Keith Buchanan
Mid Ulster · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Minister, we watched a gentleman having his head nearly removed on the street. That is a problem, whether you think so or not. I referred to it as being like something that I witnessed in the slaughterhouse in my previous job. We have to address it. I am not radical; I am just a normal MLA who talks to normal people in the street.”
“It is always a privilege to celebrate sporting success in mid-Ulster. Today, we congratulate Nigel Davidson, a proud Cookstown businessman, on his outstanding achievement at the Hyrox world championships in Stockholm. To see him compete and succeed on the world stage is an achievement that makes all of us in Cookstown incredibly proud.”
“Minister, I was contacted on Friday by a lady whose brother was in Muckamore — a lady who did not tell her story. Now the report has come out and sparked a degree of need for her to speak. I use the word "need", but that is maybe not the best word. What can that lady do now?”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. We are starting to see the impact of investment into local communities through funds from the Ulster-Scots Agency and the Arts Council. In the past, Sinn Féin has been critical about your priorities, complaining recently that consistent funding for Ulster Scots and bands was for "vanity projects".”
“Last Friday, I had the privilege of walking alongside the Veterans Commissioner for Northern Ireland, his dedicated team and veterans as they completed a six-day journey: the Somme 110 walk. The final day coincided with the 82nd anniversary of D-Day.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Battle of the Somme is not just a story from the past but one that lives on in families, regiments and the hearts of those who continue to serve. It stands as a stark reminder of the sacrifice, suffering and bravery of those who fell and fought. Those men faced unimaginable conditions so that others might know freedom.”
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“Minister, we watched a gentleman having his head nearly removed on the street. That is a problem, whether you think so or not. I referred to it as being like something that I witnessed in the slaughterhouse in my previous job. We have to address it. I am not radical; I am just a normal MLA who talks to normal people in the street. They have concerns, Minister. Please do not judge them.”
“Minister, I will read out the text of my question for oral answer:”
“Minister, in your answer, you referred to PCSPs and the work that they do on the ground. Is there an opportunity for your Department, through the Policing Board, to provide more funding for PCSPs to enable them to do more of that work?”
“Whatever comes next, you carry with you the support and admiration of your friends, family and customers and the wider community. Well done, Nigel. We wish you well in the future.”
“It is always a privilege to celebrate sporting success in mid-Ulster. Today, we congratulate Nigel Davidson, a proud Cookstown businessman, on his outstanding achievement at the Hyrox world championships in Stockholm. To see him compete and succeed on the world stage is an achievement that makes all of us in Cookstown incredibly proud. From balancing the demands of running a thriving business to committing himself fully to elite-level training, Nigel has demonstrated what can be achieved through hard work, focus and an unwavering belief in what is possible. His story is an inspiration to many and a reminder that great things can grow from small beginnings. <BR /> <BR />Nigel, we are immensely proud of you. Congratulations on everything that you have achieved, and we wish you every success as you continue your Hyrox journey.”
“Minister, I was contacted on Friday by a lady whose brother was in Muckamore — a lady who did not tell her story. Now the report has come out and sparked a degree of need for her to speak. I use the word "need", but that is maybe not the best word. What can that lady do now? What is her avenue at this stage to speak, and to whom should she speak?”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. We are starting to see the impact of investment into local communities through funds from the Ulster-Scots Agency and the Arts Council. In the past, Sinn Féin has been critical about your priorities, complaining recently that consistent funding for Ulster Scots and bands was for "vanity projects". Does the Minister agree that Sinn Féin should adopt a more progressive attitude and support all cultures, and not just when the cameras are rolling?”
“Minister, there seems to be a lot of misinformation on Sunday trading hours. We heard 57% mentioned by Ms Bradshaw: that is a change from 15% in Belfast. Are trade unions for the change? Is the position in Northern Ireland an anomaly?”
“Minister, what would you say to genuine people — most people are genuine — who have serious concerns that are sometimes not taken on board? We can see from social media that people are organising rallies, although some of that information may not be true. What do you say to genuine people who are fearful? There are towns in Northern Ireland that one cannot walk through at night. I am a man, and I would not do it, so a woman is not going to. What do you say to people who have concerns?”
“The team raised vital funds for two outstanding charities: the Somme Association, which works tirelessly to preserve the memory of those who served and fell, and Air Ambulance Northern Ireland, which does life-saving work that touches families in every corner of our Province. The efforts of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner, his dedicated team and all those who took part remind us that remembering is not something that we just talk or think about. We show it by helping others, giving our time and supporting our community. We will remember them.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Battle of the Somme is not just a story from the past but one that lives on in families, regiments and the hearts of those who continue to serve. It stands as a stark reminder of the sacrifice, suffering and bravery of those who fell and fought. Those men faced unimaginable conditions so that others might know freedom. Their legacy endures not only on the now silent battlefields but in the hearts of the communities that they left behind. The courage that was shown in 1916 echoes in the courage of our veterans today, men and women who have worn the uniform with honour, dignity and quiet strength. <BR /> <BR />The walk was also about giving back.”
“Last Friday, I had the privilege of walking alongside the Veterans Commissioner for Northern Ireland, his dedicated team and veterans as they completed a six-day journey: the Somme 110 walk. The final day coincided with the 82nd anniversary of D-Day. It was not simply a walk; it was about remembrance, and it was community spirit at its very best. Over six days, the team travelled 60 miles across all six counties of Northern Ireland, marking 110 years since the Battle of the Somme, one of the most defining and devastating chapters in our shared history. At every step, there was reflection. At every mile, there was purpose. At every stop, there was a sense of unity that reminds us why remembrance still matters so deeply today.”
“Thank you, deputy First Minister, for your answer. The burden has been put on the sector to work with groups that deal with people who have suffered dramatically over the lifetime of the Troubles and up to the present time. Groups like Mid Ulster Victims Empowerment (MUVE), which I work with directly every week, do that great work. What more can you do to secure the money that they not just deserve but need to deliver those services?”
“Thank you for that non-answer, First Minister. Over the weekend, we watched, in the Dublin Central and Galway West by-elections, the catastrophic failure of your party and its pipe dream down there. Will you now bring your focus back to the six counties of Northern Ireland and let Mary Lou go ahead with whatever she is doing down there, or maybe you are biting at her ankles for her job?”
“Where is the regard for the rule of law or the burden of proof? Where is the concern for the public purse? <BR /> <BR />Yesterday's ruling must be seen as a step change in how the ombudsman and the wider criminal justice system treat our ex-service personnel. The DUP will never consent to the airbrushing of history for political expediency. The memory and contribution of those personnel will never be forgotten.”
“It was not and is not the role of the Police Ombudsman to brand former police officers as being guilty of collusion, collusive behaviours or any politically conceived offence without those officers being afforded proper due process. The Police Ombudsman, the Coroners Service or anyone else should not be able to make sweeping allegations of misconduct against those who stood in the gap against a brutal terrorist campaign, all the while ignoring the context of that period and the immense operational and resourcing challenges that the RUC were up against daily. <BR /> <BR />There is a challenge for the Chief Constable in all of this too. What message does it send to those who serve in 2026 that the PSNI is content to dish out compensation in legacy cases on the basis of discredited Police Ombudsman findings of collusion?”
“I welcome yesterday's High Court ruling that the Police Ombudsman's public statements alleging collusive behaviour by RUC officers must now carry a formal notice warning that the ombudsman exceeded her legal powers. In the eyes of many in the police family, as well as in the wider unionist community, the Office of the Police Ombudsman has become an agent — a vehicle, as it were — for the rewriting of the history of the Troubles. That may be uncomfortable for the Justice Minister, but, for those whom I represent, it is the hard, cold reality. <BR /> <BR />Rebuilding trust and commanding public confidence will be no easy task.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Will he provide an update on what he and his Department are doing to tackle benefit fraud? I do not want to be labelled as "far right", but there are people out there who are doing benefit fraud. There is no grey area with respect to that.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answer. I am aware of an individual who has had an appeal with the Department since 9 February 2024. On 22 March 2024, 50 appeals predated that individual's case. On 23 September 2025, that number was 10. That meant that 40 appeals were carried out in 18 months. Irrespective of that individual, what is the issue with the delay, more broadly? Getting the appeals through your Department seems to be a very slow process. Why is that?”
“<BR /> <BR />"Well done" to Jack, his family, his team and everyone who supports him. I know that his school and the whole mid-Ulster community are incredibly proud of what he is achieving. Jack, I wish you every success for the rest of the season and your future.”
“I want to offer big congratulations to local mid-Ulster lad Jack Burrows on a fantastic start to his Moto4 British Cup season. Jack is the son of John Burrows, who is well known to many as a former road racer and now as the man behind the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing team. It is clear that talent runs in the family. <BR /> <BR />Jack kicked off the season in style with his first ever win in the series. He followed that up with two strong second-place finishes. Thanks to that brilliant weekend, he now sits at second place in the overall standings. I do not know a lot about motorbike racing, but I know hard work and determination when I see it. Jack has been progressing every year and went into this season hoping to be in the top five regularly. His results show that he is well on track to do even better than that.”
“Minister, on the topic of bridges, it is great to get Kilrea open. However, the traffic flows down into mid Ulster and then cannot get across a bridge with a weight restriction outside Coagh. It has had a 7·5 ton weight restriction for 11 years. Will you provide an update on that, please? I appreciate that you may not have the detail in front of you. It is killing farming and heavy transport. All the traffic goes through Coagh because of the weight restriction. We have had no answer for 11 years. We need the bridge to be upgraded.”
“Minister, I had a positive meeting with Royal Mail on Friday regarding this matter. I learned from that meeting that the trusts go to Postal Sort when a communication is written. That is then processed, and it then goes to Royal Mail. Is the problem with Postal Sort or with Royal Mail to do with the type of service that the trusts have asked for? If you do not put a first-class sticker on an envelope, you do not get a first-class service. Is the service being asked of Royal Mail the correct service? Everybody is pointing the finger at Royal Mail, but the truth is somewhere in the middle.”
“Thank you, Minister. Some towns such as Magherafelt have several new and emerging businesses. On Boxing Day alone, I could have got my hair cut — not that I have much — at two places within a stone's throw of each other. The demand was that great that those businesses were open on Boxing Day, which rings alarm bells. I appreciate that that is not a rating issue, but it is an alarming thing in a town. <BR /> <BR />What else can you do for businesses, Minister? I appreciate that we have the online world, but what else can you as Finance Minister do to assist those struggling businesses? They see those other businesses — I am not labelling all hairdressing businesses as fraudulent — as sending out a serious signal in a town.”
“A terrorist is a terrorist, whether at Coagh, Westminster Bridge or the Manchester Arena bombing. Was that justified? Was there no alternative? <BR /> <BR />Please do not try to dress raw murder, here or anywhere, in some form of glorification. It does not wash. There is no comparison between the men and women who were sent to uphold the law and those who tried to destroy it through violence. It is high time that some people in Northern Ireland and across the world understood right from wrong. When you drive into a village to murder innocent people, that is wrong, and it has consequences.”
“<BR /> <BR />We need to be absolutely clear about one thing: the terrorists who set out to murder that day in Coagh had one objective, which was to kill and terrorise. They were not out to make a citizen's arrest. Some people have the mindset that you can somehow have a chat with and then arrest a terrorist who is heavily armed and has carried out murder in the past. That does not happen. That day, as always, the terrorists thought that they could murder innocent people and run back to their safe house, but that did not happen. Was the attack filed under "Coagh" in the IRA filing cabinet for all to see in the future? No, it was not. Those terrorists and supporters thought that they were at war when they were successful with their murdering campaign but innocent men when killed by the British Army.”
“On Thursday last, at the Court of Appeal ruling on the Coagh inquest, the Lady Chief Justice, Dame Siobhan Keegan, confirmed that the coroner was right to find that the actions of the SAS soldier known as soldier B had been justified when responding to an IRA attack in 1991. The court was clear that he acted proportionately in what was a deadly and fast-moving situation. The decision highlights why so many veterans are deeply worried about the current legacy process. These cases have been allowed to drag on for years, placing huge pressure on veterans and their families. The Lady Chief Justice also made it clear that the arguments used in the challenge were not what judicial reviews are meant for. Put simply, the legal system is being used in ways in which it was never designed to be used.”
“My question follows on from my colleague's question on the pollution incident at the watercourse. It is one question in two parts. <BR /> <BR />Will there be any financial implications — any financial consequences — for AFBI? I am dealing with a farmer who was involved in no pollution incident, and there will be financial implications for them. Why will there be financial consequences for a farmer who caused no pollution but not for AFBI, which did?”
“Deputy First Minister, you talked about T:BUC in response to a previous question and in your answer to this question. Do you agree that bringing forward a revised and refreshed T:BUC strategy as soon as possible is extremely important to crime prevention more broadly?”
“Minister, I welcome the work that you are doing here and in the USA. Some people are very animated today about the USA. It was not that long ago that they were mad to get over there to secure arms and bring them back here, but we will leave that there. <BR /> <BR />Is it possible that the Charles Thomson documents will come back to the people of Upperlands, so that young people and historians can see them in the flesh?”
“Would the Minister like to take this opportunity to point out the basic factual inaccuracy in that statement and why it is important that Members get their facts right when making a public statement?”
“Thank you, Minister. Last week, Michelle Guy said that the Minister:”
“Minister, what were the views of the members of the independent review of education panel on the proposal?”
“How can a business thrive when its proposed net asset value (NAV) jumps from £66,000 to £119,000?”
“Minister, in your statement on 29 January, you said:”
“First Minister, are you content that all political parties are doing enough to promote joining the police as a viable career? I ask that as a member of the Policing Board. Some parties complain about representation but do not promote joining the police. What do you say to those parties?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. My question goes a bit broader than residential parking. As you will know, a trial is under way for electric charging leads going across footpaths etc. How will that trial and this policy tie in together to prevent issues in the future, bearing in mind that people will need to park outside their house if they are going to charge their car? What thought has been put into that to tie the two schemes together?”
“Minister, I am glad to see that you have taken the mantle on from me and, previously, my colleague Robin Newton. I commend Robin for getting this work to where it is now. His vision has now left you, so the mantle is on you, and there are lots of eyes on you: big eyes, small eyes, doggy/puppy eyes etc. <BR /> <BR />Minister, with respect to the regulation of rescue homes etc, can you put a little more meat on the bones of that? Where do you see that going more broadly? What do you think needs to happen in that sector?”
“As Agriculture and Environment Minister, will you defend farmers against factually incorrect information?”
“Last week, my colleagues on Mid Ulster District Council heard a representative from NI Water state as fact that 70% of water pollution originates from agriculture. We are not going to get into the 70/62 debate about figures. You said in your statement that more than 20 million tons of untreated sewage goes into waterways every year. If you do the calculation of what Lough Neagh holds and put in 20 million tons of sewage, you work out that it would not take that many years to fill it.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I apologise to the House and to my colleague Deborah Erskine, whom I referred to as Deborah Armstrong. I had forgotten that she got married a few years back.”
“<BR /> <BR />My colleague Deborah Armstrong has previously raised the issue of those figures at Infrastructure Committee meetings and has now written to the Minister to seek clarification, following the meeting on Thursday evening. I ask the Minister to clarify the situation, to retract the inaccurate statement that was made by NI Water and to outline how she intends to restore confidence in the organisation, following that incident. The public, especially our farming families, deserve accuracy, fairness and accountability.”
“<BR /> <BR />NI Water is the second-largest landowner in Northern Ireland and is responsible for a significant share of the pollution that enters Lough Neagh. That is why public statements from NI Water must be accurate and balanced. The figures quoted at the council meeting were not even correct. Officials claimed that agriculture was responsible for 70% of phosphorus run-off and NI Water for 21%. Scientific modelling states that the figures are 62% and 24%. It is not about the 6%; it is about the fact that, first, it is modelling and, secondly, the 70% figure is not accurate, based on modelling. The Ulster Farmers' Union, rightly, called the comments "misleading and inappropriate". It has contacted NI Water to request a retraction and an apology.”
“AFBI stressed that all modelling carries uncertainty and must be explained properly, with the limitations being clearly understood. <BR /> <BR />In recent years, farming has faced increasing pressure and tighter rules because of concerns about Lough Neagh. That includes strict controls on nutrient management and farm run-off. Farmers have invested heavily in storage and followed complex regulations, and they work extremely hard, especially at times such as during the recent wet weather, to manage their nutrient responsibilities. At the same time, many farmers and residents continue to report what they believe to be raw sewage discharges into rivers and streams; only last week, we saw images of what appears to be discharge going into a river in Omagh.”
“At a meeting of Mid Ulster District Council on 26 February 2026, a representative of NI Water, a body that is under the Minister's remit, stated as fact — I repeat: as fact — that 70% of water pollution originates from agriculture. That is factually incorrect. That figure was presented as being accurate despite its being incorrect and not reflective of the scientific modelling on which it was claimed that it was based. Since then, NI Water has had to issue a statement admitting that nutrient modelling is only an estimate that is based on assumptions and available data and that cannot be treated as definite fact. The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has stepped in to confirm that the figures quoted by NI Water do not match AFBI's modelling.”
“I place on record my deep concern that, once again, the reputation of our agri-food sector has been unfairly damaged. There are more than 26,000 farming families across Northern Ireland, and they deserve accuracy and respect in public discourse, not misleading claims that undermine confidence in a sector that is already under immense pressure.”
“I have previously referred to Cookstown getting a "footpath to nowhere". Everyone is using that phrase, but it was mine, so I will take the rights to it. It will cost £430,000, and, literally 100 metres away, you cannot drive on the roundabout. Does the Member agree that there is something wrong?”
“A few years ago, the NIEA and I were made aware of an illegal asbestos dump in my constituency. Basically, a large hole was filled with asbestos and then covered over. The asbestos is still there, and there have been no prosecutions. Obviously, I will not go into the details. However, given that, when an individual moves on, the case seems to fall off the page — it is not passed from one officer to another — is the environmental crime unit working?”
“You referred to being the middle-of-the-road party. Where are you at with active travel? I will give you a brief example: if you were looking to replace the kitchen in your house, but your roof was leaking, which would you attend to first?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Minister, no doubt you are aware that ill-health retirement figures are continuing to climb. Does the issue that ill-health retirement is causing to the PSNI budget worry you? In your opinion, could some people be misrepresenting their ill health? Might there be a degree of fraud?”