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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“The EU is Israel's biggest trade partner — let that sink in — accounting for almost 30% of its trade and goods in 2022. The EU says that it considers respect for human rights to be an essential element of EU association agreements with partner countries, yet it refuses to suspend the EU-Israel association agreement. I am calling on it today to do so. Serious breaches of the agreement mean that the EU can suspend it at any time. There is no denying that Israel's treatment of Palestinians constitutes a serious breach of the human rights clauses in the EU-Israel association agreement, yet the EU cannot bring itself to suspend the agreement and stop rewarding Israel for its war crimes.”
“The ongoing genocide in Gaza, perpetrated by Israel, has resulted in multiple, clear and well-documented violations of the human rights of Palestinians. Hospitals have been bombed and destroyed, and a population faces famine and death by contagious disease. In the course of its war on Gaza, Israel has blocked food, water, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid, all backed by von der Leyen and the EU. There are sanctions for some states that intervene and occupy countries but not for Israel. It is sickening, and it needs to be called out. In spite of those well-documented human rights violations and, to put it more clearly, genocide, its economy continues to enjoy privileged access to the EU market via the EU-Israel association agreement. In fact, trade between the EU and Israel has increased since the signing of the agreement in 2000.”
“Since September, it has spent £11 billion on deportations, which is probably music to the ears of the party to my right. Increased controls and deterrence techniques have only fuelled a booming smuggling industry that has led to at least 29,000 deaths. These are only the documented deaths of people travelling to Europe between 2014 and 2021. There has been a lot of renewed talk about Syrians after the fall of Assad, but how many have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea because of the EU policy of racism and the dehumanising of their right to move into Europe or wherever they want to? <BR /> <BR />The protocol is obviously a trade deal, but we should also briefly mention in the debate the EU-Israel association agreement trade deal that the EU has with Israel.”
“A new political economy for the North should prioritise public ownership of services to combat inequality, poverty and environmental destruction. A new political economy could also reverse industrial decline by redeploying existing infrastructure and greening jobs, giving support to workers to buy up manufacturing facilities and keep them running under worker or community ownership. Procurement could be leveraged for social good, building community wealth and stabilising jobs, but it has not been done. <BR /> <BR />On the question of migration, instead of addressing the root causes of displacement such as war and genocide, the EU is using deterrence techniques to stop migration, which is relevant to this debate and the protocol.”
“I am definitely not a fellow Brexiteer, and I do not agree with you on many issues. Viktor Orbán was mentioned earlier. I am sure that you would probably be glad to welcome him into your political party. <BR /> <BR />When it comes to the opportunities for reshaping the economy on this island, we have to say that the neoliberal orthodoxy of European economic policy has sought to liberalise and privatise services, increase competition, deepen the power of the private market and weaken workers' rights and social protections, and that is the last thing that we need to continue in this period. <BR /> <BR />Whilst we in my party agree that existing trade agreements should continue to apply in the North, there is also an opportunity to develop a new political economy outside the neoliberal orthodoxy of the European Union.”
“We should continue to allow the free movement of goods across the border. Throughout the debate, from some to my right, we heard more about pet food and other animal products than we did about poverty, the free movement of people or any other issues of that nature.”
“Third time lucky. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just like yesterday, everything that I say is connected to the issue that we are discussing this evening. I found it almost — almost — humorous hearing some unionists talking about minority rights and being trampled on during the debate. You could not really make that up. How many times have they trampled on minority rights, including those of Irish language speakers, LGBT people, women and workers? The party to my right has trampled on a long list of minority rights. <BR /> <BR />People living in border communities have enjoyed nearly 20 years free from customs posts and a security presence, and we cannot go back to that. I would say that nobody wants the restoration of physical borders, but I think that some do want and have wanted the restoration of physical borders since the debate began.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. He made a powerful point about the voice of young people being heard: should that also apply to people being able to vote at 16?”
“His Department is apparently heading to the Supreme Court to assert its right to plough ahead with the destructive gas caverns project at Larne lough. That is a waste of time and resources. There is utter doublespeak on that point from you, Minister. <BR /> <BR />The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 contains the reduction target of at least 77% by 2040, as others have mentioned. More can, and must, be done. Minimum targets should not be interpreted as maximum targets. The 2040 target should not be treated as a goal but as a minimum reduction, with a clear intent and concrete plans to go beyond 77%. In reality, we probably need to be looking at net zero by 2030. Business as usual will not cut it when life itself on this planet is at stake.”
“There has been a lot of discussion over the past few days about traffic problems, mostly against a backdrop of people being encouraged to spend and buy and repeat that cycle of consumerism every day. <BR /> <BR />The North is a climate laggard when it comes to reducing emissions. As a society, we need to stay well below the 1·5°C target in the Paris agreement as a bare minimum. However, it highly likely that the North is close to exceeding that carbon budget, if we have not surpassed it already. We urgently need to transition to a zero-carbon society as quickly as possible. There is no space in that society for fossil fuel infrastructure or exploitation. This is where I challenge the Minister — this is an obvious point that should not need to be made, but has to be.”
“I thank the Minister for his intervention, and I agree. We have seen tens of millions of climate refugees across the world. Although we will be impacted in Ireland, England and elsewhere, it is mostly in the Global South where places such as Bangladesh will be submerged. We cannot be selfish: we have to look at other people across the world and make policies that will help them as well as people who live in this part of the world. However, I challenge the Minister somewhat: the North is not pulling its weight in tackling climate breakdown in the UK and Irish context. We are consuming far too many resources — far more than our fair share — in the global context.”
“The danger is not just shown in the recent storm on these shores, but in Valencia, in the summer, people died, homes were destroyed and communities were ravaged and wrecked by the climate and the planet's heating up. That, and worse, is what our future will look like.”
“The Member for West Tyrone referred to his recollection of weather as a child. Although it was somewhat interesting, it should not be taken as serious policy direction. It not about having some bad weather here or there; most of the hottest summers on record have occurred in the past 15 or so years. There is a pattern here, and that should inform policy and what Ministers and the Executive do. The pattern is one of a hotter planet, with hotter and more dangerous weather. <BR /> <BR />The North's per capita emissions are higher than those of other places, such as the UK, and emissions here are falling at a slower rate than the UK average. There has been a 23·2% reduction in the North, compared with the UK average of 48%. The Minister and Executive need to get on with the job and speed it up.”
“Minister, you have said quite a lot about health inequalities in the past few days, which is welcome. Like others, I am very concerned about health inequalities in NHS dentistry. There is a class divide, in that, quite often, wealthier people are able to get access to dentistry while working-class people are literally left to rot. You talked about the reform of dental services. Will that include the expansion of NHS dentistry?”
“— and allowing women access to the financial measures to enable them to leave an abusive relationship.”
“Prevention is obviously key. That starts by investing in services —”
“How many times have we heard about a woman reporting threatening or violent behaviour, usually by someone known to them, as the Member opposite stated, only for the police to excuse it or shrug their shoulders, with the woman ending up in hospital or worse?”
“I do not and, increasingly, many women do not believe that the police are best placed or most appropriately placed to tackle violence against women, never mind to prevent it.”
“This is a man who has been accused of sexual assault. He is an extremely misogynistic head of state, and, for many people, congratulating him is an insult to women everywhere. Associating with people like that can, in many cases, encourage further violence rather than abolish it. <BR /> <BR />It also worth noting that End Violence Against Women stated that 76% of women think that the culture of policing has to change in order to better respond to violence against women and girls. It is worth remembering that Sarah Everard was murdered by a police officer and that people who protested against her killing were attacked by police officers. Something needs to be said about police services and their role in upholding sexist values in society.”
“That sounds too vague to me and to many others. What is that strategic framework, and how will it be trauma-informed? <BR /> <BR />Obviously, helplines are very important and essential in many, many cases, but we have to look at why there is such a need for them in the first place and at how we are going to reduce violence by increasing funding for women's aids and counselling services. We also need to look at how we can challenge beliefs in society, as Members said, but particularly in schools about not only masculinity but proper and healthy relationships. That is not done across all schools. We need to see early intervention and early prevention. People's lives — women's lives — depend on it. <BR /> <BR />The Executive have to be held accountable for congratulating Donald Trump on his re-election.”
“They need to expand on that. How do they propose to use data, tech and design innovation to protect women and girls? How will those tools be used, and when will they be implemented? They state:”
“We also need to see more funding for civil legal aid services and for the courts to process cases promptly, which does not always happen. The Executive have said that they are using six suppliers to:”
“I hazard a guess that that is the case in not just my constituency but, unfortunately, is probably the same across the board, which points to the problem. The worrying rise in those figures is reflected in my constituency office and probably in others. <BR /> <BR />We need to see emergency funding for safe refuges and other domestic violence services. A few years ago, we saw Regina Coeli House close down with the loss of the provision of 21 spaces. Those spaces have not been matched, as far as I am aware. That was a real loss, and women lost their jobs. We need to see sustainable funding for the community and voluntary sector organisations that provide all those services, year in, year out. We need to see investment in sexual assault treatment units and counselling for survivors.”
“<BR /> <BR />A lack of social and affordable housing means that many women are unable to break free from abusive relationships. We heard about the housing supply strategy earlier, but nothing was mentioned about supporting people who are victims or survivors of violence or domestic abuse. We also have the scandal of women who are being abused or going through trauma not being able to get intimidation points. That is unfathomable. It needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. <BR /> <BR />Women are, obviously, more likely to be responsible for household finances, and they usually work in lower-paid jobs, which traps them in abusive relationships. The increase that I have witnessed in the number of constituents who come to me about gender-based violence is also concerning.”
“I thank the chair of the caucus for tabling the motion, and I thank Nexus for 40 years of vital work, as Members said. We also have to mention that the Executive have repeatedly affirmed their commitment to tackle sexual and domestic abuse and to end violence against women, but we have to look at their track record and highlight and challenge it, especially as they have failed to do those things. The Executive rejected a bid for transformation funding to tackle violence against women and girls. That somewhat shows where their priorities lie. We have to fight for a society that is free from sexism, exploitation and gender-based violence. That includes providing the funding to programmes when they are needed, including those from the likes of Nexus, Women's Aid and others.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your statement, even though there is nothing in it about reviewing industrial derating, which, in large part, is a handout to major corporations such as Caterpillar, Coca-Cola and Moy Park. I presume that you are happy to maintain that situation. How do you intend to reform the rates system to make sure that it is connected to wealth and to corporations' profits?”
“Minister, I agree that much of the solution to the crisis is public transport, although there is the problem, as the Member for Lagan Valley said, of buses being cancelled or being full to overflowing because there are not enough of them on the roads. Given that we have the lowest public transport spend per head of population across these islands, what are you and your Department doing to provide more trains and buses?”
“Minister, you mentioned the Private Tenancies Act and the limiting of rent increases. Are you taking any further action on private rent freeze and rent caps? What wrap-around services will be provided for the loan-to-acquire scheme? How secure are those tenancies, and how long will people be allowed to stay in that accommodation? Is it, presumably, until they receive an offer of a permanent social home?”
“Thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker. I was bringing my remarks to a close. During the debate, somebody mentioned that my comments were not challenged, but I heard noises from my right and left when I was speaking. I am happy to hear comments, but people were offered a chance to intervene and they did not want to. That is their prerogative. <BR /> <BR />I was making the point that this is about the Commission's budget: what the Assembly spends its money on. The final point that I was making, before I was shouted at and noise was made in my direction, was that staff in the building who work for Aramark should be brought in-house. They should be employees of the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />Those were my points on the Commission budget.”
“Sorry? <BR /> <BR />It does not end with HP. I have raised the point about Aramark before. It has hired workers on zero-hours contracts. It is also involved in the prison industrial complex in America and the direct provision system in the South of Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />We have to ask questions about the organisations with which the Assembly Commission pays to do business. I have raised the issue before with Information Services. We should not do business with Hewlett-Packard (HP), which services the offices of Netanyahu and the Israeli war-makers. That company also provides technology for Israel's Population and Immigration Authority, which really enforces the apartheid system. There is a worldwide call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) action towards HP, and the Assembly should heed it. <BR /> <BR />We should also point out the Assembly's involvement with other dodgy companies.”
“That adds insult to injury, when teaching unions are balloting their members on a pay deal and potential strike action; when Health and Social Care workers, who were promised pay parity and promised that money would be restored to them when Stormont was up and running, are still waiting; and when NI Water workers are still waiting for their money to be processed. It is completely unacceptable that politicians' pay is once again prioritised over that of public-sector and other workers. <BR /> <BR />There is a small improvement — 3%, to be precise — in pay for Assembly Commission staff. It is worth mentioning that, earlier this year, some senior staff in the Building received a 12%-15% pay increase. Compare that with 3%: it is totally unfair, when we are talking about workers on lower salaries further down the pay scale.”
“Some aspects of the budget are fine and are even required, but I want to raise other aspects. The first is MLAs' pay. That is a bone of contention among some in the House who believe that the £500 increase included in the budget is probably not enough and want to go further. I note that Scotland has been mentioned in some of the papers on the budget. I have consistently made the point that MLAs should be on a wage that reflects the people whom they represent: their constituents. With the increase in the budget, an MLA's wage will increase to £53,000, not to mention, of course, the scale for a Minister's salary, which goes through the roof.”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. During the debate, the Member for North Belfast made an inaccurate comment, and I suggest that he correct the record. He praised the British Empire's role in rolling out rail across the world. I suggest that he correct the record and pick up a copy of the 'The Blood Never Dried: A people's history of the empire' for Christmas, although I will not be buying it for him.”
“If we want to triple the number of people who use the rail system across Ireland, we need to make fares consistent across the island, with the aim of making public transport free for everyone. It is not rocket science. We have already cracked it —.”
“Not only is investment in rail economically sound but it is urgently needed in order to meet our net zero obligations. We need to reach net zero before 2050, and there is an urgency to reach it by 2030, if we are being realistic. Look at Valencia, where the warmer temperatures and the atmosphere mixing with warmer and rising sea levels caused a whirlwind storm, terrible weather patterns and death and destruction across the region. <BR /> <BR />We need to put more pressure on the likely incoming coalition Government, who have the biggest surplus in the history of the Southern state. This should be a time to push them for proper investment in free transport and rail. There is a €13 billion tax windfall from Apple as well.”
“I thank the Member. Our position is that the Government should be investing in widening the SmartPass criteria, reducing fares and moving towards free transport. I will come on to how that should be funded in a second. <BR /> <BR />The Minister said in September that, due to funding pressures, he will not be taking forward any of the options, which would increase the costs of the SmartPass scheme. In February, he said that he had no plans to provide free public transport to everyone. Those are both unfortunate and disappointing positions and statements. The cost of implementing the recommendations of the all-island strategic rail review is around £30 billion, but the benefits to society include reduced journey times, road decongestion, better health and a reduction in greenhouse gases. You cannot put a price on those.”
“I am happy to give way on that point if the Member wants to come in.”
“We should also broaden the SmartPass criteria to include free travel for people with disabilities — I will tackle the sort of "Bah humbug!" points that the Member who spoke earlier made — students and asylum seekers, with a view to making public transport free for all.”
“<BR /> <BR />I also want to mention electric vehicles, and this is from somebody who was almost a convert to them. They are very carbon-intensive in extracting the resources that make up the batteries for them. They raise ethical questions about people in the Global South reshaping their communities and countries towards the expansion of the West and the economic model here as well. <BR /> <BR />How Governments spend money reflects their priorities. Investing in roads at the expense of public transport means that we value unsustainable, polluting travel by private car above free and frequent public transport.”
“It is totally unacceptable that we live on a small island, yet there are swathes of areas without proper access to rail and public transport. <BR /> <BR />When car traffic piles up, as it did recently in Belfast city centre, rather than introduce more frequent buses and trains etc to get people out of their cars, we see DFI revert to type by allowing more cars to funnel into the city centre. That should be used as an opportunity to break old habits and patterns, not to repeat them. The volume of cars in our society today is having a harsh impact on not only our health but our roads, with repeated journeys, heavy traffic and wear and tear. It is questionable whether that is a wise use of public money year after year. Investing more in public transport is surely the better way.”
“It is quite remarkable, if you think about it. Sixty or 70 years ago, you could travel by train from Belfast to Ballycastle and move from Derry to remote Gweedore by rail, but now, Donegal and much of the north-west is a wasteland when it comes to rail. Those areas were previously busting with steel lines, carrying cargo and people. <BR /> <BR />We have to mention that the Beeching report also sped up the decimation of rail. It was stated, literal government policy to roll back on the availability of rail lines. Today, we are still dealing with the after-effects of that in Ireland, but so too are many, many towns and cities in Britain. The Government and their functionaries put a wager on the expansion of cars, and we are breathing the polluted air as a result of those aggressive and wrong decisions.”
“The Infrastructure Minister said that the price difference is primarily due to the greater level of subsidy provided to Irish Rail by the Dublin Government. The obvious question to raise is this: why is the same level of investment not being provided by Translink? What is the point in spending over £350 million on a brand-new shiny centre, with £11 million wasted on consultation fees for it, if people cannot afford or are priced out of getting on trains? Train travel is the safest and cleanest, and it could be the cheapest, form of travel for everyone. <BR /> <BR />We also have to recognise that we did not get to where we are now by accident. We got here as a result of government policy that was designed to thwart public transport along the policy of partition and to decimate border communities in the process.”
“In April 2022, the Irish Government cut public transport fares by 20% across the board in recognition of the cost-of-living crisis, and that included tickets for Enterprise journeys that originated in the South. In the North, Translink fares were frozen between 2019 and 2023, but fares have been hiked again, and more and more people are finding travel by bus and rail unaffordable and inaccessible. We need to remove those barriers immediately. <BR /> <BR />During the debate, we heard that rail passengers travelling from Newry to Belfast are paying more than double the price of a ticket from Dundalk to the same destination, even though the journey from Newry is shorter. It beggars belief.”
“Minister, you said that you were not developing a scheme at the minute, but, if you were, would you consider putting in conditions so that public money would not be given to organisations that are hostile to unions, do not pay a real living wage or use zero-hours contracts? Would you support such conditions in a public scheme?”
“That is why I am bringing forward a Member's Bill called the people's housing Bill, which will aim to tackle some of the root causes of the housing crisis that has ruined people's lives and torn families apart for too long. I hope that Members will support that Bill.”
“We need to make use of the UK's new definition of debt to allow the Housing Executive to invest in building the new social homes that are so desperately needed and building them where they are needed. We need to act to quickly transform some of the 22,500 vacant homes across the North into social homes. We need to implement a housing first programme to tackle chronic homelessness: a programme that treats housing as a fundamental human right. <BR /> <BR />Everyone, regardless of their income or where they are from, deserves a decent, affordable and secure place to live. The people of the North know what needs to be done to end homelessness, and it is up to the Executive parties to do it.”
“Those in power tell us that ending homelessness is complicated, but it is definitely not complicated. The solutions are obvious to anyone who walks through the city centre or down the high street past buildings and homes that have been lying empty for years. The solutions are obvious to anyone whose landlord has issued an extortionate rent increase. Relying on the private market to solve our homelessness crisis is a fool's errand. The solutions are obvious to anyone who has been evicted from their home for no good reason and has nowhere else to go. We need to keep people in their homes by introducing a no-fault eviction ban and rent controls that are linked to income.”
“It is a disgrace that people profiteer from the homelessness crisis and that Executive parties facilitate that profiteering. In 1981, two out of every five households here lived in a Housing Executive home; today, shockingly, that number is just one in 10. <BR /> <BR />During the debate, we should remember that homelessness is the direct result of political choices. The failure to invest in building enough social homes for the people who need them is a political choice. Cuts to the discretionary housing payment budget, resulting in more people falling into arrears and facing homelessness, is a political choice. Historical underinvestment in vital homelessness support services delivered by the community and voluntary sector and the Supporting People programme is a political choice.”
“The Communities Minister recently announced that an extra £24 million, allocated during the October monitoring round, would enable the construction of up to 800 new social homes, bringing the total to just 1,400 for the year, yet £20 million that was allocated in June was enough to build only 200 social homes. The sums do not add up. <BR /> <BR />At that rate, it will take decades to clear the backlog in our waiting lists. Instead of providing homes where families can put down permanent roots, the Executive are allowing the problem to grow. Last year alone, £34 million was spent on temporary accommodation, much of which ended up in the pockets of private landlords and companies. That is totally unacceptable. To rely on the private market to solve our homelessness crisis is to pursue a fool's errand.”