Sinéad Ennis
South Down · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“The revelation over recent days that members of the DUP, including the Assembly Speaker, Edwin Poots, had knowledge of the exploitation of a young woman by the now convicted paedophile Jeffrey Donaldson raises serious questions for the DUP.”
“The bottom line here is that a dangerous paedophile went unchallenged and, worse still and despite clear, known red flags, was elected leader of the DUP.”
“We only have to look at Belfast Harbour's master plan, which sets out the possible significant economic impact that that can have. That includes enabling a quarter of all island-wide seaborne trade, which, in turn, creates £8·8 billion in gross value added and equates to 15·7% of the North's total annual output.”
“Instead, the focus must be on whether the agencies that have responsibility, including the environmental regulators and enforcement bodies such as the NIEA and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, are doing enough and whether they have sufficient powers to tackle such issues effectively.”
“The primary objective of the shaking up of driver licensing here in the North is to improve road safety by ensuring that young people are better equipped for driving on our roads. However, at present, many young people pass their tests and are completely priced out of driving because of the insurance rip-off that we are seeing.”
“That reality sees them borrowing from the Department, which is already in a very constrained capital budget position, as the Minister outlined. The provisions in the Bill will ensure that the accountability and oversight mechanisms provided by commissioners on the boards of ports or harbours will continue.”
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“I thank the Minister for her answers thus far. Does her Department have any plans to introduce specific rehabilitation courses for offenders who have been jailed for a domestic violence offence?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. I know that he understands the disruption that this has caused, particularly on the A2 Shore Road. Will he guarantee that he is giving the necessary push, especially to the NIEA and the other Departments that have responsibility, to make sure that the A2 Shore Road is opened permanently to two-way traffic as soon as possible?”
“I appreciate the Member's giving way. Perhaps she has noticed throughout the debate, as I have, that those arguing against the motion and the amendment have cited all the dangerous things that people can do when they come of age at 18, but including more people in the democratic process is not dangerous or something that anybody should fear.”
“As the Chair outlined, it is also the most realistic deadline to achieve the aim of ensuring that private Members' Bills introduced in the Assembly stand a realistic chance of completing their passage before the end of a mandate. The change should assist the scheduling of plenary time to prevent congestion in the later sessions of a mandate that could result in private Members' Bills being stalled in order for Executive legislation to be prioritised. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Chairperson and those who contributed to the debate. I thank the Committee members for their constructive and diligent approach to considering not just this change to Standing Orders but others that the Committee intends to bring forward in the near future. I commend the motion to the House.”
“It is incumbent on us to ensure that we have rules and regulations in place that allow us to do that in a way that benefits society. <BR /> <BR />As the Chairperson outlined when opening the debate, the motion is being considered today because the previous Assembly endorsed the recommendations of the review of private Members' Bills in March 2022. Private Members' Bills are a valuable and effective way of achieving considerable change. The amendment to Standing Orders to provide a deadline for the introduction of such Bills achieves a balance between setting standards and procedural requirements to ensure that the development and scrutiny of legislation is, as I said, rigorous and thorough and not restricting a Member's right to develop and introduce a Bill.”
“I welcome the opportunity to conclude the debate on the motion to amend Standing Orders to provide a deadline for a private Member's Bill to be introduced in the Assembly on the last sitting day in June in the penultimate session of the mandate. I thank the Chairperson for opening the debate and the Members who contributed to it. <BR /> <BR />It is worth noting that there was unanimous support in Committee for the change. There does not quite seem to be unanimous support in the House. I hear what Mr Carroll says, but, at the heart of it all, it is not about the volume of legislation that we pass; it is about the scrutiny that we provide when we are passing it. Nobody will pat us on the back for the amount of legislation that we pass; it is about how good the legislation is when we pass the end product and how it benefits society.”
“I thank the Minister for her response, and I welcome her focus on the issue. How far has work to amend the law on marriage and civil partnership progressed?”
“The people of Newry, Mourne and Down are reasonable. We want to play our part and support more environmentally friendly ways of dealing with our household waste, but that cannot be to the detriment of the people of Warrenpoint. It is simply not good enough to expect the community in Warrenpoint to continue to put up and shut up on this issue. <BR /> <BR />Sinn Féin will continue to use every avenue that is open to us to resolve the issue. I again call on the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, the NIEA and all those with responsibility to continue to work with us, the community groups, political representatives and the business community to ensure that the oppressive odour that has engulfed our town for more than a year is stopped once and for all.”
“That cannot happen anymore, because the smell is so overwhelming. <BR /> <BR />We had two successful festivals in Warrenpoint this summer. Unfortunately, although both festivals were very successful, they were both overshadowed by the constant smell lingering in the air. People will be aware that we finally have movement on the Narrow Water bridge. Our council and local political representatives are working on how to use that to best boost our local economy and attract more people and tourism to Warrenpoint. That will be at odds with the fact that the smell emanating from the household waste stored at Warrenpoint port is being allowed to continue. <BR /> <BR />Contrary to what is being said in the media and on social media sites, unfortunately, a large volume of household waste continues to flood into Warrenpoint port.”
“For a full year, the community in Warrenpoint has been subjected to an oppressive, foul odour that has engulfed our town, owing to the close proximity of Warrenpoint harbour and the large volumes of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) or household waste currently stored there. Tens of thousands of tons of household waste is stored mere metres from people's homes and businesses. It causes a putrid smell that impacts on people's daily lives. I seriously question how appropriate it was to grant a licence to store that volume of household waste so close to people's homes in the first place. For example, people have been dealing with the fact that their homes are swarming with flies and they cannot open their windows. We have dealt with a family with a young child with autism. His only relief is to go out into his back garden.”
“Thank you for your statement, Minister. You mentioned that the Newry southern relief road is intended to provide a strategic link between the A1 Dublin to Belfast corridor and the A2 Warrenpoint Road. You will know how dangerous the A1 Dublin to Belfast road is. Can you provide an update on the A1 upgrade?”
“I thank the Minister for that response. I am glad to hear him talking about a collective effort. I agree that it will take everybody shouldering responsibility to deal with this. Will the Minister outline what measures are being taken to address some of those illegal road behaviours?”
“The partial closure of the A2 Shore Road at Rostrevor has caused much chaos locally. I welcome the Minister's commitment to a plan to make sure that both lanes will be opened. Will he explain why it has taken so long to put in a temporary solution?”
“If I may finish, they should not wait for the determination in September. They can recoup those costs once the final determination is made.”
“Yes, we are. At the most recent Commission meeting, this was a hot topic, and we have pressed officials to make sure that, as I said in answer to a previous question, should any incident occur, Members feel free to act immediately and not wait for the determination —.”
“I assure the Member that the Commission is deadly serious about this.”
“It is important for Members to know when they can avail themselves of it. The existing determination has to be changed, and the specifics of the new provision have still to be agreed by the Assembly Commission. Once those and a number of administrative changes are agreed, the Assembly Commission will consider a revised determination. It is anticipated that the Assembly Commission will consider that revised determination in September. Members are reminded that, in the meantime, should costs arise that relate to security measures, those are recoverable under the provisions of the current determination. It is anticipated that, if they are incurred prior to the publication of a new determination, such costs can then be transferred to the new cost provision when the determination is published.”
“Assembly Commission officials have held brief discussions with counterparts at UK Parliaments and the Houses of the Oireachtas. Although all confirmed provision of funding for Member security, including that for constituency offices, only the Scottish Parliament and the Houses of the Oireachtas have released any details. The Scottish Parliament has made provision of up to £5,000 for MSPs for the installation of security measures at constituency offices, with further provision of up to £2,000 for Members' private dwellings and £500 for Edinburgh accommodation. The Houses of the Oireachtas currently provide up to a maximum of €5,000 or 50% of actual costs, whichever is less, for measures installed across all of the Member's property.”
“No, I will finish up. Assembly Commission officials are in discussion with the PSNI about the possibility of a further briefing session for Members at Parliament Buildings in the autumn.”
“That has included carrying out survey visits to constituency offices and providing advice and recommendations relevant to personal and physical security measures. The PSNI also briefed Members and their office staff at Parliament Buildings on 30 April this year. The briefing was well attended and provided an opportunity for Members and their staff to seek personal security advice and to raise specific issues about their personal security.”
“The additional allowance may also cover the provision of lone worker devices, should Members elect to purchase such devices for themselves or their support staff. Some £4,000 will be made available to Members for that purpose. Further changes to the determination will be required to give effect to that decision. A revised determination will be published once the specifics of the provision and a number of other administrative changes are agreed. <BR /> <BR />The head of Usher Services has recently been in contact with the PSNI, which has historically taken the lead on personal security matters and crime prevention advice. The PSNI has provided advice on such matters to Members on request.”
“Both limits were increased in 2020 to reflect the inclusion of security measures in the list of admissible expenditure. The Assembly Commission has, however, agreed that further funding should now be made available to Members to be used exclusively for the provision of security measures at constituency offices and/or Members' private dwellings.”
“As Members will be aware, financial assistance is provided through the Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) Determination 2016, as amended by the Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) (Amendment) Determination 2020. Currently, Members can claim for health and safety and security measures at their constituency offices from the £7,000 constituency office operating expenses budget or their £4,000 establishment expenses budget.”
“With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will answer questions 6 and 14 together. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Members for their questions. I assure Members that the security of staff and Members working in constituency offices is something the Assembly Commission takes extremely seriously and has discussed frequently in recent times. The Assembly Commission recognises that we are in a different environment now from when the Assembly was first established, particularly with social media, and is mindful of the experiences of Members across the House. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission considered a number of options and agreed that additional funding will be made available to Members for the provision of security measures.”
“I do not know offhand of any such plans. That is discussed regularly at our Commission meetings. I am aware that there are not enough of them and that there may be problems with the timings that are allowed for electric chargers. We will definitely take that back to our Commission meetings, and I am sure that other Members will be eager to hear the outcomes of those discussions.”
“For the reporting year 2023-24, for example, we managed a 17% reduction in gas usage and a 2% reduction in electricity usage against the baseline year of 2019-2020. The Assembly Commission's sustainable development office works closely with a number of partners to introduce energy-saving solutions and ensure continual improvement in our energy efficiency. One such example is the work with the Department for the Economy on the geothermal technology on the Stormont estate and investigating possible options for heating.”
“I thank the Member for his question. The Assembly Commission strives to be an exemplar organisation in sustainable development and has implemented a range of measures to enhance the energy efficiency of Parliament Buildings. Recent projects have included the installation of lower-powered LEDs in the corridors and the Assembly and Senate Chambers. In addition, light sensors have been installed in order to minimise energy usage when required in toilets and other common areas. The Member will be aware that we also replaced the Building's old floodlighting system with a new energy-efficient programmable LED system, and we continue to review the time schedules for all the external lighting that we have control of. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly Commission sets ambitious targets in energy use and is committed to achieving year-on-year reductions.”
“I welcome today's statement and wholeheartedly acknowledge the significance of this for the victims and survivors. Will the First Minister set out what powers the public inquiry will have?”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister has come to the House and answered the question for urgent oral answer in good faith. Can the Speaker review the subsequent questions that were asked? Were they in keeping with the nature of the question for urgent oral answer?”
“We are super excited to see how the team performs at this summer's Olympics in Paris. It was an extraordinary achievement by Ciara and is a testament to her dedication and hard work. Ciara has done herself, her family, Portaferry, County Down and the entire island of Ireland proud. We send our best wishes and congratulations to Ciara, her family and the rest of Team Ireland.”
“I want to reflect on what was a history-making weekend for Irish athletics. People saw the jubilant scenes on Saturday as our four-by-four mixed relay team won European gold. I pay tribute to Chris O'Donnell, Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr and Sharlene Mawdsley for making history in the four-by-four relay. <BR /> <BR />I want to pay particular tribute to County Down woman Ciara Mageean on her history-making performance last night in winning individual gold for Ireland. Ciara now joins the lofty heights once occupied only by Sonia O'Sullivan in winning an individual European gold for Ireland. After bronze in 2016, silver in 2022 and now gold in 2024, Ciara joins Sonia O'Sullivan as one of only two Irish athletes to win three European medals. <BR /> <BR />We can all offer our congratulations to Ciara and the entire Irish athletics team.”
“I appreciate the Minister's response. I know that he will agree that early intervention is important in supporting children with special educational needs. Will he apply the same logic for those children who are in need of a special educational needs place in preschool?”
“Given the budgetary challenges that we face due to the persistent underfunding of our public services by successive British Governments, does the Minister expect there to be other opportunities for additional funding through the Shared Island unit to help to support the education system and its priorities?”
“<BR /> <BR />On behalf of the Commission, I take the opportunity to record my sincere thanks to the Commission staff for the considerable efforts that they have made over recent months to facilitate the return of normal Assembly business at very short notice. There have been many challenges to deal with, and the staff should be recognised for their energy, commitment, resilience and dedication. With that, I commend the Commission's budget proposals for 2024-25 to the House.”
“The capital plan includes a project to deliver partial electronic access control, which will enhance security controls in Parliament Buildings, and a project to replace the existing legislation-drafting software, which is coming to the end of its useful life. That software is critical to supporting and delivering the legislative programme of the Assembly. Also included is expenditure to refresh the IT network and to replace the secure remote access, which allows Members and staff to connect to the Commission's network when they are away from Parliament Buildings. Work is planned on the internal Assembly information database, AIMS, which is pivotal in many procedural areas of work. That work will ensure that it continues to properly support the work of the Assembly.”
“The new scheme will provide additional funding to parties that enter Opposition, as well as making an inflationary increase to the overall funding that is provided under the scheme. The 2024-25 budget for the FAPP scheme is £1·028 million. <BR /> <BR />The penultimate category relates to depreciation charges, which are forecast at £3·948 million. That reflects the expenditure on capital in each of the proceeding years and is mostly due to the depreciation charge on the value of Parliament Buildings. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I turn to capital expenditure. The Commission has identified the need for a number of capital projects to be delivered in the 2024-25 year at a cost of £3·203 million. Some of the expenditure relates to projects that were originally budgeted for in earlier years, but that, for a number of business reasons, were deferred.”
“While the exact costs and timing of the repairs are still to be determined, an estimate of £1·8 million has been included in the 2024-25 budget proposals on the basis of prudence, although some of the costs may, in fact, fall into the subsequent year. The Commission also awaits an up-to-date estimate of those costs. <BR /> <BR />The next category is payments to parties under the financial assistance for political parties (FAPP) scheme 2016. The new FAPP scheme has been developed to reflect the recommendations of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee's report on the review of the settlement of entitlements for an official Opposition, which was agreed by the Assembly in the previous mandate. The new FAPP scheme has been laid in the Assembly, and a motion will be brought to the House tomorrow to approve it.”
“Those investments will ensure that the Assembly is provided with and supported by robust, modern and secure systems. <BR /> <BR />As Members will be aware, a number of issues with water ingress in Parliament Buildings relate to the roof replacement project, which was completed in 2015. The Commission has issued legal proceedings against those who were contracted to undertake that work and is seeking recovery of the full costs of repair. Until recently, the Commission had refrained from undertaking the necessary remedial works on the basis of advice that that could prejudice its legal position. However, the legal position has now changed, and the Commission has commenced planning for remedial works to be taken forward.”
“An increase in employer's pension contributions for staff, as notified by Civil Service Pensions, is also included. That equates to £455,000. Administrative costs are forecast to be £10·214 million. Administration costs cover a wide range of expenditure items, including Committee expenses, the cost of drafting private Members' Bills, building rates, utility costs, repairs and maintenance costs, and third-party support for business-critical IT systems in areas such as broadcasting, catering and research. <BR /> <BR />The Commission is seeking to invest in updating and replacing a number of key systems, such as core financial and HR systems and Bill-drafting software. Those investment plans, along with a number of capital investment plans, reflect the fact that the Commission is relying on aging and legacy technology.”
“Members' other costs include winding-up, resettlement and any ill-health retirement expenses that might occur. Those have been budgeted at £90,000. <BR /> <BR />The third major category in the Commission's budget covers salary payments for Commission staff and the administrative costs incurred to deliver the full range of services needed by the Assembly. Commission staff salary costs are forecast to be £23·867 million. That includes a modest increase of five staff related to an information systems scholarship programme and support for an internal project to replace legacy computer systems. The budget has been updated to reflect changes in pay scales to reflect the actual pay awards that have been implemented in each of the financial years since the original 2024-25 budget was agreed.”
“The level of expenses recoverable for constituency office running costs has not been changed since 2016. The Assembly Commission proposes to publish a further determination later this year to make inflationary increases to those. The Commission also proposes to make additional constituency office staffing support available to Members who have a baby. While some provision for security-related costs is provided in the current determination, the budget includes additional funding specifically for security-related costs, totalling £360,000, given the security risks faced by Members and their staff working in constituency offices. Payments to Members in respect of travel costs are forecast to be £323,000 in 2024-25, including an inflationary increase, as those have not increased since 2016.”
“That covers a range of areas, including Members' salaries, constituency office and support staff costs, travel and all other costs associated with Members. The total cost for Members for 2024-25 is £20·105 million. Salaries payable to Members, Ministers, Committee Chairs and members of the Commission were set by the independent financial review panel, otherwise known as IFRP, in the 2016 determination. The forecast for 2024-25 is £6·984 million. The Commission has not made any attempt to predict how Members' salaries might be impacted by the formation of a future remuneration board, as Members' salaries are not a matter for the Commission. <BR /> <BR />The amounts that Members can recover to meet the costs of running a constituency office, including the cost of rent, rates and support staff, is expected to total £12·708 million.”
“<BR /> <BR />Turning to the figures in the Commission's draft 2024-25 budget, the total budget for 2024-25 is £58·453 million of resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL), which is an increase of £6·103 million from the original budget position; and £3·203 million for capital DEL, which is an increase of £2·198 million from the original budget position. The first category that is included in the Commission's budget is income. Next year, the Commission expects to receive income of £709,000. Of that, approximately £602,000 relates to the recovery of the cost of ministerial salaries from the Departments. The remainder relates to the recovery of salary costs for staff who were seconded to other public-sector entities. The second category is salaries and expenses paid to Members.”
“The motion and subsequent vote will enable the Assembly to determine the resources that the Commission will be given to enable the Assembly to carry out its legislative functions. Once agreed, the budget is notified to the Department of Finance for inclusion in any Budget presented by the Minister of Finance. Ordinarily, the Assembly will consider and approve the Commission's budget in advance of the Executive's expenditure proposals being considered and agreed. However, the timing of the Executive's 2024-25 Budget-setting process meant that that was not possible.”
“Those have been scrutinised and reported on by the Audit Committee, with the Committee's report being laid before the Assembly on 9 April 2024. That report informs today's debate.”
“The Commission has a statutory duty, under section 40 of the Northern Ireland Act, to provide the Assembly with, or ensure that the Assembly is provided with, the property, staff and services required for the Assembly's purposes. The Commission develops a draft budget for each year to ensure that it can deliver all the services required by the Assembly. That draft budget is then scrutinised by the Audit Committee, which includes input from the Department of Finance to help to inform the Committee's scrutiny. The House agreed the Commission's three-year budget for 2022-25 on 23 February 2022. However, due to the significant changes in the planning context and economic climate since then, the Commission has updated its budget requirements for 2024-25.”
“I welcome those comments. Does the First Minister agree that upgrading the A5 should be a priority for Ministers, North and South, and that work to upgrade the A5 should start sooner rather than later?”
“We owe it to our children and young people to approach conflict as a result of family breakdown differently in order to reduce the levels of anxiety for all who are involved and the mental health impacts, which can lead to self-harm and increased referrals to child and adolescent mental health services. I encourage everybody to support the motion.”
“That is why the introduction of no-fault divorce legislation is essential. The Gillen review of civil and family justice recommended that parents and other married couples should be supported to separate or divorce amicably rather than be required to apportion blame for the purposes of legal proceedings. Anything that can be done to reduce the acrimony that couples endure and end the anguish that children and young people suffer is crucial. The motion is a step in the right direction to ensure better outcomes for all those who find themselves caught up in such a situation. <BR /> <BR />I am encouraged to hear that my colleague the Minister of Finance is considering amending the Matrimonial Causes Order to allow applications for divorce without apportioning blame to either party, thus easing the stress on couples and children.”
“Research demonstrates that frequent, intense and poorly resolved conflict impacts negatively on the young people who are caught up in such situations. Children and young people should learn that conflict can be managed and that many relationships, of all types, do not last forever. As a society, we should display kindness and understanding as well as assist families to manage breakdown. <BR /> <BR />Society in the North has changed and evolved. It has many new cultures and family situations. Policy is not keeping up with the needs of the population, however. Despite the large number of children and young people who are affected, and the considerable impact on families and the state, there is a clear lack of policy to help support parents in order for them to be able to put their children's needs first.”