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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“Tourism Northern Ireland forecasts that it will bring £60 million into the local economy. Bangor will also benefit: as we have heard, it will host a one-day fringe event. I love traditional music. Ulster-Scots emigrants took many of the tunes and reels to America with them, and they came back to us as bluegrass and country music, which is another genre of music that I really appreciate. <BR /> <BR />I am looking forward to August, particularly to the weekend before the launch of the fleadh in Belfast, when there will be a fringe event in Bangor. The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association will hold its biennial event in Bangor on the same day and will march through the town at its conclusion. I am really looking forward to that.”
“I was not due to speak on this motion, but, unfortunately, our chosen Member to speak was called away, so the privilege has fallen on me, on behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party, to warmly welcome the fleadh coming to Belfast in August this year. It will provide a major economic boost to the city and, more importantly, create a feel-good factor. I congratulate those who put together the successful bid. The committee includes members of the McClean family from the Bangor and Ards area. I am confident that they will deliver a memorable event. That family give freely of their time to encourage and teach young musicians in the Bangor and Ards area. I thank them for that. <BR /> <BR />When the fleadh was held in Wexford last year, 800,000 people visited it, and I am told that it provided an economic boost of €60 million.”
“In a region of our size, with a highly specialised service and limited numbers of trained professionals, collaboration is often not only sensible but necessary. As has been demonstrated in a number of services, building resilient networks can deliver real benefits for families here. I hope that an all-island paediatric pathology service may, in the future, be another service that could support families equally on both sides of the border when dealing with such a major and heartbreaking episode in their lives. <BR /> <BR />I want to put on record — I am sure that everyone in the House will agree — that this is probably one of the most sensitive and saddest debates that we have had in the Chamber in recent months, and I commend my colleagues on the other side of the House for giving us the opportunity to debate the issue.”
“Every one of those recommendations was accepted in full by the Minister. Those recommendations address issues that families have raised and points that have variously been raised in the Chamber before: the timeliness of reporting; the quality of communication; the consistency of contact; clearer explanations; and improved bereavement support. Those are practical steps that are aimed at making a deeply sensitive process more humane and more responsive to the needs of parents. <BR /> <BR />There is no doubt that the severe workforce constraints in such a specialised field are a major barrier, but, sadly, Northern Ireland is not unique in that regard. That is why we should continue to explore every avenue possible. I welcome the ongoing work to explore cross-border and all-Ireland cooperation.”
“Since 2019, post-mortem examinations for children here have most often been carried out in England. That situation cannot sit easily with anyone in the House. <BR /> <BR />In a small Province such as Northern Ireland, the lack of a necessary population scale to maintain a sustainable paediatric pathology service places additional unnecessary strain on families at the most vulnerable point of their lives, so neither the Chamber nor any Minister of Health should ever seek to explain away the situation. To its credit, the Department has never sought to explain it away. Instead, the Minister has fully embraced the previous independent evaluation of the paediatric pathology service. That evaluation resulted in 21 recommendations that focused on improving how the service operates and, critically, how families are supported through it.”
“This subject, rightly, commands care and sensitivity. Understandably, it has been the topic of much discussion in the Chamber. The loss of a child is unimaginable for families, yet that is the absolutely heartbreaking reality that occurs right across our small Province each and every week. For those parents, the days and weeks that follow are often a blur of grief and, sometimes, debilitating heartbreak. At such a time, families deserve a wrap-around service that works as effectively as possible. <BR /> <BR />As we all know, from the moment that paediatric pathology services became unavailable locally and families were required to rely on arrangements outside Northern Ireland, the already immense burden in those circumstances became heavier still.”
“Minister, there have been recent calls for you to divert the departmental budget that is being used for the roll-out of multidisciplinary teams to other budget lines. While such action would not be desirable, given the success of the teams, can you confirm that it is not an option that is open to you?”
“Minister, I welcome the confirmation that £165 million will be ring-fenced for tackling health waiting times. However, the £50 million previously allocated specifically for clearing the backlog has now been removed. As that, arguably, has had the biggest impact this year, does the Minister recognise that it is important to be specific about where exactly that money is coming from? Rather than it being new or additional from the Executive, it is money that already existed in previous Department of Health baselines.”
“I note that the Health Department has found substantial savings in its current budget. Does the Minister feel that other Departments could do more to attempt to achieve similar outcomes?”
“However, I also recognise the widespread concern amongst sector experts about its current strength and delivery, and I look forward to seeing how the feedback from sector experts is factored into the final iteration of the strategy so that it delivers practical and measurable improvements for individuals and families in North Down and across Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I join other Members in expressing my appreciation and thanks to all the voluntary organisations in North Down that help to deal with poverty. One in particular that I was unaware of until recently is the Kiltonga Christian Centre, which operates under the radar. Without those charities, things would be an awful lot worse, so we owe them a huge debt.”
“While the Department for Communities has the lead role in addressing poverty in all its forms, the pressure faced by people requires coordinated action, as others have said, across the Executive, including housing, health, energy, employment and infrastructure. I commend the Minister for Communities for attending tonight to listen to the debate. <BR /> <BR />Finally, as my colleague Andy Allen has done in previous debates, I acknowledge the work that the Minister has undertaken in progressing the long-overdue anti-poverty strategy.”
“Another group of people who are largely forgotten but who have a daily struggle to make ends meet is the army of unpaid carers, a group that not only faces financial challenges but, in many cases, is deprived of any level of social life or respite self-time. <BR /> <BR />All the issues I have spoken of are not purely financial. Cold homes, financial stress and insecurity can harm physical and mental health and increase social isolation. Even the shame of poverty can seriously lower self-esteem and extinguish hope in people. Addressing poverty, therefore, supports better health outcomes and can reduce pressure on public services, and tackling poverty cannot rest with one Department alone.”
“In 2024-25, that figure has risen to a staggering 2,569. For that to happen, something in our society must not be working. <BR /> <BR />It is not just food poverty that is an affliction in North Down. Fuel poverty provides challenges across all sections of the community, from young families to pensioners who struggle to heat their entire home to the recommended, comfortable levels. The cost of energy has risen at rates that do not equate to the rise in income. The cost of private rentals and the disgraceful lack of affordable social housing is making a huge dent in family incomes. Providing a roof over their heads means that a family has less income available to heat or eat.”
“It found that 60% of working-class adults in poverty live in houses in which someone is in work. That figure rises to 64% for children. Put simply, employment alone is no longer a guarantee of financial security. <BR /> <BR />That reality applies in North Down as it does elsewhere, albeit often in less visible ways. As others have said, North Down is often referred to as the "gold coast". Undoubtedly, many prosperous families, who have worked hard to secure financial stability, live in comfort in my constituency. There are, however, areas of serious deprivation where the damaging effects of poverty can be seen. Behind the curtains of many seemingly prosperous homes, the issue of balancing the family budget is very real. <BR /> <BR />In 2017-18, Bangor Foodbank and Community Support distributed 634 emergency food parcels.”
“The recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, 'Poverty in Northern Ireland 2025', provides important insight into the scale and impact of poverty across Northern Ireland. One of the most striking findings is that the:”
“Minister, does the ombudsman still have full security clearance?”
“As I have often heard the Minister say, an action plan is more valuable than a lengthy strategic document any day. What patients and staff need and deserve now is clarity on how and when the improvements will be implemented. Whilst funding or the lack thereof may be a big barrier to achieving all that is possible, I am pleased that there are other measures that do not have a financial price tag but will deliver improved patient care and experiences. I commend the work that has been undertaken, especially in recent months, and I urge us to continue with that progress at pace. With commitment, investment and partnership, we can build neurology services that meet the needs of the people whom they serve.”
“I fully support putting patients at the centre, ensuring that they have access to reliable information and providing a designated point of contact. <BR /> <BR />The review also shone a bright light on the workforce crisis that opened up many years previously. We currently operate with only a fraction of the necessary consultant, nursing and AHP workforce. I therefore fully support the latest renewed emphasis on having a workforce that is fit to meet our significant needs. This time, it feels different. Of course, more staff alone will not fix everything, but more staff will allow us to provide the multidisciplinary service that reflects the complexity of neurological care. <BR /> <BR />At last, there is a road map that reflects the full complexity of neurology.”
“The publication of the evidence-based regional review of neurology earlier this year represented the most comprehensive assessment of neurology services undertaken in Northern Ireland. Crucially, it placed the voice of patients and carers at the core of its recommendations. I especially welcome the review's insistence on person-centred care. As MLAs, we are regularly and understandably on the front line hearing about what, patients feel, works or does not work well in our health service, and lived experiences of poor diagnostic and treatment pathways are part and parcel of that. It is clear to me that too many people living with neurological conditions feel that they are navigating the system alone, and, as with many other health-related journeys, that can often be a scary or intimidating experience.”
“Every one of those conditions brings its challenges and the need for timely specialist care. <BR /> <BR />As in many specialties, there is a wide spectrum of patient impacts and outcomes. For someone living with emerging symptoms of a condition such as MS, the earlier the intervention, the greater the opportunities. Sadly, for those with Parkinson's or motor neurone disease, time is often not a luxury, so they really need specialist guidance and support urgently. The current provision is far from ideal. It was far from ideal five years ago, just as it was far from ideal a decade ago. Unfortunately, the neurology-related problems and pressures that we see on these shores are being experienced across the rest of the UK. <BR /> <BR />While big problems persist, positive things are now happening.”
“I welcome the motion and the opportunity that it gives the House to debate an important part of our health service. There is no doubt that there are huge challenges in neurology; in that, neurology is similar to many specialties, but the challenges are particularly significant in that service. Regrettably, too many people across the health system have been waiting too long, but the waits are especially poor in neurology services; no one in the House could suggest otherwise. Those waits affect many thousands of people living with a wide spectrum of neurological conditions from Parkinson's to epilepsy, from multiple sclerosis (MS) to motor neurone disease (MND) and from functional neurological disorders (FNDs) to rare but devastating conditions such as Huntington's disease.”
“With the clock ticking down on the compliance of the Kinnegar treatment plant, where do the unacceptable levels of pollution entering Belfast lough sit in the priorities of the Minister's Department?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Whilst the £69·3 million that has been announced today for health pay goes some way towards funding this year's pay award, as the Minister will be aware — it has been mentioned — based on expectations that have been raised previously, many will view today's allocation as falling far short of what was promised. Does the Minister therefore accept that, based on the previous promises, it would be entirely unfair if today's £31 million shortfall in the Health budget were also to be taken off next year's opening budget for Health?”
“As much as we may all support that, no one in the Chamber will be unaware of the wider budgetary reality that faces the Department. Ultimately, our goal must be a Northern Ireland where every person, regardless of diagnosis, home address or circumstances, can access timely and quality palliative care in the setting that best supports them and their loved ones. I hope that the inquiry will further help to deliver that. <BR /> <BR />I take this opportunity to state my party's thanks and appreciation for the caring work that is carried out by everyone who works in that important and, at times, very demanding sector.”
“<BR /> <BR />Another theme that emerged clearly from the inquiry is the need for earlier identification of palliative needs and better planning. Too many people still associate palliative care only with the final days of life, when, in reality, its purpose is much broader: supporting quality of life, better management of symptoms and strengthening family resilience over a longer period. <BR /> <BR />I look forward to the Minister's consideration of the Committee's findings. I trust that he and his officials will engage meaningfully on them. However, I am also conscious that, whilst some of the recommendations can be implemented quickly and at minimal or no cost, the report also calls for significant investment.”
“Our hospices, community nursing teams, hospital specialists, GPs and pharmacists provide care that is marked by professionalism and humanity. That was remarked upon often throughout the inquiry. However, the inquiry also highlighted real challenges. Access remains uneven sometimes, particularly in rural and isolated areas, where travel distances and gaps in community provision can limit choice at the end of life. Workforce pressures can also impact on the consistency of care that people receive. As has been discussed before, hospices often rely on charitable fundraising to sustain the core services that the public rightly expect to be available. Various central departmental investments have been made in recent years, and I welcome those.”
“I certainly welcome the opportunity to speak in this important debate. I am sure that there is political unanimity right across the Chamber on the desire for high-quality, dignified care from diagnosis through to the end of life. Through lived experience with friends and family, some of us have likely seen at first hand the importance of person-centred support at the most vulnerable points in life. Despite what many of us already knew about such care, the recent Health Committee inquiry has still provided an incredibly comprehensive examination of the palliative and end-of-life care that is undertaken in Northern Ireland. It was certainly an informative, and sometimes eye-opening, scrutiny of the issue. <BR /> <BR />Palliative care in Northern Ireland has many strengths.”
“OK. I will finish very quickly. I thought that the assembly of people outside was very poorly handled.”
“I thank the Commission for that answer. I had never been involved in a full-scale evacuation in all the time that I have been here, but I want to offer a couple of observations that I hope will be seen as helpful. <BR /> <BR />The process was that most people seemed to be coming out of the front of the Building and going down the steps. When they got to the bottom of the steps, there was only one gate to let people out, so it was a case of funnelling people into one exit to get them off the steps. In an orderly situation, that is fine, but, in a panicked situation, it really could be a poor outcome. The other thing was that I thought that —.”
“People who are in crisis deserve better, and the system deserves far better. Once again, I will place on record my party's full support for and appreciation of the work of the police alongside all the staff who are working across the health and social care sector. We owe them all a huge debt.”
“<BR /> <BR />I fully support the idea behind and the intention of Right Care, Right Person, and I hope that it will be implemented as soon as it is safe to do so. However, we cannot simply instruct police officers to step back unless there is someone else who is fully equipped to step forward. If we move too fast and create a gap, there is a risk that someone will fall through it. Responsible government requires care, sequencing and realism, not bulldozing your way towards an artificial deadline because it suits a particular political narrative that some are trying to paint. <BR /> <BR />Let me end on this point: the motion simplifies an incredibly complex issue. If we are serious, let us work together honestly and responsibly. Let us stop using our health service as a platform for political posturing.”
“Everyone here knows that the size of the Health budget is driven by need, not luxury. We have an ageing population, rising complexities in children's mental health and escalating pressures across learning disability and social care, as well as greater expectations in clinical standards. Those demands grow every year. We then come to the call to prioritise the mental health strategy. Of course, we all want that, but the real question is this: what do Members want the Minister to cut to achieve that? The motion is absolutely silent on the trade-offs. It demands a destination while refusing to engage with the journey. The practical and genuine alternative, of course, is for MLAs to join the Minister in the upcoming multi-year Budget discussions and to call for an allocation that is based on genuine objective need.”
“However, that is not because the health service is not doing its job; it is because it is struggling away. The issue is far bigger than just one Department. Exactly the same thing could be said about the sheer number of people who end up in our prisons with mental health distress. Instead of recognising that wider truth, however, the motion reduces everything to a simplistic political formula, which is that Health gets half the Budget and, therefore, Health must be blamed. That is not analysis; it is political opportunism from the Alliance Party disguised as scrutiny. <BR /> <BR />It is disappointing to hear how, when speaking about Health getting half the total Budget, some people can make it sound as though they are doing the Health Department and, by extension, the Northern Ireland public some sort of favour by their generosity.”
“No, I want to make progress. <BR /> <BR />Let me say something important. Our police crews, paramedics, nurses, social workers and mental health professionals are the ones who are stepping up to make real changes. They make impossible judgement calls every single day. They do not need the Assembly to cast broad criticisms over their heads. They need us to back them fully and without political caveats. However, the motion is filled with caveats. It implies that Northern Ireland's health and social care system is failing in some collective, sweeping way. That casual disrespect might help some Members to land a political punch, but it does absolutely nothing to improve outcomes for the people who are in crisis. <BR /> <BR />I acknowledge absolutely that officers are supporting too many people who are in a crisis situation.”
“I declare an interest in that I am a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board. Let me be absolutely clear about this: when a person or a loved one is facing a mental health crisis, the last thing that they need is for the issue to be politicised. Yet, regrettably, that is exactly what the motion appears to do. It wraps an incredibly sensitive subject in political language and pretends that system-wide pressures can be solved by pointing a finger. That is not leadership; it is opportunism wearing the clothes of compassion.”
“In relation to amendment No 2, I share Trevor Clarke's concern that it strays — at least, there is a perception of it straying — into operational matters. In the meantime, let the House and the Executive hold this thought: you get what you pay for.”
“Hollow words and empathy just do not cut it. Of those officers, 1,000 are on restricted duties and not on the front line, and between 500 and 800 are off duty due to sickness, injuries and stress on a daily basis. That leaves the Chief Constable with 4,500 officers available for duty, with shifts, rest days and leave reducing the number of officers on the ground even further. That is an appalling and unacceptable situation. <BR /> <BR />The call in the motion and in my party's amendment for the Justice Minister to set out her plans to urgently address the resource shortfall are timely and entirely valid. Unless action is seen to be happening in that regard, retention figures will continue to fall.”
“As per my opening sentence, we are getting exactly what we have paid for: a police service that is so underfunded and, consequently, seriously under-resourced that many serious crimes will not be investigated or solved in the target timescale that the PSNI would like to meet. <BR /> <BR />The Patten report on policing, written 25 years ago, recommended 7,500 full-time officers and 2,500 part-time and locally recruited reservists. The reserve element has just been ignored and is never mentioned in current debates. As a proud member of the part-time RUC Reserve, I saw at first hand the added value to local community policing provided by my Reserve colleagues. The current figure of 6,200 PSNI officers is an indictment of the House and the Executive: nothing more is being done to address the situation.”
“There is an old cautionary saying: you get what you pay for. The motion highlights the fact that the PSNI did not have the capacity or available resource to manage the risk posed by a child sex offender in a recent, high-profile case that had hundreds of victims across the world and led to a young girl in America tragically taking her own life due to the activities of a twisted and evil member of our society. <BR /> <BR />We complain about the lack of police officers, and we watch as the Chief Constable tries his best to secure the budget that he needs to properly police Northern Ireland by breaking many established administrative conventions and processes to achieve his goal. I admire his tenacity but feel that the Assembly has failed him and his officers.”
“If the Executive Ministers are not able to set their political differences to the side and consider a draft multi-year settlement, it will be another catastrophic failure of this place.”
“As MLAs, we owe it to patients and the wider public to break the cycle of short-termism that is strangling our health service. <BR /> <BR />Clarity in the budgeting process must go hand-in-hand with stable government. I hope that the Executive can come together in the coming weeks, especially after tomorrow's Budget statement, set their political differences to the side and act in the best interests of the people whom we are elected to serve. Having watched the political positioning of some parties over recent weeks, however, I am becoming increasingly concerned about whether the Executive have the political desire and bravery to fairly consider a multi-year deal.”
“When the institutions collapse, the strategic direction is in a vacuum, and there is zero accountability for the political governance. As we all know, health is the sector that suffers the most when our politics fail because it relies the most on continuity, long-term planning and stable decision-making. A multi-year Budget will not solve every problem in our health service, but it will provide the foundation on which real solutions can finally be built. <BR /> <BR />Allowing the Department to plan workforce growth over several years instead of several months will let the trusts invest in improving services with the confidence that the funding will be there to complete the work. Crucially, it will help to ensure that money is spent wisely rather than reactively.”
“The projects that are designed to modernise care are unavoidably disrupted when the funding stops and starts, whether they are in mental health, where critical investment is needed for in-patient mental health facilities, elective surgery, primary care or digital innovation. Of course, staff morale suffers when they cannot see a reliable path forward for the services that they are trying to improve. The public lose confidence when announcements of progress are repeatedly followed by announcements of delay. <BR /> <BR />We must also be honest with ourselves about the impact of political instability. The stop-start nature of the Assembly and Executive over the past decade due to collapses of the institutions — first by Sinn Féin and then by the DUP — has compounded every one of the challenges.”
“When Departments find themselves in financial deficit, in-year savings plans are often more difficult and counter-strategic than they would have been had a multi-year approach been taken. Short-term budgeting not only slows progress, it actively costs money. When Departments cannot plan ahead, especially those of the scale and size of the Department of Health, they end up paying more for temporary solutions, such as expensive agency staff instead of permanent recruits, short-notice contracts instead of strategic investments and sticking-plaster fixes instead of long-term reform. <BR /> <BR />The uncertainty created by year-to-year Budgets directly affects the patient experience.”
“Funding that arrives late in the financial year or that shifts unpredictably with each Budget settlement makes long-term workforce planning virtually impossible.”
“The importance and undeniable benefits of moving to a multi-year funding position have often been discussed in the Chamber, and have always been supported by my party. No public service would benefit more from some degree of financial clarity and certainty than our health service. Over the past decade, this reality has become painfully clear: our health service cannot continue to function, never mind transform, under a cycle of short-term Budgets and political instability. If we genuinely want to provide the sustainable, high-quality care that the people of Northern Ireland deserve, the Assembly and the Executive must be prepared to take a long-overdue approach to budgeting. <BR /> <BR />Year-to-year budgeting has forced the Department of Health and our trusts to operate in constant firefighting mode.”
“The legal challenge has been ongoing for a number of years. Will the Minister confirm that his Department has had to detail considerable resource and funding to the case that could have been better deployed elsewhere?”
“I have to confess, however, to not understanding fully how these things work or what revenue would be raised from the sale of that property. Perhaps the Minister could provide some clarity on whether, if such a sale were to take place, it would be possible to ring-fence the money specifically for providing the new mental health facility, or whether it would simply go into a pot somewhere.”
“<BR /> <BR />Members from across the House, if we want Birch Hill to happen, and I believe that most of us do, it cannot rest solely on the shoulders of the Health Minister or the Department of Health. It will take a collective decision by the Executive to prioritise and provide the capital allocations required. Words of support are welcome, but budget decisions are what make buildings rise from the ground. That is why the upcoming Budget from the Department of Finance will be so important. For the sake of patients and staff, I hope that the commitment will be there to allow critical projects such as the Birch Hill Centre for Mental Health to proceed. <BR /> <BR />My colleague Trevor Clarke put forward an interesting solution to the problem of raising the capital needed to build a new facility there.”
“However, we also need to recognise that the expected costs of the scheme are now significantly greater than they once were, and right across the health service and every Department, capital demands exceed the budget envelope available. Since coming into office, the Minister has repeatedly urged the Executive and his MLA colleagues to consider the consequences of their repeatedly allocating below-need levels of funding for the health service. Whilst the Minister, I am sure, will continue to do all that he can to deliver investment and modern facilities right across the Health estate, including the essential Birch Hill centre, regrettably the funding that is needed is simply not being provided to the level that patients and staff require.”