Alan Chambers
North Down · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“<BR /> <BR />A relatively recent piece of important character that was added to the village some years ago was the addition of a number of trees along Main Street.”
“It is my pleasure and privilege to present a petition signed by more than 1,500 people calling on the Department for Infrastructure to drop plans to chop down a number of mature street trees in Main Street, Groomsport. <BR /> <BR />Groomsport is a beautiful village with a strong community spirit.”
“Indeed, in the past week, it has been adjudged to be the best-kept town on the island of Ireland. It has many outstanding characteristics, including three lovely beaches with clean and pollution-free bathing water; a well-sheltered harbour that is reputed to have been first constructed by the Vikings; a modern children's playground; and t…”
“Minister, I sent a question for written answer in May 2025. You told me that your officials had identified a problem on the A48 in November 2024 and that a works order had been issued.”
“The Department's approach to the problem, however, has been to fire up the chainsaws. That is a shameful and unacceptably lazy plan. There are many engineering solutions that do not involve such crude environmental vandalism. Government policy, rather than to chop down healthy mature specimens, is to encourage more tree planting.”
“For many, the ability to start or grow a family is a major priority; for others, it is not a priority at all. When fertility problems stand in the way of that dream, the emotional toll can be immense. There has already been reference to the commitment in NDNA, which was one reason why my party very much welcomed that agreement.”
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“I thank the Minister for her answer. Will she detail any cooperation that she has had with the Minister for Communities on the issue? What solutions have been put forward to allow housing, particularly social housing, to be built in areas where Northern Ireland Water infrastructure is weak?”
“On the general issue of amnesty, does the Minister agree with me that it is reprehensible for any Government to provide letters of comfort to dozens of individuals that guaranteed them that they would never face prosecution for terrorist crimes that they may have committed? Does she also agree that no one should ever be considered above the due process of the law?”
“I thank the Minister for his answers thus far. The recently published a 10-year mental health strategy makes clear that mental health is one of the Minister's top priorities, and I thank him for that. I especially welcome today's opening of the mental health support fund. What sort of impact does he expect it will have in supporting the essential contribution made by our community and voluntary sector organisations?”
“Under the leadership of our Health Minister, Robin Swann, individual staff have gone not just the extra mile but an extra 100 miles to nurse and to restore to health our citizens and, with the ongoing vaccination programme, to protect them. <BR /> <BR />I will conclude by saying that it might be a nice touch if every member of our NHS and social services staff could receive a memento of this fantastic award — if protocol permits, perhaps even a small replica of the actual medal.”
“I concur and wish to be associated with all the complimentary remarks that have been made about our wonderful NHS and social services staff. I was slightly disappointed to detect in some of the contributions almost a sense of begrudgery and even a degree of political distraction around the award, but I do not intend to dwell on that. <BR /> <BR />I served in the RUC Reserve, and the RUC was subsequently awarded the George Cross. I feel great pride every time I see that fact in print. I am able to feel that I was perhaps a small part of what that organisation contributed to Northern Ireland. Today, all our NHS and social services staff will experience that sense of pride.”
“— as a political football. That is exactly how we have been used.”
“That sounds like some form of blackmail and, to use Mr Stalford's words, like Northern Ireland being used —”
“I picked up some words that he is reported to have used. On medicines, the most basic thing that people need, he said:”
“<BR /> <BR />I remember the leaders of some political parties in the Chamber rushing down to Dublin, in the middle of the COVID restrictions when travel was much more restricted and regulations were a lot tighter than they may be today, to get their photographs taken on the steps of the Department of Foreign Affairs. They were there as champions of the protocol and were demanding its full implementation. Now, they seem to have stepped back a little. The easements that have been quoted as having been achieved in the protocol are not down to the efforts of the champions who rushed to Dublin to get their photographs taken; it was others, who fought and showed the iniquitous nature of parts of the protocol, who led to their being changed. <BR /> <BR />Mr Šefcovic addressed an Assembly Committee last Monday.”
“Like the percentage of people in South Belfast, to whom Mr O'Toole referred, who voted to remain, I voted to remain. However, the referendum was an exercise in democracy. It was not an opt-in/opt-out referendum. It was not conducted street by street. It was conducted as a national referendum of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. People voted to leave, and, as a democrat, I accepted that decision. <BR /> <BR />The protocol is a different animal. It was not brought forward in a democratic process. I, as a voter and resident in Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom, was not asked whether I was happy with the protocol; the protocol was imposed on us. That is just not democratic.”
“It is to the Minister's credit and that of his staff that his Department can bring forward such important work while still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and all its associated consequences. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Minister for his statement. For the first time, it appears that we have a Minister who not only recognises the historical underfunding of mental health services but is prepared to take action to rectify it. As other Members have mentioned, the strategy has a big financial ask. Is the Minister confident that he will have the full support of the rest of the Executive to deliver on the actions and improvements in the strategy?”
“I urge those who have any doubts or reluctance about being vaccinated to think hard about it and take the opportunity to get a vaccine. It will definitely help us to get back to normality. <BR /> <BR />As other Members said, the message is still the same: wear the masks, maintain social distancing and continue with hand hygiene. The Ulster Unionist Party supports the regulation.”
“I will be brief. This relaxation is another small step back to some level of normality. This step needs to be taken but, more importantly, needs to be received cautiously. We need to be careful as we move forward that we do not take one step forward and two steps back. That is the last thing that the population needs at this time. <BR /> <BR />The vaccination programme has been a huge enabler for us to move towards normality. Those who have been involved in that operation should be extremely proud of their efforts and what they have managed to deliver over the last few months. The population needs to be congratulated as well for the way in which it has responded to appeals to take up the opportunity to be vaccinated. Over the last few days, it has been made easier for anybody who has not been vaccinated to get vaccinated.”
“I place on record my personal welcome to Mr Stephen Dunne to the Chamber today. I look forward to working with him. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Minister for his statement. I refer to the paragraph on the implications of EU exit. Does the Minister have any sense of whether the Irish Government realise how potentially disruptive and detrimental the protocol is to the supply of medicines and medical devices to Northern Ireland? On that point, how confident is he that there will be progress this week from the European Commission on that very concerning issue?”
“<BR /> <BR />Multi-year funding would allow Health and Social Care departments to secure long-term, large-scale contracts with the independent sector, allow for greater strategic planning and avoid the historical stop-start contracting arrangements associated with the one-year funding allocations. I look forward to a time when we can have multi-year Budgets brought to the House.”
“The elective care framework, which the Health Minister published last week, indicates that £707·5 million of additional investment will be required over a five-year period to reduce the backlog of patients on waiting lists and to build Health and Social Care capacity to meet ongoing annual patient demand for services. For every £1 million allocated to tackle waiting times, approximately 1,000 assessments and 350 treatments are expected to be delivered. Economies of scale associated with larger contracts would be expected to increase that return, subject to case mix, and that would surely represent better value for money.”
“Given that the allocation also fell short of the overall requirements to continue funding all ongoing transformation projects at 31 March 2021, COVID-19 rebuild funding had to be used to fund additional prioritised transformation projects. That is totally unsustainable.”
“I acknowledge that it has been a difficult time for all Departments with regard to funding this year. I wish to speak about a few issues in the Budget that relate to the Department of Health. The additional £450 million for COVID and the post-Budget exercise is hugely welcome. However, because so little of that funding is actually recurring, and so much will be spent on the vaccination programme, COVID response, rebuild programme etc, it actually falls far short of what is needed to meet inescapable pressures and maintain key existing services.”
“While we have still to see the small print on the agreed Australia/UK trade deal, given the details that have been released, how beneficial might it be to Northern Ireland food producers?”
“He never spoke ill of political opponents. He may have opposed their opinion, but he always respected their right to hold it. At election time, Gordon put out his stall and highlighted his values, but he never sought to put down or undermine his opponents. In all the years that I worked alongside Gordon, I never saw him do anything or take a position for selfish reasons. I will remember Gordon as a fellow politician but, more importantly, as a friend. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family at this time. His son Stephen, when he feels ready, will be in the Chamber to take over from his father. I know that Stephen will bring to the Chamber the same values that his father held.”
“He was a gentleman and a man of faith, and, most importantly, his word was his bond.”
“I served alongside Gordon in politics for almost 30 years. I had the privilege of serving with him for almost 20 years on the former North Down Borough Council. He was a passionate advocate for his party. At times, in the council chamber, he was its lone voice. He was always very encouraging of me in the early days of my political career on council. On many occasions, we had different positions on issues, and, on equally as many occasions, we stood shoulder to shoulder. Whatever the events in the council chamber, the evening always ended with his invitation, "Brother Chambers, are you coming in for a cup of tea?". At that point, the politics stopped, and the humorous side of Gordon — he had a huge sense of humour — took over. His banter was never pointed or hurtful.”
“Trusts have taken steps to maximise capacity wherever it exists, but I would be grateful if the Minister could say what he sees the next period looking like, especially as we continue with the incredibly successful vaccination programme. In the meantime, I expect that the trusts, the Health and Social Care Board and the Department of Health will continue to provide whatever practical support they can to carers. They are a valuable, caring and respected part of society, and I know that the Minister does not take their unstinting goodwill for granted.”
“However, the Health Minister has been clear that, whilst that it also his position, the power to do that does not rest with him alone, so it is important that all those speaking today, especially those from Executive parties, realise that that needs to be a cross-Executive priority. It will take more than simply goodwill and agreeable words: we need other Ministers to proactively come on board to help drive it through. <BR /> <BR />The role of respite and day-care centres has already been raised, and I agree that they provide an almost invaluable service to carers and their families. Whilst many have reopened, their capacity has had to be reduced due to the necessity to protect service users and staff.”
“That saw carers, regardless of age, starting to be vaccinated four months ago. That was a very important point from not only a clinical perspective but a psychological one, as it was a clear illustration and marking of the vital caring role that they perform. <BR /> <BR />I was also glad that, earlier this year, the Minister was able to announce a new £4·4 million scheme to support unpaid carers. He was right to allow the fund to remain agile in what it could be used for rather than being too prescriptive. The Minister is also on record as saying that he wants to see further support beyond the immediate support funds being offered to our carers. There is no doubt that the pandemic has compounded the pressures felt by carers, so I support a further payment.”
“Over 200,000 people across Northern Ireland have some form of caring role. Without the work of those informal carers, the formal care system would be totally unsustainable. They really are the backbone of what is good in our society. Their role has already been brought into sharp focus during the pandemic. Many already provided unending love and care in some challenging circumstances, but, in the context of a global pandemic, which saw such concern about clinical vulnerabilities and meant that it was necessary for many services to be stood down, those pressures were greatly exacerbated. <BR /> <BR />I was especially glad that the important role of carers was recognised when it was announced that they would form part of priority group six of the vaccination programme.”
“I commend those who continue to comply with advice and, along with them, I look forward to a full return to normal life. The Ulster Unionist Party fully supports the SRs.”
“I am pleased that the vast majority of the public continues to comply with the precautions that the regulations encourage. The recent local outbreak of the delta variant in Kilkeel should, however, be a timely warning to those who are keen to relax regulations with more urgency than is advised by the medical and scientific advice. I commend the Department's response to the outbreak in Kilkeel, which was textbook. <BR /> <BR />Most people have adapted to wearing face masks. We may never be able to fully quantify the contribution that that has made to stopping the uncontrolled spread of the virus and resulting untimely deaths. The return to normality will be slow and will, quite rightly, be guided by scientific and medical advice. That is exactly as it should be. No other considerations should come into play.”
“I thank the Minister for his timely statement and for the many new, and some even novel and unexpected, proposals in it. It offers hope to those on waiting lists. I especially welcome the commitment to fully utilise any and all HSC capacity, which, of course, includes our physical infrastructure, wherever that may be. Is he confident that he will have the public support as well as the clinical buy-in that, if people are asked to travel slightly further for more timely treatment or diagnosis, they will do so?”
“I add my best wishes to the Minister on coming into post. Belfast City Airport is a huge employer, especially in my constituency of North Down. Does the Minister have any information about whether employment at the airport is starting to get back to pre-COVID levels?”
“Waiting times across all areas of our health service are unacceptably long, and I look forward to the Minister's upcoming announcement of the elective care framework. Is he confident that all Executive parties realise that, in order to avoid ever letting the health service get into such a poor state again, the short-term thinking and in-year budget cuts of times past are a totally unacceptable way to run our most important public service?”
“It was an insult — a major insult — to all those who have lost loved ones during the pandemic and to the tens of thousands who made sacrifices to try to curtail the spread of the virus. At the end of the day, all Mr Morrison achieved was the loss of friends. I dare say that the MP for North Antrim possibly lost friends as well.”
“<BR /> <BR />You could maybe make excuses for people who are not public representatives and do not think about the consequences of their words, which is the case for Mr Morrison, but a Member of Parliament really should know the consequences of their actions and words and what the public reaction to them will be. I understand that the Member of Parliament has apologised to the Health Minister, but he possibly also needs to apologise to the Minister's Executive colleagues, because he stood outside that hotel and said that the Executive "couldn't run a bath". That is hardly an endorsement of an Executive who have guided us and will continue to guide us through the pandemic. <BR /> <BR />We are talking about being "dangerous", and the message that went out that night was dangerous.”
“I am not on my feet this afternoon to defend the Health Minister, because he does not need to be defended in the court of public opinion. His leadership and dignity throughout the pandemic have been beyond reproach. <BR /> <BR />What we witnessed in the Europa Hotel that night was childish, irrational, unfair and totally uncalled for. People say that you should try to avoid meeting your heroes because you might be disappointed when you do. What happened was a perfect example of that, if, indeed, any of us needed to learn that. The only saving grace is that it got little traction in the room, I am pleased to say. A few people applauded, but it did not get the traction that, I think, Mr Morrison thought it would.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. In his conversations with the independent fiscal council, what recommendations did it make on reporting standards? Will he commit to following OECD standards?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Can she detail how many newly acquired properties the Housing Executive plans on making immediately available to North Down residents in the next 12 months?”
“The Ulster Unionist Party will support those hard decisions because it is the right thing to do.”
“<BR /> <BR />If ever there was an occasion for the Assembly and all the parties in it to pledge to work together to evolve long-term budgeting and strategies to eradicate the unacceptable waiting lists for elective surgery and consultant appointments, it is now. It is certainly not a time for anyone to try to make political capital out of the current difficulties that our health and social care sector faces. Doing so would be recognised by the people of Northern Ireland for what it was. <BR /> <BR />Hard decisions will need to be taken. The Health Minister will not shy away from making those calls, and they will not be made with any selfish political considerations in mind but rather because the transformation of our health service will be in the best long-term interests of the people of Northern Ireland.”
“Clinicians and patients are already travelling outside previous boundaries to deliver and receive care. We should learn from what is working well and extrapolate it across the system. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the additional allocation of just over £52 million to help to fund the Agenda for Change pay uplift as well as the further £20 million for safe staffing. It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was only 16 months ago that there was serious unrest among our health workers. Yet, within days of taking office, the Health Minister had pulled together a package that restored pay parity and ultimately saw the unprecedented industrial action ended. The additional funding, as well as the clear commitment to safe staffing, was a key part of that.”
“Unfortunately, this Budget is instead largely made up of non-recurrent funding, which does not provide the certainty or security that is needed to tackle the absolutely appalling waiting lists on a sustainable footing. The current Finance Minister, like all Finance Ministers before him, is no doubt aware that short-term funding boosts do little for the health service. Knowing what money it will have in the years to come allows it to appoint and train staff and commission the services that are necessary to meet the demand. <BR /> <BR />The Health Minister has been very clear about how he wants to streamline the system, increase capacity and instil new ways of working. However, as well as additional funding, that will require clear political buy-in.”
“This is a Budget of two halves. The additional £380 million of COVID funding will be crucial in the months ahead as we continue at pace with the very successful vaccination programme and concentrate our efforts on rebuilding and restoring as much elective activity as quickly as possible. However, while the additional funding is welcome, it should not be used to shield or deflect from the fact that much of it will have to be used to meet inescapable pressures and maintain key existing services in our health service. <BR /> <BR />As far as the Ulster Unionist Party is concerned, tackling our waiting lists must become one of the Executive's greatest collective priorities.”
“Following the welcome refurbishments of numerous courts around Northern Ireland, can the Minister confirm how many cases in the backlog caused by COVID that investment has helped to clear?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Those who suffer from long COVID will welcome the announcement that the board has completed its important piece of work. It is, obviously, very easy to draw comparisons with what England is doing on long COVID. Will he confirm, however, that neither Scotland nor Wales are planning on following the English approach and that they, too, are focusing much more on a multidisciplinary approach?”
“I support everything that the Minister is doing to deal with mental health, and it is important that all parties in the Chamber pledge that the ring-fenced funding that he needs will be provided. We will all be judged by our actions rather than our words. We cannot afford to fall short on mental health. The Ulster Unionist Party fully supports the motion, and we support all actions taken to tackle this issue.”
“All those situations were created solely by the COVID virus, and it is understandable that as more mental health issues developed, all the focus and efforts were on fighting the virus. <BR /> <BR />Now, as we continue to make a slow return to normality, the damage has been done to the mental health of many across the age groups in our community. I welcome the funding that the Minister has directed towards the voluntary and charity groups that offer mental health support. Those organisations will be the front line as we move forward and will provide triage and pathways for those who may need more in-depth help to recover. <BR /> <BR />I hope that the motion will lead to the timely interventions that other Members highlighted.”
“Many find comfort in attending church to worship and, importantly, to participate in the social activities and fellowship provided by broader church life, and the loss of that is also a possible trigger. Fear of contracting COVID, especially among those considered vulnerable, is another potential trigger. <BR /> <BR />Young people make up the largest group exposed to many of the trigger points for developing mental health issues. With the closure of schools for long periods as an appropriate protection against the spread of the pandemic, the most important part of their life was taken out of reach. Outdoor play and social contact with their peers were taken from them, perhaps without their full appreciation of the reasons.”
“The message that it is good to talk is a valuable first step for someone starting the journey to overcome their difficulties. Battling mental health issues is a recipe for a further decline into what can become a very dark place. Talking and seeking help are not signs of weakness; rather, they are signs of strength. <BR /> <BR />The COVID pandemic has undoubtedly increased the circumstances for more of our citizens to begin to suffer from mental health issues. Financial problems caused by a loss of income for workers and business owners can be one major trigger. For others, the loss of a daily routine and missing the comfort of personal contact with friends and neighbours can be the trigger.”
“The public should be reassured that we have a Health Minister who is aware of the extent of the mental health issues that we face and that he has recently appointed a mental health champion to give the issue a public and independent voice. He is committed to putting in place the necessary actions to tackle the problem. <BR /> <BR />Mental ill health is unlike many other illnesses, in that there may be no visible indications that a person is suffering. Many people feel that talking about their problem will be seen as a sign of weakness that may put their career or reputation at risk. It can also place an intolerable strain on the close family trying to deal with behaviour that they may not understand or recognise in their loved one.”
“I am pleased that the Health Committee, on which I serve, has once again demonstrated its recognition of and concern about the scourge of mental illness in our community and has tabled this important motion.”
“— Sinn Féin say that the problem is Brexit. It is not. The protocol is the reality, it is with us now, and the problem that needs to be sorted is the protocol.”