Caoimhe Archibald
East Londonderry · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“Taken together, that points to a scheme that is operating effectively in its early stages, while, of course, remaining under review as further evidence becomes available. <BR /> <BR />I therefore commend to the Assembly the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Employment and Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026.”
“I seek the Assembly's approval for the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Employment and Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026. The statutory rule was made on 1 April and came into operation on 6 April. It is before the Assembly today under the confirmatory procedure.”
“The 2026 regulatory impact assessment estimates one-off employer familiarisation costs of up to £1·36 million, with wider HMRC implementation costs forecast at £1·5 million and annual systems maintenance costs of around £10,000. It may assist Members to note that early implementation has gone smoothly.”
“The amendment ensures the continued operation of those regulations and forms part of a wider package of legislative measures establishing statutory parental bereavement pay as an entitlement for bereaved parents.”
“The regulations before the Assembly today are a key part of that implementation and ensure the continued operation of the statutory parental bereavement pay framework. The policy objective is clear: to support bereaved working parents at a time of profound loss and provide a minimum standard of protection in law.”
“<BR /> <BR />The confirmatory procedure means that the regulations before the House today have come into operation before the Assembly debate has taken place and must then be approved by the Assembly within the relevant statutory period. In this case, the deadline for approval is 20 September 2026.”
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“It should be pointed out that, although not part of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein etc, as part of the European Economic Area, have to comply for trade purposes with a range of food safety, environmental and veterinary legislation. <BR /> <BR />A major change has taken place —”
“We were certain that the direct payments would remain until 2020 in any situation. <BR /> <BR />I have not even touched on the impact on the rural sector. The last rural development programme had a very positive impact on our rural communities, with those communities able to access funding for community projects and rural infrastructure. The new rural development programme offered even greater potential, and we are now uncertain about how long that will last. Planned community programmes will likely suffer or could become untenable. <BR /> <BR />Now that we are looking at an exit from the EU there are other significant issues that need to be addressed, including legislative arrangements and trade arrangements etc, which affect all sectors, including agriculture.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is important to reiterate how much our farmers rely on funding that the EU affords them. There were some £236 million in direct payments annually. Without those direct support payments, farm incomes would have been negative last year and in three of the previous five years. Any reduction in direct support would leave many of our farmers in severe financial difficulty, with very negative implications for agricultural —”
“Taking into account that 9% of the total CAP funding from the EU to Britain and the North comes here to the Six Counties, it is clear that those subsidies are a very significant concern to farmers here. It seems that we are now in a situation where there is no plan and we have no idea what the future will hold for the sector. <BR /> <BR />There will obviously be a period when negotiations will take place, and we are being assured that, during that time, the funding that was committed will remain in place. That funding is very significant, including some £1·9 billion of CAP funding and rural development programme funding. The problem is that we do not know when that period of negotiation will begin or how long it will last. Therefore, we do not know how long those funds be available.”
“We heard a great deal this afternoon about uncertainty due to the result of last Thursday's referendum. Arguably, there is no sector more impacted than agriculture. The real problem is the uncertainty. Our farmers, and consequently our rural communities, have no idea of the outworkings or implications of this result. We raised this time and again throughout the referendum campaign, saying that those campaigning to leave had not outlined their plan for the agriculture sector upon an exit from the European Union. <BR /> <BR />We got platitudes that our farmers would, of course, still receive subsidies, but there was no information on what those subsidies might comprise.”
“I thank the Minister for her kind wishes and her answer. As you said, the facilities in Magilligan have long been highlighted as not fit for purpose. Will the Minister acknowledge that it is important for the rehabilitation of prisoners and for allowing the prison staff to do their jobs effectively that they have adequate facilities?”
“Those who believe that satellite broadband is an equivalent solution to conventional broadband may be disappointed, because, while it certainly does the basics, it must be noted that most packages come with data download limits that are comparatively restrictive. It will certainly cover things such as email and social media, but it means that streaming and other things that people take for granted are not realistic, and it is, of course, more expensive. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion. Perhaps the further proposals that the signatories to the motion suggest the Minister develop should include a strategy to target, area by area, the so-called not spots and ensure providers funded under any future initiatives target those areas to support rural business development.”
“In my constituency, pockets of areas that would not even be considered particularly rural or isolated have no broadband coverage. My parents live less than six miles from Coleraine, which is a fairly large town and the landing point for Project Kelvin, and a mile and a half from the main Coleraine to Derry road, yet they do not have broadband coverage. They have had to obtain satellite broadband, and that is the case for many businesses and residents in the Ballerin, Glenullin and Drumsurn area. Alongside that, we often get complaints of failing mobile phone network coverage. <BR /> <BR />Like I said, the upgrading and access initiatives in place are welcome, including that for satellite broadband under the basic broadband scheme, although expectations must be managed.”
“<BR /> <BR />As we look towards a reduction in the corporation tax rate, which ultimately aims to encourage investment here, it is essential that we have all the other factors in place to attract investment and enable businesses to function effectively. That must, as the motion states, include all areas right across the North and not just the towns. <BR /> <BR />Finally, the right to request a connection to the universal service obligation speed would present a challenge in the North. Despite the numerous interventions to date to upgrade the networks, there are, as the motion states, still significant rural areas that do not have adequate or, indeed, any broadband coverage. Such programmes and initiatives that have been conducted or are ongoing are very welcome, but there is still some way to go.”
“Increasingly, social media is the method of choice for reaching customers and for marketing initiatives. <BR /> <BR />Secondly, for the purposes of attracting foreign direct investment, it goes without saying that a reliable and robust telecommunications network is essential. In fact, telecoms infrastructure ranks amongst the top factors in attracting companies to invest in an area, along with transport infrastructure and labour costs and, indeed, ahead of corporation tax, which is no surprise given that most companies, whether multinationals, public services or indigenous enterprises, are all looking at how they can use telecommunications to make businesses more efficient.”
“First, I was disappointed that the motion referred only to ensuring that areas are attractive for foreign direct investment and enabling businesses to compete. We in Sinn Féin believe that, to grow our local economy, it is also vital to encourage indigenous entrepreneurship. While I accept that similar conditions apply to both, I feel that it is important to highlight the importance of indigenous enterprises. Encouraging start-ups and SMEs, as Mr Storey said, to remain in rural areas where they start their business is of the utmost importance to those local economies. It is important that SMEs have the infrastructure that allows them to get off the ground and grow, and that includes premises, transport and telecommunications. An online presence is vital to many small businesses, especially when they are starting off.”
“Broadband provision and mobile phone network coverage, as everyone in the Chamber will recognise, are issues that we deal with regularly in our constituencies, probably more so in rural constituencies like mine of East Derry. I am speaking today in support of the motion. As the opposition parties have often been at pains to state to those of us in government, when you put forward things that we can support, we will support them, and that works both ways. A modern telecommunications network that enables existing business to compete and ensures that areas are attractive for foreign direct investment, including rural communities, is something that we can support. <BR /> <BR />Many telecommunications issues can be raised, but I will focus on a couple of things.”
“I contacted the Electoral Office again and was told that it would not be accepted at the polling station but could be hand delivered to our local electoral office in Derry. That is exactly what the gentleman did. He exercised his democratic right to vote, and it is unlikely that that would have been the case if the only electoral office in the North was in Belfast. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I encourage everyone to respond to the consultation once it opens and to put forward the arguments for maintaining local electoral offices. I am happy to speak in support of the motion and the amendment, and urge all Members to do the same.”
“<BR /> <BR />There is no substitute, however, for a local office that gives individuals a personal service. My party colleague Mr McKay has already given an example, but I will give another. On election day in May this year, I was contacted at around 7.00 pm by a constituent who told me that her husband's postal vote had not arrived. Despite being an elderly gentleman in poor health, he had gone along to the polling station to vote, but was told that he could not vote because he was on the postal list. I contacted the Electoral Office and was informed that his postal vote had definitely been sent out. To cut a long story short, over the next hour it transpired that the gentleman's postal vote had gone to his son's house, which is right next door to his own house, and they had the same name.”
“<BR /> <BR />Although I am certainly in favour of making use of technology to improve and streamline services and service delivery, this should ultimately go hand in hand with human resources. Some services — Members have already touched on this — currently delivered by electoral offices at a local level could not be delivered online, for example the processing of photo ID applications at a local office. It is not reasonable to expect individuals from right across the North to travel to Belfast to access this service. It is vital that, no matter what, the Electoral Office maintains its connection with local communities and schools to ensure that individuals are, in fact, able to obtain IDs and postal proxy votes and registrations as required.”
“This, of course, depends on the professional ability of those managers, and I am sure that many of us in the Chamber would undoubtedly speak highly of the quality professional service that we receive from our local electoral offices, which benefit from years of experience in delivering their services. <BR /> <BR />On the other hand, centralised services such as those being proposed are often criticised for rigidity in procedures, longer decision-making times and a lack of ability to adapt to local situations and needs. As much as any other public service, electoral services should be delivered at a local level. The ability of individuals to exercise their democratic rights in exercising their right to vote could be undermined by the closure of local electoral offices.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of the motion and the amendment tabled by my colleagues and me. It is important that we have local accountability for the administration of elections in the North, which could be achieved by bringing the functions of the electoral offices under the control of the Executive. <BR /> <BR />At a time when we seek to devolve more powers to local government to improve delivery and accountability at a local level, it seems a contradiction to be seeking to centralise the services of the electoral offices. The reasons for and benefits of decentralised public services are well known: improved efficiency and effectiveness by having services delivered by regional managers.”
“Given all of this, I do not see any other way but to move towards a low-carbon society, where we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and use of fossil fuels. That is the path that I and Sinn Féin want us to take. That path is not compatible with issuing licences for and encouraging investment in the oil and gas industry. <BR /> <BR />Instead, we should promote renewable energy technologies and create the legislative and political environment that encourages not only the proliferation of these technologies but community and public ownership of renewable energy generation.”
“If we continue our current emission levels, the global temperature will increase with dire consequences, including rising sea levels and more-extreme weather. <BR /> <BR />The world community accepts that we must reduce our use of carbon, with the G7 committed to ending the use of fossil fuels, and the UN climate change summit announcing a landmark goal of net zero human emissions. The North also recently signed the Under 2 memorandum of understanding to limit global warming to an agreed threshold of below 2°Celsius relative to pre-industrial levels. <BR /> <BR />Our strategic planning policy statement states that we must continue to work towards a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by at least 35% on 1990 levels by 2025.”
“Also, the destruction and contamination of the natural landscape by heavy industry is irreversible, and any real or perceived environmental degradation will impact on tourism and reduce the demand for agricultural products and agrifoods from the island of Ireland. Any tax or revenue generated will go straight to Westminster and not stay in the North. I therefore contend that we should not be taken in by vague promises of cheaper home-produced fuel and lots of jobs and prosperity. <BR /> <BR />I would like to discuss some wider environmental considerations. Oil and gas exploration and extraction are taking us in the wrong strategic direction. Few people now dispute that global warming is a reality and is primarily caused by emission of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide.”
“Rather, given that the industry is labour-intensive during the development phase and capital-intensive during the production phase, there is financial pressure to front-load drilling activity, resulting in boom/bust labour economics that none of us wants to see. <BR /> <BR />About 98% of potential jobs are associated with well development. They are short-term, low-skilled jobs, predominantly filled by a transient workforce experienced in the industry. Only 2% to 5% of jobs are associated with the production phase and would remain local and predictable. The transient workforce leads to low tax recovery.”
“<BR /> <BR />I will move on to so-called economic benefits. Infrastrata makes certain claims about the economic benefits of its activities. It said that the Larne/Lough Neagh basin has reserves that could provide the North's energy for 25 years, offsetting the need for international oil or gas imports; that any oil or gas discovered will provide income through tax revenues and royalties; and that there would be potential for job creation and other economic benefits. At best, the claims are vague and non-committal. In general, it is common for the oil and gas industry to quote such economic benefits. However, in the case of Woodburn, and in any other case for that matter, it is unlikely these benefits would be realised.”
“First, the application process for petroleum licences should include the need to carry out mandatory independent environmental assessment. Ideally, this would take the form of a strategic environmental assessment, the like of which is used in Britain for petroleum licensing. This would overcome any gaps allowing exploration to happen in ASSIs or other special areas. Secondly, the petroleum licensing system in the North places emphasis on maximising the successful and expeditious exploration and exploitation of the North's oil and gas resources. All decisions are made in pursuit of that policy. This must change to become a policy that is more precautionary and recognises the problems of global warming, carbon emissions and fossil fuel depletion and therefore places primacy on environmental and economic sustainability.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. In supporting today's motion, I would like to touch upon three areas: first, addressing the flaws in the system; secondly, so-called economic benefits; and, finally, some wider environmental considerations. <BR /> <BR />My party colleague detailed how flaws in the planning and licensing systems have led to the undesirable consequences that we now face. It is necessary that we correct those flaws to prevent a repeat situation arising. Therefore, I reiterate the call for a change to planning policy to require minimal exploration, including exploration for hydrocarbons, to undergo full planning permission. It should no longer be granted under permitted development rights. <BR /> <BR />I also call for the following changes to licensing policies.”