John Stewart
East Antrim · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Decisions taken over the next two months will determine whether Northern Ireland has a modern, responsive enterprise service or whether we simply roll forward a model that increasingly struggles to keep pace with the world around it.”
“<BR /> <BR />I understand that significant efforts have been made to bring the Department for the Economy, councils and Enterprise NI around a table to design collaboratively the modernised service for 2027, yet that meeting still has not happened. That is deeply disappointing.”
“<BR /> <BR />I thank Enterprise Northern Ireland and note the outstanding work of our local enterprise agencies, which go above and beyond, often in challenging financial circumstances, for our entrepreneurs and businesses.”
“I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party group on micro and small business, but I feel that I must highlight an issue that should concern every Member, regardless of party or constituency.”
“The infrastructure in Larne West is shambolic and fails residents and commuters daily. Minister, you will be aware of an ombudsman's investigation of the missing link road at Ballyloran that reported last February on the back of my office having brought the matter to it.”
“The Bill sends an important message that demonstrates confidence in the governance arrangements that are already in place and in the boards and management teams that have successfully led the organisations for many years.”
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“<BR /> <BR />As the 2025 local Poppy Appeal begins, I urge everyone across Northern Ireland to support it. Buy a poppy, attend a fundraising event, volunteer for a few hours. Every contribution, large and small, helps the vital work of the British Legion in supporting our veterans and their families. <BR /> <BR />As we wear our poppies this year, let us do so not only as a symbol of remembrance but as a promise that we will never forget the sacrifice and service of those who defended our freedoms and that we will continue to stand by our veterans and their families.”
“<BR /> <BR />In East Antrim, we are fortunate to have some of the most dedicated and energetic branches anywhere in the country. I pay tribute to the members, committee members and volunteers from our branches in Larne, Carrickfergus, Whiteabbey and Whitehead. Their tireless efforts, year after year, ensure that the Poppy Appeal thrives in local communities, and I am sure that I speak, on behalf of all Members, to each of the local branches across the country. From organising remembrance parades and coffee mornings to standing in town centres in all kinds of weather collecting donations, their commitment is nothing short of inspirational. Those men and women give freely of their time and energy, motivated not by recognition but by gratitude to those who have served and a desire to ensure that the legacy endures.”
“This week marks the official launch of the 2025 Poppy Appeal by the Royal British Legion, a campaign that holds a special place in the hearts of people across Northern Ireland and, indeed, the entire United Kingdom. Each year, as we approach Remembrance Day, the poppy becomes a symbol of remembrance, gratitude and our shared commitment to support those who have served and sacrificed for our freedom. Since 1921, the Royal British Legion has stood by the armed forces community, providing vital welfare and financial and emotional support to serving personnel, veterans and their families. Whether it is helping someone to find a new career after leaving the forces, supporting a family in times of hardship, or offering a listening ear to those who are struggling, the legion continues to make a profound difference every single day.”
“Minister, out of those grassroots sports facilities and clubs come our future elite athletes. I am sure that you will join me in congratulating Josh McClune from our constituency on being the first cyclist from Northern Ireland to become a member of the British Cycling National Schools of Racing. Unfortunately, with high-level performance and participation in such courses comes great cost to the individual and their family. What more can be done to support our elite athletes in the pursuit of their dreams?”
“I share my colleague Cheryl Brownlee's concerns about Fisherman's Quay not being selected by the Department. <BR /> <BR />Minister, you have talked about the impact of the horrendous amount of waste water that is being pumped into Belfast lough and have said that it is the next Lough Neagh waiting to happen. That is deeply worrying. What conversations have you had with Northern Ireland Water to see what more it can do to reduce the waste water that is being pumped into Belfast lough? What further investment and projects need to happen to protect that vital asset?”
“I echo the comments of others, Minister, by saying that our thoughts are with you. What happened last week was totally disgraceful and unacceptable. <BR /> <BR />Minister, in the past 18 months, several people whom I represent in my constituency have been victims of a confirmed hate crime. Their property has been damaged, and the incidents have been deeply traumatising for them. When, however, they have sought compensation, which you referred to in your answer, they were unable to claim it, because the police could not confirm that three or more people were involved in that hate crime. That is unacceptable. A hate crime is a hate crime, regardless of how many people are involved. Will you look at changing the policy so that those people can claim compensation?”
“I thank the deputy First Minister for her answer. Does she agree that the Infrastructure Minister's decision to introduce bilingual signage in Grand Central station is not only costly but controversial and cross-cutting? In light of the judge's damning comments last month, have there been any attempts to resolve the matter at the Executive? What would the deputy First Minister like to see being introduced in future to prevent that type of incident from happening again?”
“In England and Wales, new codes of practice and legal frameworks have been introduced to curb the excesses, and action has been taken in Scotland to ensure that enforcement is fair, proportionate and transparent. Northern Ireland must not lag behind. I call on the Minister for Infrastructure to review the existing legislation and regulations to finally rein those companies in. As we know, the companies have access to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) records, so it is important that they are completely under control. We need clear rules, robust enforcement and real protections for the public. We need to ensure that, if penalties are applied, they are fair, reasonable and transparent. Above all, we need to put an end to the harassment and intimidation of ordinary people who are going about their daily life.”
“Someone pays for a ticket, is perhaps one or two minutes late and suddenly faces a £100 penalty. If they challenge that or try to debate with the company, they get harassed. Bailiff letters begin arriving, and there is threatening language and intimidation. Those are not the actions of fair businesses; they are the actions of companies that are seeking to squeeze every penny out of our constituents. What makes matters worse is the fact that some of our public bodies employ those companies to do that. Public bodies that are funded by the taxpayer are, effectively, outsourcing intimidation. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly cannot stand idly by while our constituents are threatened in that way by those companies. We must look to what is happening elsewhere.”
“I rise today to condemn and to highlight the behaviour of some private car parking firms that operate across Northern Ireland with impunity. As we all know, those firms use bully-boy tactics and target ordinary people with extortionate fines and threats that are completely disproportionate to the circumstances. <BR /> <BR />In my constituency recently, an elderly lady contacted my office. She had paid the fine after 15 letters of intimidation by one of those so-called parking firms. When a family member challenged it, it transpired that the lady had been in hospital when the incident occurred. That is not a one-off incidence, but it is absolutely disgraceful. I have written to the Minister today to highlight that issue and many others. <BR /> <BR />We have all heard the stories.”
“<BR /> <BR />Will the adoption of the pre-1973 sewerage systems under clause 12 be so cost-prohibitive that Northern Ireland Water might not be in a position to do it, given the fact that we know how big the backlog in road adoption is and that a lot of that is due to sewerage problems? Where will the funding, resource and supports be to ensure that, while Northern Ireland Water has the power to take those systems back on, there is not a massive reluctance to do so, given that it will only add a financial burden, year-on-year, to a network that is already under pressure? <BR /> <BR />I think that that concludes my ramblings for now. I thank the Minister for moving the Bill's Second Stage. I look forward to working with Committee colleagues to take the Bill through the next stage and to table any potential amendments that we may have.”
“It would also be helpful if the Minister could comment in her remarks on what the assessment criteria will look like and on the anticipated funding over the years, given that flooding will probably, and sadly, increase as we see more and more turbulent weather. <BR /> <BR />With regard to clause 11, I commented earlier on the difficulties that are associated with cost recovery. I raised that with NI Water officials when they came in. I get that when NI Water has to go in to occupy a site, if the person who owns the land cannot pay the price, the work may get stuck or logjammed because the money cannot be claimed back or because there is a reluctance. I want to get my head around how that works.”
“This is where I may start to ramble, Mr Deputy Speaker, so feel free to tell me to shush if needs be. I get that the regulations are intended to make us future-proofed, but I would be interested to know whether the Department and the Minister are looking at other places around the world, which I am sure that they are, where sustainable drainage is being done really effectively in order that we can learn from best practice. That is an important aspect of the Bill. <BR /> <BR />I will not go through whether I agree with each clause, because that has been done, but I will go back to the point on clause 6 that I made earlier. It would be advantageous to have something in statute on support not only for domestic properties but for commercial premises. That would give some security.”
“We all know that, sadly, readership of local newspapers is on the slide. If a hosepipe ban comes in on a Monday, the notice about it will probably have been lost in translation by the time that anyone picks up a newspaper on Thursday. There could be a new way to assess how best we can communicate those short-term, punchy notices that we want to get through to the public quickly — social media is probably the obvious one to utilise — but I do not think that specifying "two newspapers" in legislation will work, given their decline. It is good that the notices will be in newspapers, but the Minister could at least acknowledge that we could do something to get the information out to the public at bit more quickly in order to raise awareness. <BR /> <BR />The second element of the Bill is the sustainable drainage systems, or SuDS, regulations.”
“I want clarity on how it could be ensured that it would not affect commercial operators, Minister. I know that it applies to homes, but say that a commercial operator is carrying out work and has to tap into the tap in a home: how would that work? <BR /> <BR />I welcome Mr McNulty to the Committee. He made a point about education, which is critical. We heard from Northern Ireland Water officials when they came to Committee that, invariably, enforcement powers and fines never have to be used because, more often than not, when they come in, people play by the rules. How will awareness of the temporary ban and the ban itself be raised among the public? One often sees that when it comes to planning issues. Under clause 1, article 116B(2) would refer to sharing information on a temporary ban "in at least two newspapers" and on the website.”
“We see merits in every aspect of it. I do not want to get into too much detail. Mr Boylan will be saying, "It is only the principles now. We are not getting into the nitty-gritty today". Cathal, I promise not to do that, but I would like to flag up a couple of points on which it would be useful to get answers from the Minister, whether today, in writing or as the Committee brings them up. <BR /> <BR />The Minister, in her remarks, referred to the extension of the hosepipe ban. We all understand that. It is rare that we have a hosepipe ban in Northern Ireland. Some quite like the novel idea of it coming in, because it would mean that we have had four or five days of sunshine, which is a rarity, but it will become more and more of a thing here.”
“As we know, Northern Ireland Water continues to operate under a constrained financial model. We have seen how chronic underinvestment, in our freshwater and waste water systems, has led to developments being stalled, homes not being built and businesses not being able to expand. That is, quite simply, unsustainable and unacceptable. The Bill alone will not fix that wider funding crisis, but it provides useful additional powers that, if backed by resource, can deliver incremental improvements and build resilience into the system. However, without sustained and sufficient investment, there is a real risk that those powers will remain underused. Other Members have flagged that up, and we will be keen to get into that in the Committee Stage. <BR /> <BR />The Ulster Unionist Party and I support the principles of the Bill.”
“Giving them greater certainty and support to invest in preventative measures is an important part of building community resilience. I am keen to hear how the assessment criteria will be worked out and what will be done to ensure that the roll-out can be worked through with local councils and with cross-departmental overlap. I am keen to hear more about the criteria. I echo the points made by my colleague from the Alliance Party, who talked about the potential to extend that to commercial premises, because we all know the devastating impact that recent floods have had on commercial property. All that is important, as we know, because sadly, those events are becoming more and more regular. <BR /> <BR />An issue that underpins all of this discussion is funding.”
“It is right that the Department has stronger tools to tackle that problem, although, again, I have concerns about enforcement and the ability or willingness to carry that work out and the costs that go with it. That may be for Northern Ireland Water to address. We know the difficulties that we have with the lack of adoption of roads and the long-standing costs associated with bringing those into the network. I am very interested to hear whether there will be the money and resource to ensure that the work happens in those critical instances. <BR /> <BR />The Bill places the homeowner flood protection grant scheme on a statutory basis. That is a welcome development. We all know families who have faced the trauma of flooding.”
“Secondly, the Bill provides for Northern Ireland Water to adopt private drainage infrastructure that was built before 1973 where it benefits the wider network. That has long been campaigned for and is a welcome addition to the legislation. It has the potential to improve resilience and tackle some long-standing legacy issues, though the scrutiny needs to be looked at to see how the benefit-to-the-network test could be applied. I will go back to that in my comments when I go through the Bill clause by clause. <BR /> <BR />Thirdly, strengthening powers to address miscommunications in the system is a positive and necessary step. As we know, miscommunications are a major source of water pollution.”
“The first is the encouragement of the use of sustainable drainage systems, which will be critical in managing surface water in a way that reduces flood risk and supports environmental protection. Again, we see increasing numbers of examples of the devastating impact of floods in recent years, as well as the impact on pollution.”
“As Infrastructure Committee colleagues will know, we heard last year from departmental officials and from Northern Ireland Water, which will be a key driver in delivering many of the reforms that the Minister wants to bring in. As others have done, I thank the departmental officials for their assistance to date and to Northern Ireland Water for its engagement. I also thank everyone who contributed to the consultation and who contacted me about it in order to raise their concerns. I know that they will continue to do so as the Bill makes its way through the House. <BR /> <BR />There are several provisions in the Bill that deserve particular emphasis. I do not want to go into too much detail at this stage, because we are discussing the principles of the Bill, but it is important to discuss a few of them.”
“As Committee colleagues have already said, the Bill sets out to do a number of important things, including reducing pollution in our watercourses; strengthening our resilience against flooding and drought; promoting sustainable drainage and the preferred way of managing surface water; and improving the overall management of our water resources through environmentally friendly solutions. <BR /> <BR />Those are not abstract concepts; they go to the heart of the challenges that our communities face, whether those be the devastating floods that we have witnessed in recent years that have destroyed homes and businesses or the real constraints that underinvestment in our water network has placed on housing and economic growth. The consequences of inaction have been clear over many years.”
“In the meantime, I look forward to working with the new Chair, Mr Peter Martin. I do not mean to be dismissive at all, Peter. I have no doubt that you will bring a lot to the Committee, and I look forward to working with you as we scrutinise the Bill and do much of the other work that the Committee needs to do. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the Second Stage debate on the Water, Sustainable Drainage and Flood Management Bill. At the outset, let me say that my party and I support the principles of the Bill. It is clear that our water and drainage infrastructure is under severe and growing pressure, and it is right that we update the legislative framework to reflect the challenges of today.”
“Before I make my remarks, I will echo the comments of the new Chair of the Infrastructure Committee. I send my best wishes to Deborah and her husband and wish her all the very best. I look forward to seeing her back in her position on the Committee.”
“Minister, out of this year's active travel budget, over half a million pounds of taxpayers' money has been squandered on a six-foot fence along the Loughshore and Whiteabbey promenade, one of the lovely coastal views that we have in East Antrim. Nobody wants it. It is totally excessive. I have raised the matter with you and your officials. Will you undertake to review that and try to sort it out for the local residents?”
“I thank the Minister for his answers so far. Minister, as constituency MLAs, you and I share Belfast lough. You will know at first hand, as I do, just how bad the lough is, as is shown through water testing at the minute. Was anything raised about that at the meeting? What more can be done to protect the ecosystem in Belfast lough and improve the water quality, given the massive amounts of raw sewage that are being pumped into it and the industrial impact over many years?”
“Despite the commitments from the British Government to raise awareness and provide training for companies in GB supplying Northern Ireland, many companies are now telling businesses here that they are simply not willing to supply Northern Ireland, because, in their opinion, it is just too much hassle. That is having a huge impact on the supply chain, and we are seeing rising costs on the back of it. Surely that is unacceptable, and the British Government clearly need to be doing more on the issue.”
“I thank the First Minister for her answer. I too commend the work of the Northern Ireland Bureau. One important role that it has is, as you said, First Minister, to liaise with Invest NI and councils to help our entrepreneurs and our manufacturing sector to get opportunities in America that they may not otherwise have been able to avail themselves of. These are difficult times in international trading. What plans are there to extend the footprint of the Northern Ireland Bureau and branch out further to give Northern Ireland companies even more opportunities for trade missions and to seize the US market?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. I want to come back to the point that you raised about why councils do not compel people and why the options are there. It is not that I am being critical of councils, because great work is done up and down the country. The Minister will know, as I do, that, in some areas where the powers exist to punish those who engage in illegal dumping or dog fouling, some councils are very proactive in taking people to task and to court and others are quite risk-averse when it comes to that. That is borne out in the statistics. Does the Minister agree that we might have to see a few high-level test cases so that council officers are confident that it can be done and so that we scare people into realising that we are not messing about with the legislation and will go after those who are responsible for such things?”
“<BR /> <BR />I look forward to following the Bill's Committee Stage. Hopefully, some amendments to the Bill will be tabled.”
“<BR /> <BR />I also agree with the analysis of Mr Brett and that of the other Member for North Belfast. Mention was made of there being a postcode lottery where a constituency straddles two council areas. I find that particularly frustrating as well. Depending on which side of the road they live on, people do not really know how the relevant council will interpret the provisions. The key to the legislation's success is that it must compel councils to take action. It is all well and good for us to create law, but councils must be willing and able to use it and to put down markers. There are already powers available to them, but there has been a reluctance from some councils, depending on where one is in the country, to use them. The Bill presents an opportunity for us to do something about that.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am interested to hear whether the Minister and his officials have looked at examples of where such legislation is operating already in the rest of these islands, particularly on the Isle of Man, where it has worked really successfully. How has other legislation evolved, and what is the experience of local councils of enforcement, the appeals process and everything else? We know that no plans survive contact and that things evolve. One of the benefits of being late to the party in introducing such legislation is that we can learn from elsewhere about what has worked well and what has not and then amend our legislation accordingly. I know that the Committee, including my party colleague the Member for Lagan Valley, will be doing that.”
“<BR /> <BR />I agree with what the Member who spoke previously said about the fixed penalty notice in clause 19. Financial developers who are buying up properties for their housing portfolios should experience the wrath of God, money-wise, but a £500 fine is nothing to them. Given the red tape involved, it will probably cost more to administer that fine. Where there are repeat offenders, I agree with the Member for West Belfast that something more than a tap on the wrist must be administered. Multiple landlords are involved, and they are often repeat offenders. Something a bit stronger should therefore be considered.”
“It is a historic town, but it is blighted by dereliction, often because of landlords who are repeat offenders. They own multiple properties in the area but are never held to account for not repairing them. In fact, we see the opposite, with grant schemes being targeted at them to help them do up those buildings. It has been very frustrating over many years to contact the council and feel that nothing can be done. One has only to arrive in our fantastic town and visit our world-famous medieval castle to see that that impressive structure sits beside an abandoned bar and restaurant complex that is being allowed to fall into the sea. Nothing is being done about that. I therefore hope that the Bill will allow us to take action in that regard. I know that some amendments will be tabled to it.”
“I apologise, Mr Deputy Speaker, for coming in late. It had not been my intention to speak at this stage, but I take the opportunity to praise the Minister and his officials for introducing the Bill. I agree with much of what has been said today. The Bill is long overdue. A lot of work has gone into getting it to this stage, and I look forward to its progressing through the various legislative stages and to seeing the final Bill. The legislation will have a very positive impact on our communities. <BR /> <BR />I was previously a councillor in Carrickfergus and am now an MLA. In all that time, nothing has frustrated me more than seeing constant dereliction, especially in Carrickfergus, where I am proud to have lived for many years and which I am proud to represent.”
“This is another monumental failure. My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their life on the A5. Minister, to date, over £110 million has been spent on the scheme, diggers are on-site, and contractors have been appointed. Have you made an assessment of the compensation payments that may need to be made to the contractors? How much could that add to the cost of the scheme overall?”
“To that end, does the Member agree with me and others who have spoken in the debate that the Bill needs to go further, that we cannot have a hierarchy of victims and that we need to broaden it out to ensure that everybody who was impacted on is able to avail themselves of the redress scheme?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I thank him and many other Members, particularly the Member for North Belfast who spoke just before him, for their contributions to the debate. I want to pay tribute to the work of the Executive Office. I am not on the Executive Office Committee this time round, but I was during the previous mandate, and I know just how powerful those testimonies are. It was one of the most shameful actions in the history of this country. It was deplorable. <BR /> <BR />The Member mentioned the Bill's victim-centric focus. I firmly agree. Sadly, victims have been let down over many years. It is lamentable that so many victims and survivors have died waiting for redress and justice.”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. None of it comes as a great surprise, Minister, as you will be aware. Was PwC able to quantify the savings that could have been made in the three areas recommended in the report? Given that NI Water is the biggest consumer of energy of all our public bodies, are you confident that it is doing enough to benefit from the economies of scale that could come from better collaboration with other agencies and Departments to ensure that it delivers better value for money from its energy use?”
“I thank everyone again for supporting our amendment, and I commend it to the House.”
“I know that the Minister and all parties in here have been lobbying the British Government to ensure that that can happen. That is vital. Fifty years ago, the Housing Executive was building 50 times the number of homes that it is building now, I understand. It is regrettable that we are at the stage now where it cannot borrow the money to build the number of homes that we need. <BR /> <BR />The final bit that my colleague pointed out was that this is not just an issue for the Communities Minister but one for all Departments and for the Executive as a whole. We need to ensure that the money is there, that the housing supply strategy can be implemented and that we go further than that. If it is not seen to be a full Executive priority, it will not get the level of support that it needs.”
“Thank you for the extra minute, Mr Speaker. <BR /> <BR />I absolutely agree. Developer contributions will solve, potentially, one aspect of it, but they will not solve the pressure on social housing because they will come at a cost, which housing associations will often be unable to afford to pay. Also, ultimately, it will be the people who are buying or renting those homes who will indirectly pay the costs of developer contributions. It will not solve the problem. It is possibly one small piece of a multitude of issues that need to be dealt with. Sadly, we are not hearing enough about those. <BR /> <BR />My colleague and others have pointed out the need for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to have additional borrowing powers.”
“The Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations has said that we need to build 2,200 houses a year, and that probably is not enough either. The Minister knows that, and we know that. We are dealing with difficult circumstances, and my party colleague from East Belfast has already pointed out what some of those are. There are the infrastructure issues, which we are all aware of. The fact that we cannot build enough homes or develop Northern Ireland to the level that it needs to be developed to because of capacity issues is, quite simply, scandalous. Recently, we heard that £10 million had to be allocated under the June monitoring round just to ensure that there was not a crisis in the freshwater supply. That is lamentable, and that needs to be tackled and dealt with.”
“<BR /> <BR />I acknowledge the Minister's commitment and his work to date in tackling homelessness and progressing the housing supply strategy through the document that was released recently. That needs to be seen in context. When placed against the scale of the housing crisis that we face, it simply does not go far enough. That is not a criticism of the Minister or the Department, and it is not a political swipe. It is an honest reflection on the reality that thousands of people across Northern Ireland are homeless. As we have heard already, 49,000 families are currently on the social housing waiting list, with a significant percentage of those currently deemed to be homeless. That is lamentable in 2025 in a modern society. The aim to build 1,000 homes a year simply will not go anywhere close enough at this stage to even tackle that.”
“Thanks very much, Mr Speaker. I am happy to wind up on our amendment. It has been a good debate so far and has been held in good tone. I say from the outset that there should be no room for party politics when it comes to a housing crisis and when people need a roof over their head. There should be room not for political point-scoring or rhetoric but rather for constructive cross-party cooperation. For the most part, that is what we see, and I think that we see that from the Minister, who is trying his best, often in very difficult circumstances. We thank everyone who so far has committed to supporting our amendment. We want to do that in the constructive tone that was intended, and we thank the SDLP for tabling the motion.”
“I had been elected for the first time, and, even though we were from different parties, Seán took me under his wing. In that respect, I felt as though he was taking on the role of my mentor. His work ethic was incredible. Nothing was ever too much for him. I often said to him that I thought that he needed a nine-day week just to get done the amount of work that he was doing. Nevertheless, he did it as a gentleman, working for everybody, often in very difficult times and under huge strain to him personally and to his family. Many of us will know about that, but he always did his work with a smile, and he would work for anybody. <BR /> <BR />Again, I pay tribute to him and say that all our thoughts are with his entire family at this very difficult time.”
“Seán's career reflected his deep commitment to the people whom he represented. As a former teacher by profession, he carried that sense of fairness and dedication into his political life. His many record-breaking years as a Carrickfergus councillor, and later as an MLA for East Antrim, were marked by integrity, thoughtfulness and a quiet but resolute determination to make a difference. One has only to look at the tributes being paid on social media by the many hundreds of people who have commented to date to see the level of respect in which he was held in the local area. He was renowned for getting things done, and in a quiet way, for everybody. <BR /> <BR />On a personal note, I had the privilege of serving with Seán on the former Carrickfergus Borough Council between 2011 and 2013.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for facilitating this tribute to Seán Neeson. It was with great sadness that I learned of his passing over the weekend. On behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party, I extend our condolences to his beloved wife, Carol, his children Claire, Peter, Ciara and John, his grandchildren, his entire family circle and everyone across the political spectrum, particularly his colleagues in the Alliance Party, with which he served with great distinction. <BR /> <BR />Seán was a man who devoted so much of his life to public and community service. He was a passionate advocate for Carrickfergus, as we have heard, and for the East Antrim constituency. Over many decades, Seán was a well-respected and influential voice not only in local government but in the Assembly and beyond and in his role as leader.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer, and I declare an interest as the president of Carrickfergus Cricket Club. As he will know, Ireland is a test nation — we are all very proud of that — and many of our cricketers operate at the highest level. I am sure that he will join me in recognising the great work of our cricket clubs up and down the country, which not only promote youth cricket but encourage ladies to get involved in the sport. Sadly, Minister, far too many of those clubs contact me as I travel the country, because they are struggling to make ends meet. They do not have the cash flow of many other sporting clubs. What more can your Department and the other Departments do to help those cricket clubs and promote the sport?”