Justin McNulty
Newry and Armagh · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for challenging some of the narratives that are peddled in relation to immigration. <BR /> <BR />Minister, what steps are you taking to support community safety partnerships in addressing misinformation on illegal immigration and to help build confidence in how local criminality is being managed?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. I welcome the progress that has been outlined today on major waterways projects, including the Ulster canal project.”
“Will you commit to throwing your full support and that of your Department behind that effort by backing the establishment of the task force and by working proactively with local councils and partners, including the Department of the Taoiseach's Shared Island unit, to realise finally the enormous economic, tourism and environmental potenti…”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. We have all seen the deterioration of our high streets and streets in our towns and villages with the shift to online shopping. Vacancy and dilapidation are now sadly the norm. Will the review act as a stimulus for businesses on those streets in our towns and villages?”
“Absolutely. The Minister and the Department can never relinquish the reins of proper scrutiny. <BR /> <BR />The reclassification by ONS will mean that all trust ports can borrow, which will allow them the commercial flexibility to invest more in their infrastructure.”
“<BR /> <BR />The trust port model has stood the test of time and has worked well for the North. We can see the economic and social benefits in the local communities around the ports. In 2025, the DFI completed a review of the trust ports in the North to explore how the Department's policy on trust ports could be updated.”
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“It is on the tip of my tongue. <BR /> <BR />If Sinn Féin Members spent less time getting their pictures taken beside potholes in an effort to attack you, Minister, they might get more done. What discussions have you had with the Irish and British Governments about tackling our carbon footprint across these islands?”
“Minister, I want to applaud you for your strong and composed leadership and delivery on projects like Casement Park, the A6, the A1 and support packages for taxis and bus operators — all projects that Sinn Féin failed to deliver on when it had the Ministry. If its Members spent less time standing beside potholes getting pictures taken, they might get more done.”
“What are you doing to recharge them emotionally? What are you doing to recharge them physically? What are you doing to recharge them in terms of their socialisation? What are you doing to recharge them academically?”
“Minister, I am concerned about the omission of the oral element from the languages assessment, especially for Gaeilge, our land's native tongue. I am also concerned about some students who take subjects modularly and may be disadvantaged and feel a little bit dizzy and overwhelmed by the proposed measures, complex and all as they are. Some solutions may have been provided, but I am worried about teachers and teaching staff, who are already overwhelmed, and how they and their unions have been consulted. <BR /> <BR />Fundamentally, Minister, we are talking about examinations when we should be focusing elsewhere. We should be focusing on a recharge. In Children's Mental Health Week, what measures are you taking to help children to prepare for the exams? What are you doing to recharge their mental health?”
“I welcome the publication of the report and the recommendations therein and support their implementation.”
“The community rallied round, thankfully, to make and donate PPE. <BR /> <BR />Care home staff have relayed to us all their stories of heartbreak and pain at the loss of residents whom they looked after and cared for as though they were their own family. All of us have been contacted by families who are at their wits' end because they have been denied the opportunity to visit a loved one in a care home. Some of them have told us of their pain, anguish and heartbreak as their mother or father or relative passed away without the company of a loved one. <BR /> <BR />The report highlights very clearly the systemic underinvestment in older persons' care, and it shows how unprepared the system was, public and private, for the arrival of such a devastating transmissible virus.”
“<BR /> <BR />The report captures many of the issues that we have all heard about from our constituents, including restrictions on visiting, staffing levels, PPE, discharges from hospitals to homes and support for staff and families. Like others, I applaud the leadership of Pauline Shepherd, who was a steady hand at the tiller and a proactive voice for care homes at the height of the first wave and has been since. <BR /> <BR />The pandemic arrived like a bolt out of the blue, and it has pushed society and our healthcare systems to the brink. The report contains a sad and stark statistic, which is that 40% of COVID deaths here occurred in care homes. My sincerest sympathy is with every family who has lost a loved one to the virus. Who could forget the sense of panic almost, as staff struggled to get access to appropriate PPE?”
“<BR /> <BR />As I said at the outset, residents in care homes are some of our most vulnerable citizens. As the coronavirus wave hit Asia and Europe, our television screens were flooded with stories and images of people in care homes amidst escalating outbreaks in those facilities and, unfortunately, bereavements. The natural reaction here was to shut the doors and keep visitors out, which meant keeping families out. It meant talking to loved ones through windows and not holding their frail hands for months. My experience of that was talking to a close family friend through a care home window and asking him where he would like to have his mother laid to rest. He did not get to attend his mother's funeral.”
“We all know the impact that the restrictions have had on our daily lives, but for those who are in care homes not to be able to have any contact with their families and the outside world was heartbreaking — residents, families and staff alike. <BR /> <BR />In the spring and summer of last year, many of us gathered on doorsteps to applaud NHS workers and others on the front line. Those who work in care homes are a critical part of our healthcare system, but they do not often get the recognition that they deserve and certainly do not get the financial reward that they deserve. To the front-line healthcare workers who staff our care homes in every capacity with compassion and selflessness, I say this: we owe you an enormous debt of gratitude.”
“As someone who is not a member of the Health Committee, I welcome the opportunity to take part in the debate and thank the Committee for its work on this important issue. The report is timely, but it is also key to learning for the future. Residents in care homes are our most vulnerable citizens. It is not an easy decision for a family to place a loved one in a care home or a residential facility. A family's decision is based on where a loved one will be safest and best cared for. When we see the dignity and care that is afforded to our loved ones by those who care for them, we see compassion in action. The staff in those homes are trying to juggle their care roles with their family lives at home. During the pandemic, they left their own homes to effectively go and look after their second family.”
“It is an incredible situation. Parents and children are dying for schools to reopen and to get back to school. Will the Minister outline what advice he has got from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) about potentially reopening schools in February?”
“Can you confirm what the debate is about? Surely there should be no debate on that: teachers should be prioritised for vaccination, especially in special schools. What is the debate about?”
“<BR /> <BR />I want to see a recharge programme in every school, one that rebuilds and invests in our children, their educational attainment, their emotional and physical health and their very well-being. That has to be the Minister and the House's priority going forward. No child can be left behind or left further behind as result of the pandemic. That recharge and reboot of our education system will help those children to catch up and will support those children and families. I support the motion.”
“I fully appreciate the need for special schools to remain open. However, the staff need to be protected with appropriate PPE, and they need access to priority vaccination. If we are to live up to our commitments to those vulnerable children we are here to speak of today, we should protect them, their teachers and their carers through a project of priority vaccination for those teachers and staff. <BR /> <BR />A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. When the dark cloud has passed, we will look back and ask ourselves: how did we treat the most vulnerable children in our care? I hope that we have learned from the errors of the early part of the pandemic.”
“They are also anxious about being told to isolate and about not being able to attend their place of work while knowing the detrimental impact that their absence from the classroom has on the children they teach and care for. Children with special and complex needs depend on routine. Any closure or interruption to their education, even for planned holidays, can have a detrimental impact, so unplanned and prolonged interruption to their school life is very difficult for them and their families.”
“Teachers and staff live in local communities and are genuinely afraid of picking up the virus, despite their best endeavours, and bringing it into their school.”
“I appreciate that we were faced with something strange and new, but the constant cry from parents has been that they had support from the school but did not have access to the allied health care support that their children so badly needed. The routine that is so important for so many families has been completely disrupted. <BR /> <BR />I fully support the opening of special schools and provision for children with statements of special educational needs. In doing so, however, I want to ensure that schools are safe, and feel safe, for those children and the teachers, assistants and carers who look after them during the school day. Whilst the figures show that transmission in schools, particularly in primary schools, is low, we are all too aware of the high rates of transmission in the community.”
“Whilst education is important to their academic development, equally so is the routine of school, meeting friends and social interaction. As others have said, however, at school, they have access to a range of other allied health care services: educational psychology, speech and language therapies, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and, I say it again, the routine of school, the removal of which has been devastating for some families. <BR /> <BR />From the outset of the pandemic, parents have been pleading with me, and, I am sure, with many other Members, to ensure that special schools and special units in mainstream schools remained open. Our education system failed that group of children at the early stage of the pandemic.”
“I welcome the opportunity to take part in the debate. My Committee colleagues and I have been consistently raising this issue with the Minister for some months. <BR /> <BR />I begin by thanking each and every person involved in schools and education across the North, and I include parents. Their modus operandi has been turned completely upside down, more so than in probably any other walk of life, yet they have continued to work throughout the pandemic, even though it has changed every way that education has been delivered, to provide educational resources and to try to manage schools. I really want to pay tribute to them and to say a heartfelt "thanks". <BR /> <BR />Children with additional and/or complex needs are some of the most vulnerable citizens.”
“<BR /> <BR />Like many in the House and in our communities, I want to see the restrictions eased and life return to as normal as possible — whatever normal might look like after this pandemic. We do need to adhere to the public guidance and expert advice. Someone once said:”
“We need a plan for recovery and a plan for the reopening of our education and health services. <BR /> <BR />I have said many times that those working in education need to be prioritised for vaccination, especially those in special education settings. We need a plan to ensure that children who are falling behind can catch up, a plan that ramps up healthcare capacity to tackle the ever-growing waiting lists and the hidden health consequences of the pandemic and the various lockdowns. We need a plan for mental, physical and emotional health recovery and renewal. We need to see a plan for economic recovery and renewal. We need a plan to reboot our tourism and hospitality sectors. We need a plan to get sport back on the pitch. We need a plan for emotional health and well-being renewal.”
“<BR /> <BR />Why are car washes closed? Surely keeping cars and headlights clean is a good thing. We have kept garages and MOT centres open and operating. Yet, some cannot get their car washed. So-called non-essential retail is closed, yet essential retailers can sell items that are deemed non-essential, such as hot tubs and some electrical goods. Surely that is not fair. It favours the retail giants but does nothing for the small independent retailers in our town centres who were fighting for their very survival before the pandemic. <BR /> <BR />We have seen the impact of COVID-19 on our communities, not just by the outcome of these restrictions but the death toll and the number of people affected by it, the impact of schooling from home, and by large parts of our economy being put into cold storage.”
“The restrictions are not normal, but neither is the virus. While many of the restrictions are seen as reasonable and justified, there are others that people question. They are questioning the restrictions; they are not challenging the advice. However, they seek clarity and need to know why certain restrictions are in place. For example, why is outdoor sport for young people not permitted? Children have been taken out of school, and if we are to protect their physical and emotional well-being, surely organised and managed outdoor sports should be considered. I have had parents plead for their children to be permitted to participate in sport. Yes, the restrictions and regulations must be adhered to. However, allowing some limited sport and recreation will protect the mental health and well-being of young people now and into the future.”
“I know too many families who have lost both parents to this horrible virus.”
“I spoke with the chief executive of the Southern Trust, Shane Devlin, last week: a week when 40% of all people who were in hospital with COVID in the North were in a Southern Trust hospital. The director of acute services told me that the staff have been fabulous, resilient and gracious. They are feeling the pressure and are completely shattered, but they are facing the challenge head-on. They are extraordinary people. I have spoken to heartbroken families that are distraught; others have lost loved ones or have loved ones in the hospital that they cannot visit. I have spoken to families who have lost loved ones to this horrible disease, and they are beside themselves with pain and grief because they have not been able to say their goodbyes and share their grief in our special Irish way.”
“<BR /> <BR />Before I go any further, I want to again put on record my sincere thanks and appreciation of the front-line workers across our society, especially those working in health and social care and education front-line services and in essential retail. Sadly, until this virus hit our world, much of the work that these people did was taken for granted. May that never be the case again. We should not just thank these people but revere them. <BR /> <BR />Like many in this House, in recent weeks and months I have sat in on many meetings with health officials. I have heard from them and, indeed, from the healthcare workers on the front line about the very real pressures on them as they battle to save every life.”
“Sadly, I have seen how right Gerry was, even though it was hard to comprehend it at that time. We all know people who have passed on, and it is very sad. Coincidentally, Seán Boylan, Gerry's great manager, contracted COVID, and, thankfully, he has fought through. I acknowledge the stark necessity for these regulations. At the time of their introduction, they were necessary both to protect public health and to protect our health services. We all have to acknowledge that these restrictions are not what we want. They place extraordinary curtailments on our economy, our way of life and our basic liberties.”
“I thank the junior Minister for bringing these regulations to the Floor of the House. As I sit and listen to the valuable contributions of all Members this evening, the words of a friend of mine are resonating in my ears. Last March, when we were all getting to grips with the arrival of this new virus and pandemic, I reached out to a trusted friend, Dr Gerry McEntee, a back-to-back winner of all-Ireland championships in the 1980s with me and also a renowned surgeon in the Mater Hospital in Dublin for over 30 years. I wanted a medical steer on what he thought about this pandemic. Gerry said to me:”
“Minister, I agree with your stance: all hands on deck for the health service. If a loved one is in critical care and needs medical personnel, they will not care where they come from as long as they get the care that they need. Will the Minister advise us as to what areas of the independent sector are being asked to consider helping out in the NHS? Is it in cancer care or orthopaedics? What particular areas might help out?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. While I welcome the financial payments to numerous businesses, judging by the volume of issues raised daily with me by businesses that are on their hands and knees seeking payments, what she said does not ring true. Does the Minister intend to produce a comprehensive COVID-19 recovery plan? Will she outline how she intends to rebuild and reboot our economy and get people back to work?”
“I recognise that the closure is necessary, but what additional resources will be brought forward to help teachers and staff ensure that children can catch up and that their mental, physical and emotional health has not been too adversely impacted? Minister, I support the motion and the amendment.”
“Parents are now at home with their head in their hands because they recognise the impact this closure will have on their children, especially those children with special educational needs. Parents see their children falling further behind. Minister, what additional resources will you bring to bear to help those children to catch up? What additional resources will you give to support teachers to enable those children to catch up? What additional resources will you put in place to support children whose mental, emotional and physical health has been adversely impacted by the pandemic and this latest closure?”
“I am sorry, I cannot give way. I am running out of time. <BR /> <BR />Minister, it is fair to say that you have not put children first. You have put your political allegiances first. We needed leadership and a consistent approach, and that has not happened. <BR /> <BR />What pressure are you bringing to bear on the Health Minister to ensure that teaching staff are prioritised for vaccinations to enable schools to get back to open normally as quickly as possible? What pressure have you brought to bear on the Health Minister to ensure that prioritisation, especially for staff in special schools? <BR /> <BR />There is a widening education gap. How will that be addressed, Minister?”
“I thank the Member for his contribution. I fully agree. However, the Minister must take responsibility for that as well. The Minister is responsible for ensuring that every child is safe. He has a role to play in ensuring every child is safe. <BR /> <BR />Minister, in terms of the transfer test, I applaud the brave moves of the principals in Newry: the Abbey Christian Brothers, St Colman's College, Our Lady's Grammar School and the Sacred Heart Grammar School. They made an early and brave decision when it was not popular in many quarters, but it was the right decision. Now, we have heard much about a level playing field. How is there a level playing field across this part of the island? There was a lack of leadership and consistency and, Minister, that is down to you.”
“I absolutely agree. <BR /> <BR />As recently as last week — just over a week ago — I was banging this drum again, asking you, Minister, what the mitigations and the contingency plans were. That detail has not been forthcoming and still is not there. I ask you again, Minister: what are the mitigations you will put in place to allow children to be educated safely and keep safe teachers and school staff, families and parents? What are the resources?”
“We have not had the answers, and it is sad that it has come to this. <BR /> <BR />I am really worried about the vulnerable and at-risk children whose safe haven is school, those with special educational needs, those do not have educational support at home and those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. I worry about the mental, emotional and physical health of our children and young people. We all recognise that the best place for children is school, but we also recognise that the galloping COVID figures have forced this move.”
“I thank you, Mr Speaker and all the Members who supported the SDLP recall petition, which allows us to hold the Minister to account on this most important issue. <BR /> <BR />We must take a moment to thank our teachers and school staff. We should put ourselves in their shoes, going daily into a classroom with 30-plus pupils, fearing for their own health and the health of their families. They still do it because they believe passionately in educating our young people. Those teachers, school staff and principals should be applauded. <BR /> <BR />It is abhorrent that we are discussing this on New Year's Eve. We have been banging the drum on the issues over and over again at the Education Committee, at Ad Hoc Committees, at the Minister's Question Time and via written questions to the Minister.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I warmly welcome any endeavour to improve education for our children and young people and for our teachers and school leaders. I would like to see a focus on improving education for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. I did not see that referenced in the statement or the terms of reference. The scope of the terms of reference should very much focus on improving education for those young people. Why does the ongoing review not marry with the review that is going on in the Education Authority? Surely, there should be a symbiotic relationship there. When will the Minister report on the independent review of this year's exams that was undertaken by Deloitte?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement and his answers thus far. There have been disproportionate adverse impacts on children's education as an outcome of the pandemic. The gap is widening. Children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and children with special educational needs are falling further behind. How do your proposals on exams address that? Can you confirm that the algorithm fiasco from earlier this year will not be repeated?”
“Minister, I am not sure that that response cuts through. You are still saying, essentially, that there is a price on justice for domestic abuse victims. Will you commit to working with the Justice Minister and my colleague Sinéad Bradley, who has undertaken an enormous amount of work in this area, to ensure that the Bill passes and that victims of domestic violence are not subjected to coercive financial control using restrictive legal aid rules?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Has he engaged with the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) and the local government sector on a co-design and regional consultation approach to shared prosperity funding?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Minister, that does not wash, pardon the pun, given the example that you have given. There are genuine businesses that are on their knees and need the money to be forthcoming fast. They need help. What is your Christmas message to those businesses that are asked to send workers home, close their doors, and that were promised financial assistance but are still waiting for help?”
“Given that it has been identified that many patients have not been impacted, will the Minister undertake to ensure that those patients for whom concerns have been identified will be contacted with the appropriate care and support as quickly and expeditiously as possible?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. This will be a difficult day for patients, for the Southern Trust and, indeed, for Mr O'Brien. There are conflicting narratives here, Minister. Many whom I have spoken to, including former patients and colleagues, speak very highly of Mr O'Brien, and that is why this statement is such a shock. I welcome the setting up of the inquiry, as it will ensure accountability, fairness and transparency for all involved. <BR /> <BR />The Minister stated that Mr O'Brien treated a minimum of 2,327 patients through the trust's services, and then there are private patients, as well. The Minister then advised that 271 patients have been contacted. Minister, I am sure that you will recognise that, after today, many more patients and their families will be concerned.”
“Only by acting together will we be able to beat the virus and return to life as we knew it.”
“We must do everything that we can to ensure that staff feel valued and to ensure that their mental health is protected at such a stressful time. I very much welcome the steps that have been taken by the health and social care trusts and partners in recent months, including the development of a framework for leaders and managers to support staff well-being and the psychology helplines that are open to staff. <BR /> <BR />Despite all the present difficulties, we recognise that the restrictions and sacrifices are an unfortunate necessity if we are to get the virus under control. Whilst the recent news about vaccinations has given us all some hope, we still have some way to go, and I call on the public to dig deep and, as the Minister said earlier, to dig in and continue to adhere to the restrictions and guidelines.”
“In the months and years ahead, our mental health services, from counselling and therapy to crisis intervention, will be under immense pressure — greater pressure than ever. Therefore, I call on the Minister of Health to commit to ensuring that a world-class mental health service is provided here and to commit to providing for its funding. It will be needed more than ever in the coming months. <BR /> <BR />I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the inspirational NHS front-line staff, including those on the front line of mental health services, who work day after day under the most challenging of circumstances, often putting the health and well-being of others ahead of their own and, indeed, that of their families. I salute them all. Where would we be without them?”
“I feel for the elderly in nursing homes who have not seen family for so long. I feel for the business owners and the self-employed. I feel for the families and parents of children with special educational needs or complex needs. I feel for families who are coping with grief. This has been the most difficult year for them all. <BR /> <BR />I am concerned not only about the pandemic's current impact on the well-being of families, businesses and communities but about its longer-term consequences for mental health. Sadly, I believe that we will continue to see those consequences long after the pandemic has passed. We must all work to ensure that everything that can be done is done so that the mental health crisis that we have been experiencing here in the North since long before the pandemic even arrived does not escalate.”
“However, I encourage the Minister to ensure that he explains the rationale behind every decision on each sector so that people and sectors clearly understand them. <BR /> <BR />We must be mindful that the restrictions of recent weeks, and those in the weeks to come, take place in the midst of the winter months, with longer and darker evenings. The isolation, loneliness, fear and worry that many have been experiencing, and will continue to experience, as a result of the lockdown restrictions on their way of life will be very painful and, potentially, detrimental to their mental health. <BR /> <BR />I feel particularly for those who are the most vulnerable. I feel for the elderly, people living alone and those already suffering from poor mental health. I feel for those who have lost their jobs or whose jobs are at risk.”
“<BR /> <BR />We are now nearly nine months into living with, dealing with and trying to cope with the pandemic. COVID-19 has disrupted almost every aspect of life as we knew it. I welcome the Health Minister's statement on the ambition to give people hope. We do not know how long it will be until vaccines are available and deployed or until life returns to something approaching a semblance of normality, but, without hope, we have nothing. <BR /> <BR />Small physical, mental and emotional things, such as getting to the gym, offered an avenue of escape. Sadly, that has been removed, causing immense distress to many. I understand the steps that the Minister has taken. They all focus on saving and protecting lives.”