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 welcome the opportunity to make the winding-up speech on our amendment and the opportunity for the Assembly to air its concerns about trade and jobs. The SDLP agrees with the substantive part of the motion that Sinn Féin has brought to the House. Our amendment is about seeking to improve it by ensuring greater accountability and responsibility for delivery. Importantly, our amendment would also address inequality and the need to create a fairer and more regionally balanced economy post COVID-19. <BR /> <BR />Throughout the debate, Members across all parties have acknowledged the importance of North/South and east-west trade. That is not in dispute. Members across the House have rightly expressed that there is an urgent and pressing need for businesses to resolve the trading issues brought about by the Brexit protocol.”
“— unlike the weak proposals put forward by the Minister for the Economy”
“— you genuinely have a comprehensive recovery and investment strategy —”
“— decarbonising the economy; supporting the roll-out of heat pumps; promoting hydrogen; implementing a green new deal; and creating a more equal society. Once you put these elements together —”
“<BR /> <BR />Let us put the pieces together: improving our city and town centres, giving them new purpose with more urban living, leisure facilities and green spaces; creating a substantial number of jobs in the construction industry; reskilling our workforce to equip those out of work and those not yet in work for the next generation of jobs; investing in infrastructure, including public transport, water supplies and sewerage; accelerating broadband roll-out; exploiting the Brexit protocol to attract inward investment and support local businesses to make good in the best of both worlds; helping local producers to supply to local retailers; tackling the regional imbalance, which requires Invest NI to promote jobs across the North, particularly in areas with the highest unemployment rates, such as Derry; delivering more and spreading more fairly; higher education places and skills training —”
“However, imagine a place where four of 10 homes are occupied by people in fuel poverty and where hundreds of thousands of homes are leaking heat because the properties are in serious need of major improvements to their energy efficiency. This represents a massive challenge to our ability to move to 100% net zero by 2050. These facts make the case for a green new deal, which is a core part of my party's policies.”
“I totally concur. However, I would have added renewable energies to help the producers who are reliant on it. <BR /> <BR />That brings us to the other problem that has been inflicted upon us: climate change and the necessity to decarbonise our economy. Imagine a place with lots of hills on which wind turbines can generate massive amounts of electricity. Imagine a place with lots of coastline that provides the opportunity for tidal strength to be converted into electricity. Imagine a place that is internationally recognised as having substantial levels of geothermal heat that can be used to heat buildings. That place, Members, is Northern Ireland.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. My colleague Matthew O'Toole and I have written to the Economy Minister to urge her to exploit fully the advantages that we now have as a result of the protocol, while, of course, working pragmatically to reduce the difficulties in east-west trade that Brexit has caused. We also wrote to InterTradeIreland, the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), Invest NI and the Department for International Trade to urge them to exploit the opportunities presented by the protocol. I pay tribute to Invest NI — not something that I will say very often. I have criticised that organisation on many occasions because of its lack of regional balance, but I have no criticism of it with regard to the protocol. I would like to quote from Invest NI. I realise that this will be difficult for some to hear, but this is what it said:”
“— the difficulties caused by Brexit to east-west trade.”
“I recognise that, sadly, some are so blinded by their narrow ideology that they would prefer to suffer than use the opportunities that they have. That is not the attitude of the SDLP. My colleague Matthew O'Toole and I have written to the Economy Minister to urge her to fully exploit the advantages that we have as a result of the protocol while, of course, working pragmatically to reduce”
“It talks about how to bring rural areas up to the level of urban areas, yet the biggest challenge of all is how we bring the weakest urban areas up to the level of the strongest urban areas. If you look at the map of deprivation and joblessness across the North, you will see clearly where the biggest problems of regional imbalance are. They are in Derry and Strabane and in west and north Belfast. The apparent failure of the Economy and Finance Ministers to recognise that reality shows a real lack of perspective behind the decision-making process when considering how to build back better. <BR /> <BR />Talking about a lack of perspective brings me to the protocol. No one dislikes or opposes Brexit more than me, but even I can see that the Brexit protocol provides the North with new opportunities that we must grasp”
“Sorry. No time. <BR /> <BR />It would be wrong to try to just recreate the structure of the economy that we had before the pandemic. When we talk about building back better, we need to take that literally and not just metaphorically. Prior to the pandemic, we had a crisis in our high streets, towns and city centres. Our retail centres must be centres of leisure activity, and we need to invest more in our streetscapes and green spaces and make city and town centres easy places to walk around, with less crowded pavements, and allow cafes and restaurants to expand and spill outside. They need to be recaptured as places for people and not be dominated by cars. <BR /> <BR />Central to the Economy Minister's approach is the circulated paper, 'Rebuilding a Stronger Economy', which includes a section on a more regionally balanced economy.”
“<BR /> <BR />The solution must start in our schools, and we must address inefficiencies and inadequate provisions in our further and higher education colleges. The COVID recovery plan must involve all our Departments and break down the silo system of government that prevails in the Executive.”
“About one in five workers who have been on furlough for the past six months or more are expected to lose their jobs. Last year, 11,000 intended redundancies were notified by employers, The situation is likely to worsen this year and will affect, in particular, our young adults, the lowest paid, those on zero-hours contracts and others who have the weakest positions in the labour market. That is particularly true for those without the strong skills that are valued most by employers. For generations, our labour market has struggled with insufficient skills and has delivered productivity levels that are the worst in the UK. If we are to have an effective recovery from COVID, it is essential that we raise skill levels across our working-age population.”
“Those who are poor, those who live in overcrowded accommodation, those who do not have access to private healthcare, those who work in the National Health Service and the caring professions, those who work in low-paid service jobs and those whose neighbourhoods have air quality that is blighted by traffic and solid-fuel burning are, along with the old, the most likely to become seriously ill with COVID-19 and to die. The crisis of COVID-19 is also a crisis of inequality, and, of course, the SDLP was founded to address inequality in our society. <BR /> <BR />As we look to build back better, it is essential that we correct the deep-seated inequalities in Northern Ireland. If we just let market forces do the work, we will not achieve a better and fairer society.”
“The Assembly has a choice: we can moan about the situation that we face, or we can get on with it and fix it. The SDLP has always focused on solutions. We are proud of that, and, my, does Northern Ireland need solutions today? This is not just about COVID. We have other major challenges. We have Brexit, and we have climate change. We can spend our time arguing about whose fault it is, or we can devise solutions. In doing so, we have the opportunity to begin to solve the deep-seated problems in our society. <BR /> <BR />Perhaps the biggest problem of all is inequality. That inequality has been manifest throughout the pandemic. COVID-19 has not hit people equally.”
“Mr Speaker, I place before you and the House the SDLP student support petition. Thank you.”
“They and the students in the South should not be excluded from any financial help. <BR /> <BR />I acknowledge all the student representative bodies that have worked so hard to ensure that the voices of students are heard. They have fought the good fight and used every platform at their disposal to get the student voice heard, and they have done so with courage, conviction and great dignity. It is incumbent on us, as public representatives, to do all that we can to support our young people through one of the worst periods in their lives. <BR /> <BR />Whilst I acknowledge the really positive announcement last Thursday and agree that we have taken a huge step forward, the fight is not yet over. We will keep fighting for the voices of students to be heard and for their value in society to be recognised and their needs met.”
“<BR /> <BR />When we heard those stories, we knew that we needed to act. We also knew that Minister Dodds was unlikely to act without public pressure. We knew that, given the level of need that existed across the student community, paltry top-ups to the student hardship fund were not enough. We knew that students in our further education colleges needed some financial support as much as anyone and that we could not let them be excluded. While it is welcome that the Economy Minister has agreed a student support scheme, adopting an SDLP proposal, unfortunately, the scheme is still deficient. The Minster's scheme makes no effort to support NI students studying in Scotland, England, Wales or, indeed, in the South of Ireland, yet students in Great Britain are suffering even higher tuition fees, rent costs and loss of income.”
“I introduce the petition to the Assembly on behalf of the SDLP but more importantly on behalf of the 7,175 citizens who signed it and joined our calls for students to be treated fairly and to receive financial support. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP opened a survey to hear directly from students about their experiences throughout the pandemic. In just two days, hundreds and hundreds of young people shared their stories with us. What harrowing stories they were: 76% of respondents told us that they were in financial distress as a result of COVID-19; 62% had lost part-time work and income; almost 50% were paying rents for places that they are legally not allowed to live in; 83% felt ignored by the Economy Minister; and, worryingly, 95% said that the pandemic had impacted negatively on their mental health and well-being.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your statement. There are no words to articulate adequately the horror of the abuse levelled at those women, levelled in a very unchristian way by Christian organisations. <BR /> <BR />I will follow on from Sinéad Ennis's question about infant mortality. I know that those babies were put into unmarked graves. I was brought up beside one of the homes, and I knew that there were unmarked graves in the area where that home was. It is now a housing estate. Time is of the essence for us to uncover the graves and to give visibility and dignity to those babies. We can wait to get all our ducks lined up, but housing and planning permissions have taken place since the babies were put in those graves. Is there anything that we can do now to uncover that terrible past and give dignity to those babies?”
“All Members know that we have taken extra precautions because of the new variant. It is really important that we make sure that our schools, especially our special schools, are protected. The roll out of the vaccine is very important. I have nothing else to ask because you answered my supplementary question, which was about how quickly you would do that. It is imminent.”
“Minister, over the weekend, our party put out a survey for students to see how they felt that they were impacted by the pandemic. In the replies, 75% said that their finances have been badly affected, and 50% said that they are paying for accommodation that they are not living in. Harrowingly, 94% said that it is affecting their mental well-being. We all have to sit up straight and take that on board. <BR /> <BR />On top of the student hardship fund, your colleague in the Welsh Government put together a £40 million support package for students. An additional £10 million was put into the student hardship fund. We need something of that magnitude, because just feeding the student hardship fund as it stands is not good enough. There has to be an all-student support fund that helps all our young people.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your statement. The Finance Minister in Wales, Rebecca Evans, last week announced a £40 million coronavirus student support scheme. She indicated that it was vital in order to support people in education and that it would tackle inequality by helping to support the most vulnerable students affected by the pandemic to complete their studies. Minister, why can you not do the same for our students in Northern Ireland, who have been so adversely affected by the pandemic, are paying for accommodation that they cannot even stay in, are unable to claim any benefits and cannot carry out any part-time work because hospitality and retail are closed? If it is within the remit of the Welsh Finance Minister to do that, why is it not within yours?”
“Thank you, Minister, for your response. As you will be aware, organisations that work to support families in poverty, many of which have at least one parent who is working, are clear that the benefit cap is a significant factor in child poverty. Will the Minister ensure that mitigations are provided for the benefit cap?”
“— business, with the loss of recognition of qualifications. <BR /> <BR />I ask Members to support amendment No 4.”
“<BR /> <BR />I can see positives, but the cost has been severe. We have lost investment, we have lost jobs, and our international relationships have been undermined. Many of our citizens have had rights removed: the rights to work, study and live in the EU. Some of our professional firms face new obstacles to doing cross-border —”
“<BR /> <BR />Our future has to be outward-looking and focused on external trade and improving our productivity by investing in skills and infrastructure. We can do the best by embedding our relationships with the South. We need an all-island economy that builds infrastructure and prosperity. The reality is that Brexit will be the basis of much greater all-island cooperation and partnership. We will increasingly have a much stronger all-island economy, and that is to be welcomed. We would like to take the opportunity also to strengthen our other all-island partnerships, especially in health and education. I particularly thank the Irish Government for their commitment to supporting the expansion of higher education in Derry, something that my party has been calling for from the Assembly for many decades.”
“It is a clear sign that the EU remains committed to us in the North and will not turn its back on us, just as the majority of the people in the North did not reject our link to the European Union. <BR /> <BR />For many reasons, Northern Ireland is different from Great Britain. Along with Scotland, our voters wanted to stay in the European Union. They wanted to recognise their European identity, wanting cooperation and partnership with the European continent, our neighbours in the South and our neighbours in the east. Northern Ireland is also different economically from England, Scotland and Wales. Our businesses have more transactions with businesses in the South than they do with businesses in Britain. Northern Ireland is unlike Scotland, Wales and England in doing more business outside the UK than within the UK.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Irish Government have been proactive and decisive in protecting many rights of people living in Northern Ireland, not just those with Irish passports. ERASMUS and EU healthcare are just two examples. Thanks, too, are due to the European Union for its diplomacy of dignified calmness throughout the torturous negotiations. The EU and the Irish Government have worked tirelessly on behalf of the people on this island in order to keep an open border, recognising that it is essential for our economy, our cross-border social connections and our peace. The continuation of the Peace programme is of enormous importance, especially for our border areas. The Peace programmes have delivered much progress over the past three decades, and PEACE PLUS will continue that work.”
“All that was obvious to most people in the Assembly from the outset. It has to be recorded that the DUP's support for Brexit was the biggest own goal for unionism. It was interesting to hear DUP MP Gregory Campbell speaking on BBC radio earlier this week about the opportunities presented by Brexit for Northern Ireland's economy. He said that it would encourage companies to locate here as it would give them access to both the EU and UK markets. I look forward to the Executive putting in place an economic strategy that supports the growth of an all-island economy. I am disappointed not to have seen that as yet, but, still, Brexit will create a bad outcome for Northern Ireland. It will be a particularly bad outcome for citizens who choose to identify as British and for those who were born in Britain and are not entitled to an Irish passport.”
“The past five years of self-inflicted political harm have already caused substantial damage through loss of investment, loss of potential jobs and, already, the loss of some of our most valuable workers, who have returned to the other parts of Europe from where they came to add value to our National Health Service, to our care homes and to our businesses.”
“Brexit was always going to be bad for most of the people across the UK and Ireland, North and South. This deal is not the worst possible outcome because we now know that the British Government accepts that a bad deal is better than no deal.”
“What practical steps has the Department taking in conjunction with the Irish Government to maximise the opportunities that the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland has given us?”
“Thank you, Minister, for your statement. Tourism is an extremely important sector in Derry and along the coastal route, the Wild Atlantic Way. Is the Minister working with the Irish Government to develop a continuation of the Wild Atlantic Way along the northern coast? The brand is so strong worldwide that we should be locking on to it in order to grow tourism in Northern Ireland.”
“Dr Black also indicated that a logical decision from the Executive based on the facts and the numbers would be to have another four-week lockdown. What are your thoughts on that, Minister?”
“I thank the First Minister for her answer. I agree that people need hope. Last week, there were 98 deaths in Northern Ireland. Some of our hospitals are at overcapacity.”
“The UK must give up its delusional dreams of Brexit.”
“— left. Let us forget about the delusion. Let us get a deal done and support every citizen in Northern Ireland.”
“As it is, it is a disaster for all of us. <BR /> <BR />Brexit was always a great delusion, and the result is that the North has lost investment and jobs and the wealth that would have come here with them. We have little more than two weeks —”
“The problem is not the protocol; the problem is Brexit and its architects, who did not have a clear idea of the shape of the Brexit they wanted or how to achieve their objectives through the negotiations. That is why the negotiations thus fair have failed. <BR /> <BR />If the First Minister could, like Cher, turn back time, would she regret her phone call to Theresa May blocking a deal that would have been much better for every citizen in Northern Ireland? Had it not been for that phone call, Northern Ireland would have retained a closer relationship with Britain and had clarity from that point about how Brexit would work in practice on this island; instead, those who made the political decisions went into denial and pretended that, when it came to the economic outcomes, Brexit did not really mean Brexit.”
“<BR /> <BR />At least we know that Northern Ireland will have an open border North and South but trade barriers in the east. Consumers will pay a price for that, including higher food costs, not exactly what the Brexit campaigners claimed would happen. Nor was it mentioned that British nationals with property in France or Portugal or wherever might only be able to visit their homes for three months out of every six. <BR /> <BR />There is one thing to be grateful for across the House: Northern Ireland has a protocol. Without it, all the problems on the other side of the Irish Sea border — there are plenty of them — would be happening on the island of Ireland, only much worse. Let us at least be thankful for the protocol.”
“Some Northern Ireland politicians advocated Brexit and believed, against all the evidence, that it would be positive. Surely, no one still believes that, but, perhaps, some do, as we have heard from Mr Stalford and Mr Allister. I will not say this politely to spare the feelings of the DUP, the TUV and, indeed, People Before Profit, but they are deluded if they still believe that Brexit is positive. Brexit has always been a great delusion. For four years, businesses across Northern Ireland have been deprived of investment that would have come if investors had known what shape trade would take after Brexit. Just over two weeks before the end of the transition arrangements those investors still do not know the shape of the outcome. You could not make it up.”
“I apologise. I did not get through everybody's contributions. It was a good debate. Minister, thank you for joining us and giving us your time.”
“— said that that had come from the confidence and supply agreement. <BR /> <BR />Jemma Dolan — I thought that you were from Derry because you said that you are from the greatest place in Ireland. You are not.”
“<BR /> <BR />Gordon Dunne told us about the 11% shrinkage in the economy but urged optimism. He said that today was a day to be optimistic because the roll-out of the vaccine had started. Although our hearts sank with the 11% shrinking of the economy, there are reasons to be optimistic. He acknowledged the significant financial support that has been received to date by businesses and employees and welcomed that. He expressed pride in the £165 million investment in Project Stratum and —”
“We know what that means; it does not mean oven-ready. It was just a snapshot and a look at how we can build back better. He indicated that he was disappointed at the lack of input from trade unions and how important listening to the voice of workers will be in rebuilding the economy. He discussed the role of universities and further education and said that they are central levers and key drivers for economic recovery. He indicated that Brexit would compound what is an already very damaged economy and spoke about the need for an increase in R&D and student numbers and a greater emphasis on vocational training. He also talked about the all-island economy but said that it should be North/South and east-west. An all-island economy will bring us all opportunities.”
“He asked who would pay for it all and told us that everybody should just get out of the way and let businesses crack on and start to do what they do best, which is create a healthy economic environment and allow innovation. He also discussed the need for businesses to be allowed to open up and said that that was the best way to get the economy back on its feet. Unfortunately, Mr Stalford said that he has had many sleepless nights because he is worried about the national debt and who will pay for it. Will it be him, his weans or his grandchildren? He just did not know, but he knew that somebody would have to pay for it. <BR /> <BR />John O'Dowd concentrated his remarks on the report. He indicated that it is just a snapshot and contains themes for further discussion and debate. It is certainly not "oven-ready".”
“He spoke about connectivity and railways that are green, clean, convenient and cost-effective. That was a theme that we heard from many of the contributors to the debate. <BR /> <BR />Next up was Christopher Stalford, who threw in a wee dose of reality. He poured down on everybody's parade —.”
“He finished his comments by talking about businesses that have been excluded from any support and how desperately they need some of the support packages that have been delivered to be redressed so that they, too, can be supported and be here for us all in the future. <BR /> <BR />Stewart Dickson — the birthday boy — said that Northern Ireland is no stranger to economic hardship. He also said that this is an important moment to build back better and stronger. He spoke about the six themes that are contained in the macroeconmic report and concentrated on skills and employment. He indicated his regret that there is a lack of lifelong learning opportunities in our economy and said that we should address that. He indicated that that was being addressed in many areas but that we need to make sure that it is taken forward.”