David Brooks
East Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Does the Member accept that our position, as it has been laid out and although it is different from hers, is that schools should have autonomy to decide those things? It is not about appointing anyone, least of all men specifically, to make those decisions; it is about school leadership.”
“I recognise that the Member is being genuine, as all Members have been as they have laid out their reasoning, and I have some sympathy with that. However, Northern Ireland is being portrayed almost as an outlier.”
“We have seen some enthusiasm for private Members' Bills introduced by those on the Benches opposite progressing at speed, and I hope to see similar motivation for such a key issue as inspections. In the past — admittedly, when there was less time pressure — the Committee was generous with its time when hearing from stakeholders.”
“I will say a few words rather make a lengthy speech. The Justice Bill is coming up, and I am sure that my colleague Mr Frew will have that covered.”
“I echo the sentiments that racism is always wrong, but one of the pressures that are causing frustration is the lack of social and affordable housing, particularly in our most deprived communities. That has been exacerbated by Mears's operation.”
“I will not take lectures in scripture and Christianity from those who often spend their time opposing Christian values — I have no truck with such lectures. Equally, I say to those who have been involved in the violence that you will not rebuild a Christian nation by torching houses or cars or by attacking the police.”
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“I thank the Minister for giving way. We all appreciate the scale of the challenge that he faces in delivering services within budget, and he clearly has a grasp on the key issues. I am glad to hear about the ongoing recruitment, but I fear that it is a false economy and that you are bringing people in through recruitment, and they may work for you for a short while, but then they will be off to pastures new, where they will get paid more. I worry that there is a leakage of money there that could be put towards improving pay. It may cost too much to get it in line with other services, but some kind of improvement would be better than having continual recruitment campaigns that are leaking money.”
“Frustration builds, regulation becomes harder and pressure increases not only for the individual but for the whole family. <BR /> <BR />After years of instability, it is no longer about explanation but about action. Families have shown patience and engaged constructively and understand the financial constraints, but understanding does not remove the need for reliability. The bus service is not an optional add-on; it is a gateway to support, structure and stability for disabled adults and their families. The time has come to move from acknowledgement to reform and to build a transport service that is resilient by design and not vulnerable to circumstance.”
“It is not simply about filling vacancies but about redesigning a model that has, over the years, shown that it cannot withstand ordinary pressures. <BR /> <BR />Families are not asking for perfection; they are asking for reliability. When that is missing, disabled adults lose access. If the bus is not running, they do not get to the day-care centre, meaning that they miss out on structured support and lose routine and social interaction disappears. The impact does not stop there, however. The wider circle of care is affected. Families lose what for many of them is their only opportunity for respite. Disabled adults' extended confinement at home without routine and structured support can lead to heightened anxiety, distress and behavioural challenges.”
“As I understand it, the structure in the Department of Health — I heard my colleague speak about zero-hours contracts, and I bow to her knowledge of that — accommodates only those in fixed, full-time roles and excludes precisely the kind of workforce that could provide resilience.”
“<BR /> <BR />As the DUP spokesperson for education, I regularly visit schools and have informal conversations with school bus drivers. Some are semi-retired but still feel that they have something to contribute. They are experienced, licensed and capable, but what they are not seeking is rigid, full-time employment. That reality points to an opportunity. If there is a pool of semi-retired or part-time bus drivers who are willing to work one or two days a week, it becomes a question of whether the trust's recruitment model is flexible enough to attract that kind of worker.”
“<BR /> <BR />The third problem is that the recruitment model is not delivering. There are competing pressures in the local labour market. As we have heard, comparable driver roles in other sectors, including the Education Authority and Translink, offer more attractive pay or greater flexibility, and that cannot be ignored. We have heard that you cannot expect those who are offered better terms to stay. Recruitment campaigns are repeatedly undertaken. While there will be interest from some potential employees, the total square sum making it from initial interview to completion dwindles to nothing. That suggests that the model is not aligned with market conditions. Advertising the same posts under the same terms does not overcome the competitiveness issues. The response from the Department of Health needs to be fundamentally readdressed.”
“In a letter issued by the Health Minister to the families following the Edgcumbe meeting, reference was made to the shortage of bus drivers being recorded on the trust's risk register. That is not insignificant. It has been identified as a material risk to service delivery. It is recognised and is reviewed, yet it remains unresolved. The purpose of the risk register is not to catalogue the difficulty but to reduce exposure. A risk should trigger action, not simply observation. It should prompt a structural response, not a procedural repetition. If the instability of the bus service has continued across multiple biannual reviews, one of two conclusions must follow: either the mitigation strategy has not been effective or the underlying cause has not been adequately addressed.”
“A system that contracts each time pressure mounts is not resilient but, rather, is left exposed. In this case, the bus transport workforce model cannot absorb predictable absence, be it annual leave, sickness or turnover, without reducing the service. That exposes three underlying problems. <BR /> <BR />The first problem is operational instability. The bus service system is overly reliant on perfect conditions and has little resilience built into the model. If one bus driver takes annual leave, if someone is off sick or if recruitment takes longer than expected, the system falters. In its current format, the bus service does not have enough built-in flexibility or contingency to absorb normal, everyday pressures, and that fragility has been shown for years. <BR /> <BR />The second problem is ineffective mitigation.”
“They recognise the difficult decisions that must be made, yet, like many others, they are weary of hearing the same explanation year after year. I understand that one gentleman showed the Minister a letter from 2018 that outlined the financial pressures at that time. Eight years on, the language remains familiar, with families waiting to hear, day by day and week by week, whether the bus service will go ahead. When an issue persists across nearly a decade, reference to financial pressures ceases to reassure and instead begins to sound like permanence. We know that Northern Ireland has not been funded as it should be. We know that my party leader has repeatedly made the fiscal case at Westminster. Limited budgets, however, do not suspend decision-making.”
“Like others, I thank my party colleague Joanne Bunting for securing the Adjournment debate. She articulated well the issues and what Edgcumbe means to the families who use the service. While I appreciate that the context for the debate is the wider issue of day-care centres in East Belfast, my office has been contacted by families with relatives who attend that day centre, and everything that has been spoken about so far rings true. I appreciate that the debate comes after the Minister's visit that was hosted by my party colleague and attended by Andy and Gavin. I acknowledge that important engagement with families. <BR /> <BR />Families with relatives attending Edgcumbe understand the scale of the financial pressures that the Department faces. They are not naïve about the fiscal realities of the health system.”
“I attempted to intervene some way back, when I was going to say that the Member may not realise that I am a unionist. She talks about opportunities: this is also an opportunity for us all to get behind defending Europe from its key threats. Will she join us in that?”
“How can those whose raison d'être is the extension of Irish nationhood hide behind neutrality? How can they be comfortable knowing that Ireland, as a nation with an economy and wealth that those on the opposite Benches love to play up, does not have the ability to fulfil the first duty of any nation, which is the defence of its people and borders? Perhaps the Republic could use this presidential term to make a step change and address its legacy of pitiful defence spending rather continuing to rely on UK defence. <BR /> <BR />When Sinn Féin elements in the South argue for more neutrality —.”
“It was a welcome step to hear last week that the Irish Government are to permit, as we have heard, His Majesty's Royal Navy to patrol Irish waters and ensure, as any sovereign nation should, that Ireland's waters and therefore those of Europe are safer from the Russian menace that has persisted. "Get your Brits in", as it were. That is the right decision in the current context. It will ensure that those with the capacity to defend infrastructure critical to Ireland, the UK and Europe at large are able to do so. I commend the Irish Government for taking that decision. <BR /> <BR />We, in this party, have no fear of positive cross-border cooperation where that is mutually advantageous and does not undermine current constitutional arrangements. For the Irish Republic, however, that should be only a first step.”
“<BR /> <BR />If the Irish presidency is to gain respect, or relevance at all, it must engage meaningfully on the issue of defence and confront the cowardice of neutrality. The motion states:”
“No, sorry. I need to make some progress. <BR /> <BR />Preaching about UN charters and international laws, as we have heard here today, has no bearing on those who have never sought to observe them. Parties and, indeed, a state that, during the Brexit process, expected the whole of the European Union to stand beside and behind them in solidarity, even to their disadvantage, are, as ever, found sadly wanting when Europe looks for friends within and without its political structures. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, demonised by many in the aftermath of Brexit, has proven to be a much firmer friend to its European allies, as it always has been. As ever, it has made a much more significant contribution to the defence of Europe at large, even from outside the club. Who knew that one could be pro-Europe without being pro-European Union membership?”
“I thank the Member for the update. Ireland should look again at its policy of neutrality. Members on the nationalist Benches opposite have been less sure-footed in their enthusiastic pro-Europeanism than they have been for quite some time when such issues are discussed. It at least seems to be something that they do not want to talk about. Perhaps that is because, despite the musings of Messrs O'Toole and Kearney from the Benches opposite during Matters of the Day earlier, diplomacy does not deal with tyrants unless they rule with an iron fist clothed in a velvet glove.”
“I absolutely agree. The Member and I have shared that burden for some time. <BR /> <BR />We know that, in practice, Ireland rarely asks what it can do for its European allies. Instead, Ireland asks what its European allies can do for it. It is notable that, at a time when Europe's greatest concern is the growing threat from the east, the shadow fleets and the ghost ships that we have seen operating globally but certainly in the Atlantic, off our shores —.”
“The future of Northern Ireland and its constitutional position will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland. We will continue to make the case for the full restoration of Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom, including the removal of the application of EU law in our country and of the internal Irish Sea border that it has created. <BR /> <BR />Nevertheless, as my colleague said, we wish Ireland well for its presidency of the EU. We hope that it fosters only better relations. That presidency has no remit here, however. If Ireland wants to assist the people of Northern Ireland, it should start by removing EU interference in our jurisdiction and its imposition on our sovereignty. We know that, in practice —.”
“A generic motion requires a restating of our position, so I will say, as we have said in debates on previous motions, that Northern Ireland's priority should be decided not by the Irish Government but by locally accountable Ministers and representatives here in Northern Ireland. Relations between the UK and the EU are a matter for the UK Government and the Westminster Parliament. They should not be outsourced to the Irish Government. Motion after motion comes before the Assembly that talks up constitutional change. Regardless of the efforts that the SDLP and Sinn Féin make in that regard, the reality remains the same: the appetite for constitutional change in this place has not risen since 1998. <BR /> <BR />I remind many across the Chamber that it was the will of the people of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.”
“In these troubled times, however, Europe is focused on ramping up its mutual defence. Nationalist parties have even less to say about that than the Irish state has had to contribute.”
“In this fairly generic motion, we have an attempt to tick the box of noting the Irish presidency loaded with buzzwords and sectors, with the SDLP trademark of a new Ireland in the EU bolted on, because, sure, why not? Even Alliance has seen through that aspect of the motion.”
“The Member is right to say that these things do not have to be theoretical and that they can be very practical. There is probably nothing more practical than that that is the focus in the European Union at the minute: the military defence of Europe. Will he speak about how he feels an Irish presidency will contribute to that military defence of Europe in these troubling times?”
“We understand the anguish of communities facing threats from militias backed by Tehran. We know the fear felt by Jewish communities under constant missile bombardment from Iranian proxies.”
“We rightly condemn violence when it targets citizens, but we cannot fall into moral equivalence that equates the oppressed with the oppressor. <BR /> <BR />The actions now being taken by the United States and Israel are directed at a regime that refuses to negotiate seriously on nuclear restraints, continues to fund extremist militias and has brutally suppressed protests within its own borders. After years of sabre-rattling and obstruction, force has been used to try to create a lasting peace, not merely to punish but to prevent further atrocities and avert a future in which nuclear weapons give terror states global reach. Surely, in Ulster, we know too well the cost of violence and the perils of extremism. We recognise that there comes a time when action must be taken against those who reject peace and embrace intimidation.”
“This is a stark reminder that tyranny eventually reaps the hatred of the very people it seeks to control. Yet here I have heard voices that would excuse or apologise for the Iranian regime and would cast blame instead on the United States or Israel. Marxist and Irish republican sympathies, unsurprisingly but bafflingly nonetheless, are untethered from global realities. They would see Tehran as a cause to be celebrated, but let us be candid: Iran's state ideology is antithetical to every freedom-loving tradition that we cherish here. Its proxies do not promote liberty; they promote fear and violence. They murder and maim, just like their IRA friends did on this island. Any voice that defends them is not advancing justice but obscuring it.”
“The joint operation, launched after years of Iranian threats and proxy aggression, has struck the leadership and military infrastructure of a state that has never abandoned its quest for nuclear weapons, never curtailed its support for organisations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis and never shown respect for the fundamental rights of its own citizens. <BR /> <BR />Let there be no mistake: this was not an act of wanton aggression. It was a strike against those who have sought for decades to destabilise the Middle East, to foster terror and to hold millions of voices in chains. Many thousands of Iranians — ordinary people caught between oppression and fear — have publicly celebrated the weakening of a regime that silenced dissent and crushed protest with lethal force.”
“The past day or two may prove a defining moment in world history, a moment when the forces of tyranny and terror are again confronted head-on by those who still believe in freedom and security. Nobody on these Benches will cry any tears for Ayatollah Khamenei. In recent days, the United States and Israel have rightly undertaken decisive military action against the hard-line theocratic regime in Iran, a regime that has long sponsored violence, terrorism and the brutal suppression of its own people and those across the Middle East.”
“If we fail to be honest about that, we risk trapping tenancies in a repeating cycle of repair and decay.”
“Thank you. <BR /> <BR />I am saying that a balance needs to be struck. In some working-class communities, there is a fear of displacement and of people being pushed out of their area, and that has to be balanced against the need for new homes. Providing new homes is a challenge, which I recognise. I gave the example of the Village in south Belfast, where new homes were built, which were necessary, but that meant a lot of people being displaced from the area. I am reflecting the concerns of the communities in the lower Ravenhill area that I represent. <BR /> <BR />We need to be clear about the standards and time frames for tackling damp and disrepair. We also need honesty and recognition when housing stock has reached the limits of what retrofitting alone can realistically achieve.”
“We need clear standards and time frames for tackling —”
“The investment is not wasted, but it means that we are extending the life of housing stock that was never designed to meet modern accessibility standards and the requirements of modern family living. That relates to the point made in our amendment about the importance of the Housing Executive's being able to borrow and build new homes. <BR /> <BR />That brings me back to the motion. No tenant should spend their life on hold waiting for a tradesperson and enduring two years of reactive patchwork while the underlying issue is structural failure. Equally, however, when we speak about replacing homes to meet modern standards, we must understand the consequences of that decision: renewal cannot mean displacement. Raising standards cannot come at the cost of breaking apart established communities. The debate requires balance.”
“Mould was glossed over, false walls were installed inside the house, and she was repeatedly advised to stop drying clothes inside her house. Clothes were not the issue; the issue was the structural failure of the house, the saturated brickwork, the failing chimney stack and the ageing building fabric. <BR /> <BR />That same social housing organisation has advanced £25 million worth of retrofitting into the area, but that comes with a shelf life of 20 years. The investment is significant and welcome. It will improve living conditions and energy efficiency in the short to medium term. However, the projected lifespan of the retrofitting works is approximately 20 years.”
“That challenge is now faced by communities in my constituency in areas such as the Ravenhill Road and the streets off it. A social housing provider owns a number of the properties in My Lady's Road. Those three-storey homes were built over 120 years ago. From the outside, they appear solid, but, internally, many are houses of horrors. I am aware of one case in which a tenant experienced rainwater pouring down the chimney breast in her bedroom every time it rained. There was, in effect, a waterfall inside her home. She was provided with an industrial dehumidifier while plans to deal with wider structural issues were considered, but the dehumidifier was so powerful that it tripped the electrics, and an electrician had to be found to reinstate the lighting. That tenant had tradespeople coming in and out of her house for over two years.”
“On paper, that addressed the structural issue, but, in doing so, it displaced established communities.”
“I take the Member's point that, sometimes, those things are used as excuses, but they nevertheless can contribute. <BR /> <BR />The motion looks at the specifics of social and private rented homes, but it is important, first, to set the issue within the wider housing context. Across Belfast, we still live with the legacy of homes that were never designed for modern living standards. Properties were built quickly, row on row and cheaply — they were built for a very different era. They were never designed to be sealed, insulated and retrofitted like in the programmes being rolled out now. Twenty years ago, it was recognised that many properties in the Village area of the Donegall Road in south Belfast simply did not meet modern standards. Row upon row of houses were demolished to make way for newer, more energy efficient housing.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. We have heard similar speeches by and large, which reflects our experiences with the people we work with through our constituency offices. Whilst there might be nuanced views about approach, I think that we all want to see better outcomes for our constituents. On that basis, I thank the Member for tabling the motion. <BR /> <BR />This is one of the few days when we have had no rain in what has been one of the dampest starts to a year on record. With prolonged rainfall comes additional challenges for tenants, such as saturated external walls and overflowing guttering. At this time of year, there is also reduced opportunity to do simple things such as drying clothes outside. Those challenges have created the perfect conditions for mould growth.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer and for his work to bring equality to our controlled schools. It was interesting to hear the testimony of the Catholic maintained sector. However, the work has brought from some Members an effort to find reasons not to support equality for our controlled schools. What evidence does the Minister have of the benefit of having a dedicated managing authority when it comes to educational results in those schools?”
“One of the hallmarks of the previous fleadh in Londonderry was the cross-community element. Can the Minister detail how the fleadh will embrace Ulster-British traditions?”
“The Chair of the Committee seems to be getting himself very exercised this afternoon. That Committee is refusing to give the Minister its support for his ambitions on social housing. Will the Minister do everything that he can to ensure that the necessary budget for social housing, which all parties agreed to, will be found?”
“I welcome the Minister's work on the issue and his leadership in going out to Washington in March. It was great to hear Secretary of State Rubio mention the connection with the Scotch Irish or Ulster Scots in a speech last week. That speaks to the influence of some of the work that has been done. Does the Minister welcome the joint proposal by the SDLP and the DUP to support the erection of a statue of John Dunlap?”
“I think that the public will find it equally as inconceivable that the Minister did not receive anything from her Department previously as they did when the First Minister said that she did not see Michael McMonagle in the Great Hall. I will reiterate my colleague's question: did your office manager, Councillor Mathers, inform you that your Department had written to him about the billboard? If so, when, Minister?”
“Does the Minister believe that children can give informed consent to drugs that were removed from routine clinical use because of serious questions about their impact on brain development, bone density, fertility and mental health?”
“Thank you. I would welcome the Minister's engagement with Ulster Rugby, the Housing Executive and the other agencies involved. I appreciate his answer. Does he have more information on schemes that are available to replace trees that have fallen during the recent storms?”
“That is exactly the sort of parent-first, pragmatic support that we need, alongside the regulation that we have talked about. <BR /> <BR />The harms, of course, do not fall evenly, and the Opposition's education spokesperson, as well as some of my colleagues, have spoken eloquently in the past of their experiences of being made a victim of AI in that regard. I am not going to speak too much about that, because they have done so in the past. When we discuss violence against women and girls in the Chamber, we understand that social media impacts on girls' well-being and —.”
“Age-based proportionate restrictions deserve serious consideration as part of that package. Other countries are moving in that direction, and the British Government's consultation on children's social media use is an opportunity that we should take to press for protections on age assurance, addictive design features and, yes, perhaps even giving consideration to the prohibition of access to some platforms for under-16s. However, that is something that we should keep a watching review on, as we know that other jurisdictions have introduced it. We should watch that carefully. <BR /> <BR />Here at home, our Education Minister has led by opening conversations on mobile phone use in schools and by supporting practical resources, such as Smartphone Free Childhood's Parent Pact for families who wish to delay smartphones.”
“As Professor Jonathan Haidt argues in 'The Anxious Generation', the design of our digital environment is shaping behaviour and mental health. If we are serious about tackling poor mental health, we must take every opportunity to do so. <BR /> <BR />We know that large numbers of our children encounter harmful content on self-harm, eating disorders and bullying pushed to them by recommendation systems. As the Children's Commissioner has noted, adult content still reaches children through major platforms despite their stated policies. It is clear that the first exposure to such content can occur shockingly early. Sadly, online bullying is widespread. Those are not abstract risks; they are the lived experiences of families and young people and children in our constituencies.”
“I will start by saying that I welcome the motion and thank the proposer for bringing it to the Floor. We are likely to prefer the motion over the amendment, but, regardless of that, there will be an awful lot of commonality around what we are speaking to. Everyone wants to push in the same direction. <BR /> <BR />We all wish to protect the next generation online. Social media is now a part of everyday life, yet, while it presents risks to users of all ages, those risks fall most heavily on our children. Additional workable protections should be a welcome step as we strive to make the online world a safer place. Young people today face challenges and pressures that are different from those of the generations before them. We should not be blind to the harm that social media can cause.”
“On a point of order, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. Will you make a ruling on whether the Member who has just spoken was in order when he directly accused a Member of being racist towards those with "black and brown faces"?”
“Opposing the proposal is not about protecting the system; it is about defending a status quo that has already been judged to be failing our controlled schools. If we are serious about fairness, consistency and equal respect across our education system, we cannot ask controlled schools to accept a level of support that no other sector would be asked to accept.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Controlled Schools Unit does not take support away from anyone, nor does it undermine collaboration. It simply recognises the reality that equity sometimes requires different structures, not identical ones. The Minister's approach is staged and sensible. It offers immediate improvement through the unit, while preparing the ground for a future managing authority. It puts children and school leaders first, rather than asking them to wait years for perfection.”