Alan Robinson
East Londonderry · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“As the school year comes to a close, 2026 will see the loss of two high-profile educators in Roe Valley. Those two individuals have given many valuable years of service to the education system.”
“<BR /> <BR />Marshall and Nicola, I hope that you begin your well-earned rest with immense pride in all that you have accomplished. Your schools will undoubtedly miss you, but your legacy will continue through every pupil whose life was enriched because of your years of service.”
“<BR /> <BR />While the two individuals led very different schools, they shared a calling: to provide the best education for young people and to inspire those around them. They have been a steady, reassuring presence for generations of children and trusted colleagues to their staff.”
“He has been an incredibly popular head of school and has the respect of many across the education system in the Province. I wish him well and trust that he will enjoy having more time for the sports that he is so deeply fond of, including rugby.”
“I thank the Member for that response. I very much welcome the addition of a padded protective area, which is something that I had lobbied for. I am keen to know whether there are any plans to increase the number of Changing Places facilities in Parliament Buildings in order to improve accessibility for staff and visitors.”
“Like others, I support the motion. For many individuals and couples across Northern Ireland, the dream of becoming parents is accompanied by years of emotional heartbreak. Couples who have undergone that journey will tell you that it is the uncertainty that kills them.”
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“When an ambulance cannot hand over, it cannot respond; when ED staff cannot move patients into wards, in effect, the front of the hospital jams; and, when inpatients who are medically fit cannot be discharged, beds remain blocked. That is the simple cascade that leaves patients in hospital corridors and has the RCEM telling us that staff morale is at an all-time low and that people dread coming into work simply because they cannot provide the high standard of care that they wish to provide. <BR /> <BR />The Northern Ireland Fiscal Council's 'Sustainability Report 2022: special focus — Health' warned about the throughput constraints and the need to improve the efficiency of care delivery and hospital flow. Those warnings remain painfully relevant, even more so today.”
“Clinicians unanimously reported patients coming to harm in current conditions; indeed, the RCEM says that applying the standard mortality ratio to Northern Ireland's 12-hour admitted patient waits suggests a conservative estimate of 1,122 excess deaths in 2024 linked to long waits and unsafe conditions. <BR /> <BR />We all know that overcrowding is not just an ED problem; rather, there is a whole-system flow failure, a phenomenon that the RCEM has documented extensively, including the mortality risk already referred to that is associated with long delays from arrival to admission, including ambulance offload waits of eight hours.”
“I dread to think what poor statistics will be produced. On that evening, I looked at the average waiting times in Altnagelvin, which is the main and largest hospital in my constituency: they were sitting at 418 minutes — just under seven hours — just to be seen. That was reflected across the hospital network. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine's snapshot on 8 December 2025 of all nine major EDs found cubicle occupancy for patients awaiting beds at 137%, with 401 people waiting for an inpatient bed and 49% of them receiving care in non-designated spaces, including in corridors, on floors and in chairs. One patient had been in the ED for 124 hours — five days.”
“Like others, I appreciate the motion that has been proposed today. All winter to date, just about every day, the evidence across social media and from the accounts of our constituents and medical staff has been that EDs are totally gridlocked, ambulance handovers are under exceptional and unprecedented pressure and waiting lists across outpatient, inpatient and diagnostic services are at levels that would have been unthinkable even a decade ago. Official statistics for emergency care waiting times from July to September 2025 show that just 44·7% of patients were seen within four hours and that 10,879 patients spent over 12 hours in EDs in September alone. <BR /> <BR />On the evening of Wednesday 7 January, when I wrote my speech, the statistics for the winter period had not been released.”
“As a result of the June 2024 regional strategic workforce review of pathology services, a board was formed to drive implementation. All those steps are important, and they must be recognised and welcomed. <BR /> <BR />Families, however, say that progress has been too slow. They also say that shipping off grieving families and their children to another country for a post-mortem is cruel. The north coast, which I represent, is not around the corner from somewhere like Dublin, which is a three-hour drive away. Either way, specialist care locally should be our goal. Requiring parents to travel long distances, wait and navigate their way through a distressing process adds to the trauma that they have just experienced. It multiplies emotional trauma for bereaved families in their darkest hour.”
“The pressures are similar in the Republic of Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I have to be fair to the Department, however, as the matter has not been totally ignored. As we have all referred to, the Department of Health entered into formal arrangements with Alder Hey Children's Hospital, and many families say that they have been supported sensitively during a difficult process. The Department commissioned an independent evaluation, conducted by Queen's University, that produced a set of 21 recommendations to improve the service. The Department has accepted those recommendations in full, and they are being actioned. <BR /> <BR />In tandem, as part of longer-term planning, the Northern Ireland Pathology Network is working on workforce transformation.”
“In a specialty so small and delicate, even a single vacancy can collapse the entire service. <BR /> <BR />It is important to acknowledge that the issue is not unique to here. Paediatric and perinatal pathology is one of the smallest specialties in the UK, with only approximately 52 consultants. According to the Royal College of Pathologists, there are significant workforce challenges. Many consultant posts are unfilled, and it is my understanding that training posts in Northern Ireland are non-existent. Recent figures state that there are 43 consultants in England, seven in Scotland and two in Wales and that there are 30 positions that need filling, leaving a vacancy gap of 37%. Many specialists are approaching retirement. The royal college estimates that 23% intend to retire in the next five years, thus compounding the shortage.”
“Parents or family members who wish to travel with their baby to Liverpool are supposed to be given the option to do so, but Mrs Buckley said that she was not made aware of that. <BR /> <BR />To understand how we got here, we have to look back. The problem originates from the resignation of the sole paediatric pathologist at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. Multiple national and international recruitment drives followed, but, despite those efforts, there is still an unfilled specialist post. In 2018, a report by the Institute of Anatomical Sciences noted that around 240 paediatric post-mortem examinations are carried out in the Province annually. The vast majority involve stillborn babies, miscarriages or infants who die shortly after birth.”
“As recently as February 2025, Julie Flaherty, in recalling her loss, called it "disgraceful" that, after six years, we still call the arrangements "interim". Another mother, Victoria Buckley, lost her baby Ollie in 2024. She described how she was told that her child would be taken to Liverpool for a post-mortem. She told 'The Independent' that:”
“I thank the proposer of the motion. We should all be concerned that, more than six years after paediatric post-mortem services were outsourced, we still do not have a full, locally based service. I use the words "interim arrangements" loosely, because what was supposed to be a temporary solution has now become entrenched. <BR /> <BR />There is no doubt that the transport of deceased infants or children to England imposes a devastating emotional challenge on families. A mother whose baby was stillborn described the cruel heartbreak of having to send her son to Alder Hey hospital for the post-mortem. Families are forced to make really tough decisions in their darkest hour while away from all their family support networks, sometimes at an added cost and with greater distress. <BR /> <BR />A local councillor has also expressed her dismay.”
“Does he believe that the reconfiguration of the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) is adding to the numbers attending Altnagelvin A&E?”
“I thank the Minister for that response. The Minister is quite right: the Altnagelvin emergency department is now 40 years old, and it was designed to cater for around 35,000 patients back then.”
“I cannot claim to have served with the late Mary Bradley. She served in the Assembly before my time, but, by all accounts, she was an incredibly hard worker, a very popular mayor, a grassroots, on-the-ground politician and a lady much loved and well liked in her former political party and across the political spectrum who gave 25 years of service to the people of Londonderry. <BR /> <BR />I therefore extend sympathies from the DUP to the SDLP. Although she will be missed by the people of that city, she will particularly be missed by her family and family circle, today and tomorrow. The DUP sends them its sincere condolences.”
“<BR /> <BR />Therefore, as stated in the motion, we urge the Minister to commit to publishing the time-bound implementation plan for the neurology review's recommendations, including the costings and, hopefully, some form of timeline to help to at least inch the issue forward. The cost of not doing it will be profound. While the cost to do it may seem steep, surely it is cheaper in human terms than letting our neurology services collapse under their own weight, which is the fear of where we may just get to.”
“The recent neurology review recommendations created a road map to work our way out of the mess, with four key areas in the report to drive forward improvements. <BR /> <BR />That elephant in the room remains, however. It is the one that we hear about so often in health debates in the Chamber: the lack of available investment, which, no doubt, will slow down the pace of the implementation. Despite the road map, we await a published plan. The Minister has acknowledged that substantial additional funding will be required but that, in the current constrained budget environment, meeting the full costs will be challenging. I am sure that we will hear that in his contribution. That is what is so deeply concerning: a once-in-a-generation opportunity could be lost.”
“<BR /> <BR />I acknowledge the Northern Ireland Neurological Charities Alliance, which has repeatedly warned that delays in neurology services are adding to the worsening mental health of patients and feelings of being abandoned after diagnosis. Diane referred to that in her opening remarks. The impact of the delays is multilayered, with worse patient outcomes, adult mental health, worsening strain on emergency services, workforce burnout, with staff in the field stretched to breaking point, and geographical inequity, with the concentration of expertise being at the Royal Victoria Hospital and no consultants in the Northern Trust. However, it would be wrong of me not to acknowledge that the Department has recognised many of those challenges.”
“Only 25 full-time equivalent consultants work in the field, and there is very little emergency 24/7 cover beyond that offered at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Only two of 138 core medical training places are allocated to this field, which restricts the ability to train the next generation. There is a need for substantial growth in the allied health and nursing workforce. <BR /> <BR />The statistics do not make for good reading. Is it any wonder that the Economist Intelligence Unit stated in 2024 that, if you are ever in Northern Ireland, pray that you do not need a neurology appointment? That at a time when 40,000 people are living with such issues, including 22,000 people with epilepsy; 5,400 with MS; 4,000 with Parkinson's; and 140 with that horrible condition MND.”
“Access to neurology services is important because the conditions affect tens of thousands of people; it is an issue that people want to see escalated by the Department of Health. <BR /> <BR />The scale of the conditions, which now affect tens of thousands of local people, is frightening. Like all of us, I find myself feeling quite frustrated and down when I read and speak about the stats, especially when, because of our aging population, there will be an increase in people who present with issues such as Parkinson's disease, MND and epilepsy. Approximately 20,000 people are on a waiting list to see a neurologist: 11,000 of those people have been waiting for over a year and over 11,000 people are overdue for a review appointment.”
“Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. We got there. We thank the signatories to the amendment. We will certainly support the amendment, and we very much value and welcome its inclusion today. <BR /> <BR />It is important to say that we do not table motions to poke anyone in the eye or to play a game of one-upmanship. We table motions because our constituents and the organisations that frequent these Buildings, as Diane mentioned, ask us to highlight the issues that people are very concerned about, and the appropriate forum in which to do so is the Chamber. On the final plenary day of 2025, no apology should be given for debating health issues in the Chamber, given the importance of these matters.”
“It truly sickens me to the core that gullible young people are brainwashed to believe that individuals who sneak in and plant a 5 kg bomb in a pillar to bring a roof down upon young people having a night out at Christmastime and who then scurry away are heroes and so-called brave defenders of their bloody, filthy terrorist cause. Let us call it as it is: only murdering psychopaths, blinded by hatred, would do such a thing. Parents and those with responsibility must tell young people that there is nothing to celebrate in terrorism, that it was as wrong then as it is today and that it should never be repeated and can never be justified. I tell that to my child, who is the same age that I was when that dastardly evil was brought on the people of the beautiful and peaceful village of Ballykelly.”
“While it is a dark date for me from my childhood — I can clearly remember the wail of emergency vehicles — it is an even darker day for those who are left with an empty chair at this time of year and for those who have the mental and physical scars to this day. <BR /> <BR />Again, I thank the Cheshire Regiment Association, which ensures that, every year, those who suffered by the evil that was inflicted upon that village and its people are remembered by an annual solemn event in Tamlaght Finlagan. While others wish to stand on the side of evil and terror, I am always proud to stand, every year, shoulder to shoulder with the innocent to show them that we support them and that we still, and always will, care after the passing of all those years.”
“The date of 6 December is one that is ingrained in my mind, as it was a dark day in my childhood in 1982. However, it was an even darker day for so many other others. It was the date on which evil descended upon the village of Ballykelly, when republican terrorists decided that they would plant a bomb in the Droppin' Well nightclub, killing 17 young people who were having a night out three weeks before Christmas. Protestants and Catholics, the terrorists did not care who they killed. They could not care less who they injured, some with terrible, lifelong injuries. As I said last year, the bombing was an act of evil republican terrorist violence that served no purpose and advanced no cause other than to rob families of loved ones and remove good and decent human beings from this world.”
“This cannot become another long-term aspiration for the Department: the Committee has done its job, and now it is time for the Department to urgently take up the baton and do its job. Early palliative care improves quality of life and reduces costs by avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions. Now is the time for the Department to truly shift left in its words and its actions.”
“Dependency on outsourcing essential healthcare to charity is wrong on so many levels. Just imagine intensive care services being dependent on cake sales or the selling of second-hand clothes and furniture. <BR /> <BR />I will also mention recommendation 27, which calls for the introduction of a new palliative and end-of-life strategy. Having as a current strategy one from 2010, dating back 15 years, cannot serve a population marked by demographic change, medical advances and the mounting pressures across our health service. <BR /> <BR />The inquiry report is a landmark moment; it lights a path forward. Our work highlighted so many challenges but provides so many opportunities.”
“As other Members have said, it is really important to thank the Committee staff, who spent long hours bringing together the report and the 27 recommendations therein. <BR /> <BR />Some of the recommendations are very powerful, and we will all have views on which is the most important, but the introduction of legislation to mandate the commissioning and funding of palliative end-of-life care is number one. That is to be underpinned by the appointment of an interim independent clinical lead, which should need no explanation: we are the only region across these isles that does not have such a post. The long-standing funding arrangements for hospices are not fit for purpose, relying heavily on charitable fundraising to support what are, in reality, core health services.”
“It works to prevent suffering through early identification, proper assessment and treatment of pain and other issues, whether physical, emotional or spiritual. A key line is that it provides a support system to help patients live as fully and actively as possible until the end of life. <BR /> <BR />The outcome of the inquiry reinforced our concern that the current system fails to support patients at the most vulnerable time in their lives. We are grateful for the evidence that we received from 37 organisations, 71 health professionals and academics, 221 individuals with lived experience, RaISe, the Department of Health and the independent hospice sector. We are also grateful for the warm welcome that we received on a number of visits.”
“I very much welcome the opportunity to speak on such an important issue. The Committee did a lot of good work in its inquiry, in gathering evidence and hearing powerful testimonies from patients, families, providers and others across the public sector and the independent health sector. That work helped to identify areas that require greater focus and brought forth the recommendations in the report. We all very much hope that the Minister and his Department can translate those recommendations into changes for the better. <BR /> <BR />Palliative care is an approach aimed at improving quality of life for patients, adults and children, as well as their families, who are dealing with life-threatening illnesses.”
“I thank the Member for his response. The behaviour that we saw in the Chamber on 10 November was unsavoury. Was it tasteless for MLAs in the Chamber to applaud such unsavoury behaviour? What advice will be given to Members going forward?”
“I thank the Minister for that response. What discussions has his Department had with the Department of Justice regarding the enforcement of firework regulations?”
“I thank the Minister for that response. Minister, building on the success of the recent Open, how confident are you that the Open will return to Royal Portrush? What work is under way to ensure that that happens?”
“It can be the difference between a cure and, sadly, palliative care.”
“Every week that a patient waits is a week in which their prognosis worsens and translates into real consequences. Sometimes, those consequences are deadly. Northern Ireland's performance is not just lacking: in some respects, it is among the worst in comparable jurisdictions, which is simply unacceptable for our people. <BR /> <BR />Again, this is not in any way an attack on you, Minister. All of us in this House want to support you, but we cannot shy away from holding you and the Department to account when the statistics before us remain so stubbornly poor. As I said, studies show that even a four-week delay in starting cancer treatment can increase the risk of death by between 6% and 8%. Four weeks may seem a short time in policy discussions, but, to a patient who is waiting for chemotherapy, surgery or radiotherapy, it is an eternity.”
“<BR /> <BR />Given how far we are from the target of 95% of urgent referrals beginning treatment within 62 days, the Minister and his Department must focus on clearing those backlogs, and the patients who are most at risk must be given priority. He should set incremental but firm milestones — for example, reaching 50%, then 65% and then 80% — and report publicly each quarter. I am not one who favours a plan on top of another plan; we have seen much of that in the past. However, we do need a cancer waiting stabilisation recovery plan that learns from what other regions of the UK have done to turn things around. Regardless of whether you call it a waiting list turnaround programme or something else, we must do better. Everyone in the Chamber is united in wanting all cancer patients to have the highest quality of treatment and outcomes.”
“In Northern Ireland, the wait to start chemotherapy was, on average, 57 days versus 48 days in England and 39 days in Norway. That study highlights unfortunate missed opportunities for patients in the UK to receive life-prolonging treatment. <BR /> <BR />Furthermore, the proportion of patients being diagnosed at the latest stage is troubling. Between 2018 and 2022, the rate of diagnosis of pancreatic cancer at stage 4 was 51·2% in Northern Ireland. As has been said, international research shows that a delay of four weeks in starting cancer treatment can increase the risk of death by between 6% and 8%. All that paints a really poor picture of patients waiting far too long, and it proves that outcomes are unacceptable when compared with all other nations.”
“<BR /> <BR />Turning to survival and treatment outcomes, figures for the period 2012 to 2016 show that the one-year net survival rate after a cancer diagnosis stood at approximately 73% and that the five-year net survival rate was 57%. It would be interesting to access the most recent figures. For some cancers, the position was more bleak. For instance, pancreatic cancer in Northern Ireland had a one-year survival rate of just 25·9% and a five-year survival rate of 6·2%. A major international benchmarking study found that cancer patients in Northern Ireland received less chemotherapy over a five-year period than cancer patients in comparable countries. In Norway, the percentage was 39·1%; in Canada, it was 38·5%; and in Australia, it was 42·1%.”
“It is worth repeating the fact that two thirds of those urgent patients were waiting beyond what is judged to be acceptable. It is wholly unacceptable that all trusts missed that target. Indeed, they were the third-worst figures since 2008. Those patients include people with blood cancer and breast cancer. Worse still, almost nine out of 10 people with lower gastrointestinal (GI) cancers waited more than 62 days to start treatment. It is also worth highlighting that the Department does not publish the numbers of people who waited beyond that 62-day period or the length of time that they had to wait to be treated. The Minister needs to publish regular- and long-wait data.”
“Our health system must work in the most efficient way, but the evidence is that we are simply not diagnosing or treating it quickly enough. In treating cancer, timing really matters. Indeed, we are the worst in the UK in that regard, and the gap is widening. That is certainly not a record that any of us want to crow about. <BR /> <BR />As was mentioned, the latest figures, which were published in October for the quarter ending June 2025, show that, of those who a GP referred urgently with suspected cancer, only 32·5% began treatment within 62 days. That figure is far below the target of at least 95%. It is a scandal. As others also mentioned, only one third of patients were treated within the 62-day period. In Scotland, the figure stands at 69·9%, and, in England, it is 69·1%.”
“Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank everyone who spoke in the debate. Many spoke of their personal experience. As I have said many times, we always value that because it breathes life into what can, sometimes, be stale debates in the Chamber. I also thank the Health Minister for his input. We all recognise that he has an incredibly challenging and difficult role, and we should not lose sight of that. I certainly will not stand here and try to play politics with such an important topic. I do not think that anyone has done that this evening. <BR /> <BR />Every day in this Province, 28 people get the news that none of us ever wants to hear: that they have cancer. Cancer is the leading cause of death here, even greater than heart disease, and we are in one hell of a battle against time.”
“What criteria were applied to applications for the pilot exercise for the provision of outdoor covered sports spaces?”
“I thank the Minister for his comments and his statement. Will the reduction in the grant for housing associations impact on the viability of some schemes? If so, what will be the overall impact on the programme?”
“Only then is the Department optimistic that that work will allow the road to reopen to cars and light vehicles in early December. Even then, that work is subject to suitable weather conditions. <BR /> <BR />With Christmas fast approaching and traders pleading for support from the Assembly, and given the passing weeks, every piece of armoury must be thrown at the project to ensure that a speedy but safe repair is carried out. No one should underestimate the importance of getting it right and getting the job done. Whilst a longer-term project is being considered to address the single-lane arrangements of a listed bridge that was built 241 years ago, a fully accessible bridge is simply a lifeline to the survival of the town of Kilrea.”
“One of the biggest criticisms from traders is what they have described as a lack of definitive information from the Department for Infrastructure. Businesses have said that they have been "hung out to dry", and they say that, had this happened in Belfast, things would have moved much faster. Initially, traders were told that a specialist contractor had been appointed, and work to repair the bridge was to start yesterday. That work would involve a 14-week scheme, meaning that restoring vehicle access over the bridge would be as far away as mid-February. Following further pressure from traders and elected representatives, there will now be an interim solution to install temporary tie bars to provide temporary restraints to the walls while the main repairs are carried out.”
“I want to say a few words about the Bann bridge in Kilrea, County Londonderry, which, due to safety reasons, was closed to all traffic on 20 September this year. The issue was extensive cracking on the retaining wall that is located at the south-west end of the single-lane bridge that connects Kilrea to County Antrim. <BR /> <BR />The closure of the bridge is having a huge impact on the business community in that town. Indeed, reports in the media suggest that a drop in footfall has led to a 50% decrease in sales since the bridge's closure almost eight weeks ago. Staff are also being affected, with some having to travel an extra hour to get to their place of work. The closure has seen the town, which sits close to the edge of County Londonderry, cut off from County Antrim.”
“— and say that, ahead of this winter, I am scared about the safety of patients.”
“In recent correspondence from the Minister to the Health Committee, he gave an assessment that a pay award in full for 2025-26 was doubtful without additional support and that such support was not expected to be available. That was disappointing to read, but I am glad that money now seems destined for those incredibly hard-working staff and that it will be factored in to the beginning of the Department's budget process. <BR /> <BR />I will be honest —”
“They do not allay the frustrations of the staff, nor do they fully reassure the public that the healthcare system here will stand firm and that things will improve, particularly when, so early in the season, we already see huge pressures. <BR /> <BR />The motion refers to a pay settlement for healthcare staff. That had not yet been agreed despite prior commitments. We had all hoped that the workforce would see that reflected before the winter set in, but, alas, that has not happened. Healthcare staff have been saying to me that it sends the wrong message to staff at a time when the Department is asking them to dig deeper, do more with less and face the winter surges in illness. They say that it is unfair to ask them to wait longer for recognition.”
“I will not tonight, thank you. <BR /> <BR />The plan states that, although difficult, measures will be in place, such as the Northern Trust's Hospital at Home service, but that will initially cover just 10 patients and does not appear to be able to be scaled up to make a huge difference this winter. <BR /> <BR />There are small positive steps, and it would be wrong not to acknowledge them. There are 12 additional beds in the Altnagelvin ED: I hope that that is enough and that there are enough staff to treat patients. The positives do not remove the stress that is being felt by the healthcare system and its staff.”
“That is particularly true of our frail and older population.”
“In such circumstances, staff morale, stability and retention are key. Even the best-laid plans will not be successful if the workforce are demoralised, overworked and underpaid, which they will be until they get the pay rises that they deserve. <BR /> <BR />The winter months always bring increased demand for health and social care services. As the winter preparedness plan from the Department of Health for 2024-25 reminded us:”
“Then, on top of it all, they are caught in the middle of budgetary issues”