market solution to the crisis. Privatisation and the free market caused this disaster, with people left literally to rot because they cannot pay for private treatment. The only way in which to guarantee dental care for all is to bring NHS dentistry into public ownership and fund it properly, with dental staff being employed directly by the NHS.”
“People who cannot afford a private dental payment plan are forced to go without coverage, and, when they need treatment, they turn to the dental access scheme, but fewer than 10% of practices are signed up to that scheme. <BR /> <BR />A lack of access to NHS dentistry has led to people extracting their own teeth, overdosing on painkillers and making their own fillings just to manage their pain. That is completely unacceptable. Serious untreated dental issues can lead to infection and even sepsis. Antibiotics and emergency surgery are often needed once a patient eventually receives emergency treatment. The indirect costs of patients not receiving the right care at the right time are astronomical. As Members have said, poor oral health has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and oral cancer.”
“Most dentists can no longer stay in business unless they use income from their private practice to subsidise the treatment of their NHS patients. <BR /> <BR />As we have heard, in the past two years, dentists across the North have removed more than 53,000 NHS patients from their practice lists. That extremely worrying trend needs to be stopped. Out of 360 dental practices, only two are fully NHS. Some dentists continue to accept and treat NHS patients out of a sense of moral obligation, despite being financially penalised. Fair play to those people, but the state cannot shirk its responsibility to ensure that healthcare is provided. Patients who are priced out of private care find it painfully difficult, if not impossible, to access the services that they need on the NHS.”
“That poses massive questions for everyone's oral health but especially that of those who live in deprived, working-class communities. <BR /> <BR />The core issue in dentistry is no big mystery: when dentists treat NHS patients, they lose money. That is because the fees paid by the state are not enough to cover the costs of providing that treatment. On top of that, because the health service has been underfunded by Westminster to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds, dental practices are not financially viable. The British Dental Association recently wrote to the Health Minister to seek urgent clarity on this year's investment proposals for general dental services. Its ask, which is reasonable but urgent, is for appropriate funding to stabilise general dental services in the short term.”