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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“Workers, obviously, have been working. The point that I was making, if the Member had listened to what I said, was that the Education Minister refused to act and workers and parents were forced to act to protect people and stop the virus spreading in schools. He failed to act and was forced to do a U-turn. Since then, he has been forced to do four or five U-turns. That was my point. <BR /> <BR />The hypocrisy fuels the worst reactions against the health advice. It is no accident that, around the world, the far right is hitching itself to conspiracy theories on the threat of COVID, from Trump in the US to the small but dangerous fascist and far-right groups here in Ireland.”
“I thank the Member for the intervention. I did not say that the health service should not be open: it needs to be open to treat people.”
“In the final instance, the Government are ultimately about prioritising the needs of profit and capital over people's health, from people being told not to visit family but to get back to work to employers cramming workers back into unsafe working conditions, poor people being forced to choose between poverty and risking their health, financial provisions being stripped from people, the elderly dying in care homes and politicians flouting —.”
“When we had infection rates down to controllable levels, the Chamber lifted restrictions on workplaces and opened the door to a second wave; indeed, since the onset of the crisis, ordinary people generally have been ahead of the Government. They forced the shutting of schools when Ministers refused to act, and, in some workplaces, at the start of lockdown, workers walked out of their jobs to protect themselves. The level of communal and community solidarity with workers and the vulnerable has been remarkable throughout the crisis. Almost every day since, we have seen examples of the hypocrisy of the Government in dealing with the virus starkly contrasting with the efforts of communities and front-line workers.”
“I put that question twice last week to the First Minister, who did not give a clear answer or provide the evidence. I am glad that the Health Minister is here, and I hope that he can shed some light on that question. <BR /> <BR />The regulations essentially say, "Don't visit your grandparents but take them anywhere you want as long as there's a till to spend money". It is so farcical that it defies description. Such hypocrisy is not only unfair; it is dangerous, because it feeds the worst elements of the scepticism about the health advice on COVID. <BR /> <BR />The recent spread of the virus is a failure by this establishment not by ordinary people.”
“Since rushing to reopen the economy prematurely and force thousands of people back into work, the political establishment here has engaged in a blame game that seeks to scapegoat ordinary people for the spread of COVID in order to cover up their own failures. Recent changes seem to be, at least partially, about shifting blame for the spread of COVID away from the Government and onto individuals' behaviour and the sphere of people's private lives. It reaches the point of absurdity when, for example, MLAs are up in arms about COVID spreading in homes with more than six people while forcing thousands of people back to work and doing nothing about clusters in workplaces. Where is the evidence that COVID spreads in living rooms but not on shop floors or in workplace canteens?”
“Both organisations have corresponded with us to remind us of the numbers of people who had dementia who have died with COVID and the numbers of deaths in general from dementia in our society.”
“That is a concern that has to be raised and I thank the Member for mentioning it today. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I call on the Minister and the Executive to review priorities going forward and to seriously consider where the recent spikes in the pandemic are coming from. I cannot see how anyone could come to the conclusion that people with dementia or other conditions in care homes are spreading the virus compared with the tens of thousands of people who are in our cities and town centres every weekend. If our regulations do not reflect that reality, the Executive's approach needs to be seriously reconsidered. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I welcome the work that is being done by the Alzheimer's Society and Marie Curie, which has already been mentioned.”
“It seems incredible that our bars and work places have been flooded with workers and punters and that that is deemed to be safe and yet resuming care home visits, which can alter the living experience of some of the most vulnerable people in our society and communities, is not. I am not just speaking about the elderly and those who are vulnerable; many young people with disabilities are in the same position. As the massive political drive to get the economy restarted has overhauled the regulations, those people have been left feeling forgotten about and, to be frank, let down.”
“Care home residents who live with dementia have endured seven or eight months without seeing any of their loved ones. They have been calling for clarity and action on the matter, and the response has been lacking. Some families have been stopped from visiting their relatives at their bedroom windows, whilst car park visits have been banned and access to carers has been limited. <BR /> <BR />While the restrictions behind those measures are in place to stop care home residents falling ill with COVID-19, those with dementia and their families are speaking out about how some of the most vulnerable members of society are coming to harm as a result of those measures, which were not made in consultation with those on the front line of care.”
“We know how many care homes endured the pandemic with little to no PPE at all for far too long, how little testing was put in place for those who arguably needed it more than most and how residents were discharged from hospitals and placed straight into care homes without being tested. I hope, for the sake of residents and the carers involved, that they will one day be armed with answers on who decided that their care should be deprioritised. Hopefully, accountability will follow. The Health Committee is looking at some of those issues. <BR /> <BR />One facet of the crisis facing those in care homes, including dementia sufferers, has not been the subject of rigorous debate but has had a debilitating impact on their ability to survive the pandemic.”
“I am in favour of the motion; I thank the Members who brought it to the House and stand in solidarity with those who have been pressing for better legislation for many years to cater for and protect our loved ones who have dementia. Proper review and reform of the measures that are in place to allow people with dementia to live fully and safely is long overdue. <BR /> <BR />In particular, I want to speak to the situation that is facing people with dementia in our care homes. Since the beginning of the crisis, those in care homes have felt its effects very sharply.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. As well as the points that the Member raised, we share concerns — concerns that have been raised with me and, I am sure, with him — about some care home owners refusing to allow people access to a trade union and not allowing trade unions on to their site to organise.”
“I will do. That is why Cummings and Johnson are looking towards the state to intervene in such a way as to bolster their mates. The Internal Market Bill would result in an effective power grab and massively elevate the powers of the Secretary of State whilst riding roughshod over the devolved Administrations —”
“They want to intervene in the economy in a way that will increase the wealth and the power of major corporations that are based in Britain, and that is a complete and utter disgrace.”
“The Tories have poured £10 billion of public money into the likes of Serco and other private corporations to run England's test and trace programme and it has been an absolute disaster. While only £300 million of additional funding has been offered to local authorities to support the test and trace programme. Who do they put in charge to run such an important system; not a health expert, but a loyal Tory baroness, a former chief executive of TalkTalk. Something that you would probably expect to see in an episode of 'The Thick of It', but this is government policy in the middle of a health pandemic. <BR /> <BR />Despite the Tories criticising the left over its view of a state that intervenes in the economy and protects people's lives, the Tories essentially want to do the same.”
“The vision of a new Ireland, a socialist Ireland, rejecting the neoliberalism of the elites in Westminster and Brussels is gaining momentum. <BR /> <BR />The Northern Ireland protocol, as the motion suggests, is definitely far from perfect and does have fundamental flaws within it. However, it is clear that the Internal Market Bill is an attempt by Boris Johnson to bolster the strengths and, fundamentally, the profits of British corporations, whilst risking a no-deal crash out of the European Union and the beginning of a war over tariffs. The way that the British state has rolled out its limited testing and contract tracing programmes gives an indication of how Messrs Cummings and Johnson view the state in modern society.”
“The people of Ireland, North and South, have made it clear to Westminster, Brussels, the Dáil and Stormont that they do not want and will not tolerate the return of a hard border. Under no circumstances will a hard border be allowed to return. <BR /> <BR />These latest shenanigans will no doubt add momentum to the call for a border poll for a united Ireland and the ending of the 100-year disaster that has been partition. The renewed argument for democratic self-determination is not unique to the North. We have seen emerging conversations around national governance in Scotland, Catalonia, the Basque Country, Quebec and many other places. Westminster and the EU have set their face against these democratic movements.”
“Johnson and the Tories put billionaire bosses first from the coronavirus pandemic through to Brexit. <BR /> <BR />What this latest saga has given verve to is the need for people here to govern for themselves and not be repeatedly dictated to by London, be that through the issue of Brexit or, indeed, the coronavirus pandemic. Far too often through the pandemic, Executive parties here have followed suit and danced to the tune of an out of touch Conservative Government. Johnson and the Tories have demonstrated over and over again that they are not worried that their stand-off with the EU could lead to the return of a hard border in Ireland. This latest move once again threatens the possibility of a hard border.”
“Thank you. The latest move by Boris Johnson will surprise no one. The Tories and the privileged elite who support them do not care how it will impact on people here. All along, the Tories have ignored what people think, how they voted in the referendum and, ultimately, the reality of life for people who live on a divided island, especially those who live in border towns and communities. Just because it may not be a surprise does not make it any less repugnant that the Tories would be willing to throw people under a bus in such a callous way. The Internal Market Bill might be a tactical ploy by the Etonian to get a better deal from the EU in negotiations, but who could really rule out the Tories who are, once again, willing to disregard people here in a bid to essentially get a deal that suits British capitalism.”
“Does the Minister agree that the latest move to remove free car parking from healthcare workers is a further kick in the teeth for the people who kept us safe during the pandemic and that it is extra insulting considering that it occurred at around the time that MLAs' expenses were increased?”
“For this reason, the Minister and the Executive need to use this opportunity to identify core, long-term funding for Derry's crisis intervention service and make it part of the mental health action plan. The job of the Executive is to help people not to abandon them and generate cynicism and hopelessness. <BR /> <BR />Derry needs a new deal. Let us send a message that we are serious about delivering this by making it a priority to establish core funding for this essential service.”
“Hundreds of millions of pounds have been wasted on the likes of the renewable heat incentive scheme, and funding of £30,000 or £60,000 for the crisis intervention service requires a big effort, investment and action by Derry and Strabane council and others to demand it. For me, that sends out the wrong message. The people of Derry will tell you that. They told me that prior to this debate. They will tell you that nothing has changed and that the new Stormont is the old Stormont when it comes to Derry and the north-west; promises but little delivery. <BR /> <BR />People in Derry are fed up with the half a loaf treatment, and the mental health crisis is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. The health pandemic, as we heard earlier, and its social and economic aftershocks will make it even more challenging.”
“For those reasons, by not sourcing core funding for the crisis intervention service, I believe that the Executive are sending the wrong message to Derry and the north-west. A service that I am more familiar with, Compass Counselling, which is based on the Shankill, also required council intervention to save that fundamental and important mental health service. That pattern happens too often. <BR /> <BR />As we have heard already, New Decade, New Approach makes a series of commitments to develop Derry and the north-west. What message does it send to people in Derry and the north-west when they are forced to organise an all-out effort every couple of months to keep the doors of this vital service open?”
“However, the treatment of the service is not good enough. People who depend on the service cannot be sure that it will be there next year or the year after, workers cannot be sure whether they will have a job and no one can make long-term plans to tackle mental ill health on that basis. <BR /> <BR />Like my constituency, Derry and the north-west suffer disproportionately from the legacy of deprivation and disinvestment, and the implementation of Tory welfare reforms has had a vicious negative impact on the most vulnerable and on low-paid workers in all communities here. Absolute poverty has increased, and these factors drive a tremendous mental health challenge for people in Derry and beyond.”
“Mr Speaker, as you know, I am not a Member from the constituency or a Derry man, but it is important to be here and speak in support of this service and other services like it across the North. Too often, services like this spend too much time chasing funding when they should be doing what they are best at, which is supporting people with mental health issues. People have expressed to me that the crisis intervention service in Derry is a vital amenity for the city and for the north-west. I believe them and will take their word for it. It has saved lives, as Members have emphasised tonight. <BR /> <BR />On World Suicide Prevention Day, the Minister announced another £60,000 of funding to keep the service going until March. That funding has been broadly welcomed because it is a service that nobody in Derry wants to lose.”
“<BR /> <BR />To conclude, the furlough scheme is due to come to an end in the next few weeks. We have to ascertain how that will impact on people's anxiety, insecurity and mental health problems. The motion rightly talks about the need for a collaborative approach, but I think that the Economy Minister and the Finance Minister have as important a role to play as the Health Minister does. <BR /> <BR />I will leave the final words to a writer from the US, Mike Davis, who says about coronavirus and mental health:”
“OK. I will do my best to answer and finish my comments. I agree with the Member. She knows all too well about people in west Belfast who have cried out for services but have not got them, so I agree with her on the need for that strategy. <BR /> <BR />For men under 50, suicide is a leading cause of death. To follow on from Órlaithí's point, too often I have heard, as, I am sure, she has as well, of people who have been told to reach out and ask for help. They have done so, but the help has not been there or else they have been told to wait a few months for services or treatment. Imagine people who do not feel valued or who have low self-esteem taking the important and difficult step of reaching out to their GP or whomever, only to be told, "Wait. We will come to you when we can". Too many people are failed by an underfunded system.”
“That is not to say that middle-class or wealthy individuals cannot be affected by mental health problems — of course they can — but the problems are more acute, concentrated and higher in areas with high poverty levels. In fact, worryingly, the suicide rate is around 70% higher in deprived areas as compared to non-deprived areas. That is a shocking and worrying statistic. We know, I think it might have been —.”
“The people who are front and centre in tackling this crisis have seen their stress levels increase because of the work that they have been doing and the pressure that they have been under. <BR /> <BR />It is no accident that my constituency of West Belfast and the neighbouring constituency of North Belfast are consistently the areas with the highest rates of suicide and self-harm. I say no accident because it is precisely these areas, and others across the North, that suffer the highest levels of poverty, deprivation and inequality. Despite general political talk about moving forward and a new Northern Ireland, these communities and their residents have been left behind, ignored and fundamentally failed.”
“Are enough resources being put in to tackling mental health problems? <BR /> <BR />Although the Department spends roughly £10 million per year on suicide prevention, we have to say that nowhere near enough is being spent. With that in mind, if we really are to have a zero-suicide strategy, we are spending too little on prevention. <BR /> <BR />We know that around 200,000 people here — about one fifth of the adult population — will have a mental health problem at some point in their life. Minding Your Head has stated that 57% of the people it surveyed are worried and stressed about COVID-19. On top of that, we have seen a 50% increase in significant stress for people who are working with those who have had COVID-19.”
“I thank the Members for bringing this important motion to the House. Quite rightly, we have been focusing on tackling one pandemic, COVID-19, but time, energy and resources must be made available to discuss the pandemic of suicide and mental ill-health that has been with us for many years. <BR /> <BR />Recently, people have asked me why the same focus and resources that have been put into COVID-19 have not been invested in tackling mental health. I do not think that it is an either/or, but I think that it is a fair point for people to raise. Like my colleague Colin McGrath, I welcome the establishment of the mental health champion position and I wish her well in her new role. Whilst the Minister has prioritised and put a focus on mental health with the creation of the role, the question of whether enough is being done needs to be asked.”
“Can the Minister confirm whether it was the Executive Committee (Functions) Act that allowed her to announce this decision? If that was the case, are there any further decisions on that scale to be announced by her Department in the coming weeks and months?”
“I disagree: the Minister has been anything but consistent. He has performed U-turns left, right and centre all over the place throughout the crisis. Following recent changes announced by the Executive, can the Minister explain to me and the House how the virus spreads in the home but not in the school?”
“We call on all Members of the Assembly to vote for the motion as a way of fully acknowledging the structural and institutional racism in our society and the need to act in order to eradicate it. We call on Members to fully take on board the demands of the BAME community. We call for the Black Lives Matter protesters' fines and the threats of prosecution to be dropped immediately and for a sincere apology to be issued to that community for the treatment that they have received.”
“The failure to recognise institutional racism does not stop here. In the city council, some parties who claim to support civil rights and racial equality and the Black Lives Matter movement did not support a motion tabled by my party to drop the fines and threats of prosecution relating to 6 June. It is really shocking. <BR /> <BR />The point is that the Assembly voted for a racial equality strategy but did nothing to serious implement it. Now we have the danger of more lofty gestures when there is still a refusal to acknowledge institutional racism towards the Black Lives Matter movement. That is called hypocrisy, and even the dogs in the street are barking about it.”
“I am sure you did. However, have the police visited people who run care homes where there have been COVID-19 outbreaks? Have the police called into workplaces where there have been health and safety issues raised about COVID-19? If the Member cannot see the issue, I am sorry, but I cannot help him. <BR /> <BR />To treat the protesters in that way, legislation had to be undemocratically rushed through the Assembly. It is a blatant example of institutionalised racism, and it appears to be completely lost on some in the House as well as the Member for South Belfast. The Justice Minister and all those who stood over, voted for and defended what occurred on 6 June say that they are not racist and that they support civil rights and racial equality, but they did not do it on 6 June.”
“Unlike all those other events, the Black Lives Matter protests were organised in the safest possible, socially distanced way, with masks, sanitiser and gloves, yet it is only the Black Lives Matter protesters who have been systematically criminalised. I repeat: the Black Lives Matter protesters were systematically criminalised. Therefore, the treatment of the Black Lives Matter organisers and protesters is a blatant example of institutionalised racism. Members of the black and ethnic minority community were visited in their homes the night before the protests and threatened with prosecution by the PSNI. What a disgraceful state of affairs. On the day of the protest, people of colour and many who were attempting to attend the protests were harassed by the PSNI.”
“We will give it our full support. We do not want just to see the motion passed but to see it implemented in full, with the full participation of the BAME community. We need to fire up the effort to eradicate racism from every aspect of our society. <BR /> <BR />I acknowledge that we tabled an amendment to the motion that was, unfortunately, not accepted. The amendment sought for the Assembly to support the call for all fines and threats of prosecution for those who organised and attended the socially distanced Black Lives Matter rallies in Belfast and Derry on 6 June to be dropped. As everyone is the Chamber knows, the health guidelines have been breached by many events and in many ways during the pandemic.”
“Some might say — I think that some in the Chamber did say — that it is something happening very far from here, yet we have the embarrassing spectacle of DUP MPs enthusiastically proclaiming their support for President Donald Trump — the tyrant in the White House — who has defended the murder of black people by police in the US and given encouragement and protection to racist vigilantes who have killed Black Lives Matter protesters. <BR /> <BR />The letter from the BAME community calls on the Assembly to ensure that people from minority ethnic backgrounds living here cannot be treated as lesser human beings and to put in place the necessary resources for a genuine racial equality strategy to be implemented. That needs to be done immediately. People Before Profit heeds the call from that community to support the motion.”
“First, the Chamber should commend the black- and ethnic minority-led groups that initiated the proposal to bring forward an urgent discussion and a call for action on racial equality to the Assembly. It is unfortunate that the BAME community felt it necessary to register its disappointment at the lack of political will to tackle racial inequalities here; indeed, it is a matter of profound disappointment and, frankly, is something that the Executive should be ashamed of. This is another example of parties hypocritically saying one thing and doing another or, in this case, doing nothing. <BR /> <BR />There are some who claim that there is no structural racism in the North. The letter from the BAME community was prompted by the horrific murder of George Floyd.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answers so far. The Minister may or may not be aware that the University of Cambridge is testing every student once a week and that Boston University is testing every student twice a week. He will obviously agree that mass testing is fundamental to elimination, especially as we just heard as he entered the Chamber that a vaccine is unlikely to be available until 2024. Are there any plans for mass testing to be made available outside schools, universities, colleges and workplaces in order to ramp up the testing that is required?”
“I thank the First Minister for her answers so far. Following on from her answer to my earlier question about the evidence that exists to show that the virus spreads rapidly in homes, and therefore requires action, but seemingly does not spread as rapidly in schools and workplaces, and does not require action, will she commit to making that specific information available to members of the Health Committee and the House?”
“I respectfully disagree, Minister. I do not think that fracking is controversial. It is crazy, and it is dangerous to the environment. That has been proven by multiple people. <BR /> <BR />I have already raised this issue with the Minister. My constituents, and many constituents across the North, still await a decision on an application that would give a private company the right to drill for petroleum across the North. Can she give a commitment to them that she will not proceed with granting that licence?”
“In light of the recent changes to the restrictions, can the Minister provide us with the evidence that says that the virus can spread in homes where there are more than six people but not in workplaces or schools where there are more than six people?”
“We think that that is the best approach to dealing with the housing crisis in our communities. <BR /> <BR />We are not in favour of ploughing ahead with the profit-driven development of our city centres, which has seen hoteliers and businesses given primacy over the objective need of our communities too many times. We are not alone: academic research says that we must move towards more sustainable planning. The COVID-19 crisis has exposed more than ever the problematic fragility of the direction taken by the Executive over the past 10 years in the matter. We are for the development of homes in the city centre, but they must be built or developed so that they are affordable and up to environmental standards. Therefore, I cannot support the DUP motion, but I will support the amendment.”
“I remind the Member that there is no great practice of grants being handed out in this Building through various Departments and of them being fair and accessible and of public money being well spent. I remind him of RHI. There have to be concerns raised over the kind of grant scheme that he and his party suggest. <BR /> <BR />How many high-quality, premium apartments did we see flood the market in Belfast alone when COVID hit and tourists could not travel here? There were enough to prove that such apartments are not always built with the people who live here in mind. To go further, we would like to see the Executive enable the Housing Executive to buy and develop many of those spaces to throw open town and city centres to people stuck on waiting lists.”
“Indeed, the motion comes hot on the heels — you will be well aware of this, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker — of the sign-off on the Tribeca development in Belfast city centre, which was opposed by campaign groups and thousands of submissions because it presented a threat to social housing, open space, arts and culture and built heritage, as we have heard, and included thousands of square feet of office space. Unfortunately, it was pushed ahead by the DUP and Sinn Féin. We can and must do better when planning the future for our town centres to put people's needs first and guarantee sustainability over making a quick buck for landlords or big business owners. How many —?”
“It is undoubtedly the case that city- and town-centre living would go some way towards alleviating local housing crises across the North, particularly in inner-city communities. We must ensure that, when we talk about increased housing across the North, it is, first and foremost, about getting people the homes that they need and, secondly, about doing it in a sustainable and affordable manner. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the intention behind the DUP motion today. It seems to be in line with the recent approach to COVID: the motive is, blatantly and simply, to get businesses in city centres generating profit again.”
“as if such a thing was an endangered species and not the historic ideology of elites here. <BR /> <BR />All these things are connected to the way that the state is the ultimate guarantor and cements sectarianism at the heart of it. People Before Profit, for our part, will continue to be a voice for social politics, inside and outside the Chamber, and will have no truck with this approach.”