Andrew Muir
North Down · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. As Minister, I am grateful to the Chair of the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee and to Members from all sides of the Chamber for their consideration of the Bill and their contributions to the debate, which have been valuable and useful.”
“I will write to you with regard to your query. <BR /> <BR />The other issue, as I said, is reporting pollution incidents so that they can be effectively investigated. There is a duty on everyone to do that promptly.”
“Aquaculture provides real economic opportunities, and the Bill will help ensure that those opportunities are realised responsibly without compromising the environment. Importantly, the Bill includes transitional provisions so that existing licences can continue seamlessly as aquaculture licences, with their conditions unchanged.”
“That is not about being punitive for its own sake; it is about ensuring that the legal framework reflects the true value of our natural resources and the importance of protecting them for future generations.”
“<BR /> <BR />On strengthening the regulation of inland waters, the Bill modernises long-standing powers under the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966, ensuring that they are fit for today's environmental and industry challenges. That matters because fisheries management today goes far beyond simply catching fish.”
“<BR /> <BR />A full regulatory impact assessment of the financial impact has been completed. It concluded that the Bill does not introduce significant new financial burdens and that any costs are outweighed by the long-term benefits.”
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“It is important that that is provided, but we should also consider the knock-on impact and ensure safe access and ingress to that park-and-ride, particularly at peak times when people are accessing or going through it. This is an important issue. For me, the first concern is always safety, including safe crossings on the road. It is important that that issue is considered. <BR /> <BR />I do not want to delay the House or the Minister for too long. I thank the Member for bringing the debate to the Chamber.”
“I came back to the town for a cup of coffee and could see the issues. <BR /> <BR />As other Members have outlined, this is not purely about a bypass, which is one of the things being advocated, but about safe crossings for pedestrians on the main thoroughfare through the town. That is the key issue that needs to be considered. Throughout all my visits to Moira, there has been an issue with being able to safely cross the road with a significant volume of traffic, including HGVs, trying to make its way through the town. That needs to be considered. <BR /> <BR />The improvement of public transport, which must be the first response to any issues with traffic congestion, must also be considered. The other issue relates to a park-and-ride.”
“I speak not only as a member of the Alliance Party and its representative but as someone with an interest and perhaps something of an understanding about the matter. That understanding goes back to when I started with Translink in 2006. We were encouraged to do a sponsored walk — I agreed to this — from Portadown to Belfast. By the time I got to Belfast, I could barely walk. We went through Moira, and I could see that the congestion issues in the town were significant. A number of years subsequent to that, in 2018, I took myself for a marathon run from Portadown to Belfast. I did that in 3 hours and 30 minutes. Going through the town, I saw that the traffic situation was just the same, if not worse. A few weeks ago, I was in the town and ran on to the towpath at Broad Water to Aghalee.”
“I apologise to the House for being late for the statement; the Minister is moving too fast. The statement outlined information on approval for the business case for the Lough Erne pilgrimage trail, which, I understand, will link up to a wider heritage trail that will run all the way to the great town of Bangor. Will the Minister provide an update on the Lough Erne aspect of that?”
“I agree with the Member. Will she agree that seeing the recommendations enacted requires funding and that prevention is better than cure when it comes to health? Funding high-speed rail links between Derry, Belfast, Dublin and Cork and all the other things will require intervention as part of the three-year Budget settlement that is coming forward.”
“I look forward to the Minister's response.”
“We have talked an awful lot about electric, but I had the pleasure of meeting representatives of Hydrogen NI last week. That is something that we need to be looking for, but it has to be green hydrogen: grey hydrogen should not be acceptable. There has to be green hydrogen, and that requires us to improve the infrastructure across Northern Ireland, particularly in regard to public transport and the logistics industry. That will help us power a decarbonised future. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the report. It is good that we can come together in the Chamber to constructively debate these things.”
“That is why a coordinated, joined-up strategy is needed. I agree with the Member about the energy strategy. Where is it? We need to see the strategy for many different reasons, not just for today but because of the cost-of-living crisis. <BR /> <BR />I very conscious of two issues about electric vehicles. The first concerns how substances are sourced for the production of electric vehicles in an environmentally sustainable way and ensuring that good labour practices are observed. The second is about how we deal with waste from electric vehicles. The industry is not doing very well in that regard — it is actually doing appallingly — and needs to do much better in how it sources the materials and how it disposes of them. <BR /> <BR />The last area is hydrogen.”
“I entirely agree with the Member. The worst thing about having an electric vehicle is not being able to charge it when it needs charged. It is a nightmare. That fear puts a lot of people off even considering an electric vehicle. There are many examples in Northern Ireland of people turning up to the charger and it not working. That needs to be resolved. <BR /> <BR />The issue about how the market is regulated and the pricing of the market needs to be considered. The ESB network is currently free of charge. We need to move to a system in which there is a charge. Let us be honest: if the charger is free of charge, where is people's disincentive to take their vehicle away after a period? Many people leave it there for hours, during which time other people cannot access the charger. Those issues need to be addressed.”
“Part of that is about providing interest-free loans for people who want to take up using an electric vehicle. Furthermore, I presented a public petition to the Minister last month about the need for a joined-up strategy to drive improvements in the charging infrastructure. We really need that. The recent announcement by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) about new chargers, as well as the announcements from EasyGo and other providers, are therefore welcome.”
“A number of the report's findings and recommendations touch on electric vehicle charging infrastructure. It is important that the recommendations be taken forward, particularly the ones on the used EV market. One of the biggest barriers to people's taking up of electric vehicles is the charging infrastructure. The cost of the vehicles is also an issue. The Committee recently heard evidence about how other jurisdictions have dealt with that. In Norway, for example, the cost of buying an electric vehicle is on a par with that of buying a petrol or diesel car. Intervention from the UK Government on taxation policy would be required so that people could consider that for here. The Alliance Party is clear about our support for electric vehicles and the decarbonisation of transport in our green new deal.”
“We also have to be realistic if we are going to call for investment in active travel. That will require taking difficult decisions about where we are going to put infrastructure in order to ensure that people have safe and sustainable travel routes. There is therefore a real need to look forward. The Alliance Party has been very clear that we need an active travel commissioner to drive forward that change, because substantial change is required. <BR /> <BR />I have been working with the Electric Vehicle Association Northern Ireland (EVANI), as have many others in the Chamber, for a long time. I genuinely appreciate the work that it has been doing to make electric vehicles more accessible to people in Northern Ireland. It has delivered quite significant achievements, as can be seen from recent announcements.”
“I welcome the announcements that have been made to date about the full electrification of the urban fleet in the city of Derry/Londonderry and the further roll-out of hydrogen vehicles, but we must go further and fund Translink properly to deliver services on the ground in the here and now. We must also fund its plan to move to climate positive by 2050. <BR /> <BR />The report highlights the immediate impact that enhancements of active travel could have on transport. That is important. I welcome the actions that the Minister took last year on a walking and cycling champion, but, realistically, we need to invest an awful lot more in active travel in Northern Ireland. We are right down at the bottom of the investment league table when compared with the rest of the UK and Ireland.”
“One of the quickest and simplest ways in which to enact the report would be through funding Translink's plan for the decarbonisation of its road transport: remember that Translink is road and rail. Its clear plan is to move to net zero by 2040 and then to climate positive by 2050, but the reality, as we debate the motion today, is that we have a funding issue with Translink. There are questions about whether it will be able to be a going concern as a result of the non-allocation of funds during October monitoring. Although we are having the debate today, we need to be realistic. If we want people to move to decarbonised road transport, we need to fund our main public transport provider in Northern Ireland, which is Translink.”
“This has been a good-natured and constructive debate — for a change. Hopefully, I can contribute to that. From the perspective of the Alliance Party, the time to tackle the climate emergency is quickly running out. My party and I welcome the report, and, hopefully, the House will agree it.”
“A 2020 Positive Life survey found that 22% of people in Northern Ireland would not approve of someone with HIV looking after their child and 39% would not approve of a family member dating someone with HIV. The same survey also found that 71% of people believe that we need to do more in schools to improve understanding of HIV and sexual health. We need to advocate for modern and positive understanding of HIV with age-appropriate relationships and sexuality education at the core so that we can move away from harmful and outdated views. Put simply, we must get serious about HIV. <BR /> <BR />In closing, I quote the slogan for World AIDS Day 2021:”
“<BR /> <BR />It is also important to note that Northern Ireland has the highest levels of HIV-related stigma anywhere on these islands. According to the charity Positive Life, we lag 10 to 15 years behind other parts of the UK in how we, as a society, view HIV and those impacted. The fact that we do not have a strategy guided by targets and with ring-fenced funding in place to support a long-term vision makes it even more difficult to play catch-up with this. <BR /> <BR />HIV and stigma is not one Department's responsibility; it requires an approach that is cross-cutting and covers key areas including education, health, employment, civic society and others.”
“I take the opportunity to highlight World AIDS Day, which will take place on Wednesday and is the biggest opportunity each year to raise awareness of HIV and show solidarity with those affected. <BR /> <BR />In Northern Ireland, we have seen hugely significant advances over recent years, including the availability of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medicine, the Undetectable Equals Untransmittable campaign and the work of committed local charities. According to the latest available figures, 1,123 people live with HIV in Northern Ireland. In 2019, there were 52 new diagnoses, a 35% drop from 80 in the previous year. Whilst those figures are positive, the absence of a HIV action plan or sexual health strategy for Northern Ireland means that there is no way to guarantee that they are part of a sustained, long-term decline.”
“It is important that we safeguard those and go forward with proper scrutiny of the legislation, but I am conscious of the timescale. There are only a number of weeks left in the mandate, and councils are legally obliged to strike their rate in February.”
“I urge the Committee to make good on its commitment to make sure that the Committee Stage is expedited and the Bill comes back to the House for Consideration Stage within the statutory time frame, which ends on 25 January. <BR /> <BR />I will also reiterate that, as we are potentially moving to Committee Stage, arrangements should be put in place for those who are not on the Finance Committee to receive briefings on the legislation to ensure that any debate at Consideration Stage and Further Consideration Stage is informed by the information and facts associated with the issue. It is a complex issue, and there are different views on it, but there is a key financial risk for households, businesses and Northern Ireland's public finances.”
“After an unprecedented 20 months, it is vital that the Minister can provide support to those who, due to COVID-related rates relief, have yet to feel the pinch as a result of the new measures. We are all aware of the cliff edge that businesses face in April 2022, when the current rates relief for many sectors is due to end. We need to ensure that a transitional relief scheme is ready for businesses so that we do not lose any more of them as a result of the impact of COVID-19. <BR /> <BR />If the Bill passes the Second Stage today, it will move to Committee Stage. I will reiterate the comments that I made at the debate associated with accelerated passage. My party supported accelerated passage; the House did not. I note that decision. I clearly outlined the reasons for our support, but we are where we are.”
“We must act quickly to ensure that the Bill passes before the end of the Assembly mandate to provide some certainty about the rates base for councils and businesses, which, no doubt, will be following our debate today. <BR /> <BR />I reiterate the need for the Finance Minister to make good on the commitment in the explanatory and financial memorandum to introduce rates relief for those hit hard by COVID-19. Those businesses often align with those that were hit hard by Reval2020. The impact of that has not been felt yet due to the relief that was granted. Just before the pandemic, I met businesses that were affected by Reval2020 and their representative trade bodies. They expressed genuine concerns that some businesses may struggle as a result of Reval2020.”
“With that in mind, they will need to make financial preparations to cover the cost, increasing rates to ensure that they will have the money to cover successful claims and to continue to provide essential services. That risks hitting households that are struggling with the soaring cost of living and local businesses, just as they are struggling to recover, with even higher rates bills. The implication for the regional rate has not been mentioned today, but clearly it is an additional risk. <BR /> <BR />The Alliance Party will support the Bill in the hope that passage through the Assembly will prevent any further increase in rates for businesses that have already been hit hard throughout the pandemic. Our counterparts in Westminster and Scotland are progressing similar legislation, and it is important that we do the same.”
“The past 20 months have been an incredibly difficult time for local businesses, which have faced huge uncertainty, financial worries and a range of restrictions throughout the pandemic. It is important that we acknowledge the hardships that many businesses have faced and the strain that that has put on business owners and staff. <BR /> <BR />The situation that we find ourselves in risks putting additional financial pressure on local businesses and, indeed, on households. As things stand, councils considering their rate-setting process, which must be concluded in February of next year, will be aware of the risk of significant payouts being needed for thousands of non-domestic properties on the basis of appeals due to COVID-19.”
“I am continuing, Mr Wells. <BR /> <BR />— over recess to ensure that when we come back here on what is scheduled to be 25 January for Consideration Stage, we are able to move at pace with the Bill. <BR /> <BR />As a result of my and other parties not having representatives on the Finance Committee, the issue again arises of access to papers and briefings on the legislation. I encourage not only the Assembly institutions but the Department to take into account the briefing of parties on issues associated with the Bill. <BR /> <BR />Hopefully, I have outlined respectfully my view and that of my party on the issues. As a result, despite having concerns, we will support accelerated passage because we understand the implications associated with not doing that.”
“I am also concerned about the financial implications of not acting. A sum of £255 million is money that we can ill afford to lose. It is a significant risk to our budgets and is something that we have to take into account. <BR /> <BR />I am sensing in the Chamber that if accelerated passage is not granted, the Bill will move through the standard procedure. On that basis, the Committee Stage is 30 working days. I encourage the Committee, on which we do not have a member, to complete its deliberations within those 30 working days —”
“No, I am going to continue. <BR /> <BR />I am also conscious of the fact that councils will have to strike their non-domestic and domestic rates in February. Whilst dissolution is on the horizon in March, in February we will have councils having to strike their rates with this issue and with the risk associated with valuations hanging over them. I have real concerns about where councils will be placed when striking rates if accelerated passage is not granted. <BR /> <BR />I am also conscious that similar legislation is passing through Westminster and is due to be passed in Scotland. I am conscious of the concerns that have been expressed about the Bill. Those, perhaps, are for discussion at Second Stage. I am reading through concerns that were expressed in, for example, Scotland.”
“The window for the Assembly's being dissolved and our moving into the election period is getting shorter and shorter. <BR /> <BR />I am struggling to think of situations when extensions to Committee Stages were not sought. That seems to be the norm in this place. There is obviously a rationale for that, but I am conscious of the risks associated with a Committee Stage that gets extended. I am also conscious of the fact —.”
“We are, first of all, debating whether to grant accelerated passage to the Bill, and then we will move to its Second Stage once we have concluded that, so my comments will focus on whether we should grant accelerated passage. <BR /> <BR />It has been said that the Executive agreed the Bill and accelerated passage, but that is important for me and my party in considering the issue today. Hopefully, I will be able to outline some matters that aided me and my party in coming to our position on whether to agree to grant accelerated passage. So far, it has been a respectful debate, and, hopefully, that will continue. <BR /> <BR />There are a couple to issues to bear in mind. One is that the window between now and the dissolution of the Assembly is closing. It is not a matter of many months but actually of weeks.”
“Does the Minister agree that, in discussions about funding, prevention is sometimes much better than cure? Looking at public health around Northern Ireland, we see that we need to embrace funding for cleaner alternatives.”
“I thank the Minister for her response. I find it incredible that, just a few weeks after COP26, we in this place are debating funding for water and sewerage infrastructure and also for public transport. In the Minister's recent correspondence with the Infrastructure Committee, she said that the impact of the lack of funding on Translink's financial resilience and on the organisation as a going concern were major concerns for the board.”
“I welcome the Minister's review. For the review to be fully effective, it needs to attract the widest possible support. Is the Minister amenable to meeting the key sporting organisations to get their views before the review is finalised and published? Does she agree that the police also have a key role to play in this and reviewing their stance in relation to special events?”
“I welcome the Minister's statement and the proposals she set out. My immediate thoughts today are with those families that have been unable to give a Christian burial to their loved ones, particularly the Murray and Dorrian families. Running through Castle Park in Bangor yesterday afternoon, I saw a bench and flowers to remember Lisa, but still no body has been recovered and no funeral has been possible. Will the Minister join me in calling for anyone with any information whatsoever to come forward with that today? No more delay. Bring that information forward, whether to the police or Crimestoppers, to ensure that the families can have peace.”
“I thank the Minister for his reply. This is crucial with regard to the three-year Budget ahead. As the Minister said, the lion's share will go to the Department of Health, but I am also conscious that it is five years since the Bengoa report was published, and the enactment of those reforms has been slow. Is consideration being given to tying the increased funding to the Department of Health to the requirement to enact those necessary reforms in order to ensure that patients across Northern Ireland get the quality care that they deserve?”
“The Minister is now clear that we have a multi-year Budget ahead of us. As part of that, there is an uplift in capital funding. I have a concern about our ability to spend that effectively given that, this year, there is still capital funding that is unspent. What more does the Minister intend to do to ensure that the capital funding for the multi-year Budget will be spent effectively? Can the Minister provide an update on the infrastructure commission, which the Executive agreed to establish?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. It is good to see east-west relations being strengthened as a result of the British-Irish Council. It is also important that North/South meetings are able to occur. <BR /> <BR />What engagement has the Minister had with the Minister for the Economy, the Utility Regulator and NIE on EV charging? One of the issues that I am seeing is the provision of sufficient electricity supply for those EV chargers. The inability to get sufficient electricity supply is holding back the roll-out of those chargers across Northern Ireland. What engagement has the Minister had to address that?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question has already been asked.”
“I thank the deputy First Minister for her statement. It is important to acknowledge the lifelong pain and trauma that many have endured. Is a timescale envisaged for the apology? The apology is an important thing, but it has to be done correctly, and an understanding of the timescale for that is important.”
“The solutions are in front of us, and the answer is very clear: we now need, urgently, to step up and take the decisive action that was dodged at COP26.”
“Beyond that point, catastrophic impacts, such as sea level rises and more intense and frequent natural disasters, will be unleashed, with those who are least responsible for the climate emergency being impacted on most by the consequences of the changing climate. <BR /> <BR />Put simply, we cannot afford any more missed opportunities. After so many squandered years of denial, distraction and delay, Northern Ireland must set a stronger example by putting in place a climate change Act, as well as a green new deal that integrates economic and social transformation with the measures required to address the climate emergency. Climate adaptation should not be seen as a threat. Rather, it should be seen as an opportunity to create thousands of new green jobs.”
“I express my and my party's deep concern about the outcome of COP26. After two weeks of negotiations, the Glasgow climate pact, with all its restrained and diplomatic language, is weak and insufficient. COP26 has been yet another missed opportunity. We now face a fight for survival. Put simply, it is a cop-out. <BR /> <BR />While some progress was made at the climate conference, the commitments fall well short of what is required to limit temperature rise to 1·5°C by the end of the century. New projections from the Climate Action Tracker show that, even with all the COP26 pledges being met, the planet is on track to warm by between 2·1°C and 2·4°C if only the proposed 2030 targets are met.”
“Ivan Cooper, who was at that event, is no longer with us. John Hume is no longer with us. At the end of the event, a very powerful tune was sung, which still resonates with the challenges that we face as a society today. It was 'We Shall Overcome'.”
“He really was a trailblazer in his time, and he set up the SDLP, along with others, in 1970. As Members have said, he won a seat for Fine Gael, served in the Irish Parliament and Government and could claim to have served in both parts of Ireland as a Minister, as the Minister of Housing, Local Government and Planning in the power-sharing executive of 1974 and as a Minister in the South. <BR /> <BR />He will be remembered for his fearless and immense courage and for being a giant of the civil rights movement. Hearing the news of his passing and reading the newspaper reports over the weekend of his funeral reminded me of the fiftieth anniversary of the civil rights movement in the Guildhall in 2018. I was very honoured and privileged to be at that event, and it makes me recall that so many of those giants in our history are gone.”
“On behalf of the Alliance Party, I offer my sincere and profound condolences to Austin's family, friends and party colleagues. I did not know Austin Currie personally. From reading his autobiography, 'All Hell Will Break Loose', however, I know that he was a man of immense courage. He was a man who, along with others, led the Northern Ireland civil rights movement, beginning with his squatting in a house in Caledon, which Nichola Mallon described. Some people ask me why the Housing Executive and the points-based housing allocation system exist. Events such as that evoke memories of the case for change and of why we needed to transform Northern Ireland into a more equal place. <BR /> <BR />Austin was elected to this place, in the old Stormont, at, I understand, the age of 24. That makes me feel much older.”
“Images of buses being hijacked and burned evoke memories of a plaque in Laganside bus centre that records the names of all the bus drivers who were killed during the Troubles. Only by the grace of God has someone not been killed or seriously injured in the recent incidents. <BR /> <BR />Does the Minister agree that the only thing that needs to come from the House is complete solidarity with our bus drivers and zero tolerance of criminality? Does she also agree that what we need right now is political leadership, with the word "but" removed from our dictionary, complete condemnation of what has been happening and a toning down of the rhetoric outside the Chamber?”
“<BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I echo two things: the first is that opposition is not the utopia that some people sell it as. These institutions are built on power-sharing, and we need to reflect that and remember it. I also offer my condolences, as I have done personally, to Peter on the loss of his mother.”
“Following on from my previous comments, I encourage that that recommendation be given considerable attention and that we ensure that Standing Orders are updated before the end of the current mandate. Failure to do so could result in a situation where, subsequent to the forthcoming election, any parties that wished to form an official Opposition and avail themselves of the opposition legislation would be inhibited because Standing Orders did not match the law of the land. <BR /> <BR />We are now months away from the end of the Assembly mandate. It is vital that we act now to ensure that matters are updated to reflect the recommendations in the AERC report and that any party may choose to form an official Opposition when the Assembly returns next spring and will have adequate guidance, representation, resources and finance.”
“Other Standing Orders need to be developed to reflect the 2016 Act, with 10 sections of the Act not currently reflected in our Standing Orders. <BR /> <BR />Recommendation 5 states:”
“We acknowledge that all parties in the House have different views on a number of big issues. It is worthwhile to note the difficulties that could arise in the formation of an Opposition comprising more than one party. <BR /> <BR />It is deeply frustrating that we still await the updating of Standing Orders in relation to all aspects of what I would consider to be John McCallister's 2016 Act, to make provision, for example, for an annual debate on the Executive's legislative timescale. That means that, although legislation has been passed, it has not been reflected in Standing Orders and does not currently take place. An annual debate, for example, on the Executive's legislative timescale would be useful to ensure that we are focused on passing legislation that is improving our society and moving Northern Ireland forward.”
“<BR /> <BR />Whilst the Alliance Party supports the motion, it is important that we recognise that Northern Ireland is still a post-conflict society and power-sharing is vital. I also note that the idea of an official Opposition is not a utopia, and, in many instances, the practicalities are very different from what we were led to believe. <BR /> <BR />Recommendation 4 states:”