Steve Aiken
South Antrim · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Minister, as well as the move to reduce the cost to the Assembly of vacant non-domestic properties and to increase liability so that we will not have so many vacant properties, you will be aware of the Dilapidation Bill and of the conversations that have been taking place in Wales and Scotland about…”
“Instead, that most dysfunctional Department, under the most inept Sinn Féin Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly and a series of grossly over-superannuated permanent secretaries, gave the money back.”
“We know that her Department spends more on legal cases, fighting judicial reviews and being chastised by judges for legal ineptitude and on vesting land and ripping out hedges and fencing and then trying to unvest it and paying even more money to put back the fences and hedges that it took out.”
“We can hardly blame the current permanent secretary, as she has just taken up her post, but, surely, her predecessors must bear some accountability or responsibility, especially considering the senior civil servants' salary scale of between £146,000 and £163,000, with, of course, their taxpayer-funded pension contribution of 34·2% — £218,…”
“It must be said that £181·3 million is a lot of taxpayers' hard-earned money. It is money that is raised from local commuters, vehicle owners, farmers, local businesses, logistics companies and, above all, our constituents — those vital people whom we are elected to represent.”
“The Minister will be aware that, under the public appointments guide published by the Executive Office, it is clear that she is supposed to take independent advice before appointing board members. What independent advice did she receive, particularly about the board members selected?”
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“There are only two reasons preventing it from becoming one. The first is that we do not have enough skilled labour to go and work there. I go and talk to the airport very regularly — every fortnight or so — and I always ask what its biggest problem is. Every time, I am told that it is that it does not have enough skilled people, because it cannot get them. It is bussing in people from all across Northern Ireland and the north of Ireland because there are not enough skilled people. The second reason is abundantly obvious, and it has already been pointed out by my friends. We need a decent road that connects to the motorway network so that we can use the airport as a major logistics hub. Doing that would be a win-win.”
“Normally, when the trains are full and there is successful infrastructure, one invests in it. For some bizarre reason, we are not investing, but we need to be able to do so. Bearing in mind that we are going to have to spend the money anyhow, it is appropriate that we now take a really strategic view on what we are going to do. Ballymartin can become a transport hub for the growing and important centres of Ballyclare, which I declare that I live quite close to, and I know that my friend does as well, as can Templepatrick. That, as an interim measure, could work quite well to improve bus links to the International Airport. <BR /> <BR />Belfast International Airport is a growth centre. It is probably one of the greatest opportunities that we have, not just in South Antrim but across Northern Ireland. It could be a major logistics hub.”
“<BR /> <BR />Translink is actually a bit of a success when it comes to railways. We have full trains. That is a good thing.”
“If that is going to be done, we need to take a strategic view of it. We will have to improve the ballast and the track bed between Antrim and Lisburn if we are to keep the line open for any reason. We will have to improve all the signalling, because the railway authority and the Railway Inspectorate will make us do so. We therefore have a good opportunity here. <BR /> <BR />Minister, you will have heard many times about the circle line and the opportunities there. I thank Trevor for talking about Ballymartin, which is a classic example. Part of its car park was designed to be straight, because, originally, there was going to be a railway platform there. The difficulty there was that the platform would not have been not long enough, so it would have had to be extended for longer trains.”
“I thank John for securing the debate, and I apologise now, Minister, because I will be a bit "spotterish" about this. I talk quite a lot with the railway community and Translink, and I am a great supporter of the all-Ireland rail strategy, because, in my previous existences, I worked closely with the then Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) on various links to the rail network there. <BR /> <BR />The circle line makes abundant sense when you step back to look at it, but it requires considerable investment in signalling; in ballast, which is what we need to make sure that the track does not fall off; and in upgrading bridges and the roads that are connected to those bridges, in order to make sure that they are capable of doing it. That is the downside. The upside is that all of that will have to be done anyhow.”
“in bringing together a much closer relationship. We should use every opportunity to do that. <BR /> <BR />Sadly, it is therefore incomprehensible that the so-called First Minister for all has refused an invitation to the state dinner. However, I am pleased that the deputy First Minister will attend. Despite the disrespectful stance of Sinn Féin and some of its fellow travellers on this issue, I hope that we give President Trump a warm welcome to our nation.”
“As we celebrate our transatlantic relationship, it gives us many more opportunities to promote Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. As we look at the many journeys that our two nations have taken, we should remember John Adams's view:”
“<BR /> <BR />Some here regularly complain about the president's stance on international relations while remaining remarkably coy about making similar comments about the leaders of Russia, China, Iran or North Korea. If I were an investor or a balanced political commentator from the United States, I would closely question that hypocritical attitude to the United States and its key allies. In fact, the United States and United Kingdom work closely together on cybersecurity along with key partners such as the Five Eyes community and Israel. That should also be celebrated, particularly by those whose job it is to promote our economy. <BR /> <BR />Next year is the 250th anniversary of the United States. Our links to its Founding Fathers are many, because they came mostly from us.”
“The president of the United States will arrive tomorrow for his historic second state visit to our nation. Not only should that be warmly welcomed but it comes as the Bank of America is setting up a centre of excellence for financial technology and security operations and Citibank continues to announce further investment in those cutting-edge sectors in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />In comparison with the relationships with other presidents, that with the forty-fifth and forty-seventh president, though controversial for some, has brought real benefit to Northern Ireland. The advantageous 10% tariff deal with the United States, against the 15% or more for the EU, gives us, unlike the usurious Windsor framework, an actual advantage. That should give us further reason to welcome POTUS to our nation.”
“I said to him, "Senator, we woke to the terrible news of the death of Charlie Kirk. The use of violence to silence free speech is, regrettably, something that we in Northern Ireland are all too aware of. Charlie Kirk and his young family are in our thoughts and prayers. We also pray for you and your great state at these sad times." <BR /> <BR />Senator Harper responded, "Thank you for reaching out, and thank you to the Northern Ireland Assembly for reaching out to us all. This is, indeed, a travesty. As you know all too well, violence is not a political solution. Sitting around a table to talk is."”
“Mr Speaker, I was not going to speak, but I have just had a message from Senator Wayne Harper, from the Utah State Senate.”
“We are approaching some of the key points in the Jewish religious calendar: Rosh Hashana at the end of this month, then Yom Kippur. When Yom Kippur occurs this year, it will be three years since those horrors were inflicted on 7 October. We, as a Chamber, should reflect on that, which is why I ask you to support our amendment.”
“Please, if you are right-minded, join us in supporting our amendment.”
“<BR /> <BR />Every day, my mind is haunted by the picture of the Bibas family and the horror of the fate of Ariel and Kfir, the children who were strangled by Palestinian terrorists — bear in mind that Kfir was only nine months old when he was strangled — and the fate of their mother, Shiri Bibas. How can anybody with any degree of humanity not understand those horrors and call for the immediate release of the hostages?”
“They are Ariel Cunio, Alon Ohel, Eitan Horn, Avinatan Or, Elkana Bohbot, Evyatar David, Bipin Joshi, Ziv Berman, Gali Berman, David Cunio, Eitan Mor, Maxim Herkin, Omri Miran, Bar Abraham Kupershtein, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Nimrod Cohen, Matan Zangauker, Tamir Nimrodi, Matan Angrest, Segev Kalfon, Rom Braslavski, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Itay Chen, Eliyahu Margalit, Eitan Levi, Sahar Baruch, Joshua Luito Mollel, Tal Haimi, Arie Zalmanowicz, Ran Gvili, Dror Or, Tamir Adar, Ronen Engel, Inbar Hayman, Guy Iluz, Asaf Hamami, Lior Rudaeff, Muhammad Al-Atarash, Meny Godard, Omer Neutra, Yossi Sharabi, Daniel Oz, Daniel Perez, Uriel Baruch, Sontia Ok’Krasari, Sontisek Rintalk, Amiram Cooper and Hadar Goldin. For those who are unaware, Amiram Cooper is 85 years old.”
“<BR /> <BR />What I would like to talk about, though, in asking Members to support my party's amendment, is an actual answer that would bring that horrid conflict to a swift conclusion and end the war right now: the release of the 48 innocent hostages. Please remember the following names in your thoughts. For those who pray, please remember them in your prayers.”
“Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. If possible, I would like to put some reason into the debate. Regrettably, the debate so far has just reinforced things that we have all said time and time again. We have had frequent mentions — on these Benches, we consider them to be inaccurate — of genocide, famine, apartheid, war crimes and the horrors of Israel. Thankfully, we have also heard from Members on these Benches about the conflicts in Yemen, Somalia, Darfur, Sudan, Syria and elsewhere. We should also hear about the Yazidis and what is happening against the Druze. Indeed, what is probably missing from both sides in the Chamber is a sense of balance about what is really happening. Quite frankly, none of us really knows what is happening on the ground.”
“Thank you very much indeed. My intervention is about the fact that one of the last things that David Lammy did before he stood down as Foreign Secretary was to identify the fact that the United Kingdom Government have concluded that Israel is not acting with intent and is therefore not conducting genocide. What is the Member's view on the British Government's current view that Israel is not conducting genocide? Indeed, other parties here are saying that Israel is conducting genocide when, in fact, there is no evidence whatsoever to show that.”
“I thank the Minister for his reply. One of the issues that we are having to deal with is that the Budget has been put back to the end of November. We have already seen the problems that our friends in Scotland and Wales have had in putting forward a three-year Budget. What contingencies have we put in place to look at that, particularly given that our pot will be squeezed and that Health and other areas will be under considerable pressure?”
“<BR /> <BR />At least some Members of the Irish Oireachtas get it. We have a, thankfully, outgoing Irish president who lambasts the EU, the UK and NATO for their higher defence expenditure, while the country that he represents goes cap in hand for airspace and maritime support from those very nations in order to stop the use of Ireland's waters by criminals and others. There must be a better way, and it is about time that Ireland grew up and joined NATO.”
“It is a significant matter for us in the Northern Ireland Assembly because there is little control by the Irish authorities, and Northern Ireland has become a path through our open border into Europe. While the EU worries incessantly about sausages contaminating the European single market, there is nothing being done to deal with the influx of illegal drugs and illegal trade through our borders. That is because Ireland freeloads on defence and security, spending an abysmal 0·3% of its GDP on its armed forces. It is also noteworthy that the rest of the countries in the EU, most of which are members of NATO, are heading towards spending 5% of their GDP on defence. If that process continues, Ireland's role as the port of choice for every narco-terrorist, every rogue state and every other terrorist will grow significantly.”
“It is used by everyone from rogue states to criminal gangs for the transmission of arms, waste and drugs, to smuggle people and to damage or cut fibre-optic cables and gas lines. Much of that grey fleet is routed through Irish waters and airspace. That is because the 880,000 square kilometres are under no surveillance. They are covered by only one offshore patrol vessel that has no gun and one maritime patrol aircraft with no anti-surface or anti-submarine capability at all. They are ungoverned spaces subject in reality to no jurisdiction, despite Irish claims. <BR /> <BR />If a country cannot guarantee security over those regions, it cannot justifiably claim sovereignty.”
“The stopping of the MV Matthew in Irish territorial waters in 2023 by the LÉ William Butler Yeats, supported by the Irish Army Ranger Wing and aircraft from the Irish Air Corps, is to be commended. The seizure of 2·2 tons of cocaine was a significant drugs haul, but, judging from the changes in illicit drug prices across Europe, it regrettably had little or no impact on that invidious trade. <BR /> <BR />The real question is this: why did the cartel think that smuggling cocaine and other drugs through Ireland was such a low-risk activity? As is reported in the open, there are around a hundred suspect vessels on the high seas of the Atlantic or adjoining seas. Grey shipping is much more prevalent, however.”
“It is only a wee short one, Diane. A Member talked about the changes in rates of trade back and forth. Has anybody identified the fact that those changes in trade equate to the diversion? If anybody were to look at the trade back and forth across the Irish Sea rather than just through a particular bit, they would see clearly where the trade diversions lie. When we talk about respectful debate, I wonder whether people will bother to do a critical analysis of the trade figures. Over to you. Thank you, Diane.”
“Thank you very much, Peter. There is another concern that should be expressed. I cannot understand how Members on this side of the House have been approached by lots of companies and individuals telling us about the real and significant problems, yet they do not seem to be talking to anybody else in the Chamber. Can you think of any particular reason why that is the case? Is it, in fact, a case of Alliance, the SDLP — well, there is nobody from the SDLP here — and Sinn Féin being disingenuous?”
“Thank you very much indeed, Eóin. At the moment, the question over that scheme is the fact that reimbursement takes so long. Will you join us in calling on HMRC to get its finger out and, rather than waiting nine months to pay people, do it within 14 days?”
“I thank the Member for that. It is not just Northern Ireland businesses that are having those issues; it is businesses in the whole of the United Kingdom. Indeed, if people were honest, we would find that it is an issue across the whole of these islands, because there are many complaints from Irish businesses that are trying to —.”
“That is what people normally do during trade discussions. Those are the issues.”
“Those conversations are ongoing, and I understand that Simon Harris and his officials have been putting their feelers out to try to address that situation so that we can understand it. We are in a situation where the Republic of Ireland, rightly or wrongly, considers that there is going to be a major diversion in trade, and in Northern Ireland, there is a major diversion in trade. Rather than tearing up the entire Windsor framework completely, which will probably be difficult to do under international law, the key issue is that there should be break points in the Windsor framework that the Secretary of State should be adopting. We should be going to the point of saying, "Let us pause this to stop the diversion until such times as the SPS agreement gets across the line, and then we can look at it again".”
“We ask time and time again what "faithful implementation" means. A very interesting event happened not so long ago when a certain president on the other side of the Atlantic decided that there was going to be a differential in tax, particularly with taxes on goods going to the United States. There is a differential in that taxation regime, because Northern Ireland would be at the United Kingdom rate and the Republic of Ireland would be at the EU rate. Behind the scenes, many Irish officials were telling people that they were looking at the provisions of the Northern Ireland protocol so that they could call a temporary break in that process. There is a temporary break in that process because there would be — what is it, everybody? — a diversion in trade. There was going to be a significant diversion in trade.”
“I will say to the Secretary of State that he has probably put into action a lot of the things that were requested that would fix the problems with the Stormont brake. He has put some of those into action, but not all of them. If there is to be faith that we, as an Assembly, have any voice on these things, we must be able to make it heard clearly. My concern is that, every time that we seem to do anything in here, the Secretary of State — let us be honest, it is probably Erskine House or the NIO — gets to a point and then says, "Oh, we are faithfully implementing it, and we do not want to offend anybody". We have heard that time and time again. <BR /> <BR />Many of us who regularly visit Europe or go to Brussels have good friends in the Irish Government and with people across the whole process.”
“The first one was on applicability motions. When the first applicability motion came before the Assembly, we voted on it, and, because it did not pass with cross-community consent, it was deemed to have failed, except, of course, that the Secretary of State did not action it. The second one did not even arrive on time, because the applicability motion was already making its way through the various stages in the House of Commons and we could not even intervene. That should be a concern for every single person in the Chamber, because this issue should have been dealt with as it was part of the consent mechanism and system as well. <BR /> <BR />We have heard about the Stormont brake. We tried to apply the Stormont brake. We brought it through, followed the process, but that was ignored as well.”
“I very much thank the Member for her intervention. I take issue with her figure of about £500 million; it is a lot more than that. It is interesting that every time that I, our wonderful MP for South Antrim, Robin Swann, or even some of our Lords have asked those questions, we have not got any answers from the British Government. Lord Elliott asked a question on the Floor and got a written response that mentions a figure of about £160 million, but that is for only a very specific area, not for all the other areas that are involved. <BR /> <BR />We were also told very clearly that, within the consent process for looking at the Windsor framework, there would be break points and the ability for us as an Assembly — that means not just people on these Benches but everybody here — to hold the process to account.”
“Faithful implementation works on the assumption that it is going to happen fairly rapidly. My learned friend the Chair of the Agriculture Committee will probably talk to this when he is making his winding-up speech: the SPS agreement is not going to be enacted until about 2028, which is three years away. In the meantime, we will build border infrastructure — it is nearly finished — in Larne, Belfast, Warrenpoint and other places as part of the faithful implementation of that agreement, yet other parts of the United Kingdom will not be implementing it.”
“Indeed, that was going to happen in such a short period of time that the Welsh Government, who are, of course, Labour, consulted with the British Government, who are, of course, Labour as well, about spending significant amounts of extra public money on building border support facilities in places such as Holyhead and Fishguard. They have decided that, because of the SPS agreement's coming into place, there is no need whatsoever to spend that money, and, so, that money is not being spent. They have decided that that money can be used for other things, such as additional police, nurses and doctors. However, the Agriculture Minister here in Northern Ireland has stated on several occasions that he wishes to be a faithful implementer. The Secretary of State has used the words "faithful implementation" as well.”
“I know Lord Murphy. He and I have worked on various committees covering the alphabet soup of British-Irish relationships. I knew him before I was even involved in politics. Lord Murphy gets it. Lord Murphy understands the issues. Anybody who understands Lord Murphy, who has read the report closely or who gave evidence as part of the report process, like I and some others here did, will know that the clear point is that he knows that trade diversion is occurring. Trade diversion is not just occurring; it is accelerating. <BR /> <BR />We have heard many people say that a lot of the problems would be resolved by the SPS agreement. We have heard quite a lot of talk about the SPS agreement because it was going to answer the problems in a relatively short period of time.”
“As many of you have heard from me, or as those of you who have served on the Committee will know, it has categorically failed in its duties, in that it is barely democratic, it does not do much scrutiny, and, worst, for any Committee in the Northern Ireland Assembly, it is remarkably incurious about EU rules and regulations within the very wide remit of the Windsor framework and the Northern Ireland protocol, which is, in fact, growing. <BR /> <BR />It is to that point that our amendment speaks directly. Every Member here who is not blinded by pro-EU or pro-united Ireland ideology must see that the checks, balances and controls of the Windsor framework are not working. Although we welcome the work that Lord Murphy did in his recent report — indeed, we have called for the adoption of his recommendations — it does not go far enough.”
“I ask the Assembly to support our amendment to the important motion. There is a subtle difference between what the DUP has proposed and what we are saying. I declare an interest as a Member who supported the Remain campaign and as somebody who was involved in discussions with the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to whom my party and I suggested the idea of a greater consent principle in the Northern Ireland Assembly. We even suggested that an Assembly Committee could act as part of that safeguard. For my sin of hubris, I now sit on the Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. It is not just small businesses. The Member will be aware that Marks and Spencer — other supermarkets are available — has made it clear that the issues are not with just small businesses but with even the largest businesses across our nation.”
“Never has "Per ardua ad astra" — "Through adversity to the stars" — been more apt.”
“On Friday night, our Great Hall was filled to capacity by Northern and Southern Irish serving Royal Air Force members and veterans. It was particularly pleasing to welcome Brigadier General Rory O'Connor, the chief of staff of the Irish Air Corps, to the event. Few who were there will forget the stirring oration from Air Chief Marshal Harvey Smyth, who is head of the RAF and, surprisingly enough, a Lurgan College old boy. I have seen many of the original RAF artefacts that the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) displayed in the Senate Chamber. However, the fly-past by the Lancaster from the Battle of Britain memorial flight, with the roar of four Merlin engines, along the mile up to Stormont, clearly brought home the message of the debt that we owe to the few.”
“I will follow on from those words, as I, like many of us over the weekend, had the opportunity to thank the Irish Guards for their service. There were two events that, in particular, touched our armed forces community and our veterans. The first one, of course, was the laying-up of the colours in St Mark's Church in Dundela. I have to make a declaration of interest as a parishioner of that fine church, which was CS Lewis's former church. I thank all those from East Belfast and beyond who lined the damp streets, the veterans of the Irish Guards, the battalion itself, the regimental padre and the Reverend Canon Dr Helene Steed, our rector, for such a memorable occasion. <BR /> <BR />My main thanks, however, go to you, Mr Speaker, and our wonderful Assembly staff for marking the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.”
“Minister, it does not make you a bad person. Trust me. Thank you.”
“Previously, Departments seemed to use the black box as a default mechanism. At one stage, over £1·3 billion sat in the black box, which went against the Department's own accounting rules. When you are addressing the Bill, will it be possible to make some statutory requirement that we not exceed the good governance levels of the black box, which were set for very good reasons at around £1 million?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I am glad that he brought up the issue of the black box. Billions of pounds were going through the black box rather than through the proper accounting measures, which state that it has to be no more than approximately £1 million, I think, and that, even then, it can be for only a short period. Does the Member agree that, while we have already seen a welcome move away from that — a reduction in black-box spending — there still seems to be an over-reliance on that facility by other Departments?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. We have noted that the Fiscal Council provides independent evidence, particularly if we are having conversations with the Treasury or other organisations. We need to look, however, at establishing a funding line whereby funding goes directly to the Fiscal Council rather than come through the Department or by some other means. That is a potential option for the Committee to discuss at Committee Stage.”
“Does the Member agree that one of the most important things about having the Fiscal Council is the ability to instil some form of fiscal discipline in the process going forward? Maybe the Minister, in his remarks about additional functions, which the Member has rightly mentioned, might confirm whether it would be part of the legislative process that the Fiscal Council reports at a particular time to ensure that we maintain that fiscal discipline. Does the Member agree that that would be a good way in which to go forward?”
“I apologise to Madam Principal Deputy Speaker for not being in my place earlier. I was”
“I appreciate the Minister's giving way again. Minister, something new is coming into the system, which is known as the Union Customs Code. It is a substantial change that will come about through the Windsor framework. The Union Customs Code will make specific reference to smart data and how it is used. Minister, I encourage your officials to familiarise themselves with that code. I appreciate what you have said to us, but the issue is much broader. There are areas that we need to be aware of.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. One of the issues that we have identified is a problem with some of the LCMs and the information that is coming through. A risk register system is supposed to be set up with the Executive that the Windsor Framework Committee is supposed to look at for specific pieces of legislation that are likely to be risky. Was this LCM on the risk register?”