Robbie Butler
Lagan Valley · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Officials highlighted that alignment was provided through existing EU-derived arrangements and that coherence with existing regulatory frameworks was identified as a main consideration.”
“I note that the Member for Strangford agrees: she understands the value of our fisheries in those areas. There are other complexities. The Isle of Man Government have now done a bit of a circle around that island, which makes it difficult for our fishers from Portavogie, Kilkeel and Portaferry to craft and graft a living from some of the…”
“The Committee took the opportunity to question officials on several issues and highlight matters warranting scrutiny at Committee Stage but was not limited to those areas.”
“As the Minister said, they have possibly been viewed as competing demands, but they are not competing demands, because clean water is part of sustainable food production.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am glad to see language in the Bill on the sustainability of the aquaculture sector, and I want to lean in a bit on that. Aquaculture pastimes have, perhaps, been underutilised, whether they relate to the angling fraternity or other river and water users.”
“Today, I want to talk about a very talented young girl from Lisburn called Freya Terris. Freya, who is 17 years old, attends Friends' School and studies the piano under former Lisburn resident Rory Dowse. Freya is an incredibly accomplished young pianist and has performed in the Ulster Hall.”
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“While scientific and medical knowledge on the virus itself is trying to keep pace with the speed of mutations, one of the constant and most valuable pieces of advice on how we protect ourselves and each other has been the need to prioritise and utilise that triumvirate of protection mitigations: time, distance and shielding. When we couple the triumvirate of mitigations with a high and increasing uptake of the vaccination programme, we can, hopefully, return to a more familiar cycle of living. <BR /> <BR />Some may have begun to believe that we are now at a phase where we can let our guard down. They are wrong.”
“In England, for instance, an additional 7,000 air-cleaning units for educational settings have been announced. In Wales, money has been set aside specifically to deal with ventilation. In the Republic of Ireland, funding has been made available specifically to allow schools to purchase air filter systems for classrooms. <BR /> <BR />Whilst the omicron variant has refocused the discussion, it must be remembered that the advice about good ventilation and air quality in shared spaces is not new. In November 2020, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) published a paper on ventilation and air-cleaning devices, and that advice is still worthy of application.”
“May I have a minute and a half? That was quite an intervention. <BR /> <BR />If we cast our minds back just a couple of months, we recall that the emergence of the omicron variant made us all sit up and listen. Even early evidence told us that this was a more transmissible variant, and, whilst the longer-term health impacts were unknown at that time, it was obvious that actions to mitigate harm were needed. We have certainly learnt enough, and the population across Northern Ireland have suffered enough, for us as legislators and decision makers to use the learning from before and to prepare better for the future. It could be argued that, across some parts of these jurisdictions and, to some extent, in the Republic, these concerns are being addressed.”
“I also thank the proposer of the motion, Pat Sheehan, for the opportunity to reinforce the repeated calls from me and from the Education Committee to the Education Minister for a more focused and deliberate strategy to improve air quality and ventilation in schools. <BR /> <BR />If we cast our minds back just a couple of months, we recall that the emergence of the omicron variant made us all sit up and listen.”
“Mr Speaker, hopefully, you will not have to direct those words to me during the debate. <BR /> <BR />First, I thank our principals, teachers and support staff for their monumental efforts to open our schools as safely as possible and for their efforts to keep our pupils safe and in school, which we all agree is the best place for them to be. There is now little doubt that one of the groups most negatively impacted by the pandemic has been our young people, particularly by the loss of face-to-face education and time spent with classmates and friends. The true cost of this will be calculated for years to come. We must also thank our young people for how they have responded to the health protection measures and constructively contributed to our societal battle to combat this virus.”
“The Member raises a good point, but, as I said, it is planned that the review will be considered by senior management. Perhaps an answer will be forthcoming in December.”
“All such works are required to be undertaken in a manner that befits the listed status of Parliament Buildings and does not cause any unnecessary disruption to Assembly business. Senior management has considered an initial draft review that was undertaken by Building Services and has requested that further information be incorporated before the review is formally submitted for its consideration. It is planned that the review will be considered by senior management in December.”
“I thank the Member for his question. For many years, maintenance and minor works projects relating to Parliament Buildings have been undertaken using the Department of Finance's pan-government framework contract for property maintenance. The Assembly Commission has, to date, continued that tradition. The Commission is undertaking a review of those services to consider whether that remains the best mechanism to undertake such works and to help to ensure that the framework arrangement provides a value-for-money option for the work. The scope of the services includes planned maintenance, reactive and remedial maintenance, repairs, minor works projects and the provision of a small team of in-house operatives.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I believe that two gas boilers are currently used to heat the Building and that those replaced the oil heating.”
“The IS Office is currently leading on a project that will see the replacement of the old TVs in the Building. That will have a significant impact on our energy use as the new TVs will be much more energy efficient than the existing ones. We will also have the facility to turn off all the screens in the corridors and public areas centrally. An officer in the Sustainable Development Office works closely with the Department of Finance and other partners to utilise energy-saving solutions where possible and will continue to improve the Building's energy controls and metering systems to help to ensure continuous improvement in our energy usage.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission utilises the Department of Finance's framework agreement for the supply of electricity, through which the Assembly is provided with 100% renewable and carbon-neutral electricity. We had previously installed two double electric vehicle charging points at the rear of Parliament Buildings, and we are currently working with the estate management unit to see whether additional points can be installed in the lower east car park. We also replaced the Building's old floodlighting system with a new energy-efficient programmable LED floodlighting system and reviewed the time schedules for all of the external lighting that we have control of.”
“I thank the Member for the question. Over recent years, the Assembly Commission has implemented a range of measures to improve the environmental performance of Parliament Buildings, including the introduction of rainwater collection, photovoltaic panels and solar thermal tubes, all of which were installed as part of the roof refurbishment project. The heating boilers were also replaced with energy-efficient gas boilers at that time. Subsequent to that, we also made modifications and improvements to the Building's energy management system (BEMS). We have replaced light bulbs with more energy-efficient LED lamps and installed Hippos in the toilets to reduce the amount of water used to flush. Either those are not the type of hippo that we are used to, or they are very small.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. When it comes to developing post-COVID working arrangements, is it fair enough to ask whether part of the assessment will involve looking at the productivity that has been achieved by working at home and balancing that with a family-friendly, well-being approach?”
“<BR /> <BR />I will mention Marie Curie and, in particular, Craig Harrison, who was on 'Good Morning Ulster' this morning. He spoke more eloquently than I ever will on the matter. I thank Marie Curie and, in particular, Craig Harrison for his work on it.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am sorry for the late indication. I will keep you on your toes. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Minister, as other Members have done, for bringing forward the measure. As everyone says, the use of accelerated passage is not something we do lightly, but sometimes it is absolutely necessary. When you try to quantify those that the measure will affect and benefit, you will find that it would be unquestionably unconscionable if we did not use it. <BR /> <BR />I do not sit on the Communities Committee, but I thank the Minister. We need to thank the Committee members, who have an extreme workload as we move towards the end of the mandate. They are putting their shoulders to the wheel to look at the legislation, scrutinise it and get it through the Assembly for those who need it. That is very welcome.”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. The Speaker led the Disabled People's Parliament here on Friday, which was a great success, and the issue of access to public services was raised by a number of people. Did the discussions in the meeting look at children who have disabilities or learning disabilities? What actions will be taken to ensure that there is equality of access?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer, and I encourage her to watch the video. It is very good, and lots of challenges were raised. What work can the Department and you, Minister, do in order to ensure that the voices of those parents and children that have that user experience are heard and that whatever they tell us is actioned?”
“Thank you. The Member will know that this is meant in the best of intentions. We also welcome the future development of Moira train station, but that, in effect, could bring more traffic into Moira. Whilst it will take cars off the road, Minister, it could also bring hundreds of cars through the village for drivers to avail themselves of the car park. That speaks to this debate as well.”
“One of the things that constituents and people who are considering a move to Moira say is that they want to move there for the schools and the infrastructure but have to factor in the traffic issue and the fact there is sometimes a waiting time of 15 or 20 minutes to get in and out of the village. Does the Member agree that that can affect their decision-making?”
“I humbly ask the Minister to start the conversation on what is a regionally significant arterial route and dedicate some resource to finding a practical solution to solve the issue once and for all. I look forward to hearing the other contributions to the debate.”
“I appreciate that the costs would not be insignificant, and perhaps she will outline some other possible solutions that might be preferable. Having looked at it myself, I cannot see what the other answers might be.”
“That is in addition to all the traffic to and from Moira itself. <BR /> <BR />I put it to you, Minister, that a solution needs to be found. We cannot continue with a situation where people are waiting in slow-moving gridlock for 15 to 20 minutes to get from one side of Moira to the other. It is just a short, straight piece of road. The impact is hugely detrimental, not just for commuters but for local residents. <BR /> <BR />My view, Minister, is that Moira needs to have a bypass. Not only would that solve the traffic issues, but it would have a measurable environmental benefit by eliminating constant stop-start driving through the town. The Minister has ambitious plans for tackling environmental pressures.”
“It could be that some people are going on a pilgrimage to see the birthplace of Pat Catney, possibly. I suspect that that is not the reason. It is because people who live in and around the area simply have to calculate every day, and add 15 to 20 minutes onto their journey time. That is a loss of time spent with family, spent productively in the workplace or spent doing the leisure activities that people might want to do. <BR /> <BR />The downside to this is that the volume of traffic in the town is at an all-time high. It is not just Monday-to-Friday, rush-hour traffic. Recent stats from the traffic survey show that Moira has a constant, seven-day, high level of traffic. The reasons for that are obvious. Moira is a bottleneck for all the traffic to and from the M1, Magheralin, Dollingstown, Waringstown and parts of Lurgan.”
“I suspect that she may have. It is an absolutely beautiful, vibrant wee village. Many villages and towns throughout the country are struggling. They are not as vibrant. They struggle to fill their shops and to get enterprise and footfall in their town centres. That is not the case with Moira. It is absolutely vibrant. There is not an unused retail unit. It has a vibrant night-time economy. I am sure that Mr Catney will touch on that. Moira is attractive to businesses, and it is also a fantastic place to live. It is a very sought after area. We can see that in the growth of the local population over this past number of years. <BR /> <BR />If, perchance, you try to travel to Moira, you will be caught in the traffic jam that we are here to talk about. Sometimes, I think about the reasons for that.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the allocation this time. We have a very busy schedule. At the outset, I thank the Minister for attending the Adjournment debate, especially as she has a young family. There are great pressures on her and other Ministers with families. I will not take up the full 15 minutes because the case in hand is well made. I know that the SDLP Member for Lagan Valley will also state the case clearly to the Minister. <BR /> <BR />The people of Moira and its environs — people in Magheralin and Dollingstown and those who live in the rural communities — have faced this problem for quite a number of years. The Minister will be aware that I have been in communication with her office and the Department for a number of years on this issue. <BR /> <BR />I do not know whether the Minister has visited the town of Moira.”
“The Member is very passionate about this subject, and I have listened to her speak on this many times. Does the Member agree that we have an intergenerational problem? Look at the statistics from as far back as 2004: the numbers are not changing. In fact, in some years, they have gone up. The effect on children can sometimes be that it empowers another generation to carry on the wrongs of the past.”
“I would like to think that there are things that we can do to see Bills being prioritised that will make a difference to people's lives, such as this one.”
“It is a transformative Bill, but what will it actually do? It will provide security and peace of mind for the people whom domestic abuse affects. It will help destigmatise the issue, educate business owners and operators and, indeed, improve productivity. The Bill has wide-ranging positive implications. I am sure that the Ulster Unionist Party member of the Committee will put forward additions to the Bill and that any that he does put forward will be positive and will improve it. We look forward to working on the Bill. <BR /> <BR />Finally, as a member of the Business Committee, I am well aware that legislative pressure is building, but items of business are coming through that are non-contentious and will help save lives.”
“The phrase "toxic masculinity" is going around in my head. Look at the stats that we have heard in the Chamber, guys. If it is happening as often as is reported, we are not too far away from it ourselves in our own families and friendship groups. That is something that needs to change.”
“<BR /> <BR />I have a 22-year-old daughter, who will be 23 shortly, and I was brought up with a little saying in the back of my head, "Treat your wife or others as you would like your daughter to be treated".”
“If that is the environment in which the Bill is brought forward, that should make it easier for people who are struggling. <BR /> <BR />It would be remiss of me not to revisit some of the statistics that have been cited today because I hope that the Bill does more than just create that space. I hope that, in years to come, when we look at PSNI statistics, that situation will be reversed. Mr Weir pointed out that it is not just females who are victims of domestic abuse; it is also males. The statistics that we have seen this year show that 69% of reported incidents involved females and 31% involved males. We also have to look at the fact that 86% of offenders are male.”
“We looked at how legislation could affect the safety of people in any structure, whether that was in their home or at a private event. We had advertising campaigns, and we brought in legislation. <BR /> <BR />I see Miss Woods's legislation as something that will save lives. The four pages talk about paid leave for workers, but it is not about the money. It is very clear from what has been said that it is about creating the space and confidence for people to speak up and reach out for help, unhindered by the thought of losing a day's pay, unhindered by ridicule or by someone not understanding and unhindered by the thought of losing their job or the pressures that it would bring to the workplace with lost productivity. In fact, some of the information has shown that it could be better for the economy and for businesses.”
“<BR /> <BR />I did a calculation, and, during this hour, in Northern Ireland, disgracefully and disgustingly, there will be between three and a half and four incidents of domestic abuse. As we have heard, there were 31,000 to 32,000 incidents last year, but, as the sponsor pointed out to us, that could be just the tip of the iceberg because there is still a stigma attached to reporting incidents of domestic violence. That is reprehensible. <BR /> <BR />We have faced down many things over the years. I think back to strategies that were seen to be important in the past where there has been success and we have effected change. I think about my background in the Fire Service when we said that deaths due to accidental fires were unacceptable, and we changed that.”
“At the outset, I thank Miss Rachel Woods for bringing forward the Bill. I might not be the Member who will speak on the Bill as we go forward, but I spoke to Mike Nesbitt, who is on the Economy Committee, and my leader, Doug Beattie, who met Rachel Woods a number of weeks ago to discuss the Bill. During my handover, I was told that it was a good, pragmatic Bill. <BR /> <BR />As the Member for South Belfast pointed out, the Bill may be only four pages long, but it is four pages that could be transformative in the lives of those whom it affects. It affects not only those who are directly impacted by domestic violence, be that physical, sexual or coercive violence, but other people, such as the kids who belong to the families that are impacted by those who are subjected to those incidents.”
“I take the opportunity to congratulate the former First Minister and former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party on taking up a position with Co-operation Ireland, which is a stakeholder in the project. <BR /> <BR />First Minister, work undertaken during years of tackling intergenerational issues related to the Troubles has identified our young people as being the most adversely affected by paramilitarism and radicalisation. That correlates with areas where there are low levels of educational attainment. What steps are being taken to address educational underachievement in identified areas as a key to unlocking a future that is free from the chains of fear and hatred?”
“Minister, at the end of a week in which we became more aware of the threats to your life and to your wider family being made on social media and the relentless determination of one former Minister in the House not to support what you are trying to do for public health, I thank you for the speed at which you and your Department acted on omicron and the threat that it poses. <BR /> <BR />You will be aware of the comments by the Scottish and Welsh First Ministers. Are you satisfied that, on the whole, UK Health Ministers have worked well together in recent days and will likely continue to do so in the time ahead?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. I am sure that he will agree with me that some non-domestic ratepayers will be concerned, as will other stakeholders. What confidence can you give to significant stakeholders and, in particular, local councils that fiscal pressures will not be forced on them as a result of any outcomes of the Bill?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Is it the First Minister's view that it might happen before the end of this mandate?”
“<BR /> <BR />As has been mentioned, Austin Currie was a man of courage, and he and his family often bore the brunt of that courage. We in the Ulster Unionist Party, and others, also remember his very powerful words and his strong and welcome condemnation of the IRA following the murder of former Ulster Unionist politician and Stormont Speaker Sir Norman Stronge and his son in 1981. Austin Currie was clearly a man of peace who rejected violence and murder, and he did not mince his words when he compared the character of the murdered Stronges with that of their cowardly killers. My thoughts and the thoughts of the Ulster Unionist Party are with Austin Currie, his family, his friends and his SDLP colleagues.”
“On behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party, I pay my condolences on the passing of Mr Austin Currie. I did not know Austin Currie, but one has to have only a passing interest in Northern Irish politics to realise the impact that he had on local politics, not least as a committed civil rights activist and one of the founding members of the SDLP. <BR /> <BR />His influence was not confined to Northern Irish politics, though. Almost uniquely, he was elected on both sides of the border, to Stormont and the Dáil, and served as a Minister in both legislatures, which was quite the achievement. He will long be remembered for his role in the late 1960s in the civil rights movement and for his role in the SDLP and, indeed, Fine Gael.”
“If he has, is he prepared to comment on that?”
“Has the Minister noted the Department of Education's 'A Fair Start' report on educational underachievement? In that report, the expert panel concluded that there is no:”
“We are pleased with the recommendations that are before us today, and I ask all Members to support them.”
“However, one of the fiscal realities — we agree with what has been reported — is that opposition parties need to have the same ability as Executive parties to reach into the resources, especially for spads. The reality is that some of our top spads are paid incredibly high amounts of money, which possibly is not reflected in this. If an Opposition proved to be effective, I am sure that we could revisit that in a number of years. <BR /> <BR />We currently do not have an Opposition. As I said, had there been one during the pandemic, they might have proven to provide better scrutiny. Perhaps in the next mandate we will see in this place, even though it may not come naturally to us, an Opposition adding quality to an Executive who are a shared Government. I think that they would do so.”
“It will drive better government in Northern Ireland, bt it needs to have that toolkit. That was one of the things that we discovered. There was a realisation on the workings of an Opposition that there are things that need to be refined and things that need to be tested appropriately. Those have been picked up in the report. A lot of it is in and around the Statutory Committees by default, the enhanced speaking rights in the Chamber, the additional research capabilities and the additional resource under the FAPP scheme. It is right and proper, as picked up in recommendation 1, that opposition should neither be incentivised nor de-incentivised.”
“Opposition exists, as has been said, to keep government in check and to ensure that the appropriate checks and balances are in place and that we have high levels of scrutiny of our decision makers. It has been difficult over the past two years to do that in the manner in which it should have been done, because we have been living through the COVID pandemic. I have said before in the Chamber that every Minister has probably done their best, but, sometimes, that is not enough, when we scrutinise the decisions that have been taken, especially in Departments. When we move out of the COVID pandemic and following the election in May 2022, it will be really important that we have the structures in place. <BR /> <BR />I think back to our experience in opposition. We demonstrated, in principle and in practice, that there is a need for opposition.”
“I hope that the recommendations that we have before us today will provide the framework to do that, if any of the parties wish to do so in 2022.”
“There were nine months that showed what an Opposition might do. Mr Allister probably will blink at this, but some may say that there is evidence in other quarters, particularly from Mr Allister, of what an effective Opposition can do in relation to their tone and how they hold the Executive to account. However, we need to formalise that and to ensure that the structures are there for the parties that qualify and those of any other nature, as the Member for Strangford said. <BR /> <BR />The Good Friday Agreement was a really important agreement in 1998. We subscribe to it, and we talk about it in and around NDNA, and we want to go back to its intent and purpose. However, we are in 2021, and the need has been proven for our Executive to be held to a high level of accountability and scrutiny.”
“I echo the sentiments that have been offered to Mr Weir on the death of his mother. I wish him a speedy recovery from his foot injury. <BR /> <BR />I rise not as a member of the AERC but as a member of the Ulster Unionist Party. We welcome the 'Review of the Adequacy and Effectiveness of the Statement of Entitlements for an Official Opposition at the Northern Ireland Assembly' report. It is absolutely necessary. I think that everybody will attest that the provisions are necessary to ensure that any Opposition that are formed are robust and resourced appropriately. <BR /> <BR />One of the most important things that we can do relates to the review mechanism, which is much needed in order to ensure that we provide value for money as well as an effective Opposition. In the last mandate, we had only nine months as the Opposition in 2016.”
“The purpose of the Bill is to teach children how to use CPR and AED as interventions. We are talking about that being in the curriculum from P1, and my other concern is the things that children consume. I am thinking of energy drinks and children's diets. I used to take energy drinks before I went out to play football. It was madness, absolute madness. Is anything on the preventative piece being looked at for the curriculum? The Bill covers the intervention piece, which is vital and has my full backing, but what about the preventative piece?”