Jemma Dolan
Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“Minister, I am really shocked at that response, because I am not aware of any Western Trust engagement on the vision plan. My question was going to be, "Will you outline how you will ensure that the public are aware of this planning, so that they can engage with it?".”
“Minister, thank you for your statement. Last week, the Irish Government announced a further €30 million investment in the Ulster canal restoration project. That is transformative for the communities along the route and will benefit local economies and tourism. What is the current position of the Ulster canal project?”
“They are the result of years of chronic underfunding by successive British Governments and a funding model that has consistently failed to recognise the real needs of people here. That is the root cause of the problem.”
“Our public services are under immense pressure. Health workers, teachers and community organisations are all being asked to do more with less. Communities that have already endured years of austerity continue to feel the impact.”
“However, the second part of the motion is profoundly flawed and contradictory. On the one hand, it welcomes the efforts of local Ministers to press for more funding for public services, while, on the other hand, it states that the Executive are purposely deciding to "impose further austerity" by not agreeing to a Budget.”
“There is an onus on us as elected representatives to deliver better front-line services. However, we cannot get away from the fact that we are a devolved region with limited fiscal powers. Almost all our funding comes through the block grant.”
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“Minister, thank you for your statement. Last week, the Irish Government announced a further €30 million investment in the Ulster canal restoration project. That is transformative for the communities along the route and will benefit local economies and tourism. What is the current position of the Ulster canal project?”
“Minister, I am really shocked at that response, because I am not aware of any Western Trust engagement on the vision plan. My question was going to be, "Will you outline how you will ensure that the public are aware of this planning, so that they can engage with it?". I do not know whether you can intervene with the Western Trust and ask it to provide proof of the so-called engagement that it has stated that it is having with political parties, businesses and local people. It appears, to me and my constituency colleague, that that has not happened.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your statement. You have outlined the current position with the PEACE PLUS programme. How does that link in with rural communities and deprived communities?”
“Minister, what support is the rating system providing for small businesses?”
“Minister, how long would it take to change legislation to include a step-parent?”
“Irish reunification would mean people here having locally elected representatives who would have more control over how public money is raised and distributed, instead of being negatively impacted on by tax decisions taken in London that are often used to benefit the wealthy or to fund militarisation. That context also needs to form the basis of our discussions when it comes to debates on our public finances and public services. I look forward to continuing that debate in the time ahead. I urge Members to support the amendment.”
“There is an onus on us as elected representatives to deliver better front-line services. However, we cannot get away from the fact that we are a devolved region with limited fiscal powers. Almost all our funding comes through the block grant. The British Government must therefore recognise their responsibility as those with the taxation powers and provide the resources required to address need, drive transformation and support economic growth. <BR /> <BR />The current Budget situation further vindicates why more people are questioning the constitutional status quo.”
“Our public services are under immense pressure. Health workers, teachers and community organisations are all being asked to do more with less. Communities that have already endured years of austerity continue to feel the impact. That is why I support the Finance Minister in his efforts to continue to press the British Government for a fair financial settlement and to develop a long-term funding strategy that reflects the realities facing our communities. <BR /> <BR />The Executive must be provided with the resources necessary to meet the needs of workers, families, businesses and communities. Funding arrangements must be based on objective need, not political convenience. The people of the North deserve the same opportunity to access quality public services as citizens elsewhere on these islands.”
“They are the result of years of chronic underfunding by successive British Governments and a funding model that has consistently failed to recognise the real needs of people here. That is the root cause of the problem. Public services cannot be expected to plan effectively, invest strategically or deliver long-term transformation when they are forced to operate on a year-to-year basis and under the constant threat of financial uncertainty. <BR /> <BR />Last week's Fiscal Council sustainability report reinforces what Sinn Féin has been saying for years. The report highlights the scale of the challenge facing our institutions and points clearly to the fact that the Executive are operating from a lower funding base than comparable Administrations in Scotland and Wales. That reality cannot be ignored.”
“However, the second part of the motion is profoundly flawed and contradictory. On the one hand, it welcomes the efforts of local Ministers to press for more funding for public services, while, on the other hand, it states that the Executive are purposely deciding to "impose further austerity" by not agreeing to a Budget. That is why we have tabled our amendment. <BR /> <BR />If Mr O'Toole supports the need to put maximum pressure on the British Government, he should join others in the Chamber in presenting a united front to challenge Westminster, rather than taking another opportunity for political point-scoring. The fiscal pressures facing the Executive did not emerge overnight.”
“The failure to agree a multi-year Budget is a matter of deep concern. I welcome the first part of the motion that calls on the British Government to engage with the Executive in order to get a financial agreement that will ensure:”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.”
“Minister, I am pleased to see that there is a good geographical mix of the new homes, and, of course, I welcome the homes on the Old Eglish Road in Dungannon. However, I notice that Fermanagh is missing. Can the Minister commit today to ensuring that Fermanagh gets its fair share of these 300 homes?”
“I thank the First Minister for her statement. Minister, can you comment on the recent growth of the all-Ireland economy and on the role of North/South cooperation in supporting economic development and prosperity across the island?”
“Among measures being delivered for the Department for the Economy will be updated powers to provide financial assistance to support the local economy, which the Audit Office highlighted as something that was missing during the pandemic. <BR /> <BR />The initial purpose of the Bill was to close legislative gaps in several areas, and I feel that it has been enhanced through engagement with various Committees and during the legislative process. It will improve the ability and effectiveness of a range of Departments.”
“Clause 9 provides the Executive Office with the statutory authority to implement the strategic framework for ending violence against women and girls in the coming years. As a society, we need to continue to be proactive in that area and do all that we can to bring an end to the scourge of misogyny and to protect women and girls. The Bill will also enable TEO to coordinate integration and support for asylum seekers and refugees locally, thus permitting TEO to utilise funds that have been provided to it by Whitehall for those purposes rather than having to rely on the sole authority of the Budget Act.”
“I also welcome her confirmation that any income generated will be only to cover administrative costs to ensure the long-term sustainability and protection of concessionary travel. <BR /> <BR />The amendment that enables the Department of Education to implement a new bursary scheme to attract more teachers to subjects that are experiencing shortages is a welcome addition that will, hopefully, provide more opportunities for young people to study subjects such as ICT and maths as well as through the medium of Irish. <BR /> <BR />Events in recent weeks have again shown the importance of providing resources to tackle violence against women and girls and to support asylum seekers and refugees.”
“I would like to highlight the positive changes made to the Bill through consultation and debate with Members, including the removal of clause 20, which had proposed that the Audit Committee take over responsibility for appointing the external auditor for the Audit Office. However, after listening to feedback, the Finance Minister ensured that the clause would not form part of the legislation. <BR /> <BR />The amendment to clause 17 provides the Department for Infrastructure with the power to introduce regulations to charge for SmartPass applications, renewals and replacements. I welcome the Infrastructure Minister's support for making any such regulations subject to affirmative resolution rather than the negative resolution procedure.”
“Today, we have reached the Final Stage of what is, as the Chair said, quite a wide-ranging Bill. It involves several Departments, and, while the Finance Committee has led the scrutiny process, there has also been important input from other Committees. There has been an extensive debate on the Bill throughout its various stages over the past year, so I will not go through all aspects of the legislation again. <BR /> <BR />One of the most rational changes that the Bill makes is to provide the Department of Finance with the power to make loans for the purposes of an investment fund, transferring it from the Executive Office and ensuring that it sits with the Department in which it most naturally fits.”
“Thank you, Minister. TB affects the entire island, and it is important that we work collaboratively on it. Can you outline what engagement you have had with your counterpart in the South?”
“The OECD stated that the legislation had been developed with the principles for independent fiscal institutions in mind, which was the foundation for the Fiscal Council. <BR /> <BR />The Bill will maintain and, indeed, strengthen the Fiscal Council's independence, providing it with the basis to assess the sustainability of our public finances.”
“At the same time, however, we must be conscious of the differences between this region and others in terms of the economic and financial powers of the respective legislatures and therefore the role of various fiscal bodies. <BR /> <BR />The Bill reflects our financial framework and how the Fiscal Council currently operates, while enabling flexibility for the future, should we receive additional financial powers. It is important, therefore, that the Bill allows the Fiscal Council to evolve, should more decision-making powers be devolved. I know that the Finance Minister is keen to pursue that, because, like me, he believes that the interests of all our people are best served by those whom they elect.”
“The establishment of the Fiscal Council four years ago was a positive development in improving the scrutiny of our public finances. I am pleased that the Bill has reached its Final Stage, following a year of debate and engagement on the shape of the legislation that will put the Fiscal Council on a statutory footing. It will bring the Fiscal Council into line with best practice in other jurisdictions, safeguard its independence and protect its scrutiny role. <BR /> <BR />Evidence provided by similar bodies from neighbouring jurisdictions during the Committee Stage was helpful in providing us with an understanding of how they operate and what we can learn from them.”
“There must now be a clear pathway towards the return of emergency general surgery at the South West Acute Hospital, delivering safe, high-quality care while ensuring that people in Fermanagh and west Tyrone have fair and equitable access to the hospital services that they need and deserve.”
“For many people across Fermanagh and the wider south-west, however, the reality remains longer journeys for treatment, additional pressure on families and continued uncertainty over the future of services. Temporary measures cannot continue indefinitely. Patients and staff deserve certainty and confidence that services are planned around safety, need and equality of access. <BR /> <BR />The Western Trust must now fully implement the RQIA report's recommendations. I have contacted the Minister of Health to ask him to ensure that resources, workforce planning and infrastructure are in place to deliver a sustainable, long-term solution for emergency general surgery in Fermanagh and in west Tyrone.”
“<BR /> <BR />Although the report highlights progress in some areas, including improved patient transfers and positive clinical outcomes, it also identifies significant concerns about communication, governance, staffing pressures and the monitoring of patient outcomes. Crucially, the RQIA report has highlighted the need for better information on outcomes across the entire patient pathway. Until that work is completed, important questions remain unanswered about the overall impact of the temporary arrangements. <BR /> <BR />Front-line healthcare workers deserve enormous credit for the professionalism and commitment that they continue to show in extremely challenging circumstances.”
“I express my serious concerns following the publication of a Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) inspection report on emergency general surgery pathways in the Western Health and Social Care Trust. Along with the majority of people in Fermanagh, I have long-held concerns about the temporary removal of emergency general surgery from the South West Acute Hospital. The RQIA report confirms that the temporary solution has been in place for far too long. Such arrangements have now been going on for almost three years, and patients and staff continue to bear the consequences.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer and for the scheme, which is probably one of the most positive things to come out of the Assembly in this mandate. Minister, you touched on this briefly, but what specific engagement has taken place to ensure that the scheme meets the needs of the parents and groups that campaigned for it?”
“While baby loss certificates cannot and will not take away the pain of their loss, I hope that access to those certificates can help people during an extremely challenging time of their lives.”
“Baby loss has a profound and heartbreaking impact on parents. The development of the regulations will enable that loss to now be formally acknowledged and is an example of a positive change that we can make in the Assembly when we work together in partnership. <BR /> <BR />Last October, I hosted an event here to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week and had the privilege of hearing from many families with lived experience about the effect that such a loss has on their lives. I am honoured to have been part of the Committee that has helped to shape this compassionate legislation. I commend the Finance Minister and his officials for their work in bringing the scheme forward, but, most of all, I thank those who have suffered the loss of their little angels for their bravery and their contributions. I also thank the organisations that support them.”
“I welcome the positive announcement from the Minister. Minister, on the announcement around TB, what engagement have you had with the Agriculture Minister?”
“I acknowledge the work under way on a wider vision for Health and Social Care, but a vision without delivery risks becoming little more than words on a page. <BR /> <BR />What is needed now is decisive action. I call on the Health Minister, the Department of Health and the SPPG to urgently provide clarity on commissioning intent, to outline a clear pathway for the restoration of emergency general surgery at the SWAH and to set out a realistic timeline for delivery. <BR /> <BR />My constituents and I deserve equitable access to life-saving services. We deserve certainty, and we deserve better than this.”
“We are told by the Western Trust that responsibility lies with the Department of Health and the strategic planning and performance group (SPPG). However, we are told by the Department that responsibility lies with the Western Trust. We are told that no strategic outline case has been commissioned, and no timeline can be provided. In other words, there is no plan, timeline or accountability. <BR /> <BR />It is also deeply frustrating that the Health Minister has yet to respond to my priority question for written answer, which is now seven days overdue. That delay only adds to the lack of clarity, responsibility and urgency surrounding the issue. Let me say this clearly: my constituents and their lives are not a political football.”
“They do not reflect the distress of families who are forced to travel long distances in emergency situations, the growing pressure on our Ambulance Service and the deepening sense of inequality that the people whom I represent feel. <BR /> <BR />What is equally concerning is the continued absence of any clear, time-bound pathway.”
“I received a response from the new chief executive officer of the Western Health and Social Care Trust about the ongoing absence of emergency general surgery at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH). Let me be clear that people in Fermanagh and west Tyrone are not reassured. They are frustrated and angry and feel deeply let down. We are now more than three years on from the so-called temporary suspension of emergency general surgery at the SWAH in December 2022. What was presented as a short-term patient safety measure has become a prolonged withdrawal of a critical, life-saving service. <BR /> <BR />Patient safety must always come first, of course, but statistics alone do not tell the full story.”
“Minister, what are your plans to improve the condition of the road network and minimise the number of road-related claims and the expenditure on compensation?”
“As far as I am aware, the funding from the Finance Department to Communities came to an end a number of years ago. The Líofa bursary scheme, Arlene Foster's infamous "crocodile" comments, "Curry my yogurt", the GAA, the Place-Name Project: does the deputy First Minister accept that her party's issues with the Irish language and identity are less about process and funding and more about the deeply ingrained sectarian and anti-Irish mindset of political unionism?”
“I have a simple question for the deputy First Minister.”
“<BR /> <BR />Last week's election results in Scotland and Wales have further shown that the current constitutional framework is cracking at the seams, as people realise that those in London govern in the financial and economic interests of a chosen few in England. Ultimately, until we have constitutional change, our public services will continue to suffer as we try to mitigate decisions made in Westminster.”
“I therefore commend the current Finance Minister and his predecessor for their efforts to make the case for a new fiscal framework. To date, that has resulted in an additional £1·3 billion for our public services. All Departments have expressed the view that the draft Budget does not meet their financial requirements, and that is reflected in both reports; indeed, the Fiscal Council has stated that we are at high risk of an overspend. That is why it is crucial that we all support the efforts of the Finance Minister and the wider Executive in their request for additional funding to enable a multi-year Budget to be achieved and for a fiscal framework that goes beyond mere per head comparisons of public spending, which NERI has referred to as being a "blunt instrument".”
“Despite strong and repeated representations from locally elected representatives and from the community and voluntary sector about the need for change and the harm that the new model would do to that sector, the Treasury would not move. That funding is, of course, supposed to be the replacement for what was lost by the community and voluntary sector from the EU following Brexit, and it already falls short of what the sector received then. That is another example of this region having to deal with the impact of a decision that was not voted for by the people who live here. <BR /> <BR />NERI and the Fiscal Council also point to the current needs assessment of 124% as not taking into account our structural needs or our historical legacy.”
“NERI also highlighted the fact that, as a region, we are living with the consequences of Budget choices that are beyond our control. Those choices include spending money on militarisation rather than front-line services, leaving us with less money to spend on our hospitals, schools and roads. <BR /> <BR />As a local Assembly, we have, in recent years, managed to alleviate some of the harms caused by the British Government that worsened existing poverty levels. For example, we introduced welfare mitigation measures. As the reports make clear, however, the finance available to us locally means that we simply cannot mitigate many of the negative spending decisions taken in London. That has been reinforced in recent months by the inflexibility shown by the Treasury on the structure of the local growth fund.”
“The Committee for Finance and Fiscal Council reports on the draft Budget reiterate the challenging position of our public finances and how the current financial settlement with the Treasury does not meet our needs. Decades of underfunding by the British Government have, in recent years, been exacerbated by austerity measures by successive Tory Governments and now the Labour Government. Over 90% of our public finances comes from the block grant, so it is no surprise that, in its evidence to the Committee, the Nevin Economic Research Institute said that local revenue raising cannot fix the funding gap and that the deficit is a result of policy decisions made by politicians in London who are not elected by the people here.”
“I support the proposal to extend the Committee Stage of the Marriage Bill in order to allow for fuller scrutiny of the draft legislation, which will raise the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership to 18 and make involvement in causing a child to enter into that arrangement a criminal offence. It is a piece of draft legislation that has equality and human rights at its core. Extending the Committee Stage will help to ensure that the Bill is given the detailed consideration that it deserves.”
“<BR /> <BR />I thank the Minister and the Department for their engagement with the Committee, particularly for bringing forward amendments to the explanatory and financial memorandum for consideration. <BR /> <BR />While I have considered the amendments and understand the rationale behind them, I do not believe that they are necessary. I therefore welcome the Bill as a positive step forward in placing the Fiscal Council on a statutory footing but will not support the amendments.”
“No, thank you. <BR /> <BR />Amendment Nos 4 and 5 relate to expanding the council's scope to examine issues such as the cost of duplication of services. While the intention behind the amendments is clear, the existing flexibility in the Bill already allows the council to explore such areas where it deems it appropriate without the need for explicit provision. <BR /> <BR />The fundamental purpose of the Bill is to maintain and strengthen the Fiscal Council's independence in assessing the sustainability of our public finances, and the council itself has supported the legislation as achieving that aim. The OECD has also stated that the Bill has been developed in line with principles for independent fiscal institutions.”
“No, sorry. <BR /> <BR />Indeed, as the Chair of the Fiscal Council has stated, its current role is more reflective of our financial framework, where most Executive revenue comes from the block grant. While I obviously support the broader principle of enhanced financial powers and acknowledge that such amendments point to a possible future direction, I do not believe that it is necessary or appropriate to legislate for that change at this time.”
“Amendment Nos 2 and 3 seek to expand the Fiscal Council's remit to include economic and fiscal forecasting. While I recognise the intention behind the amendments, Members should be mindful that our context differs significantly from that of other jurisdictions. For example, the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) provides forecasts to support the Scottish Government's Budget process, but that reflects a different set of fiscal powers, particularly on taxation, that we do not currently possess.”
“After several years of operating and helping to provide scrutiny and transparency in public finances, the legislation will put the Fiscal Council on a statutory footing, bringing it into line with best practice in other jurisdictions, safeguarding its independence and protecting its scrutiny role. I am sure that others in the Chamber will agree that the Fiscal Council has had a positive impact since its formation four years ago, having published over 20 reports ranging from Budget assessments to reports on the sustainability of our public finances and health system. <BR /> <BR />I turn to the amendments. Evidence provided by similar bodies from neighbouring jurisdictions during Committee Stage has been useful in informing us and helping us understand how such institutions can evolve.”
“Minister, how will the 'good jobs' Bill strengthen rights for women?”