Gerry Mullan
East Londonderry · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“There was a flawed tariff in place, no cost controls or progress reviews, limited inspections and very little regulation. Finally, as far back as 2013, there was a complete failure to act on a whistle-blower's warning.”
“I welcome the opportunity to participate in today's debate concerning very hastily brought forward regulations that attempt to mitigate spend on the botched renewable heat incentive scheme. I do not need to remind anyone that the unregulated and uncapped RHI cash for ash scheme is indeed the biggest scandal ever to hit this country.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Member for his comments and I agree totally. I was asking what the money could possibly have been used for had it not been squandered to the extent that it was. Hospitals and our GPs are facing crisis point and our roads are in a dilapidated condition.”
“I am sorry; I will not take any interventions because you have had long enough to say and do the right thing. You have not done so up to this point and you will certainly not take advantage of me to make any political points.”
“That is why, from day one, the SDLP called for the First Minister to step aside during a public inquiry into this botched energy scheme that would be devoid of any political influence or conflict of interest. After all, the scheme will cost the taxpayer £85,000 per day or £600,000 a week.”
“Does the Member agree that the fishing analogy that Mr Frew used in his contribution was somewhat unwise when he referred to the feeding frenzy and to members of my party being caught on the hook?”
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“I, too, thank the Minister for his statement, his update and the discussions on the devastating impact that Brexit will inevitably have on the North and how it will impact on business and trade. Taking into account the previous speaker's question, I too ask this: on health spend, has the Minister had any correspondence with the Secretary of State for Health at Westminster concerning the supposed £350 million extra spend following Brexit? Does he agree with me that that was a blatant lie on the part of the "Leave" camp, which some in the Chamber supported?”
“I thank the Minister for his answers thus far. As Mr Robinson stated, the A37 is a major transport corridor for the north-west. Will the Minister give assurances that, after many years of delay, this scheme, as well as the Dungiven bypass, will progress in this mandate?”
“Will the Minister detail how many appointments have been cancelled by the Causeway Hospital in the last year and the financial ramifications of that?”
“— will reach them soon and that the mobile phone infrastructure will be progressed in a timely fashion.”
“— had intended to improve service through a mobile infrastructure project with £150 million earmarked to improve mobile phone coverage to over 60,000 remote areas in the UK. <BR /> <BR />The people of my constituency need assurances that the superfast broadband scheme —”
“When I looked across the map of my constituency, I saw that areas surrounding Limavady, Dungiven and Magilligan Point were marked in red, which means that there is limited outdoor and indoor phone network coverage, whilst access to 3G and 4G Internet is almost non-existent. I understand that DETI, in collaboration with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport —”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Member for his intervention. There is no doubt that the farming community suffers greatly from the lack of broadband. I sympathise with his comments and hope that the issue can be addressed by the Minister. <BR /> <BR />There are better long-term solutions. We simply cannot have a glass-half-empty approach for rural broadband; it is much too important for the survival of many businesses in rural constituencies like East Derry. <BR /> <BR />Mobile phone coverage is an equally important issue in my constituency, which is littered with what have been referred to in the Chamber today as "not spots" — areas where there is little or no mobile phone coverage. In preparation for today's debate, I went onto Ofcom's website, which details mobile phone coverage throughout the North.”
“<BR /> <BR />Satellite broadband and blue boxes have been used as stopgap provision in many rural areas, but they do not provide a consistent, reliable or stable connection.”
“According to research carried out last year, 11% of Internet connections in East Derry have a speed of 2 megabits per second or less: in 2016, that is unacceptable. Compare that with areas like north and south Belfast, where the figure sits at a very comfortable 2% and 3% respectively. With the opening up of many online markets and the emergence of the digital economy, rural businesses simply cannot compete. <BR /> <BR />The broadband voucher scheme promised much to many rural businesses, but less than a year ago it was stripped of funding, leaving many rural businesses stranded and disconnected once again. I call on the Minister to clarify whether he or his Executive colleagues have plans to reinstate the scheme and deliver fully on what was promised to so many rural businesses, especially those located in east Derry.”
“Many homes and businesses throughout East Derry struggle to obtain a mere speed of 2 megabits per second. What business would want to come and invest in an area that does not have the proper broadband infrastructure?”
“<BR /> <BR />I understand that DETI spent a considerable amount of money on rolling out broadband schemes, but my constituency has yet to receive any tangible benefit from it, despite multiple promises of higher speeds and upgrades to service infrastructure. That failure to improve rural broadband services has exacerbated the digital divide, and that is having a severe economic impact on many business across my constituency. Business owners have told me that poor Internet connectivity is stifling their business growth, job creation and productivity in the area.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion. In doing so, I will demonstrate to the House the harsh realities of life facing many of my constituents in East Derry. Many individuals and families, including farmers, have contacted me to express their deep frustration at the slow progress made with broadband provision across the constituency. From places such as Benone, Blagh and Drumsurn, which are on my doorstep, to places right across the constituency, such as Waterfoot, Kilrea and Glenullin in the east and Feeney and Claudy in the west, I have not seen any broadband improvement in recent years. That is in spite of having Project Kelvin in Portrush, a £28 million fibre-optic cable connecting my constituency to North America in a matter of seconds.”
“I thank the Minister for her answers thus far. Can she provide details on the number of people in her Department who have taken up voluntary exit rather than relocate to Ballykelly, and detail what amount of money that might cost?”
“In the new mandate, it is vital that those local hospital services are not only retained but enhanced, especially as other primary and community care services have been left teetering on the brink of existence, leaving many patients with nowhere to go. Local GP provision is at breaking point. There is little out-of-hours service, and care packages, as you all know, have been stripped back to 15 minutes. That all leaves many patients in extremely vulnerable positions. That simply cannot continue. <BR /> <BR />I come back to the Budget. As the Executive work towards a new Programme for Government and multi-year Budget, it is important that these issues and the many more facing my constituency are dealt with. We cannot have any more empty promises, any further delays to capital projects or any further stripping of public services.”
“I sincerely hope that the Executive come through on their promise and deliver the full A6 project — I repeat: the full A6 project — before the end of the mandate. <BR /> <BR />I will focus my final remarks on the health budget. Throughout my constituency, serious concerns have been raised by local staff, hospital users and the general population concerning the future of the Causeway Hospital. The Causeway Hospital provides a first-class and vital service for all living in the area, but A&E services, palliative care, midwifery and the hospital's relationship with Ulster University are all now at risk following various reviews and reports conducted in the last mandate.”
“A new-build capital project would also provide a welcome stimulus for the local construction industry, which has continued to struggle throughout the economic downturn. <BR /> <BR />It is fair to say that the delivery of capital projects was a key failure of the last Executive. After empty promises and undue delay, I welcome the renewed commitment to deliver the A6, as it will be the lifeline for many communities in East Derry and further afield. Funding for the A6 faces a substantial shortfall of £300 million, which will provide little comfort for places such as Dungiven. In the absence of a critical bypass, people there are faced with living in one of the most polluted and neglected towns on this island through no fault of their own. The funding announced for the A6 is but a small part of a mammoth task to be undertaken.”
“Coleraine will now be the only area in Northern Ireland to offer enhanced capital allowances to large capital-intensive projects that have the potential to promote highly paid jobs and further investment in the area, but cuts to higher education mean that places like Coleraine will not reap the many rewards that an enterprise zone should bring. <BR /> <BR />Education is not the only area the Budget fails to deliver on. In the Justice budget, £17 million is allocated to capital projects. Surely one of those needs to be a new build for Magilligan prison, which has long fallen short of the standards required, with the current infrastructure outliving its useful life. It is now critical that we see a new build at the site to relieve pressure on staff and to allow prisoners a genuine opportunity for rehabilitation in a modern environment.”
“Those are cuts to modern language and science degrees that have dramatically disadvantaged my constituency as a place to invest in and have severely disadvantaged not only local students but students from right across the North and beyond. As we debate today's Budget, it is vital that the House begins to learn of the importance and value of higher education, especially in considering the planned introduction of corporation tax in 2018. In this year's Budget, I do not see any real evidence of that. <BR /> <BR />It is a sorry state of affairs that a Tory Chancellor has announced extra spend for the completion of the Coleraine enterprise centre.”
“Local businesses face significant financial pressures, with high rates, poor broadband services and limited access to finance all hampering their ability to grow and prosper. <BR /> <BR />Against that backdrop, it is vital that we use all resources available to the House to ensure that we grow our economy and ensure that this is an attractive place to invest in. A key component of that has to be a properly trained and skilled workforce, but, in the last number of years, we have seen budget cuts in further and higher education, with 1,250 student places lost at Ulster University's Coleraine campus alone, and a total of 210 job losses.”
“<BR /> <BR />My constituency has a fascinating history and some of the most stunning areas of natural beauty across this island. From the award-winning blue flag beaches of Benone to the stunning views of Binevenagh mountain, on top of which, by the way, now stands the famous Manannán Mac Lir statue. We have scenic river walks in the Roe Valley and the much loved promenades in Portstewart and Portrush. But the truth is that, in my constituency, it is not all great. We have watched our town centres deteriorate, with places like Dungiven and Coleraine practically unrecognisable. We have watched our communities decline, with young people leaving in their droves in search of greater economic opportunity, and we have seen vital public services withdrawn due to budgetary constraints.”
“I am extremely proud to have been elected as a representative for East Derry. As this is my maiden speech, I begin by paying tribute to two former East Derry MLAs. Arthur Doherty, who sadly is no longer with us, was for me the quintessential gentleman and scholar whose passion for politics and the arts is the reason I am here today. For that, I owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. John Dallat also served the constituency of East Derry with distinction for many years, and I especially want to take a moment to commend him for the dignified way he represented the people of my constituency in what were some of the darkest days of our history. He did himself proud, he did his family proud and he did the SDLP proud, and I sincerely wish him and his wife, Anne, all the very best in his retirement.”
“Like two of the previous Members who spoke, Richie McPhillips and Kellie Armstrong, I welcome the opportunity to contribute to today's debate on the Budget. I do so as both the SDLP Member for East Derry and a member of the Finance Committee.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Minister, you will be aware that your party claimed that detailed discussions were ongoing about leveraging further finance from the European Investment Fund for social housing and urban regeneration. Will the Minister update the House on those discussions and the effect that Brexit would have on the central plan of his party's manifesto?”