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 agree that justice should be blind, but it is not always. It is also concerning that those from a Catholic/nationalist background are twice as likely to be stopped and searched as those from a Protestant/unionist background. Will the Minister explain, in addition to her previous answer, why that is? Given that she has the remit for the strategic policy of the PSNI and for setting out its long-term objectives, will she commit to raising those issues with the police?”
“Institutional inertia, as many have described it, is failing the needs of Irish-medium education and its learners. A well-resourced Irish-medium education strategy should also be a priority for the Education Minister. I urge him to get on with it.”
“For too long, the Irish-medium education sector has been too reliant on goodwill and unsustainable, ad hoc funding. Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta recently completed an audit of the progress on the review of Irish-medium education. It found that, since 2008, zero progress has been made on a quarter of the recommendations that were made in the review of Irish-medium education. Absolutely no progress has been made in 17 years on accommodation issues, support for children with special educational needs, informal learning through Irish and Irish language support for children at home. Areas of particular concern include staff training in the Irish-medium sector. Education workers report that DE and the EA do not understand the challenges that are associated with immersive education in a target language.”
“Thug sibh na milliúin do Invest NI ar na mallaibh – cé go bhfuil scéal ann faoi airgead le Invest NI bheith á úsáid le heitleáin de chuid Iosrael a dheisiú. <BR /> <BR />Cuir stad leis na leithscéalta. Cuir stad leis an phlámás. Cuir i bhfeidhm, agus maoinigh, stráitéis na Gaeilge anois.”
“Is mionteanga í an Ghaeilge. Tá dhá rud de dhíth uirthi: cearta agus acmhainní. <BR /> <BR />Tá pobal na Gaeilge ag fás. Tá líon na ndaoine óga atá ar Gaelscoileanna ag fás. Tá líon na ndaoine fásta atá ag foghlaim na Gaeilge ag fás. Tá maoiniú agus tacaíocht cheart de dhíth ar an phobal sin. Tá an maoiniú agus an tacaíocht sin tuillte aige. I mo cheantar féin, tá seirbhísí i mbaol. Tá múinteoirí faoi bhrú, agus tá scoil ann, Gaelscoil an Lonnáin, atá gan foirgneamh ceart go fóill. Tá sé iontach tábhachtach go gcuireann Stormont stráitéis na Gaeilge i bhfeidhm, stráitéis lena gcuirfear acmhainní cearta ar fáil don teanga. Táthar ag baint moill aisti ar feadh i bhfad rófhada. <BR /> <BR />Deir na páirtithe móra go minic nach bhfuil go leor airgid ann. Ach is bréag é sin.”
“I am not going to say what you think that I am going to say. Does the Member agree that it is really concerning that the Labour Party, although it did not specifically mention the cuts in its manifesto, is seemingly ploughing ahead with them? To my knowledge, no party from here in the Assembly or at Westminster mentioned any such attacks on welfare in its manifesto, but this Labour Party seemingly still wants to proceed with them. Does she agree with me that there is a huge democratic deficit involved?”
“We need to mitigate the two-child limit — a cruel policy that disproportionately harms women and children here, especially in my constituency. We also need to prepare to mitigate the disastrous welfare cuts, which are, probably, to be announced this afternoon. I would appreciate it if the Minister could provide an update on whether his Department has engaged with the British Government on that issue and on what contingency plans his Department intends to make if the Labour Government continue down their disastrous, cruel path. Will the Executive parties learn from the lessons of the past and break from the punitive Westminster welfare reform or will they continue to follow their austerity path? We wait to see.”
“Now, they are seemingly cutting benefits to pieces — something that will, surely, increase reliance on emergency food parcels. It is no coincidence that the British Government are desperately making cuts to the welfare system while planning to boost defence spending. Keir Starmer and his party are taking money from the pockets of the poor and marginalised people to give to the billionaire shareholders of arms companies. They announced those decisions in the exact same week. There is nothing subtle about it: it is an attempt to strip away welfare in order to fund warfare. <BR /> <BR />Now is the time to build on the success of our existing welfare mitigations, which helped some 38,000 households last year.”
“<BR /> <BR />The latest assault on the sick and disabled comes from the Labour Government who, last year, called food banks:”
“However, since we all now seem to agree that the impacts of welfare reform are so harmful that they justify mitigation, maybe we can also reflect on the brutality of our wider social security system. <BR /> <BR />The benefits system has been cut to the bone by successive Tory Governments, the now Labour Government and Ministers here. Obviously, they are obsessed with a system of sanctions. They are intent on cracking down on extremely rare instances of benefit fraud rather than going after tax-dodging multi-million- and billion-pound corporations and obscenely wealthy individuals. The austerity state is hell-bent on punishing the poor rather than expanding the social safety net for the sick, elderly and disabled people whose lives depend on a strong and reliable social security system.”
“The extension of welfare supplementary payments is testament to the tireless work of anti-poverty campaigners, including the Cliff Edge Coalition, as the Chair has stated. I pay tribute to its work. Welfare mitigations are an example of successful superparity, where the North has made policy choices that diverge from other parts of the UK. Welfare mitigations have shielded citizens here from some of the worst aspects of Tory welfare reform, but that does not mean that they have been totally immune. It is worth remembering that three out of four Executive parties voted in favour of welfare reform, back in 2015. Extending the mitigation payments must be an admission of regret for that awful decision.”
“They are isolated and mostly operate online.”
“This Sunday, United Against Racism is organising rallies in Belfast and Derry, and people will be out in force, sending a clear and loud message that racism and fascism are not welcome in any part of our communities, which is the best way to respond to fascist intimidation of any kind. The fascist fringe groups that are trying to stoke division and hatred, do not represent the ordinary people of West Belfast and do not speak for the vast majority of people anywhere in the North.”
“OK. <BR /> <BR />I will speak on the need to combat fascist organisations in our communities. At the weekend past, graffiti went up with my name on it and cross hairs attached to it — a disgraceful and pathetic attempt to intimidate me and others who speak out against racism in our city. I thank people in the House and in the community for reaching out and sending their best wishes to me and my family. That intimidation will not work and will not stop me from speaking out on anything. <BR /> <BR />It is also worth mentioning, in the brief time that I have, that, in the last month, thousands of people have attended events as part of Fáilte 25 in west Belfast and other community organisation anti-racist events.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way and outlining all that. As part of the framework, will he indicate whether children whose first language is not English are being looked at? I am concerned that, potentially, there could be people with developmental or other problems that might not be picked up on if the health visitor does not speak the appropriate language.”
“It is a shame that it is not available to constituents in my constituency and beyond. <BR /> <BR />We need universal free school meals to promote public health and educational attainment and to fight poverty, but, at the most basic level, we need an anti-poverty strategy that is based on objective need with clear outcomes for children and young people. I support the motion and the amendment for those reasons.”
“Without those regular reviews and interventions from the earliest stages, those health inequalities will only grow as children get older. Children who miss out on crucial opportunities for early intervention will be more likely to experience homelessness, social isolation and mental health issues when they are older. <BR /> <BR />To give all children the best start in life, they need to grow up in a society that is free from poverty and inequality. Sixteen per cent of children who live in my constituency of West Belfast are impacted on by the two-child limit. That means that 16% of children are being financially punished for being born into a larger family. I declare an interest as somebody who comes from a larger family and was raised through welfare system support and whose mother and father could not have survived without that support.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is undeniable that children who are born in the most deprived areas are at a stark disadvantage when it comes to access to healthcare. Class shapes everything in this society, including the connection of mother and baby. The rate of breastfeeding in the most deprived quintile of the North is 39%; in the least deprived quintile, the rate is 68%. Mothers who live in the most deprived areas are more likely to give birth prematurely. Babies who are born in low-income areas are almost twice as likely to be born at a low birth weight. Infant death is increasing in the most deprived areas. For families in the most deprived areas, reviews from health visitors are a literal lifeline that can help to reduce health inequalities.”
“I declare an interest as a father who is raising children through the medium of Irish. I am really concerned that language development and communication skills cannot be monitored if no Irish language is available through the health visitor. Therefore, I implore the Minister to act on that as well. <BR /> <BR />The current workforce pressures on public health nursing are undoubtedly having an impact on children's health reviews. The PHA previously issued guidance to trusts that the year 1 review could be omitted, and that is completely unacceptable. Children should not be made to pay for the continued failure to invest in the health and social care workforce. Consistent, high-quality and child-focused health reviews are crucial for giving every child the best start in life and to locate neglect or abuse, as we heard.”
“During preschool health reviews, health visitors identify safety concerns as well as early issues with developmental delay and ill health. Health visitors promote breastfeeding and good nutrition, but the impact of their work extends far beyond the home. Early intervention sets children up for better short-term and long-term health outcomes. It reduces the risk of social exclusion and increases readiness for school. <BR /> <BR />We also need health visitors who are fluent in Irish and those who are trained to support families whose first language is not English. I am concerned that the Department and the trusts do not gather the data to monitor the number of children who receive appointments from their health visitor through Irish. I suspect that it is probably zero. It is not a luxury.”
“I blame those who have cut and gutted the health service for so many years through the Budget process in this Building.”
“Those health reviews are not just casual check-ins or an extra bit of reassurance for families; they are timely, comprehensive child health reviews that promote strong bonds and attachments between parents and their children. I am concerned that the reviews are not happening, and I do not blame those healthcare support workers.”
“Discussions about our health and social care crisis often focus on ambulance waiting times, packed emergency departments and the unsustainability of general practice, pharmacy and dentistry. However, another crisis bubbling underneath the surface is one that involves babies and children missing out on basic healthcare and the opportunities for early intervention. <BR /> <BR />We have heard that 23% of children who were waiting for their one-year-old review were seen late, and 15% were not seen at all. The statistics are a real indictment of our health service. In Belfast, just 54% of one-year-old reviews were held on time, which is a shocking statistic.”
“There was creative dodging and weaving on the Minister's part, but the court found the Executive to be acting unlawfully by not progressing the anti-poverty strategy. Why did it take a court case for the Communities Minister to finally move on the strategy? Will every social inclusion or language strategy be subject to a court battle?”
“The previous point aside, given that one in 32 people here is homeless, does the Minister think that it is adequate to have one inclusion health service nurse in every trust?”
“Minister, at Ionad Uíbh Eachach and Gaelscoil na bhFál, an Irish language primary school and childcare facility in my constituency, a large railing fence collapsed in the storm a few months ago. The school and I have reached out to the EA, the council and other government bodies for advice on how it can be repaired. Can the Minister or his officials advise where the school and the centre, as well as other organisations that are in a similar position, can go about that?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. He said that no alternatives had been proposed. He mentioned the £42·6 million and asked where the money would come from. Is he content with the industrial derating policy that gives a handout of around £72 million a year to corporations, including Caterpillar, Coca-Cola, Moy Park and Kingspan? Is he happy to stand over that policy, or will he review it in order to fill that £42 million gap?”
“Why should working-class people be landed with the bill while Coca-Cola, Moy Park and Kingspan get tax breaks to the tune of £73 million every single year? A truly just and fair rates system should be based on income on profit, which another Sinn Féin Finance Minister has refused to implement. Doing that would see those with the broadest shoulders pay the most towards our public services. It is finally time for the rich to pay their way. The Minister and the Executive have not taken that approach, but they should. I oppose the order.”
“The winter fuel payment has been cruelly stripped away from a quarter of a million pensioners, and it now looks as though sick and disabled people in the North will suffer because of the inhumane cuts to personal independence payments (PIP) and universal credit, yet people are still told to dig deeper in their pockets, even if they have nothing to give. The Executive parties show time and time again that they will bend over backwards to enable British austerity, whether it is done by the Minister, the Tories or Labour. The demand or call for revenue raising always goes in one direction: kick and hammer the poor. <BR /> <BR />It is undeniable that our public services need serious investment, but it is a lie that the burden of revenue raising must fall on households whose rates increase year after year.”
“Rather than using revenue-raising powers at their own front door, such as ending industrial derating or completing the devolution of corporation tax so that they can increase it, the Executive are plunging people even deeper into poverty and destitution. How much more punishment can the Executive inflict on working-class communities? I am almost afraid to ask that question. <BR /> <BR />The Minister talked about a 60p increase in rates for some people. His figure was based on an average house price of £123,000, but the average price of a home is £221,000. He did not say that rents are rising faster here than in anywhere else in the UK or Ireland, having risen by 10% in the past year. Almost one in four children lives in poverty — in my constituency of West Belfast, that figure is one in three.”
“The Executive have finally agreed an inflation-busting increase, but it is not a pay increase for our public-sector workers; it is a 5% hike to the domestic regional rate. Whilst the domestic regional rate has risen by 5% this year, the non-domestic regional rate has risen by 3%, which reflects the pressure that businesses face as a result of the National Insurance increases. However, I ask this question: why should ratepayers here face another hike — another increase — in their bills because of terrible UK economic policy? Once again, the Executive are doing the bidding of the austerity enthusiasts in London. Labour refuses to introduce a wealth tax, increase corporation tax or equalise capital gains tax and income tax, and the Executive have nothing to say on those matters.”
“— and a further tax on our public services. It is time to stand up —”
“We are always told that there is no money for the poor, but that deal shows us that, once again, there is always enough money for war. It is no coincidence that, at the same time as Keir Starmer has found billions of pounds for war, his Government are set on a new round of cutbacks to welfare —”
“What about the 'good jobs' agenda? Do good jobs involve the manufacture of weapons of war? Are those classified as good jobs? There are massive questions to be asked about a deal to create 200 new jobs in an arms company in a so-called post-conflict society. People who work in weapons manufacturing could quite easily transition to working in green and renewable energy jobs such as wind turbine technology, solar panel installation and energy storage. Where are the 200 jobs in green and renewable energy that would help meet the net zero targets and avoid literal climate breakdown? Instead of creating such jobs, Keir Starmer and others are pouring fuel on the fire of imperialist competition in Europe. <BR /> <BR />Polling suggests that the people of Ukraine want a ceasefire.”
“The Members to my right may not like to hear this, but, with £6 billion, we could abolish the two-child limit, reinstate the winter fuel payment and have £1·5 billion left to spare, yet the UK Government say that money is not available to do that. That £6 billion could alternatively pay for 26,000 nurses, 1,000 new ambulances or 28,000 social homes. There are no cheers to my right for that. People in east Belfast and across the North do not want boots on the ground and planes in the air. Rather, they want a social security system that they can rely on when they need it. They want safe, secure and affordable homes, access to the NHS for their kids, and for their kids to be taught in schools that are not crumbling around them. <BR /> <BR />There are also questions for the Minister for the Economy to answer.”
“— is a company that is owned by French billionaires. The Members to my right hesitate to talk about that. <BR /> <BR />The deal is not about creating jobs in the North or bolstering Ukraine's defence against Russia but about the control of natural resources and the siphoning of billions of pounds of money from the public purse into the pockets of billionaires. On top of that, Keir Starmer has determined that he will increase defence spending by more than £6 billion a year.”
“There you have it. Invest NI has handed over more than £14 million of taxpayers' money to Thales, which —”
“— and the opening of a third Thales site in the North. The contract will be funded by a deal that is underwritten by UK Export Finance. Last October, the UK Government announced that UK Export Finance:”
“Last week, a £1·6 billion deal with Thales for 5,000 air-defence missiles was announced. The deal will involve the creation of 200 new jobs —”
“<BR /> <BR />It is not enough in my view and in my party's view to settle for better representation alone and for empty corporate slogans. That will not achieve women's liberation. We need to unpick the foundations of women's oppression and fight for a future without war, poverty, inequality and exploitation, just as those women did over 100 years ago.”
“They persist in a different and, in some ways, more aggressive, well-funded form. Young men are falling prey to online right-wing agitators — occasionally, we hear similar arguments in the House — who spew regressive and reactionary ideas about lots of people but especially women, saying that they belong in the home and that women's bodies are the personal property of men: Trump and Tate, to name but two. <BR /> <BR />In reality, women have been and always will be at the forefront of the biggest struggles for change in our times. In recent years, it has been women who have been leading strikes in health and education and many other sectors. Women are also leading the Palestine solidarity movement. Mothers Against Genocide is just one example of that.”
“We need strong trade unions with women at their heart in the majority of workplaces. We need fair pay, universal free childcare, accessible healthcare and safe, secure and affordable housing. We also need to eradicate poverty and exploitation. There is still no anti-poverty strategy, and women bear the brunt of poverty and caring responsibilities. Gender inequality will always exist under capitalism. <BR /> <BR />We should also recognise that sexism is propped up by a toxic culture of misogyny that should be called out. We need to dismantle that culture and use every opportunity to challenge deep-rooted beliefs and attitudes that characterise women as inferior. Those beliefs and attitudes are not outdated, unfortunately; nor are they ideas that died out with previous generations.”
“That requires political will and investment that the Executive seem fundamentally incapable of allocating. <BR /> <BR />It is also worth thinking about what kind of change we need. Better representation of women in positions of leadership is obviously important and valuable, but, unless feminism improves the everyday lives of all women, it will be worth nothing to many women, most women, all women. Too often, conversations about sexual assault and harassment and gender-based violence gloss over the wider context. To make it easier for women to leave toxic workplaces and abusive relationships, we need transformative changes to our current economic and political systems. We need a strong welfare state. It defies belief that women still cannot get financial support to leave abusive homes or abusive relationships.”
“Of course, we must not forget the role of women on this island 100 years and longer ago who took up the fight for rights of land, rights in the workplace and so on. Women won freedoms in many countries, as I mentioned, before so-called capitalist countries allowed women the right to vote, equal pay, equal work, divorce, free nurseries and abortion rights. <BR /> <BR />The theme of this year's International Women's Day, as has been said, is "Accelerate action". The Executive's work on women's liberation could be described as the polar opposite. To take one example, the North is experiencing an epidemic of gender-based violence, as we have heard, with 25 women disgracefully killed since 2020. Education and prevention are obviously crucial to ending gender-based violence; that is what is required.”
“I extend solidarity to all women for International Women's Day, and I commend the work of the Women's Caucus and the Chair for moving this important motion. <BR /> <BR />International Women's Day has deep socialist, feminist and radical roots that should not be forgotten. It was first celebrated in 1909 by the Socialist Party of America to mark the New York garment workers' strike — a women's strike — the year before. Of course, women played a role in Petrograd a few years later, in 1917, demanding peace and bread — such a moderate demand but so relevant today with the way the world is going — leading an anti-war movement and toppling a tsar whose family had been in power for hundreds of years.”
“I appreciate the Minister's giving way, and I agree with his agreement with me, if that is the right way of phrasing it. Will he comment on the fact that 10,000 people were prosecuted for personal possession of cannabis between 2019 and 2023? Does he think that that is an adequate use of public resources for tackling the issue?”
“We should also challenge the absurdity, the waste of time and the ruining of people's lives that the current approach to the possession of cannabis, for one example, is causing. From 2019 to 2023, there were over 10,000 prosecutions for personal possession of cannabis. That is a shocking statistic, and I call on the Health Minister and the Justice Minister to challenge that approach and to speak out against it. We need to see a decriminalised approach to drugs. That approach works. The Portuguese model has, rightly, been recommended across the world to help and support people who are tackling addiction and struggling with addiction. I call on the Health Minister and Executive parties to back that approach.”
“<BR /> <BR />At this point, it is worth asking why people become addicts. Obviously, people have their own stories. It could happen to anybody. Issues around trauma have already been mentioned today. We do not often link poverty, economic inequality and alienation as key drivers of addiction for so many people. To escape the pain and difficulty of everyday life, many people self-medicate with legal and illegal substances. In the North, in 2023-24, almost 4,000 people were recorded on the substance misuse database as having presented to services for problem substance misuse. I suggest that it probably has gone up since then. <BR /> <BR />We need, crucially, a health-based approach to this issue and not a criminal, policing or war-on-drugs approach, which is absolutely catastrophic and has failed.”
“I do not see how there is a chance — a snowball's chance, you may say — of the motion becoming a reality when we had an inadequate Programme for Government passed yesterday and we have a Budget process that is sped up to get things done quickly before anyone has a chance to really figure out what is going on and get answers to basic questions. That Budget also allows economic inequalities to continue unchecked. <BR /> <BR />There absolutely needs to be a recovery centre in the north-west. To be honest, given the scale of addiction to alcohol and other substances, legal and illegal, in our communities, we need to see addiction treatment centres right across the North. People in my constituency need and would benefit from such support services, and it is a crime that there is such a lack of services currently.”
“Not only do we have stalemate, collapsed institutions and the like, but when Ministers are in place, we have a consensus around an economic model that works for the very people whom it was designed to benefit, the super wealthy, whilst everybody else is stuck with food banks, in-work poverty and so on and so forth. <BR /> <BR />To tackle the regional disparities that exist in Derry and elsewhere, we need to challenge the economic narratives that have dominated for the past 50-plus years here. They are, "Live within your means", "Don't have Governments borrow too much", "Keep figures in the black" and so on and so forth. Such approaches are not only bereft of any alternative thinking at a crucial time, but they lead directly to the harm experienced by so many in our communities.”