Colm Gildernew
Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I have been working with Dungannon Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It will welcome this work, particularly in light of its concerns about vacancy and protecting the retail heart of towns such as Dungannon.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Minister, you said that there has been an improvement. However, recently, there were reports of over 1,400 patients waiting more than 28 days. How will you ensure that trusts consistently meet the targets for suspected cancer appointments in particular?”
“However, the Committee will want to examine carefully how any new or amended powers would operate in practice. Powers relating to information sharing, official warnings, directions, removal from office and disqualification can have significant, long-standing consequences for charities, trustees, staff, volunteers and, indeed, public confi…”
“<BR /> <BR />The regulations are consequential to the uprating order and provide the supporting technical changes needed to ensure that the revised benefit rates operate correctly. The regulations increase the earning limit for carer's allowance from £196 a week to £204 a week.”
“In response to those findings, Minister Hargey introduced the Charities Bill, which was enacted in 2022. The legislation put in place many of the review's priority recommendations in the limited time remaining in that mandate. The Charities (Amendment) Bill represents the next stage of that reform programme.”
“The Committee will wish to explore the implications of those changes, including for organisations operating across jurisdictions or delivering charitable activity in or from the North. Our charity sector includes a diverse range of bodies.”
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“It affects many Members in the Chamber in their areas. You are probably experiencing the same frustrations and difficulties that I am. Whatever happens in future, we need to ensure that communities are protected and companies are effectively regulated in order that this cannot continue to happen.”
“That is simply not good enough. I think that we need to look very seriously at having an independent environmental agency that will protect communities, stand up to these companies and ensure that some difference is made in relation to these issues. We cannot repeat them over and over again. Just in case Members do not understand it, the impact of this in both areas is such that people have to cancel outdoor events such as children's parties. Training sessions at local sports clubs have had to be cancelled, and schools have had to keep children indoors. That is not acceptable, nor is it sustainable that it keeps happening over and over again. <BR /> <BR />The agencies that are tasked with this must have the legislation and the resources to make a real difference. I am calling for a serious look at the issue, particularly in south Tyrone.”
“I have no doubt that they will do that, but communities are increasingly frustrated that the same pattern is repeated over and over again. A review is carried out, and, in some cases, enforcement action is put in place — in others, it is not — but the problems continue. Eventually, the enforcement action runs its course, the company continues on its way, and the community continues to suffer.”
“Once again, I raise the issue of the odours affecting communities across south Tyrone. It is deeply frustrating to see continual repetitions of such issues. Two individual communities are particularly impacted on by them: I think of communities in the Killeeshil and Cabragh areas and, separately, the Granville and Eskra areas. In recent weeks, there was a serious gas leak related to the issue in Granville. The issue was reported as far away as Eglish, which is four miles away. Such was the concern that it required attendance by the Fire and Rescue Service. <BR /> <BR />I met representatives from NI Environment Agency again last week about both those issues. Once again, they have committed to investigate and review.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Water quality is critical to the health of our environment and the success of our aquaculture sector. <BR /> <BR />Minister, what discussions were there at the North/South Ministerial Council meeting on water quality in our loughs and waterways, including the Brantry lough in my constituency, about which concerns have recently been raised? What actions were agreed to address the challenges?”
“One of the key issues identified is that our legislation to tackle homelessness is wholly unfit for purpose. The North still does not have a statutory duty to prevent homelessness, despite rising homelessness levels. The evidence from across the water shows that the best way to tackle homelessness is through prevention, and only a statutory duty can bring a shift towards more preventative activities. <BR />Despite having been in office for over two and a half years, the Minister has brought in virtually no legislation on housing or homelessness. The only upcoming Bill that he has announced concerns tackling antisocial behaviour and is in no way relevant to the housing crisis. The Minister for Communities must urgently get to grips with the housing and homelessness crisis and support the people who need support now.”
“While that is indeed welcome, it falls short of the target of 2,000 a year by some distance. We all appreciate that funding is scarce for all Departments and that Ministers are required to cut their cloth accordingly. However, some of the priorities that Minister Lyons chooses to fund are hard to understand, given the seriousness of the housing crisis. <BR /> <BR />I also have serious concerns about the 600 homes that were promised well over a year ago that were to be purchased to address the unsustainable rise in temporary accommodation costs. Whilst I fully support the intent behind the initiative, it is clear that the project has stalled, and it is unclear whether any of those houses will ever be bought. <BR /> <BR />As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I was glad to take part in a recent inquiry into homelessness.”
“We are in a housing and homelessness crisis. We need to see solutions from the Minister. <BR /> <BR />We urgently need to see the revitalisation of the Housing Executive carried through. That would allow the Housing Executive to borrow against its assets and invest in building more homes. For decades, the British Government have underfunded the North, meaning that we have seen no serious investment in our social housing stock in recent years. The British Government must abandon their austerity agenda and support the Executive to build the homes that are needed. <BR /> <BR />The Programme for Government set a target of 5,850 new homes by the end of the mandate. I have serious concerns that that target will now be missed. Last year saw the commencement of 1,750 new social homes.”
“Last week, the Department for Communities released new statistics showing that, for the first time, there are over 50,000 households on the social housing waiting list. The statistics also show that there are now over 39,000 households in housing stress and that over 33,000 have homelessness status, which is a rise of 5% since March last year.”
“I regularly challenge the term "economic inactivity", because it is often actually economic disadvantage or, potentially, discrimination. People are disadvantaged as a result of living in rural communities with limited access to transport or because of disability, and women are often carers. <BR /> <BR />Minister, do you agree that all the issues that we have raised today need to be addressed? Do you also agree that good jobs and the 'good jobs' Bill are part of the overall pattern?”
“I agree that work is a crucial part of it, Pam. Does that indicate that the Members opposite will support the 'good jobs' Bill that will, hopefully, come through soon?”
“That is a fair challenge to this Assembly, the whole Executive and the Minister for Communities. The Committee's report offers the Minister a practical route to improve the final anti-poverty strategy. It asks that local government be given its proper place and voice and that local interventions be supported. Most importantly, it asks that the anti-poverty strategy not simply describes the scale of the problem but creates the structures, resources and accountability to tackle it. <BR /> <BR />I commend the motion to the House and urge Members to support it.”
“Members also heard a commitment to maximise collaboration and share delivery across government, local government and wider partnerships. That is also the right direction. The purpose of the motion is to encourage and strengthen that approach. The final strategy must be more than a statement of ambition; it must be costed, measurable, locally deliverable and accountable. The question for the Assembly, therefore, is whether the final strategy will simply acknowledge work that is already being done or build the structures needed to sustain and strengthen that work and introduce significant new measures. <BR /> <BR />To close, I will reflect on a phrase that was used in a Committee session: we were asked to be bold, to be compassionate and to be change-makers.”
“The Committee is clear that the strategy must move beyond managing the symptoms of poverty and begin to tackle the conditions that keep people trapped in poverty. <BR /> <BR />When it comes to embedding lived experience, the Committee was clear that policy must not be designed around people without being shaped by people. Our final recommendation is that lived experience must be embedded permanently in the governance, monitoring and evaluation of the anti-poverty strategy. Co-design cannot mean a one-off consultation. <BR /> <BR />The Committee welcomes its engagement with the Minister and his officials on that work. At the Committee meeting on 14 May, the Minister indicated that there is a duty to listen, reflect and change course where necessary. The Committee welcomes that approach.”
“Food parcels, fuel vouchers and hardship payments can provide immediate relief but, by themselves, do not provide a route out of poverty. The strategy must, therefore, include measurable and time-bound actions on the structural drivers of poverty. That means a coordinated approach to increasing social and affordable housing supply; robust interventions in the private rented sector; progression of a fully funded regional childcare strategy; and dedicated actions on rural poverty, including a specific, funded focus on protecting and expanding rural and community transport networks. The issue of transport came through strongly in the evidence that we received, especially from rural councils. Poor transport limits access to work, education, health services and advice.”
“Without appropriate, secure and GDPR-compliant data-sharing, interventions are less targeted and less effective. Councils told us that data on health, housing, education, justice and benefits, as well as local knowledge, must be brought together more effectively and cohesively so that support can be proactive rather than reactive. That is not about data for its own sake; it is about getting the right help to the right people earlier and before problems become crises. <BR /> <BR />Recommendation 5 is about tackling the structural causes of poverty. Better data and targeting absolutely matter, but they must sit within a wider shift from crisis response to structural prevention. The fifth recommendation is that the final strategy must prioritise structural drivers and prevention. Emergency support is necessary, but it is not enough.”
“If the anti-poverty strategy is to mean anything in practice, poverty reduction must become a test applied across housing, health, education, transport, infrastructure, childcare, skills and economic policy. <BR /> <BR />Recommendation 4 is about using data to target help before crisis point. If we are serious about prevention, we need to know where need is emerging before households reach crisis point. Our fourth recommendation is for the establishment of a cross-departmental data-sharing framework. We heard a very simple point directly from local representatives, which is that people do not know what they do not know. Councils may know that need exists, but they are often prevented from identifying precisely where it is and who is most at risk.”
“<BR /> <BR />Recommendation 3 is about making poverty reduction a test across government. Funding individual programmes will not be enough if wider public policy continues to create or deepen poverty. That brings me to the need for poverty reduction to become a test right across government. The third recommendation is for the introduction of mandatory, anti-poverty impact assessments across government. Members heard that too many policies are made without sufficiently exploring whether they will reduce poverty, worsen poverty or simply move the pressure from one part of the system to another. <BR /> <BR />The Committee believes that, similar to rural proofing, all new public policies, structural investments and budgetary decisions across Departments should be rigorously assessed for their impact on poverty before they proceed.”
“Therefore, our second recommendation concerns funding. <BR /> <BR />The Committee heard repeatedly that the current system too often forces councils and community organisations into a cycle of firefighting. Short-term, competitive, late-year funding pots create uncertainty, inefficiency and, in some cases, the loss of highly skilled staff. That is particularly damaging for community advice services, wraparound support services and front-line organisations that deal with people in crisis. The Committee therefore recommends that the Executive align the anti-poverty strategy with a ring-fenced, multi-year funding settlement. No strategy can be transformative if the organisations expected to deliver it are left living hand to mouth from one financial year to the next.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Department should explicitly define the strategic and operational role of local councils in the anti-poverty strategy. The Committee further recommends that community planning partnerships (CPPs) should be formally designated as the primary local delivery vehicles for the strategy. CPPs already bring together councils, statutory bodies, health, housing, and the community and voluntary sector. They are already in place. The task now is to give them the necessary mandate, accountability and shared outcomes to make the delivery real. <BR /> <BR />Recommendation 2 is about moving away from short-term funding to sustained prevention. Defining the roles of councils is only one part of the answer. The second issue is whether the organisations expected to deliver anti-poverty work have the stability to do so.”
“They know that, in one place, the urgent need may be debt advice; in another, it may be transport; and in another, it may be help with school uniforms, heating oil or food. However, we also heard that councils can end up leading anti-poverty work by default, without the authority, the formal mandate or the resources to do so properly. That is not sustainable. If the Executive want councils to help deliver the strategy, that role must be defined, resourced and respected. <BR /> <BR />The first issue, therefore, is not whether local government has a role; it already has one. The question is whether that role will be formally recognised, properly resourced and built into the delivery strategy of the architecture of the final strategy. Therefore, we recommend giving local government a defined role.”
“They see it through advice services, fuel support, food insecurity, social supermarkets, employability programmes, community planning partnerships, hardship schemes, and the community and voluntary organisations that they support. <BR /> <BR />At a dedicated meeting on 5 March 2026, the Committee for Communities heard evidence from representatives of all 11 councils. The evidence was powerful, practical and, at times, stark. One of the strongest messages that we heard was that local government is often the glue that holds local interventions together. Councils convene partners. They know their communities. They know where need is hidden, and they know which organisations are trusted by local people.”
“Although the Department for Communities leads on the strategy, the Committee believes that the final anti-poverty strategy must genuinely be a whole-of-government strategy and a whole-of-society strategy. The Committee's message is straightforward: local government is already part of the anti-poverty response, and the final strategy must now make it part of the anti-poverty system. <BR /> <BR />The Committee decided to engage directly with all 11 councils because local government is already delivering services in the heart of our communities and with direct experience of the lived reality of poverty. Councils are not distant from the impact of poverty; they see it at first hand.”
“Since the formation of our Committee, members have maintained a strong and continuing interest in the development of the anti-poverty strategy. We recognise that poverty is one of the most serious and persistent challenges facing communities across the North. It affects children, women, older people, disabled people, carers, workers, families, rural households and urban communities. It is also a challenge that does not sit neatly within the remit of one Department. Poverty is shaped by income, employment, housing costs, childcare costs, transport costs, energy costs, educational opportunity, health inequalities and access to advice and support.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. There is some really good value in those announcements, but will there be a further round of funding, Minister, to build on that momentum?”
“Will the Minister set out the benefits of the single electricity market (SEM), particularly its role in supporting consumers?”
“, its disgraceful Líofa moment and the blocking of additional funding through the North/South bodies. <BR /> <BR />Gordon Lyons has opposed the Irish language at every turn and squandered public funds in becoming embroiled in multiple court cases. He has failed to protect the Place-Name Project. Why did he order the removal of trilingual branding from his Department? It was because the DUP Minister, under the direction of the deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, is all about delaying, frustrating, blocking and deflecting. The DUP's actions speak louder than its words, and it is on the wrong side again. <BR /> <BR />Sinn Féin is clear: no further DUP delay. The Minister for Communities should bring forward an Irish language strategy now.”
“Gordon Lyons has failed to bring forward an Irish language strategy. The DUP is attempting to gaslight people, but the evidence of its hostility and disrespect is clear for everyone to see, including right now. The DUP Minister for Communities is responsible for bringing forward an Irish language strategy, but he has offered nothing but excuses. Instead, we have from the DUP the crocodile comments, opposition to Acht na Gaeilge”
“The Committee will continue to scrutinise how the Department allocates and manages its own budget within whatever settlement is ultimately agreed, and we will hold the Department to account on the cumulative impact of spending decisions on the most vulnerable in our society. The Executive must now come together, agree a Budget and make the strategic choices that the scale of this challenge demands. The Committee for Communities stands ready to play its part in that process.”
“The Committee is clear that social housing must be treated as a top priority, but delivery is contingent upon factors beyond the Communities remit, including water and waste water infrastructure. That underscores the need for genuine cross-departmental coordination at Executive level, and we have heard recently from the new permanent secretary that that continues to take place between the Communities and Infrastructure Departments in relation to waste water connections. <BR /> <BR />One of the Committee's central messages is that there are areas within the Communities remit where targeted investment would generate measurable returns, whether through direct savings to the block grant, reduced demand on other public services or improved economic participation. An invest-to-save approach in those areas is not merely desirable but necessary.”
“Programmes across homelessness interventions and Supporting People, employment support, culture, arts and heritage, the voluntary and community sector and urban regeneration are all under intense pressure. Benefit delivery is a particular concern. The Department currently has capacity to provide only 20% to 30% of required into-work support. At a time when so-called economic inactivity remains a major challenge, that seems to the Committee to be an area where investment could deliver wider social and economic benefit. <BR /> <BR />On capital, officials have told our Committee that the proposed allocation does not meet the Department's inescapable requirements, with a shortfall of £45·5 million in 2026-27. Social housing remains a critical pressure.”
“All parties agree that multi-year budgeting is essential for the strategic planning, transformation and service reform that the Department for Communities and its arm's-length bodies so urgently require. <BR /> <BR />I turn to the substance of the Communities allocation. Officials informed the Committee that, even on a standstill basis, the Department faces an inescapable resource pressure of approximately £40 million in 2026-27. Of the £764 million proposed allocation, the vast majority is pre-committed to staff costs, statutory obligations and contractual commitments, leaving minimal discretionary spend. Our Committee's response set out in detail where the pressures fall.”
“The British Government must recognise that chronic underfunding is incompatible with sustainable public service delivery. The Committee supports ongoing and intensified engagement with Westminster to secure a funding settlement that genuinely reflects the needs of our people and public services. That is the responsibility of all parties and the entire Executive. <BR /> <BR />The Committee also notes that the draft Budget has not been agreed by the Executive. We are well into the 2026-27 financial year. Departments are operating under a Vote on Account, and contingency planning envelopes have been issued by the Department of Finance permanent secretary. That is not a sustainable position, and I urge Executive parties to redouble efforts to agree a multi-year Budget as a matter of urgency.”
“Before turning to Communities-specific issues, I will acknowledge the broader context. The draft Budget has been framed in an exceptionally constrained fiscal environment that affects every Department. As we stated in our response, we agree with the position established across the Executive that the North continues to be underfunded relative to objective need. The Fiscal Council has confirmed that the Barnett formula is not fit to address our infrastructure deficits or accumulated social need and that the 124% so-called needs-based factor does not adequately capture the true scale of what is required here. We are frequently told by the Treasury that we must enact structural reform. However, meaningful reform requires upfront investment — investment that we are continually denied.”
“The Committee for Communities has engaged constructively with the process that led to the Finance Committee's report. On 12 March, we submitted a detailed response informed by the Department's written and oral briefings. The remarks that I will make today reflect the Committee's agreed position.”
“I rise to contribute to the debate on the Finance Committee's report as Chair of the Committee for Communities. <BR /> <BR />At the outset, I acknowledge the work of the Committee for Finance in producing its report, as well as the important assessment that has been provided by the Fiscal Council. Both reports are useful in setting out the scale of the financial challenge that is facing the Executive.”
“No, I will not. I am almost finished, Mark. <BR /> <BR />Although I do not agree with the posturing of the SDLP, at least we can agree that more and more people are, rightly, coming to the conclusion that our interests will never be served by politicians in Britain and that a new Ireland represents the best hope for a bright and prosperous future for all our people.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am sure that the SDLP is well aware of the financial strain that the Executive are operating under, again as a result of British austerity and underfunding, so it should know that the Executive simply do not have the funding available to plug the gap. I find it strange that the SDLP seems to have taken on the role of political mudguard, deflecting responsibility away from the British Government and on to the Executive. Whilst I might not agree with the convoluted posturing of the —.”
“Time and time again, the people of the North suffer the consequences of harmful decisions that are taken in London by a British Government who neither think about nor care one iota about any of us here. <BR /> <BR />I will turn now to the Sinn Féin amendment, which places the focus back where it should be; on the British Government. The original SDLP motion lets the British Government off the hook completely. Brexit was their disastrous policy. The people of the North voted to Remain. It was the British Government who promised to replace all lost EU funding — a promise that they had no intention of keeping — and it was they who refused to listen to the concerns of our community and voluntary sector when it warned of the consequences of the cut in funding.”
“<BR /> <BR />That disastrous decision by the British Government has plunged many community and voluntary sector organisations into crisis, with many now facing closure. As many as 650 front-line staff now face redundancy, with many thousands more vulnerable people having those vital services ripped away from them. Despite the many months of campaigning by Sinn Féin and others, the British Government refused to back down and reinstate the funding. Instead, shamefully, they choose to prioritise funding weapons of war, announcing, only this week, a £50 million support package to the defence industry, calling it, ironically, or maybe not — maybe it is just gaslighting — the "defence growth fund".”
“<BR /> <BR />Last year, the British Government announced that they were scrapping the Shared Prosperity Fund, which was a major source of funding to organisations that supported vulnerable people to find and sustain employment, and said that it would be replaced by the local growth fund. Under EU membership, the North received, on average, £40 million a year from the European social fund to support those vital employment programmes. This year, under the local growth fund, the North will receive only £9·2 million, which represents a huge cut in funding. In addition to the cut in funding, the British Government changed the funding model to one that focused heavily on capital funding, which is completely useless for most of our community organisations.”
“I start by thanking the Members for tabling the motion on the local growth fund. <BR /> <BR />At the time of the Brexit referendum in 2016, Sinn Féin warned that leaving the EU would inevitably mean the loss of EU funding, which would be catastrophic for the North. The British Government dismissed those warnings as scare tactics and promised that all lost EU funding would be replaced in full. However, the British Government never intended to keep their promise, and, as expected by anyone with an ounce of sense, they have cruelly slashed funding for essential services that had formerly been funded by the EU.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.”
“Instead, he seeks to suppress it and to make it invisible. He will also fail in that.”
“Instead of promoting the Irish language, the Minister has embroiled himself in multiple court cases on Irish language signage in Grand Central station and in the Belfast City Council area, which recently failed. He has removed Irish language logos from his Department's branding, blocked increased funding for the Irish language, failed to bring forward an Irish language strategy and failed to support the key Place-Name Project. The Minister has tried again today to claim that it is not his responsibility, and, once again, he has failed. The fact that it is his responsibility is evidenced not only by his letter to me in April but by a letter from his Department in 2022 accepting that he is responsible for funding it. The Minister's strategy is not to promote or to develop the Irish language.”
“Shamefully, the Members opposite cheer those partisan funding allocations.”
“I will raise the issue of the collapse of the Place-Name Project on the watch of the Minister for Communities. Continued funding of £90,000 per annum for that project would mean only a fraction of the funding that the Minister has announced for his pet projects. He is a Minister who can spend over £700,000 on musical instruments for marching bands; a further £100,000 to cover bands' travel expenses; £425,000 on American independence celebrations; and £40,000 on Belfast Orangefest”
“You have shown us today how we can create a better society and how inclusion, respect and rights can create a better future for us all.”
“, at its core, this is an equality Bill. It delivers real and tangible rights to a minority community, members of which have been victims of discrimination for far too long. The Bill will ensure that they are seen, listened to and given the space to reach their full potential and fully engage in our society. I accept that many challenges remain in delivering full equality for the deaf community, and we must continue to do everything that we can to make that a reality, but the passage of the Bill is a huge leap forward in achieving that goal, and that is certainly worth celebrating. <BR /> <BR />I not only praise but thank the deaf community. Yours has been a story of resilience and resistance, stoicism and solidarity, community and creativity.”
“I very much welcome the provision of free sign language classes for children and young people up to the age of 25 and their families. I welcome the addition at Consideration Stage of charged classes for adults. Public services should be accessible to everyone on the basis of full equality. The Bill places a duty on the Department to properly consult members of the deaf community in relation to the drafting of guidance and best practice documents and the development of regulations. I thank the Department for working closely with the Committee to strengthen that part of the Bill to ensure that at least two or more groups or individuals are consulted, thus cementing the principle of co-design in the Bill. <BR /> <BR />A chairde”