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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“Some landlords consciously and knowingly send families directly into homelessness when they issue an eviction notice or give them a rent increase that they know is completely unaffordable. Giving tenants more protections, including banning no-fault evictions, would save hundreds — potentially, thousands — of families from homelessness every year. It is a no-brainer. <BR /> <BR />Many private tenants are living in abject poverty. A decade or two ago, many families who are now struggling in the private rented sector would have lived in social housing, where rents are lower and tenancies are more secure, but they cannot because, year after year, the Executive fail to meet social housing building targets. According to NISRA, an average of 941 social homes have been completed every year since 2010.”
“We have debated and discussed these issues many times, and we are all in agreement that we are experiencing a housing crisis that is spiralling out of control. <BR /> <BR />We all know that homelessness destroys people's physical and mental health and rips apart the social fabric of our communities. Over 42% of homeless children in this city live in my constituency of West Belfast, which is a totally shocking statistic, but what is not talked about as often is the role that landlords play in the homelessness crisis, not to mention that the Housing Executive spent £15·5 million on single let temporary accommodation in 2022-23 alone. That is £15·5 million straight in the pockets of landlords who are actively profiteering from human misery and homelessness.”
“When tenants even begin to question these extortionate rents, landlords will point to the market — some mythical figure — as though they are not the people setting the rents and driving up house prices; as though they are not the market who are driving up people's rents. <BR /> <BR />The insecurity and unaffordability of the private rented sector forces people into homelessness. Loss of private rented accommodation is consistently among the top reasons for people presenting as homeless to the Housing Executive. Another common reason for homelessness is sharing breakdown, but why are people sharing in the first place? In most cases, it is because they cannot access social housing or are priced out of the private rented sector.”
“For too long, Executive parties have refused to crack down on profiteering landlords, instead spending years, or even entire mandates, tinkering around the edges of reform at best. Private renters in the North are long overdue a new deal, one that starts shifting the balance of power away from landlords and towards tenants. My amendment's aim is to strengthen the motion and make the private rented sector more secure and truly affordable for tenants. <BR /> <BR />The private rented sector is an under-regulated Wild West where landlords call the shots. Tenants can be evicted for no reason, for daring to ask for basic repairs, challenging legal fees or trying to challenge or negotiate an extortionate rent increase. Landlords can charge whatever rents they want, and, in Belfast, that is an average of £1,100 per month.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I support today's motion, and I hope that Members can support my amendment.”
“Ordinary people should not be punished for the political and economic failures of the ruling elites.”
“<BR /> <BR />Other indicative Budget allocations are simply too little, too late. An allocation of £50 million for the childcare strategy represents just 12·5% of the £400 million needed to fully fund commitments. An allocation of £20 million to prevent the further deterioration of the school estate pales in comparison with the £450 million that is needed to address the maintenance backlog. An allocation of £100 million for social housing does not even scratch the surface. An allocation of £105 million for investment in NI Water falls far short of what is needed to fix the crumbling waste water infrastructure and to protect our waterways from devastating pollution. <BR /> <BR />Ultimately, the Budget does little to heal the extensive damage done to public services over 15 years of austerity cuts.”
“<BR /> <BR />On the broader point, how can the Executive make decisions about how to invest money when there is no Programme for Government setting out their strategic priorities? Last year, in a colonial-type diktat, the Tory Government told Stormont that it needed to raise £113 million to invest in public services. However, rather than revenue raising through raising corporation tax and scrapping rates relief for hugely wealthy corporations, the Executive are increasing the regional domestic rate by 5%. That is yet another financial burden that has been placed on working-class communities. It seems that the Executive parties are hell-bent on continuing to punish the public and are unwilling to challenge the UK Government on the terms of the rotten restoration deal. Treasury economics are a disaster for communities across the North.”
“There is an allocation of £5·2 million for legal aid. Clearly, that is too little, too late. Criminal barristers who are engaged in legally aided Crown Court cases voted to extend their strike action, so £5·2 million does not seem to address that adequately. <BR /> <BR />There is an allocation of £6·3 million to TEO for the net refugee and asylum support and integration scheme. I note that, last week, Members from various parties met to discuss supporting Palestinians across the city and the North. There should be a Palestinian support scheme to fast-track Palestinians who have family members living in Ireland. There is also £2 million for the ending violence against women and girls strategic framework.”
“<BR /> <BR />There has been a DEL increase for the Health Department for the pay award, and a reduced capital DEL requirement for the maternity and children's hospital. Resource AME decreased by £175 million, mainly due to the recent update on a potential legal case that could have had a significant impact on HSC bodies. <BR /> <BR />There has been an increase in requirements for NI Water subsidy, which I broadly welcome. We need to maintain NI Water as a public body. I hope that the Minister, given his previous role, commits to maintaining that in his current role. <BR /> <BR />I note that £2·75 million was allocated to DOJ for "policing summer disorder". What was that spent on? There are serious questions about how the police responded to racial riots in south Belfast and other areas in the summer.”
“That is a really pressing issue. I press the Communities Minister to fill those posts. <BR /> <BR />There has been an £8·9 million allocation from the UK's Shared Prosperity Fund to DFE, including Invest NI. It has been raised in recent days that Invest NI has given £20 million to three companies that allegedly produce F-35 war planes, so not only is public money not being spent well but that connection to the war machine in Israel is really concerning. I urge Ministers to address that urgently. <BR /> <BR />There has been an increase in DE's resource DEL for the National Joint Council (NJC) pay award, the EA pay and grading review and the early learning and childcare strategy, but SEN pressures have not been fully tackled and remain, as does the ageing school estate.”
“Again, how many new build social homes were started last year? How can there be a reduction in spend on adaptations when so many people's homes in my constituency and across the North are in much need of those adaptations? <BR /> <BR />The document goes on to state that DFC has:”
“Those tens of millions would be better spent on homelessness prevention than on firefighting and fuelling profiteering landlords and private companies. <BR /> <BR />On DFC capital DEL, the spring Supplementary Estimates note a decrease in spend by the Department for Communities on disabled adaptations:”
“It is worth mentioning that that is 14 months late and provides no clear pathway for tackling our existing climate, biodiversity and pollution crisis. A total of £1·5 million to take forward work on Lough Neagh is a paltry sum, given the issues there. <BR /> <BR />For DFC, there is £17 million for the pension age fuel support payment. At the same time, there is a reduced requirement of £30 million as a result of the cut to the winter fuel payment. There is an additional £50 million for the social housing development programme (SHDP). That raises a question about how many social homes will be built and how many have been built in the financial year that is coming to an end. <BR /> <BR />There is £6·7 million for homelessness and NIHE internal running costs, while £34·4 million was spent on temporary accommodation in 2023-24.”
“It is concerning that most Committees have not had the time to properly scrutinise the SSEs. As I understand it, only the Finance and Infrastructure Committees have heard evidence from departmental officials on the SSEs, which is pretty telling. <BR /> <BR />For DAERA, it is stated that there is:”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answer. Corporate profits are at record levels. What discussions have taken place in your new Department or at the Executive to move ahead with devolving corporation tax in order to raise it to take account of those record corporate profits?”
“The deputy First Minister will be aware of the news that broke over the past week or so about the Irish language group's concerns about losing funding . My understanding is that, at the North/South Ministerial Council last year, a new framework was discussed for funded bodies such as Foras na Gaeilge and others. Will the deputy First Minister commit to publishing the new framework?”
“Has there been any discussion in the Commission about who should be on the board? Have any names been proposed or suggested?”
“It will cost £20,000 to set up the board, and it will cost a further £115,000 over two years — the last two years of the mandate. That is a massive waste of public money. The Ad Hoc Committee that will be set up today will exclude the small parties and the voices who oppose this inevitable pay increase, as well as any independent MLAs. <BR /> <BR />I will leave Members with some questions to reflect on before the vote. Is an MLA worth two teachers? Is an MLA worth three retail workers? Would any other worker who had an attendance rate of 60% over the past number of years be rewarded with a 38% pay increase? The obvious answer to all those questions is no. That is why I will not be pocketing any increase. That is why I will vote against the Bill, and I hope that I will be able to cast my vote today.”
“It is more than a technical Bill, as the mover of the motion seemed to suggest. Think about this: those of us, myself included, who sponsor private Member's Bills have to consult, as is right, for 12 weeks on those Bills, but there was no 12-week consultation with the public on this Bill. That should have been done; it is only right and fair. It is obvious why there has been no consultation or engagement with the public on these proposals. Ordinary people think that it is abhorrent that MLAs look set to get a £20,000 pay increase, or something similar to that, while those people struggle to heat their homes, pay their rent or mortgages, get access to healthcare and put food on the table. They are right to think that that is abhorrent. <BR /> <BR />I should also mention the costs associated with the Bill.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are plenty of other objectionable things in the Bill, aside from the issue of MLA pay. It makes provision for former MLAs to join the board that sets MLAs' salaries and pensions. I agree with the Member for North Antrim: that is a clear conflict of interest. It completely undermines any semblance of independence. The Bill also removes the power for the board to determine the allowances of MLAs and former MLAs and transfers it to the Assembly Commission. A few weeks ago, I highlighted the Executive's track record, and that of previous Members, of misusing public money, including through expenses. I will not repeat that today. <BR /> <BR />The way in which the Bill has come into existence is completely underhand. There has been zero public consultation — none — on the Bill, which flies in the face of the guidance.”
“In fact, I hope that it takes into account the performance of this and previous Executives since the previous pay body disbanded in 2016, as well as the sorry state of our public services, with widespread poverty and destitution, and decides that an MLA pay cut may be the way to go. It should perhaps go for the average wage of the constituents whom MLAs represent. However, I do not think that that will happen. <BR /> <BR />I think that the independent remuneration board, which will have representation, as has been said, from former Stormont politicians, will recommend a completely unjustified and out-of-touch pay increase for MLAs. There has been much talk about independence, but my guess — I am happy to be proven wrong again — is that it will be stacked with a predetermined outcome.”
“to politicians in the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments. Those salaries are a whopping £72,000. The Bill also mandates the board to consider salaries payable in the Dáil and Seanad, as well as Westminster, where salaries are even higher. Those at Westminster are, I believe, set to go up again. It is absolutely laughable that Members continue to feign ignorance about where this is headed. It is clear-cut to me, especially when it is obvious to the public and those whom MLAs claim to represent. <BR /> <BR />Members have said that talk about a massive pay increase is jumping the gun. They tell us that an extortionate pay rise is not guaranteed. I hope that they are right. I hope that, when the remuneration board is established, it decides that no pay increase is warranted.”
“Two weeks ago, I voted against a motion that noted a 2020 resolution about an independent body for MLA pay. At the time, I said that that was the first step towards establishing an independent remuneration board. I also said that it was laying the groundwork for a potential £20,000 pay increase for MLAs. I was told by the proposer of today's motion, that nothing had been decided, yet, here we are, just two weeks on, at Second Stage of the Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill, which explicitly states:”
“I encourage people who are watching to attend them and play their part in standing up against racism, which has no place in West Belfast or anywhere else on this island.”
“<BR /> <BR />Whilst the racists and the far right are certainly in the ascendant on the global stage, it is not the case that they have it their own way, at least in Belfast and the North. I commend the Beechmount Residents Collective, the residents of the area and people such as Sean Doherty who, despite facing threats and intimidation, are sticking their heads above the parapet to call out racism and to welcome their neighbours. I commend the activists in the Casement Park area of Andersonstown who, a week or so ago, responded quickly to racist graffiti and painted it out. Events are happening locally in the coming days and weeks to celebrate diversity and welcome our migrant and asylum-seeker brothers and sisters. I commend the people who are organising those events.”
“Not only are such ideas deplorable and reactionary, letting the real culprits who are to blame for society's ills off the hook, but they are not reflective of Beechmount, Lenadoon or others areas of West Belfast or across the North. Last week, the people of Beechmount came out in their droves — hundreds of them — to condemn racism and to welcome their neighbours, and I commend them for that. <BR /> <BR />It is worth repeating that racism does not emerge organically but comes out of the swamp of the lies about and degradation of asylum seekers and migrants created by many politicians and media outlets over many years. It is not at all surprising that people who are angry, are alienated or have been failed by the system pick up on those awful ideas.”
“In recent weeks, unfortunately, we have seen an upsurge in racist graffiti in parts of the North. My constituency has not been immune to that. We have seen the emergence of graffiti in Beechmount and Lenadoon stating, "Locals only". Of course, such graffiti is not misguided or simply ignorant; it is intended to cause fear and intimidation among people who are not classed as "locals" but who live in communities and contribute so much. The message sent is that, if you are a migrant or an asylum seeker or even if you are racialised as "other" or somebody who is non-white, you are not classed as "local" or welcome in communities.”
“<BR /> <BR />If the Government want to promote specific land uses for food production, tree planting and encouraging biodiversity, support must be targeted directly at those activities. That is how you support food sovereignty, climate action and biodiversity, not through inheritance tax relief that big landowners use as an income generator or, quite often, a tax loophole. Changes to agricultural property relief are a very small step in the right direction that will restrict opportunities for tax avoidance and will, hopefully, bring down massively inflated land value. However, the state must go much further to achieve real tax justice, including having a mass programme of wealth redistribution that would ensure sustainable, fairly paid work for small tenant farmers and rural workers. I suspect that most in the House may oppose that.”
“Those are the people and the businesses hiking up land value, threatening the sustainability of family farms and the livelihoods of tenant farmers. <BR /> <BR />We also need to talk about why small farmers have been drawn to those protests in the first place. They do have genuine fears and struggles — nobody is doubting that — including the control that multinational companies have over prices paid to farmers and large supermarkets forcing down prices as low as possible to fuel their own profiteering, but there has been nothing about that in today's debate so far. Too many farmers in the North balance unstable and insecure work on farmland alongside full- or part-time jobs in other industries just to make ends meet. Like everyone else, small farmers have been hit by the cost-of-living crisis.”
“The fact that protests in England were led by the likes of Jeremy Clarkson, a TV presenter and hobbyist farmer who bought his farm for the stated purposes of dodging tax, should tell us everything that we need to know about who is setting the political agenda in this debate. Clarkson, Farage and others leading that charge are nothing more than multimillion-pound opportunists, desperately trying to cling on to their obscene wealth. They have also used this debate to peddle myths about climate change. <BR /> <BR />The interests of large landowners and big agribusiness are entirely opposed to the interests of small farmers, and that includes most family farms across the North. Big farm landowners speculate on land value. They buy farmland with the clear purpose of raising prices to accumulate wealth or as a vehicle to avoid inheritance tax.”
“<BR /> <BR />An organisation that is often quoted in this Building, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, notes that the changes, if implemented, would still mean that farmland is much more lightly taxed than most other assets. Land is an asset and it is wealth. The pushback against changes to agricultural property relief across the North and in Britain has been led — I emphasise the word "led" — by the political right and massively profitable agri-food businesses and their lobbyists. That is the exact opposite of a grassroots movement, as the proposer of the motion described it.”
“I will begin by clarifying some figures before outlining why I oppose the motion. The proposed changes will mean that farmers pay inheritance tax at half the normal rate on property transfers above £1 million. Two people with farmland, depending on the circumstances, can pass on £2 million and, in some cases, up to £3 million without paying any inheritance tax. Those are huge figures that we are talking about. Fewer than a quarter of farms in the North have an agricultural and business property value of more than £2 million. That means that less than 25% — less than 25% — of farms will have to pay half the normal rate of inheritance tax on their land valued above £2 million. It is important to keep that in mind during the debate. The fact is that most family farms across the North will not be affected by the changes.”
“That could avoid the need for a five-week wait altogether. <BR /> <BR />I fully support the demands of the Cliff Edge Coalition, which also calls for an urgent renaming of the fund, as well as amendments to the guidance and an increase in the budget to allow more grant payments to be made. <BR /> <BR />The serious issues with the five-week wait are clear, but the solutions are also clear. Many of them are shockingly simple, and I urge the Minister to implement them as soon as possible. I hope that the debate reminds Members how futile and destructive it was to vote for welfare reform.”
“For that reason, I support the Alliance Party's amendment, which calls for the renaming of the fund. Months ago, the Minister committed to renaming the fund. The Member for North Belfast talked about that. A name change is relatively simple, and there is no cost attached to it, but it appears that it has not been done, which really beggars belief. I implore the Minister to make that name change with speed. I presume that he could do it today. <BR /> <BR />Another simple and low-cost solution, one that seemingly has not been done, is to offer access to the new payments claim as a default option for all new claimants to universal credit. The Alliance Party's amendment also calls for backdating payments to allow for more flexible backdating, meaning that people could get money in their pockets much sooner.”
“As the migration to UC continues, more people will face these problems. More will face hardship, food insecurity, exposure to illegal and legal lending and an endless cycle of debt. The universal credit contingency fund, the grant referred to in the motion, already exists. However, not many people know about it, and its uptake is poor, partly due to the name but for other reasons as well. Some 86% of women who took part in the Women's Regional Consortium survey had not even heard of the contingency fund's existence. Because they are not aware of it, some people apply for advance payments instead and are, obviously, in debt to the state with unmanageable repayments. One of the reasons for poor uptake and lack of awareness of the fund is the name, which is completely confusing for people.”
“The most common reason for people not applying was fear of getting into debt or further debt. Christians Against Poverty found that the most common form of priority debts owed by their clients in the North are debts owed to the Government. Some 50% of people surveyed by Christians Against Poverty said that they had considered or attempted suicide as an escape from debt. It is harrowing stuff. Tangling people up in debt from the beginning of their UC claim is cruel, and cruelty is the hallmark of the welfare reform system that continues to damage and impoverish working-class communities. Some see that tangling people up in debt is a deliberate strategy.”
“<BR /> <BR />Ulster University and the Women's Regional Consortium have serious, well-evidenced concerns that the five-week wait is a driver of illegal lending, including by paramilitaries. All that I would add is this: what about legal lending, including high street moneylenders that charge extortionate rates of interest on money when people are desperate? Not enough is said in the House about those organisations. <BR /> <BR />Advanced payments that are supposed to help people to get through the five-week wait end up causing yet more hardship, as some Members have mentioned. The Women's Regional Consortium found that 42% of women who applied for an advanced payment had difficulty paying it back.”
“Given what we know about universal credit and the five-week wait, "turbulence" is probably an understatement. <BR /> <BR />When people move on to universal credit, they face a minimum wait of five weeks for the first payment. In reality, the wait is usually longer than five weeks. A Trussell Trust report states that the five-week wait is responsible for driving food insecurity. It is one of the key reasons why people use food banks. Housing Rights reports that the five-week wait causes rent arrears. In 2019, the average rent arrears for people on universal credit amounted to £700, compared with £191 for those on housing benefit. I suspect that that average is even higher now, and it shows that universal credit is a completely broken system.”
“Our social security system is supposed to be a safety net for people who are struggling through hard times. Instead, the design of universal credit actively causes hardship, as we have heard, for thousands of people across the North. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation described universal credit as:”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does he agree that funding should be attached to the anti-poverty strategy to reduce poverty?”
“and "accelerate private-sector development". Those are massive red flags for me, and the Minister should, at the very least, address them. There are serious questions about whether the LCM should be supported at all not just by me or the leader of the Opposition but, seemingly, by members of the Committee.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Bill, essentially, sets the groundwork for a company that will be allocated large sums of public money for a private industry with the objective of stimulating the private industry with a huge handout. Labour's description of the Great British Energy Bill is that it aims to:”
“<BR /> <BR />To make a general point that is connected to the LCM, we cannot rely on the goodwill or the greenwashing of multinational energy companies to reduce emissions and stop the climate chaos. They are the reason why we are in this mess in the first place. We also need to keep fossil fuels in the ground, and I implore the Minister to keep to that commitment. You cannot control or regulate what you do not own. There is a wider point about nationalising energy that the Member from Lagan Valley raised. It is a real concern that the Bill is not about publicly owned energy; it is about privatisation and allowing it to continue.”
“It will use billions of pounds of public money to construct green infrastructure that private energy companies will then use. Publicly funded and paid-for infrastructure will be used by private companies to continue to fleece people, rip them off and increase prices once again. The private provision of energy means higher bills. Some people claim that it is about regulation or bureaucracy. No — it is privatisation and profiteering, which cause people's energy bills to go up, and that is what has been happening for at least the past four years. That point flies in the face of the just transition principles that the previous Assembly voted for and that current Executive parties supported.”
“I have some concerns about the Great British Energy Bill, the company and the LCM. I also have concerns when I hear Members say that there is a lack of information about the LCM, which is pretty stark but a fair point to make. My concern is that Members seemingly have big questions but still want to vote for the LCM. That is a bit of a warning for me. It is very concerning, and it should scream out to other people. <BR /> <BR />The £8·3 billion funding from the British Government to establish the energy company is a significant reduction from the £28 billion investment that the Labour Party initially announced before the Westminster election. There are also massive concerns about the fact that the company will not be a publicly owned energy supplier.”
“On several other occasions, I have asked several Ministers about how infrastructure at Belfast International Airport in particular can be and possibly is being used to support the Israeli and American war systems. There has been a head-in-the-sand approach from previous Ministers, and I implore the new Minister for the Economy to adopt a different approach, to come clean and to urgently break with apartheid Israel.”
“It was funded, let us not forget, and cheered on by the US, Britain and most European countries. While Trump's statements are outlandish and extreme, they are quite often parroted by Israeli politicians. <BR /> <BR />That, obviously, brings focus to what we can do here to oppose Trump and Israel's agenda. First, I make an appeal to everybody watching to attend the Grá don Phalaistín protests this Saturday at 2.00 pm in Writer's Square, organised by Gaels against Genocide. The second is to focus on actions that Ministers in this Building can take. Over recent days, it has been suggested that Invest NI, through its funding mechanisms, could be supporting Israeli warplanes or other machinery.”
“<BR /> <BR />Despite all the rhetoric from Trump, Palestinians do not want to leave Gaza and should not be forced out of Gaza to go to Jordan, Egypt or anywhere else. The reason why there are millions of people in a tiny bit of land the size of Lough Neagh is that they were forced out. They were ethnically cleansed and forcibly displaced by Israel during the Nakba, and that cannot happen again. You never know — it would be silly to guess — what is going on inside the head of someone such as Donald Trump, but I suspect that that was not just a throwaway comment but the actual intent of where his Administration want to go. It is not that surprising when you think about it and when you see previous presidents' unwavering support for Israel's genocide campaign.”
“Two weeks ago, I rose in the House to talk about the ceasefire deal in Palestine. I raised my concern about the plaudits lauded onto Donald Trump as some tried to give him credit for the deal. If anyone was ever under any doubt about what Donald Trump really represents or how he views Palestinians, look at what he recently said while standing next to Netanyahu in Washington, a man who is wanted for war crimes, as people to my right in the Chamber should remember. Trump stated that Gaza could be a big real estate site that the US owns. That is, obviously, naked and over-the-top imperial salivating from the US Administration, which have backed Israel's genocide campaign to the hilt.”