Sinéad McLaughlin
Foyle · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“After decades of silence, being believed matters; having your experience acknowledged matters; and knowing that society finally accepts the truth matters deeply. That is what, I hope, the legislation provides. <BR /> <BR />Throughout the process, I wanted to ensure that, where we could strengthen the Bill, we did.”
“Today is an important day because it is a day of accountability. I welcome to the Gallery all of the birth mothers, all of the adult adoptees and all of their family members. I thank everyone who has journeyed with you and loved you throughout the process.”
“As time passed, I believed that the original figure no longer reflected the recognition as strongly as it should have done, so I was pleased that Members from across the Chamber supported that amendment.”
“Behind every clause is a person; behind every amendment is someone's lived experience; and behind every decision that we make in the Chamber are people who have spent years carrying the consequences of decisions that they never made. That is why the legislation is so important.”
“It is often Members who receive the attention in debates such as this, but good legislation depends on the dedication and expertise of many people working quietly in the background. Today, we complete the legislative journey, but we should not pretend that justice begins and ends with the passing of a Bill.”
“We are here because survivors refused to accept that their stories would remain untold. We are here because they never stopped asking for what should never have been so difficult to receive in the first place: recognition, dignity and justice.”
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“I thank the Minister for his answer. We have heard from the Children's Law Centre that 97% of special educational needs appeals have been successful, which has led to claims that there is disability discrimination in the system. That is a serious issue. What action is the Minister taking to resolve that matter? Many children with genuine need are routinely rejected by the assessment process.”
“Thank you for your intervention, Minister. This is a cross-departmental crisis. Every single Minister has a duty to implement changes that will help to decarbonise our economy. I, too, have concerns about charging points, and I have spoken and written to the Minister for Infrastructure about that. It is a cross-departmental issue.”
“Those conversions will need to use technologies that work, such as heat pumps, district heating schemes, solar panels and the electrification of heating systems backed by energy efficiency improvements. <BR /> <BR />Tackling the climate crisis is one of the most difficult tasks that faces our Administration, but none is more urgent or important.”
“Frankly, all of that is quite unbelievable. <BR /> <BR />I will certainly support the Bill today, but the Bill and our vote mean nothing unless our Ministers act much faster than they have until now. That means that the Minister for Communities must ensure that the Housing Executive and housing associations have realistic and achievable plans for retrofitting our social housing stock. Her Department's programmes should stop financing the replacement of oil boilers with gas boilers. The same is true of the Economy Minister. To cut not only carbon emissions but fuel poverty, the focus must be on energy efficiency. The Economy Minister must, with the backing of the whole of the Executive, come forward with proposals to retrofit homes across all tenures, as well as proposals for financing that retrofitting.”
“<BR /> <BR />Britain is looking to replace its natural gas, but Northern Ireland continues to invest heavily in the gas network, with £66 million of financial support coming from the Government in recent years to expand the network in Northern Ireland. Although natural gas emits less carbon than oil — I will give it that — it remains a serious carbon emitter, and it is a fossil fuel. That is why England is seeking to make significant progress in moving away from the use of natural gas over the next four years. Despite that, the Northern Ireland Minister for the Economy seems to be giving serious consideration to new gas exploration and extraction in Fermanagh, and the Utility Regulator still has a statutory duty to promote gas as an energy source while not having a duty to promote energy efficiency.”
“Theoretically, hydrogen could replace natural gas in homes that are connected to the gas network. That option is currently favoured by gas companies. Remember that there have been numerous complaints, including in the University of Exeter report, that the gas industry has been too influential in making energy policy in Northern Ireland. At present, the use of hydrogen on this scale is largely theoretical, without evidence that it can work on the scale required. Nor do we have the scale of renewable electricity that is necessary to dedicate much of it to the production of green hydrogen to replace natural gas.”
“Green hydrogen is produced from renewable electricity, but the process is not energy-efficient, because much of the energy value is lost in the process of converting electricity to hydrogen. It is clean, however. On the other hand, blue hydrogen uses electricity from fossil fuels, which is neither energy-efficient nor clean, unless the carbon that is emitted is captured and stored, but the Department for the Economy says that our landscape is not suited to carbon capture and storage.”
“Not everyone listening to the debate will know the difference between green and blue hydrogen. I admit, hands up, that I was one of those people not so very long ago, so let me explain.”
“Those figures should give us all a little bit of food for thought. <BR /> <BR />Then we have the vast number of privately owned rented homes. Some of them are in much worse condition. Yet there is precious little sign that Departments, their officials and, sadly, the Ministers have got to grips with the scale of the challenge. So, I congratulate the Irish Government, which are expected to announce plans very shortly under which homeowners will have access to state-backed loans in order to make properties energy efficient. <BR /> <BR />In place of a realistic solution, our Department for the Economy seems to have adopted a policy of hope and delay. The draft energy strategy includes many optimistic references to the use of green hydrogen to heat our homes.”
“<BR /> <BR />Unfortunately, the strategy says very little about how to do that, and the Finance Minister's Budget says even less. Retrofitting homes to make them energy efficient is a massive challenge. Many of our homes leak heat. Many do not have cavity wall insulation and much of the existing cavity wall insulation is old and needs replacing. Windows need replacing, insulation needs to be installed, dry lining needs to go on walls and, of course, the heating systems need to be replaced, ending a reliance on the fossil fuels of oil and gas. That is an expensive set of improvements. On average, it is likely to cost in and around £20,000 per home. In some homes, it will cost up to £50,000, yet some of the homes in my constituency of Derry have a market value of £80,000 or less.”
“I support the Climate Change Bill in all its parts. <BR /> <BR />No one can overstate or overestimate the magnitude of the climate problems that we collectively face. Decarbonising our economy requires action right across most of our lives and will impact on every industry, including power, agriculture and travel, to name but a few. <BR /> <BR />Amid the vast number of issues impacted by climate change, I want to look at one to illustrate the importance of the task at hand. I want to discuss one of the biggest challenges of all, and that is heating our homes. According to the Department for the Economy's draft energy strategy, we need to retrofit 50,000 homes a year in Northern Ireland in order to make them energy efficient so that we can meet our net zero obligations by 2050.”
“I want to touch on the high street voucher scheme as well. There are many variables involved. Has your Department done an impact assessment of how the scheme is going to benefit the overall economy? How will we recognise whether it has been a success or a failure? I do not suspect that it will be a failure, but how we do measure its success? If your Department has done such an assessment, will you publish it?”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answers so far. Given the flexibility of Zoom, will you commit today to meeting representatives of the students' unions so that they can discuss their situation with COVID supports?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. It is clear that she is as concerned as I am. Does the Minister agree that, regardless of whether it is on this issue or the DUP Minister messing about on other issues, the DUP is the common factor? Whether or not they agree with the protocol, its Ministers have to fulfil their legal duties.”
“However, I am confident that the matter is now in hand, and I look forward to hearing from the Minister towards the end of this debate.”
“My biggest regret is that when the scheme actually got the final green light to go ahead back in 2016, the institutions collapsed in early 2017. As a result of it not commencing at that stage, we are now facing further challenges and delays on this scheme. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I hope all Members might be able to agree that we have the right Minister, in the right position, who will seek to move this project forward with due diligence and determination to ensure that it is delivered properly both for citizens and the environment. Much valuable time has been lost in progressing this project over many years. Inheriting problematic schemes is never an enviable position for any Minister to be in, and this scheme has been problematic. It has been on the books for 14 years, as we have heard, and our Minister has been in place for 14 months.”
“<BR /> <BR />The A5 is an absolute priority for the SDLP as a strategic road scheme, and I do not think that anyone would dare question my colleague Dan McCrossan's doggedness, tenacity and passion on the issue, but we need to do it right, because too many mistakes have been made in the past.”
“Too many of my constituents' families have been bereaved because of this dangerous road, and the slow journey times have played a significant role in others dying because it takes so long to get to any of the major hospitals in either Derry or Enniskillen. All Members will also agree that the A5 scheme will significantly boost connectivity, connecting the north-west and the west to Dublin and Belfast alike. The scheme will be a major boost to local economies and will be a vital catalyst in attracting jobs to and creating jobs in the wider north-west area.”
“The history of mistakes at key moments of the scheme has been well and truly discussed over many, many years. In my past life as chief executive of a Chamber of Commerce, I gave evidence to support the scheme progressing. <BR /> <BR />Another thing that we can all agree on is that the current A5 is not fit for purpose and needs to be upgraded. It cannot be overstated enough — I make no apologies for repeating what others have said — that the current A5 is one of the most dangerous roads on this island, with countless lives lost as a result. Far too many people have died on the road over far too many years.”
“All Members in this debate can agree on one thing: the A5 scheme has been plagued by setback after setback. Back in 2007, the new A5 road scheme was championed as the flagship peace-dividend project attracting cross-border government funding. As we have heard many times in the House this evening, in the past 14 years, not one metre of road has been built, despite huge amounts of money being spent on design schemes, multiple public inquiries and five Ministers working towards the development of the scheme. <BR /> <BR />There has been a lot of finger-pointing over the years about the lack of progress on this project, and, indeed, a lot of lessons should have been learned by our roads authority, as the scheme is the perfect example of how not to do road planning, community consultation, environmental impact assessments etc.”
“Thank you very much for your answer. Minister, you will appreciate that the sooner the decision is made, the better for our students. <BR /> <BR />GCSE students have reported a significant increase in the number of assessments and exams that they are facing. Do you agree that that is a huge pressure on students who are already feeling the pressure of the pandemic on their mental health? Will daily support be given to those students in schools?”
“I thank the First Minister for her answer. Now that she is quite well aware of the distress that not appointing someone to attend that meeting has caused to the House generally, will she assure the House that Minister Dodds will attend the meeting that is due to take place later this week, or might we learn of some excuse now as to why that, too, would be impossible?”
“It means that they must now be ultra-careful to avoid their phone automatically switching networks and being hit by high roaming charges. <BR /> <BR />Until the end of last year, EU regulations prevented mobile phone companies in any EU country imposing high charges or charges for using a phone outside the UK. That protection ended on 1 January. Roaming charges now vary between mobile phone companies, placing a burden on the consumer to know the situation. I stress that that particularly hits those who live in border areas — people who were ignored too often throughout the Brexit referendum debate. <BR /> <BR />Remember the phrase "Project Fear", which was used whenever any of us who opposed Brexit warned of the possible impacts, including on phone roaming charges? Well, this is what "Project Fear" really looks like. This is the reality.”
“<BR /> <BR />The credit card companies say that this increase is not their fault and that they are just making up ground for what they regard as unfair controls on their fees that were imposed by the European Union. Another way of saying that is that our constituents have been helped for years by the strong consumer protection that we lost as a result of Brexit. A lot has been said on this issue today, and I support most of what has been said, so there is no need for me to repeat it. However, it is not just about card transaction charges. Consumers, or constituents, have also lost protection against high mobile phone roaming charges and data roaming. For many people who live on the border, it is not just about going on holiday.”
“If anyone had any doubt that the impact of Brexit would be to increase the burden on commerce, the costs for the consumer and the profits of some businesses, here it is. I say to the Members opposite that no amount of gaslighting or deflection will wish away the result of Brexit. I am reminded of the fairytale where the emperor wears no clothes. The charges imposed for many of my constituents who use their cards to shop a couple of miles away across the border will rise fivefold later this year. Visa has said that its change will affect only 5% of consumer transactions. The problem for Derry, and other border areas, is that it will affect perhaps 75% of people. That is my guess as to how many people in my area go across the border at some point in a normal month.”
“Minister, would it not be prudent for your Department to suspend the promotion of fossil fuels at this particular time? Such fuels have been devalued in our long-term development plans. We need to lead Northern Ireland to that green new energy and to meet the commitments of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate. Are we not really wasting time now promoting those fossil fuels? Should we not be moving much more quickly to green new energy?”
“Despite our differences, today, we offer our respect and thoughts together. We are one society whatever our differences. We can come together in sadness, dignity and also hope — the hope that we have embodied in the Good Friday Agreement and that we need to reflect on at this dangerous time. The Queen and Prince Philip helped to solidify the peace achieved in the Good Friday Agreement”
“Across this island, in the South as well as the North, people have paused to consider the life of Prince Philip in its historical context and how much has changed in our society during his lifetime and, indeed, ours. Prince Philip has had a full and controversial life but not always a happy one. We remember him as a fellow human being, a man who was greatly loved and whom we mourn together. We are all mortal. We have a shared experience of life and death. As the poet John Donne said:”
“I wish to add my condolences on the death of Prince Philip. His engagement with young people right across our communities provides an example to our society that should be recognised, especially at this dangerous moment. Despite losing his uncle to an IRA bomb, he continued to visit here on many occasions in the spirit of friendship and reconciliation. That culminated in the successful state visit by the Queen, accompanied by her husband, in 2011. That is the sprit of reconciliation that all in the Assembly and in society can recognise as being of enormous value as we continue to emerge from the dark shadow of our past. It is a past that it seems that we have yet to escape from. <BR /> <BR />People not only from the unionist tradition but across much of our society are in mourning for Prince Philip's death.”
“Let us take the oxygen away from them and invest in a good education system in which we support our young people in a better life.”
“We need to put an end to the zero-sum politics that prevail among us. We need to give our young people hope for a better future, create a more equal and just society, move beyond segregated communities, create good jobs and ensure that people in our poorest communities benefit from those opportunities. Unemployment and deprivation are recruitment agents for paramilitarism.”
“Its members become rich while its victims become poor. The UDA is not unique. In Derry there is a drugs war between the INLA and the New IRA that has led to recent shootings. <BR /> <BR />We have to do so much more to rid ourselves of the scourge of the paramilitaries. The last thing we need to do is give those sinister forces any type of political cover or credibility. The First Minister must surely understand that this would be a reckless action. These groups do not want to move on because their members do very well, thank you, from holding us back. We must give our young people hope for the future. The paramilitaries offer them a few minutes of buzz followed by years of deprivation and, for some, a criminal record or prison. <BR /> <BR />Leadership can take us out of this mess.”
“Political dissension provided a target and an opportunity for the disorder. In the past nine days in Derry, Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland, we have seen 12-year-olds, 13-year-olds and 14-year-olds on the streets throwing petrol bombs, stones and rocks and setting cars alight. They were not there to demand that the protocol be scrapped or that Simon Byrne resigns from the PSNI. We can be confident that those teenagers were motivated and manipulated by paramilitary groups. In the Waterside area of Derry, that means the UDA. The PSNI has been ramping up its actions against the UDA in recent weeks. It is no wonder that its leaders are causing a ruckus. Whatever the UDA claims to be, it is just a criminal operation that sells drugs, runs protection rackets and engages in loan-sharking.”
“The outworking of political ineptitude creates a space for violence in our streets.”
“However, John Hume once said that if you fall into reacting to reaction, you lose perspective and judgement. I am afraid that that is precisely what has happened. The First Minister and the deputy First Minister should reflect very carefully on the role that they each have played.”
“When it comes to big decisions and issues that need to be resolved such as Brexit, COVID, schools closing and reopening, victims' pensions and the provision of women's health services, there is rarely a meeting of minds and the dirty linen tends to be washed in public. A sectarian mindset still prevails. There is no disguising that we have had our fill of serious pressures in our political institutions. We can all accept that Brexit has, regrettably, reopened old wounds and has, indeed, sharpened all the lines and divisions that the Good Friday Agreement sought to soften around sovereignty, identity and borders. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP hears and deeply regrets the feelings and frustrations of abandonment that are acutely felt in our unionist community. As a nationalist, I truly understand that.”
“Twenty three years after the Good Friday Agreement, this is the right moment to reflect on its success and, yes, on where it has been less than successful. It gave us peace but it has not given us reconciliation. Perhaps, just as bad, it has failed to get rid of paramilitaries and the sinister forces in our communities. The people of Northern Ireland are deeply frustrated, depressed and disappointed in our politics and our politicians. Every single MLA in this House has been told at one time or another that their constituents feel let down. Our politicians are not living up to the vision, the spirit and the hope that is contained in the Good Friday Agreement. <BR /> <BR />When it comes to governing Northern Ireland, the political tension between the DUP and Sinn Féin is palpable.”
“Without additional support, it is not only young adults who face a challenging future but all of us. I ask the Minister to get on with it and let us all stop messing with our young people.”
“— and he told me that there was a supply-and-demand need for a Job Start programme. He said that government and businesses should be instrumental in building talent solutions. <BR /> <BR />I spoke to two young interns in his company who ably articulated what their engagement had done for them in relation not only to skills but to their personal confidence and mental health. We really need to ask why the response in putting forward a Job Start programme here has been so slow. <BR /> <BR />Ulster University's Economic Policy Centre observed:”
“I urge the Economy Minister to engage with that programme so that the synergy between the apprenticeship programme and the Job Start programme is rolled out for the benefit of individuals, communities and the economy. <BR /> <BR />It is intolerable in these difficult times that employers are seeking to engage in a programme and offer young people meaningful work providing skills and experience and a fulfilling future only to be told that the Minister has not established the programme. I spoke to one such employer earlier this month —”
“There are more young men outside work, education and training than young women. For young men and young women, the number and percentage outside the system of work, training and education has increased in the past 18 months, and we really need to take stock of that figure. It increased to 28,000 at the end of last year, and we all need to sit up and take that seriously. That has serious economic and social implications, and it needs to be addressed. <BR /> <BR />Young people need jobs and a positive start in life. They need support to get into training and employment. The Minister for Communities has a duty of care and responsibility to put in place an ambitious and comprehensive Job Start programme.”
“That is a really shocking statistic. We need to ask ourselves what is going to become of them in the future. What sort of start in life is that for them? What does that mean for our society? What social problems will we face as a result? What are the mental impacts for them? <BR /> <BR />It gets worse than that. Tomorrow, we will consider violence against women and girls. As part of that discussion, we need to consider the plight of young men and the social and economic pressures that are on them, which, perhaps, for a few of them, feed into their anger and frustrations, leading to terrible results. <BR /> <BR />Just as violence is not gender-neutral, neither is the job situation for young adults. While more than 12% of young women are in job-related training, fewer than 9% of young men are.”
“I support the motion. We need to stop messing around and to get on with supporting our young adults by providing the best work and training opportunities that we can. <BR /> <BR />There is a reason why Kickstart has been ongoing in England for the past eight months, and that is, of course, the difficulties facing our young adults. However, if there is a need for a scheme that supports employment and training for young adults in England, there is a much greater and stronger need for one here in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Let us look at the stats. At the end of last year, we had 14% of young adults not in employment, education or training. That compares with 11% in England and 10% in Scotland. There were 28,000 young adults here, aged 16 to 24, who were not in education, training or work at the end of last year.”
“Minister, in line with the COVID recovery plan and, in particular, the high street recovery plan, it is important that businesses can use outside spaces but also that they share those spaces with our citizens. Will you commit to doing everything that you can to have the tourism sector COVID-ready for the summer tourism season? We are hoping that the tourism sector can use outside spaces, but we need your support.”
“— assistance at this time? We do not believe that she has. The pandemic has shown us that we can find solutions to red tape. If there is a will, Minister, there will be a way. <BR /> <BR />I will support the motion but will vote against the amendment.”
“Has the Minister tried hard enough to provide support to those students who so desperately need —”
“However, as the motion states, the scheme excludes students who are studying in GB and the South from accessing support. That is fundamentally wrong. Those students are living away from home and are under more financial pressure than those studying locally due to the high fees in GB. Those are students from the North, Minister. We do not want to ignore them, and it is not right that we should. <BR /> <BR />In response to a question for written answer, Minister Dodds stated that the Department's regulations prevented her from making £500 payments to our students in GB. Has she considered making a ministerial direction? Has she consulted her Executive colleagues to agree a joint approach to change the Department's regulations? Is there a party in the Assembly that is against making payments to students studying in GB and ROI?”
“Thank you, Mr Stalford. I totally agree. There is a mental health crisis in Northern Ireland. I think that every Member would agree with you. <BR /> <BR />Financial problems for students are also impacting families, with parents and guardians trying to support their children despite maybe being on furlough or being unemployed themselves. The SDLP tabled an amendment that sought to draw attention to the weakness of the hardship fund structure and the crisis in mental health, but it was not selected. <BR /> <BR />Before I finish, I will say a word on the DUP amendment. We are glad that the Economy Minister heeded our call and brought forward the COVID-19 disruption payment of £500 that we suggested. That provided huge comfort to eligible students.”
“Another student contacted me because hardship fund criteria insisted that he must first apply for an overdraft facility. However, he believed that he would not get an overdraft and said that it could damage his credit rating by being rejected for an overdraft before he could even apply for hardship funding. <BR /> <BR />When we hear that students in difficulties should apply for hardship support, I ask Members to remember two things. First, the amount of hardship funding available is too little to meet the demands and difficulties that students are experiencing. Secondly, the criteria create a barrier that is impossible to overcome, even for students in the greatest financial difficulty. At best, the criteria are ridiculous. At worst, they are deliberately exclusionary and can cause financial difficulties for our young people.”
“Money shortages make it worse. Students have had to pay a fortune for accommodation that many of them have not been able to use, and very few have been able to earn money doing the part-time work that they would have expected to depend on. The financial crisis is very closely associated with a mental health crisis. <BR /> <BR />I will say a word about the hardship funds that Members spoke about. Time and again, the Minister stated, in response to correspondence, that students should apply for support through hardship funds. However, the criteria for those funds are a real problem. One student who contacted me was rejected for hardship funding because he once — I stress once — made a £5 bet. That one £5 bet months ago disqualified him from support.”