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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“<BR /> <BR />Crime emerges from those social problems. Desperate want causes mental ill health. Poverty and inequality cause people to steal. Deprivation leads to violence. It is under the crushing economic policies of Stormont and Westminster that sectarianism and the racist violence witnessed in recent weeks grow and fester as working-class people turn on one another over the failures of the state. Lack of income and lack of access to housing, healthcare and the basic necessities of life are the problems, and we cannot police our way out of them. <BR /> <BR />There are no prizes for guessing why Executive parties seem more concerned about policing resources than fixing the problems from which crime grows.”
“We desperately need to invest in our health service, hospitals, GP services, mental health provision, and drug addiction and rehab services. We need to invest in schools to provide pupils with the best opportunities and to improve the lives of so many young people affected by educational underachievement. We need to invest in our welfare system to overturn the two-child tax limit and other cruel welfare reforms that have condemned so many to a life of poverty. We need to invest in public and community services across the board to provide people with a better standard of living. We need to invest in housing and to end homelessness. We need to invest in workers' wages, tax the rich and redistribute the vast wealth in our society in order to eradicate poverty, social alienation and the destitution forced on so many by this Government.”
“Any attacks on places of worship need to be condemned. We have seen a rise in attacks on mosques and in Islamophobia to really nasty levels. Minister, what is your assessment of the fact that the PSNI thinks that loyalist paramilitaries have a role to play in stopping racist violence or that they are not involved in racist attacks themselves? That is certainly contrary to the experience of many people across our communities, unfortunately.”
“My supplementary question is on a different matter. Minister, on the winter fuel payment, you said that you are meeting the Prime Minister on Thursday. Will you tell him your concern about more pensioners dying this winter as a result of the cruel cut to the winter fuel payment?”
“Despite today's opening of the Grand Central station in Belfast, government here still has the lowest spend across these islands on public transport. Hundreds less per head is spent here compared with other regions on these islands. The First Minister spoke of the need to be open and transparent. Minister, I ask you and the Executive to be open and transparent. Will you commit to funding public transport to close that gap?”
“<BR /> <BR />We need a mass anti-racism movement so that we can reclaim our streets and isolate the far right. We need working-class people to unite against racism in their communities, workplaces and everywhere that it raises its ugly head. Stand up against racism. Do not give it any quarter or truck. Solidarity.”
“Working-class unity is key for delivering on housing, overcoming poverty and seeing investment in all our public services. We need to combine those struggles with the anti-racism struggle because we are stronger together. We can win only if we are together. It will be up to us to stand up for one another, because the Government and the police force have failed. <BR /> <BR />I also offer a severe word of caution about the subsequent police response. Young people who are incited to riot by loyalist paramilitaries do not need to be fired at with lethal plastic bullets, which should be banned. If the state wants to deal with rioting, it should deal with the paramilitary and far right leaders who are orchestrating and organising this violence. However, I will not hold my breath.”
“Let me say this: there is nothing legitimate about the racism, Islamophobia and hate of those who have coordinated and organised these attacks. <BR /> <BR />It is a great irony that those who excuse racism and talk about so-called legitimate concerns are the same people who have overseen the housing crisis, the crisis in our NHS and much else. However, it would make an absolute mockery of us all if we were to listen to politicians who refuse to build public homes or tackle sky-high rents and who do the bidding of landlords at every single turn. <BR /> <BR />Migrants are not the problem. We have a problem with landlords, a problem with underfunding and a problem with a Government who refuse to tackle the housing crisis.”
“The measures designed to degrade and punish them for coming here happened on the watch of the Executive, who are tied to the hostile environment policy by a million threads. We see detention and deportation facilities like Larne House operating under Stormont's nose. We have the Executive's failure to bring forward a racial equality strategy, and yet people in this House wonder whether we have a racism problem. Political choices that either ignore or pander to racism have led us to where we are today, and, even now, after all the racist violence, there are elected representatives who still continue to give succour to far right thugs who have loyalist paramilitaries in their ranks. They say, "These people have legitimate concerns".”
“<BR /> <BR />Racism, however, does not stem from working-class communities. It is a top-down ideology that is created and fuelled by government policy. The Tories, who spent years attacking our communities, told us that people fleeing for their lives in small boats were the problem. They wanted us to focus on people who had nothing whilst turning a blind eye to the wealthy, who are hoarding ever-increasing amounts of obscene wealth. They caricatured migrants, asylum seekers and refugees and tried to strip them of their human rights through the disgraceful Rwanda Act. <BR /> <BR />The Labour Party has continued the Tories' hostile environment policy, which condemns asylum seekers, who are fleeing war, poverty and persecution, to a life of misery here.”
“On Saturday, however, after the protest, we saw a group of violent thugs virtually being given free rein to attack migrants and migrant-owned businesses. The PSNI has serious questions to answer on that front. <BR /> <BR />The violence witnessed in recent days did not occur in a vacuum. The far right has been emboldened by the racism of those in power who want to scapegoat migrants for their own failings. Those Governments have failed to build social homes — some should listen to that point — cut public services, kept wages down and punished working-class people through brutal economic measures like the two-child limit. Migrants, refugees or asylum seekers are not to blame. Deprivation, wrought by successive Westminster and Stormont Administrations, is fertile ground for racist ideas to grow and fester.”
“I place on the record my disgust at the brutal racist violence that we have witnessed in recent days. I also extend solidarity to all the victims. The far right forces behind those attacks are in the minority, and countless people here are determined to stamp out racism, Islamophobia and bigotry of any kind. The scenes that we have seen in recent days have been abhorrent. Certainly, based on the experience of the weekend, things could have been a lot worse, had we not had an organised anti-racist response to those who wanted to divide us. When a small far right mob gathered at the City Hall on Saturday, it was met with thousands of anti-racist campaigners. I pay credit to every campaigner who took a stand then and who is taking a stand against the hate of the far right.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Minister, all cuts, especially in the health service, are catastrophic. Minister, there is growing demand for a wealth tax on corporations across these islands. When the new Prime Minister comes here, will you commit to raising that matter with him as a way to fund our health service? Millionaire and billionaire wealth is completely out of control, and such a tax would be one quick way to fund our health service.”
“Public ownership and community ownership are very much part of the solution, Minister. Given the earl's recent announcement and the fact that the Minister is due to meet him in the coming days or weeks, I urge speedy action to take away the earl's access and rights to Lough Neagh. It is totally unacceptable that people have profited from the plunder of the lough. It is time to hand it back to those who need, use and love it. It is time for public ownership of Lough Neagh.”
“<BR /> <BR />Campaigners for Lough Neagh have demanded an independent environmental protection agency, urgent investment in research and a recovery plan, an end to commercial dredging and rights of nature for Lough Neagh. <BR />Their final demand is the public acquisition of the lough. It is totally unacceptable that the Earl of Shaftesbury has rights to and gets financial benefit from the lough because his ancestors stole it. There is consensus across most of society that it is totally archaic and unfair that that has been the case. <BR /> <BR />It is worth reminding the House of what the Minister said about that a few months ago:”
“At the weekend past, once again, activists from the Save Lough Neagh campaign gathered to make the case for urgent action to save the lough. I thank them for their tireless work. Despite all the warnings and actions from activist groups and campaigners last year about the algal bloom and the need for action, we are here again. With complete inaction from the AERA Minister and the Executive, the algal bloom is sprouting up again. Stormont, with its previous policies and current lack of urgency, is to blame for the recurring problem. The Going for Growth strategy was a disastrous approach that rewarded polluters and maximised pollution and industrial farming. The algal bloom is one of the outcomes of a disastrous strategy that is not good for small farmers, our food, the environment or, evidently, our fresh water.”
“cannot accommodate them or cope. I say that as parent of a child whom I hope will avail himself of those services. I want to let the Minister know that parents and family members are organising to put pressure on his Department to ensure that those people who want to educate their children through the medium of Irish have those services and can send their children to na naíonraí agus na bunscoileanna.”
“<BR /> <BR />That is, of course, not to mention the underfunding and pressure faced by the Irish-medium education sector as well. There has been a growth in demand from people who want to educate their kids through Irish-medium education, but often na bunscoileanna agus na naíonraí”
“Homeless children, or children in substandard accommodation, cannot do homework or study in cramped living spaces or while sofa-surfing. Therefore, you cannot tackle educational underachievement while failing to build social homes and refusing to deal with the housing crisis. You cannot deal with educational underachievement while cutting school funding, youth services or refusing to give education support workers a much-needed pay and grading review. Unfortunately, like much of what we hear from the Government, none of it matters unless they are prepared to provide the funding needed to match their grand plans and statements. If they are not, they should do us all a favour and stop the grandstanding. Our schools and young people deserve much better.”
“The difficulty for the Executive is that to deal with any of these issues facing our young people, schools and communities, you have to break with the Tories and fund services at any cost. <BR /> <BR />Dealing with educational underachievement will also require a holistic approach that deals with poverty as the root cause of these problems. Anti-poverty strategy? We are still waiting. How many years has that been? Children cannot concentrate in class whilst going hungry or worrying about their next meal. Therefore this Sinn Féin- and DUP-led Government cannot deal with educational underachievement whilst cutting workers' wages, implementing such welfare reforms as the two-child tax limit, hiking people's rates bills or bringing forward anti-working-class, revenue-raising measures.”
“So, while I agree with the instigator of the Adjournment debate that we need to fund early years, champion emotional health and well-being, support our teachers and make the curriculum and exam process relevant to the needs of our young people, I ask how that is possible in the context of an austerity Budget once again brought forward by a Sinn Féin Finance Minister and subsequently agreed by the DUP and the Alliance Party. According to the strategy outlined by the Executive parties, prioritising funding to deal with educational underachievement will require cuts to other areas. I do not think that school communities, early years or youth services should accept any funding agreement that says that you have to rob Peter to pay Paul.”
“The education cuts suffered by schools on the Falls under Sinn Féin's watch are the same as those suffered by pupils and schools on the Newtownards Road or the Shankill Road under the DUP's watch, and so on. <BR /> <BR />It is a disgrace that, almost every year, we see schools being forced to fundraise for basic materials, early years initiatives fight to stay open and youth clubs and other educational settings fight to save services that are under constant threat from Stormont. Just last year, we heard that the strategy from the 'A Fair Start' report to tackle educational underachievement was underfunded to the tune of £18·9 million in 2023-24. I have seen nothing to suggest that the new Administration are about to make up any of the shortfall.”
“<BR /> <BR />The other thing that has remained constant in that time is that, for the most part, West Belfast has been dominated by Sinn Féin. The promised peace dividend, opportunities for a better life, better education and so on have not been felt in working-class communities like mine. That is because the brutal economic policies that have been inflicted on working-class people by Stormont have stymied the potential of generations of people, including school pupils. That is not to single out one party, but the experience of West Belfast points to the collective policy of the Stormont Executive, which has devastated our communities through years of punishing cuts.”
“I declare that I have two immediate family members who work in schools in West Belfast. <BR /> <BR />Unfortunately, my West Belfast constituency has amongst the highest rates of educational underachievement in the North; the highest number of people on the housing waiting list; the highest number of households affected by welfare reforms, such as the two-child tax limit; and the highest rates of poverty, with 28·5% of children living in poverty. Some 26 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, working-class communities like West Belfast and beyond suffer worse levels of poverty and deprivation than ever. Given the link between poverty, class and educational outcomes, it is no surprise that educational underachievement remains so high in West Belfast.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Does the Minister recognise that pretty much everybody in the House, including people who are religious and people who are not, respects the right of people to practise religion and to pray privately but that there is a difference between that and people using the pulpit to attack people based on their sexuality or their gender or whether they are trans or because of the community that they come from? Does he recognise that there is a difference between those two things?”
“Ban conversion therapy in all its forms outright.”
“The UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, has said that a ban would not violate freedom of religion or belief under international law, because of the harm involved in conversion therapy.”
“The reason that they once discriminated against people attracted to the same sex is the same reason that they now want to whip up a moral panic about the trans community. The calculation by the Tories and others is simple: if the public are in a panic about trans people, they are less likely to kick up a fuss about the destruction of our health service or the Government's infringement of civil rights and the right to protest. If people are focusing on the migrant, the asylum seeker or the refugee, they are less inclined to challenge the Government for failing to invest in social homes, public services or working-class communities. In short, divide and conquer. <BR /> <BR />I want to make a final point about religion.”
“If we need a lesson in how not to do policy or on how to inflict more misery on people, we need only look at the approach of the Tory Government. This Government have stated that they will ban conversion therapy for lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals but not for trans, non-binary or asexual people. Make no mistake, that is not because the Tories care but because they have buckled under the weight of public opinion. It is because the vast majority of people no longer accept the notion that sexuality is, somehow, a mindset or a choice, and they will not accept the oppression of gay, lesbian or bisexual people. <BR /> <BR />In other words, it is an act of self-preservation by this hated Tory regime.”
“Who are those grifters to tell anyone who they are or how they should live their lives? <BR /> <BR />Not that it should need saying, but conversion therapies do not work. Any suggestion that they do is rooted in oppressive attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community and outright pseudoscience at best. The proven outcomes of conversion therapies on their victims include low self-esteem, depression and suicidal thoughts. Nobody should be subjected to such human rights abuses. In particular, we must recognise the vulnerability of children and young people to conversion therapy practices. Anyone who claims to stand for the protection of children must oppose their exposure to such coercion and violence. <BR /> <BR />It is important to underline the point in the motion that we need to ban all forms of conversion therapy.”
“Is it not a shame that the rights of the LGBTQ+ community remain up for debate in the Assembly and wider society? Is it not a shame that people's sexuality or identity are subject to such questioning and widespread bigotry, or that they are open to the most appalling forms of abuse in the guise of so-called conversion therapies? Those therapies are abuse. Those abuses — or conversion therapies, as they are called — are disgraceful and archaic; a remnant of a time when to be part of the LGBTQ+ community was to be viewed as evil, sick or sinful. Those so-called cures include sickening forms of violence, including corrective rapes, exorcisms and use of drugs, or other forms of physical punishment. Such methods are often propagated by people who make a fortune plying their harmful trade.”
“Does the Member share my concern that surveillance could extend beyond journalists? There could be troublemaker activists, MLAs or campaigners. We do not know how far it goes, which further suggests the need for an inquiry. Does he agree with that assessment?”
“I reiterate that we need a fully independent public inquiry with investigative powers to expose the PSNI's anti-democratic activities. The Justice Minister can no longer take a hands-off approach when dealing with the police force. Saying that such issues are "operational matters" for the PSNI does not cut it any more, Minister. I support the motion and oppose the amendment.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Member for his point, and I totally agree with him. It is effectively marking its own homework. I was just coming on to the point that it is utterly unacceptable that the PSNI Chief Constable has been allowed to take the initiative on investigating allegations of wiretapping of journalists' phones, because it is, as the Member said, effectively marking its own homework. I echo the words of Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney in saying that we cannot:”
“That is not just my opinion but an absolute fact. It is a police force that has harassed journalists to get them to reveal sources, who should be protected in any functioning democracy. The PSNI has treated journalists effectively as criminals by seizing journalistic materials and throwing journalists in cells for trying to investigate state murder. The PSNI has covered up collusion by the RUC by using public interest immunity (PII) certificates and all sorts of other dirty tricks to deny justice to families bereaved by state-backed paramilitary death squads. <BR /> <BR />All of that is unacceptable. Time and time again, the PSNI has been proven to be a law unto itself. How many more journalists were spied on, and, as I have asked before, are MLAs being spied on or have they been spied on? Nobody knows the answers to those questions.”
“The fact that the PSNI has to deny such spying allegations or order an investigation of any kind points to a complete lack of faith in that discredited police force. <BR /> <BR />When I raised those concerns in the Assembly last month, I spoke about the case of Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, who were pursued by the PSNI for exposing the truth about the Loughinisland atrocity. Police attempts to prosecute journalists for exposing PSNI collusion in the murder of six civilians is no accident. Many people will see it as a direct policy of a police force, the dark activities of which have purposefully denied justice to people from all walks of life. We do not need to scratch too far below the surface to identify how far that goes, because the PSNI has interfered with attempts to hold the state to account in the past.”
“Just yesterday, the PSNI Chief Constable, Jon Boutcher, was forced to deny claims that police had spied on so-called troublemaker journalists. He was forced to refute widespread media reports that the PSNI accessed the phone bills of journalists, who play a pivotal role in investigating the crimes of the state. Over four weeks after the Justice Minister faced calls to order a public inquiry into those allegations, the Chief Constable has ordered an independent review of the matter. First of all, the journalists will probably welcome any independent investigation that leads to disclosure. Secondly, that does not absolve the Minister of responsibility for calling a full public inquiry with the power to fully investigate these matters.”
“I thank the Minister for the answer. I am still unclear when or if the money will be released. You need to give a clear answer to the lowest-paid workers. Workers have said that they will likely resume strike action in the autumn if the money is not in their bank accounts. Will the money be in their bank accounts by the autumn?”
“They have agreed to be bound by the economic logic of a Tory Government who are hell-bent on destroying the last vestiges of our public services and ripping our communities apart. I hope that the Tory Government are set to pay the price for the destruction that they have caused in the upcoming general election. The Executive should stand up to them now. They should stand up and say that they will not do their bidding and that they will fund services and provide a decent future for all our people, whatever the cost.”
“The Executive should be ashamed of the paltry £1·6 million that they have provided to deal with the disaster at Lough Neagh. If that is what the Government call a priority, we are all in for a rough time. <BR /> <BR />Infrastructure cuts will see public maintenance being scaled back. Public transport workers will have their pay cut, and passenger fares will be hiked. They are being hiked already in the coming days. The over-60s, who are some of the most vulnerable in our society, will face the threat of having their free travel revoked. <BR /> <BR />The worst thing about all of this is that Ministers know the consequences. They know that the Budget will cause devastation, but they will vote for it anyway and say that there is nothing that they can do.”
“Despite calls from Stormont to scrap the two-child limit, the Budget will continue to punish people through cruel welfare reforms that were implemented by Sinn Féin, the DUP and Alliance. The promised and much talked-about childcare strategy will remain in limbo. Parents will cripple themselves to pay for childcare costs, unchecked and unchallenged by the Budget. The Budget means more hardship and poverty. I cannot endorse it. <BR /> <BR />I will vote against the Budget for our environment. Countless emissions targets will be missed due to departmental budget cuts. The Budget will help to drive global warming and bring us closer to climate catastrophe. It will mean less public transport, off-the-charts agricultural emissions and homes in desperate need of retrofitting. I will also vote against the Budget for Lough Neagh.”
“School buildings are falling down round their ears. The Budget will put more school build projects on the long finger, and schoolchildren will be expected to suck it up. The Irish-medium sector, which is already on the receiving end of state bigotry, will suffer under the Budget. I will vote against it for the sake of children's education.”
“Children with special educational needs and disabilities will face more discrimination under this Budget, as Stormont, once again, underfunds the schools and services that they rely on. They will experience a long wait for a statement of needs, be unsure of a school place and feel let down by the Government. Educators will do what they can with a lack of resources.”
“The Department for Communities, which is responsible for housing, will have its budget cut by 38%. A lack of homes means that rents will increase under this Budget. Mortgages will increase, and people will continue to be squeezed under the weight of this Government's failures. The same Department is supposed to be advancing an anti-poverty strategy — how can it be any more than a wish list if it's funding is slashed? <BR /> <BR />I will be voting against the Budget on behalf of education support workers, who have been waiting for a pay and grading review since 2018. Those workers, who keep our schools going, would not have to strike if this Budget delivered on their demands.”
“GP services and NHS dentistry, already on the brink of collapse, will be driven to further destruction. People will die on waiting lists, in hospital corridors and in parked-up ambulances. They will die through lack of treatment and lack of services. They will die from disease, forced negligence, suicide, overdose and more, as they await barely existent or non-existent services. For the sake of people's health, I will vote against the Budget. <BR /> <BR />For the sake of homes, I will vote against the Budget. The Chartered Institute of Housing has warned that over 400 fewer homes will be built as a result of this Budget. There are more than 40,000 on the housing waiting list because of Stormont's failure to build, and that number will only get higher, as will the number of homeless people and those sleeping rough.”
“The outgoing Minister said that there would be "serious and ... irreparable damage" because of this Budget. One in four people here is on a health waiting list, and the numbers will only grow. Stormont has cut over 1,000 hospital beds since 2010, but things are likely to get worse as our services are cut and the NHS becomes more understaffed. Health workers have had their pay cut. Junior doctors are out on strike, and more will strike thanks to this Budget. Some 80% of domiciliary care has been privatised on Stormont's watch. This Budget will continue the reliance on the private sector and fuel the privatisation of our health service overall. <BR /> <BR />As we struggle to recruit health workers with low pay and poor conditions, the huge vacancies will continue to be filled by handing hundreds of millions of pounds to private agencies.”
“However, once again, they roll over and do the Tories' dirty work with this Budget. <BR /> <BR />As usual, Executive parties tell us that it is inevitable and that we have no choice but to make do with what we have got. We heard that ad nauseam today. Not more than four days ago, the Audit Office found that the Executive handed £2·1 billion back to the Treasury over a period of five years. Some £420 million every year was handed back to the Tories, and then they tell us that they have no money and no choice but to implement these cuts. Budget cuts are a political choice. <BR /> <BR />To counter the spin from the Executive, it is worth tallying up the impact of their choices and the consequences of what we are being asked to vote for. Our health service will suffer because of this Budget.”
“This Tory Government is on life support, yet with every cut enacted by this Budget, the Stormont Executive breathe new life into their failed Conservative political project. After 14 years of crippling economic decisions implemented with the support of Sinn Féin, the DUP and others, the Tories are, I hope, set to be given the boot. However, it seems that they can be confident that Stormont will continue to implement their policies on behalf of the wealthy minority that they represent. This crucial juncture, when the British Government are at their weakest, should be the time when Stormont's ruling parties finally push back. They should say "No" to the implementation of more Budget cuts, "No" to the destruction of our public services and "No" to the further impoverishment of working-class people who have borne the brunt of their attacks.”
“Our message is, "Don't come back. You're not welcome on this island". Rishi Sunak needs to stop sending weapons, money and aid to Israel, and Keir Starmer needs to grow a spine and commit to that as well. We need to see the Irish Government suspend all trade with Israel. We need to see sanctions and sanctions and sanctions on Israel to stop the terror. Despite the actions of Israel, the Palestinian people and Palestine will never die.”
“To Israel and its backers, they are simply collateral. To Israel, the Palestinians whom they kill are nameless, but we know that they have names, families, hopes, dreams and desires, all of which are wiped out in seconds by Israel's deadly bombs. <BR /> <BR />We have heard for months butcher Joe Biden repeat the lie about beheaded babies, referring to Israeli children. We then see over the weekend actual beheaded and mutilated Palestinian babies. No pictures are held up by Biden, von der Leyen, Sunak or Starmer. Once again to those in power who fund the murder machine, Palestinian lives do not matter. They matter to us in this city and across this island, however. <BR /> <BR />In response to the recent events, we need to see urgent and swift action. The Israeli ambassador to Ireland has been recalled by Tel Aviv.”