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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“We welcome the calls around the Chamber for continued investment in the harbours at Kilkeel, Ardglass and Portavogie. Investment in the regeneration of our harbours and fishing industry is vital to develop, protect and sustain our coastal and rural communities in south Down. It will help to modernise and build more efficient fishing operations that will grow in the future. I urge the Minister to prioritise investment for Kilkeel, Ardglass and Portavogie harbours and to deliver the funding needed to upgrade our harbours in south Down.”
“Areas such as aquaculture or algaculture should be promoted and explored as a matter of urgency to provide alternatives to a mortally wounded fishing industry. <BR /> <BR />We have spoken in the Chamber in recent days and weeks about apprentices. Fishing is in dire need of a fresh approach in terms of encouraging young people to take up the trade. Fishing in areas such as Kilkeel is often a family business, with generations following one another into the industry, but that is simply not happening any more. We need to see cross-departmental working with the Department for the Economy to encourage local further and higher education colleges to provide courses for young people so that we can reinvigorate and repopulate the industry. <BR /> <BR />I commend the motion, and we will support the amendment.”
“That route requires applicants to be successful in a stringent language exam that many of our migrant workers fail repeatedly. Those barriers only add more layers to what appears to be an already bleak picture for the local fishing industry. This is not just an issue for our local fishing crews; it is also an issue for the Scottish industry, which has been impacted hugely by all those issues as well. <BR /> <BR />We need to see an all-island approach to help the industry to thrive, the recognition of fishing as a skilled profession and a programme of training for local fishing apprentices that can help with recruitment and future-proof the industry across our island. We also need to look at diversification. At present, a few areas are prohibited to commercial fishing yet hold millions in potential revenue.”
“<BR /> <BR />Along with my constituency colleagues Chris Hazzard, Cathy Mason and others, I have visited Kilkeel and Ardglass harbours many times. We have spoken to the local fishing crews. We support the redevelopment of Kilkeel harbour, along with those at Ardglass and Portavogie. However, there will be no point in ploughing money into the development of Kilkeel harbour or anywhere else if we cannot get the crews to work out of them. With limited crew availability and a shortage of new members, the industry faces huge labour difficulties. Harsh measures facing foreign nationals and the 12-mile offshore requirement are proving virtually impossible for local fleets to deal with. We know that many are now forced to go through the sponsorship route.”
“I welcome the motion and the amendment and the opportunity to speak to them. As a representative of South Down, I have had the pleasure of meeting and listening to many of our local fishermen from across the constituency. The passion and dedication that they show proves, as many have said, that fishing is more than just a job. Our fishing industry is a key part of our society. Harbours in Kilkeel and Ardglass are the heartbeat of those communities and are economic engines for South Down, but they have faced huge challenges over the last number of years. As many Members have said, they have tackled the worst effects of Brexit and have grappled with the COVID pandemic and with workforce pressures.”
“I hope that funding from the Shared Ireland unit can be a viable avenue for the funding of the Warrenpoint Baths project, because it is time to deliver the investment that is needed to transform that iconic landmark and restore Warrenpoint Baths to their former glory.”
“We have a huge, unique tourism offering in Warrenpoint, Rostrevor and, of course, into the Mournes, but we must build on that to ensure that residents and visitors can be proud of South Down's attractions and we continue to offer a first-class visitor experience. That is why, as we see the Narrow Water bridge progress, Sinn Féin will work with Louth County Council and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to see the restoration of Warrenpoint's iconic baths. With planning permission in place, a viable and innovative project such as Warrenpoint Baths will complement the Narrow Water bridge when it is built.”
“<BR /> <BR />Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Louth County Council have a strategic alliance to promote, strengthen and stimulate the social, cultural and economic links within and between the people of the Carlingford lough region, and Narrow Water bridge is not just an example of that but an example of what can be done when we work together on an all-island basis.”
“I will take this opportunity to reflect on the positive announcement last week around Narrow Water bridge and the opportunities that I believe now exist. Those of us who have championed Narrow Water bridge know that it is more than just an infrastructure project. We know that it is key to unlocking the huge economic and tourism potential that we have in south Down and right across the Carlingford lough region. Funding has been secured from the Irish Government's Shared Island unit, and that will help to boost Ireland's eastern corridor region and help strengthen our all-island ties.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. When she was talking, I could not help but think of Daisy Hill Hospital, which is close to both our hearts, given that our constituencies are Newry and Armagh and South Down. Does the Member agree that Daisy Hill Hospital is strategically placed on the Belfast to Dublin corridor? Roughly 3 million people can access it within 90 minutes. Does she agree that, while it is positive that Daisy Hill Hospital is now an elective overnight surgical hub, it can do so much more to play its role in tackling waiting lists and that we need the Minister to publish a plan for investment in Daisy Hill so that it can help to address some of the issues with waiting lists that we are speaking about?”
“I agree wholeheartedly with the Member who spoke previously. I will keep my remarks short. I am actually a bit flabbergasted that we have people in the Chamber who advocate delaying the Budget for a moment longer than is absolutely necessary. People talk about obligations. The only obligations that we have are to provide certainty to Departments so that they can operate effectively till the end of the financial year and to deliver to the public-sector workers whom we all support — I mean our teachers, our police, our civil servants, our transport workers and our health workers — the pay award that they deserve. Anybody advocating holding that up for a minute longer has those people to answer to.”
“My response to him is this: take your own advice. Give us what we need. Stop gaslighting us about our public finances. Give us what we need to effectively fund our Departments and public services and to rescue our public services, because that is what they need. <BR /> <BR />I am delighted that all parties across the Chamber have been united in signing the letter that will go to the British Treasury and that they have supported the motion today. I look forward to hearing the rest of the debate.”
“<BR /> <BR />As I mentioned earlier — I will probably finish on this point — the irony will not be lost on anybody that, yesterday, we had a British Prime Minister and Secretary of State telling other people that they should not be talking about a border poll but be focused on public finances. My response to Mr Sunak and Mr Heaton-Harris is this: how about you take your own advice? The audacity of a Tory Government to tell anyone else to focus on public services when they have made it the hallmark of their time in Government to gut public services and bring our health service to the point of collapse.”
“I will not give way, sorry. I will just finish, if you will allow me. <BR /> <BR />Just before Christmas, the British Secretary of State conceded that we have been underfunded for many years. As I said, that is an important and telling admission. It needs to be followed by action and funding to address the underfunding and serious problems in our health service that that has created. It is time for a fresh look at the model of how we are funded. That is the conversation that Executive Ministers will collectively have with the British Treasury in the coming days. That must come in the form of a new fiscal framework that delivers effective public services that meet the needs of people here, instead of one that results in an endless cycle of financial crises.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. I remind him and everyone else in the Chamber that today is a day for party unity. We are here to talk about the shortfall in our funding package. That is what we need to focus on, and that is what I expect everybody's remarks to follow.”
“The £3·3 billion funding package on the table will bring short-term relief to Executive Departments, but it falls far short of what we are entitled to and what is required to efficiently run public services, delivered on the basis of objective need. <BR /> <BR />Just before Christmas, the British Secretary of State conceded that we have been underfunded for many years. That is an important and telling admission.”
“<BR /> <BR />I was struck by the absolute irony of the Secretary of State's suggestion that we should focus on delivering public services, when his Government are solely responsible for the underfunding of and the damage done to those public services. If we are to cut waiting lists across our health service, make childcare affordable, improve special educational needs services for children and young people and give public-sector workers the pay rise that they are absolutely entitled to, we need the finances to deliver that. <BR /> <BR />The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, heard that message yesterday during his engagement with the Assembly parties.”
“It is a relief, and we are delighted, that we have been able to achieve all-party support for the motion. I am sure that I speak for us all when I say that we are relieved to be back in the Chamber doing the job that we were elected to do and working together to support workers and families. <BR /> <BR />All parties today speak with one voice to ensure that the Executive have the resources that they need to deliver effective public services. Our public services have been devastated by a decade of Tory cuts and austerity. The money now available from the Treasury does not compensate for the funding that has been stripped from our public services, and that is totally unacceptable.”
“Mr Speaker, a letter was lodged this morning. Pat is absent today, so the letter states that he is willing to accept the nomination in his absence.”
“Mr Speaker, may I call for a short suspension at this juncture if that is agreeable to the House?”
“May we have a slight suspension? Proceedings have run contrary to how we expected.”
“Once again, congratulations and best of luck for the time ahead.”
“I wish you well on your election as Speaker. At the umpteenth time of trying, we have eventually passed that hurdle. While today is a monumental day, a historic day and a day of change, we will have little time for patting ourselves on the back or bickering among ourselves, because the public have an expectation that we will get on with the job and deliver for them. We know there are big challenges ahead of us. We are up for that challenge. That will involve lively debates, but it will also involve us working together to achieve all the things that our electorate wants us to achieve. <BR /> <BR />I wish you well in adjudicating those debates. I am sure you will do so with impartiality and with a tone of respect. We will certainly be up for reflecting that, and I hope that it is reflected across the Chamber.”
“— to whomever the new Speaker is to be. It is always a challenging role that they undertake. I say on behalf of the team that they have all of our good wishes for what will be a challenging time ahead as they steer us through the many debates and issues that we will have to go through.”
“<BR /> <BR />In that same spirit, I wish a big ádh mór —”
“That has been the hallmark of an incredible and unique career in the service of people whom, I know, Alex was honoured to represent. <BR /> <BR />I grew up looking up to Alex and watching him and others guide our society towards peace and equality. My younger self could not have comprehended that, one day, I would have the privilege of standing here, wishing him well as he takes a step back from the front line of political life. My mind would have been just as blown to think that I would have the opportunity to work with Alex and the even greater honour of calling him a friend. <BR /> <BR />Your retirement is well earned, Alex. I am sure that I speak on behalf of everyone in the Chamber when I say go raibh míle, míle maith agat. I wish you, Liz and the rest of your family every happiness in the years ahead.”
“When I have spoken to Assembly staff over the past number of days, they have been glowing in their genuine appreciation for his steadying presence and guidance during the difficult and uncertain period that we have just come through. <BR /> <BR />Nowhere will Alex's loss be more keenly felt than by his colleagues in Sinn Féin and by the party as a whole. Alex was a trailblazer for our party. He was the first Sinn Féin member of Belfast City Council and the first republican mayor in the history of Belfast. He has been a constant presence over the decades, whether it was the Good Friday Agreement negotiations or the many subsequent rounds of negotiations. Alex was always there and always a key figure, bringing experience, maturity, a fierce commitment to equality and a tireless determination to make politics work for everyone.”
“I will just say at the outset how good it is to be back in the Chamber doing the business that people elected us to do. <BR /> <BR />If you will indulge me, I will take the opportunity to say a few words of thanks to my friend and colleague Alex Maskey for the fantastic job that he has done as Speaker of the Assembly. When Michelle O'Neill nominated Alex four years ago, she said that she did so in the knowledge that he would carry out his role with determined professionalism, treating all with impartiality and respect. He has certainly lived up to that. His decision to retire from front-line politics is a huge loss to this institution.”
“Over the course of this mandate, three different DUP Economy Ministers — you are the latest — have been consistent in their refusal to close the RHI scheme, despite a commitment and repeated calls to do so. Can you explain, because I have not heard a rational explanation yet, why no proposals have been taken forward by the DUP Economy Ministers to finally close the scheme?”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. Minister, you will be aware of the recent Scottish Government report that proposes new misogyny-specific legislation, with offences to tackle misogynistic harassment, incitement of hatred against women and threatening to rape or assault women. Will those be some of the new offences that you will look at for inclusion in any proposed hate crime Bill?”
“Last week, the former director of Anti-Slavery International warned that the scheme to house Ukrainian refugees increases the risk of human trafficking and that the light-touch safeguarding checks cannot offer the comprehensive security needed by vulnerable refugees, the majority of whom, let us remind ourselves, are women and children. What role will the Department of Justice have in ensuring that sponsors are thoroughly vetted? How will the Minister ensure that sufficient protections against trafficking are in place?”
“<BR /> <BR />Given the seriousness of the new domestic abuse offence and its associated aggravators, including, importantly, a child aggravator, it is right that the offence be added to the list of disclosed offences. Sinn Féin supports the motion.”
“In January 2021, the Assembly passed the landmark Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act. As we know, the Act provides for a new domestic abuse offence covering coercive and controlling behaviour, along with a number of aggravators. The new offence, which came into force in February 2022, marked a milestone in how the criminal justice system treats domestic abuse and protects victims. The new offence also carries an increased maximum sentence of up to 14 years, which reflects the seriousness of the offence. Access NI checks are a vital safeguard against potentially dangerous individuals working inappropriately with children and adults, with more serious offences listed as specified offences that will always be disclosed on Access NI checks.”
“Crucially, I thank the people — the victims and survivors — who bravely shared their sometimes harrowing lived experience with the Justice Committee in the hope that we would produce good legislation that would protect others from sexual violence and exploitation. Today marks an important milestone in the battle against sexual offending and human trafficking. The Bill puts the interests and welfare of victims front and centre. I look forward to seeing the Bill being fully enacted.”
“Despite the fact that legal precedent has been set that victims' consent to sexual gratification is not a defence, that defence continues to be raised. Victims are not to blame; their abusers are to blame. Victim blaming and victim shaming are unacceptable, and I am pleased that the Bill includes a provision that will explicitly prohibit that defence. <BR /> <BR />In closing, I take the opportunity, as did the Chair, to thank my fellow Committee members, past and present, for their hard work on the Bill. I also thank the NGOs, the departmental staff, the Committee Clerks and staff from the Bill Office, particularly Stephanie Mallon, for their invaluable assistance in helping us to shape and scrutinise the Bill. I thank the Minister for her dogged determination to get this important legislation through in this mandate.”
“Through the Bill, we have created new offences of upskirting and downblousing and made cyber-flashing a criminal offence. The Bill includes amendments to modern slavery provisions in the NI Human Trafficking Act to extend support to victims of slavery, servitude and forced compulsory labour, and it includes an increase in the scope of the existing offences relating to the abuse of positions of trust of a child to include faith and sport settings. The Bill includes the abolition of the so-called rough sex defence and the creation of a new offence of non-fatal strangulation. Sadly, at least three women have been killed in the North by men who claim that the women had consented to the violence. Let me make it clear: there is absolutely no excuse or justification for strangling or beating a woman to death during sex.”
“I believe that that measure will increase the confidence of victims to report their experiences to the police and know not only that their case will be taken seriously but that they will be protected against indignity, humiliation and additional distress throughout their journey through the justice system.”
“The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act, the Protection from Stalking Bill, the Criminal Justice (Committal Reform) Act and the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Bill are all major pieces of legislation that show our commitment to tackling gender-based violence as well as trafficking and exploitation. <BR /> <BR />The Bill will implement key Gillen review recommendations, such as the exclusion of the public from all serious sexual offences hearings. Why is that important?”
“<BR /> <BR />As I said during the Consideration Stage of the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Bill, the criminal justice system often represents failure: a failure to tackle crimes; a failure to tackle perpetrators; a failure to protect the best interests of victims at court; a failure that means that an abuser is all too often favoured over a victim; and a failure that often represents trauma and humiliation for a victim. <BR /> <BR />I am proud, however, that, over the last 24 months, the Assembly has taken a stand to reverse that trend and to build a criminal justice system that protects women and girls and aims to find and punish perpetrators.”
“The Assembly has passed many key pieces of legislation during this term and will continue to do so until the moment at which it is dissolved in a few days' time. I am proud to be associated with the positive and progressive work of the Assembly in recent times but am prouder still of the legislation that we have passed that is designed to protect women and girls and minority groups from sexual violence and exploitation.”
“Sorry, Deputy Speaker, I took my name off the speaking list.”
“Crucially for us, it will give the Assembly a further opportunity to approve or reject the commencement of the provisions once all that work is concluded. Therefore, I am happy to support the conditional LCM and look forward to considering the matter, once human rights have been sufficiently safeguarded.”
“<BR /> <BR />We resisted the inclusion of the provision in a previous LCM for that reason and agreed to consider the provision alongside a code of practice that has been approved by the Human Rights Commission and the Attorney General's office. That has not yet been done. Sufficient safeguards have not yet been achieved, and it would be inappropriate to agree to commencing the powers until that work is completed. Therefore, I welcome the compromise that allows the legislation to progress on a conditional basis without those powers being commenced prematurely. That will allow time for the various human rights concerns to be addressed and for a code of practice to be consulted on publicly.”
“Sinn Féin will support the LCM on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, although we still have concerns with the Bill itself. We put those concerns to the Justice Minister, and I believe that she may share some of them. <BR /> <BR />Strengthening the legal framework that allows for the police and others to extract data from electronic devices to ensure clarity for victims, witnesses and offenders was a key recommendation from the Information Commissioner's Office. In implementing the recommendation, however, we need to ensure that we are not just box-ticking and that, as recommended, we put in place a fit-for-purpose regime that genuinely improves the regime. In doing so, human rights must be paramount and the concerns of human rights experts resolved.”
“<BR /> <BR />Finally, Sinn Féin will support the technical and corrective amendment Nos 21 to 47, which tidy up what really has turned out to be a fantastic Bill. I reiterate the point: it is a fantastic Bill, and we should not be distracted by those two amendments, which, at the end of the day, we are splitting hairs over. The Bill is good. It includes many improvements to the criminal justice system and many supports for victims of serious crimes and strengthens society's response to those sexual crimes. I will bring my remarks to a close there.”
“<BR /> <BR />I recognise that we did not have enough time to ensure that we were able to draft legally competent amendments. That is to be pitied, but we need to find a balance between protecting young people from sexual exploitation and over-criminalising healthy and legal relationships. It is vital that the issue be kept on the table, that we ensure that the law is kept up to date and that, where new evidence emerges, we are able to respond to it quickly. We should not have to wait until someone is harmed before we act. The Committee's amendment No 20 would ensure that the Department works with the wider children's sector to explore the need for further extension of the abuse of trust provisions as a matter of urgency.”
“I am sure that the Minister will get a chance to expand on that further in her summing-up. The Committee arrived at amendment No 20 in good faith in an attempt to provide the maximum protection. As I said, an annual review is excessive, but a one-off review after two years does not go far enough. The amendment is our best attempt to land somewhere in the middle. <BR /> <BR />I hope that everybody, both inside and outside the Chamber, recognises that what drove the Committee from the very start was the need to afford the utmost and best protection from sexual exploitation that we could. That is the only driver that we had through all of this. It is not that we are particularly precious that it has to be our amendment that is made. We just feel that that is the best way forward.”
“If the Minister will let me finish, I will continue. <BR /> <BR />With amendment No 20, we are attempting not to override but to complement article 29A(4). It simply compels the Department to review annually whether the power that is already contained in the Bill that the Department put in there needs to be triggered. That is all that it does. It does not attempt to override what is already there. I cannot see a situation in which the Department would review the mechanisms that are already in the Bill around sporting and religious settings, find that there is a problem and then not act.”
“I will contradict what the Minister has said. The advice that we got was that —”
“Thank you. I hear what the Minister is saying, but, as I said, that provision is already there, in article 29A(4), should the Department want to trigger it at any time to widen the scope. The Committee was honest and open about wanting to provide the maximum protection from sexual exploitation. Again, I hear what the Minister says about amendment Nos 19 and 20, but I do not see the difference between them.”