David Honeyford
Lagan Valley · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Ten years ago, the UK voted to leave the EU, and Northern Ireland was removed from the EU against its will. People will have voted for many reasons, but people were lied to.”
“Many families have spent the past decade worse off, and the loudest supporters of Brexit have punished them, while we have the likes of Farage appearing to be prospering personally. <BR /> <BR />Ten years on, the question is not whether Brexit was right or wrong, because the evidence is clear for everyone to see.”
“<BR /> <BR />The biggest cost of Brexit has been instability, which scares off investment. Since the Brexit referendum, the UK has had seven Prime Ministers, and we have had the Assembly collapse twice. Political uncertainty has become normal. However, when politics becomes unstable, ordinary people pay the price.”
“We need to see more happening, because east-west collaboration is already happening. We need more collaboration to grow our economy further, but talk is cheap. People say such lines on the news but then come to the Chamber and vote against collaboration.”
“Two and a half years into the term of this Executive, much of that remains missing. The same applies to waste water infrastructure and planning reform, with delays continuing to block growth and investment. We should do much more to collaborate North/South, as we do east-west, to improve people's lives.”
“The Executive are failing to provide certainty and follow-up on their commitments. My colleague Andrew Muir having had his green growth strategy blocked for over a year is just one example.”
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“I said in a debate just before recess that RHI is the subject that causes dread and fear in the Assembly, but it is important that we deal with the past not for the sake of ticking a box or having a report but to actually allow us to move forward and build confidence in the Assembly for the future. <BR /> <BR />The Audit Office report highlights the ridiculously slow speed of implementation, and that is made worse when the Assembly does not sit. The report reinforces the damage that the collapse of the Assembly has had on the speed of progress and highlights the delays that happen. Work just stops, and we then try to play catch-up in the time when we are sitting again. It is time that we realise real reform of these institutions. <BR /> <BR />Why is it important to deal with RHI and to fully implement the report and the recommendations?”
“We need to transform and reimagine our town centres so that they can not only contribute to economic growth but provide opportunities for everyone. <BR /> <BR />Phillip Brett talked about the need for the Department for the Economy to take the lead on the issue, and I completely agree. Junior Minister Reilly laid out the Executive Office's view, but the high street task force's recommendations have been sitting for three years. There seems to be a ludicrous bureaucratic triangle regarding who is delivering those recommendations. I hope that, as today has shown, we can establish support and that the Department for the Economy can take the lead and develop the high streets that we deserve.”
“We need to ensure that small businesses and social enterprises can have connected and flexible work spaces that incubate and encourage growth, thus forming clusters uniquely in our town centres, supporting wealth generation that is circulated and stays locally. <BR /> <BR />I want to talk about better connections. Gerry Carroll made a really good point about developing a city centre that is easily walked or cycled, with permanent cycle lanes installed on the major routes in and around our towns and cities. We could have better connectivity and cost-effective, reliable and frequent public transport options that allow us to move around and get about. The motion is about how we can create vibrant, regenerated and sustainable town centres that are thriving and inclusive. The day of viewing our high streets as solely economic spaces is over.”
“<BR /> <BR />The principle, and one of the key values that are required for our high streets, is that we support the generation of wealth locally and that it is recirculated so that everyone feels the benefit and no one is excluded. We need to create tailored spaces, including small spaces for independent traders, boutiques and craft makers, which will allow them to open, trade and thrive and will work for and with their business needs. <BR /> <BR />Finally, we must encourage commercial use in our town centres. Belfast has quite a lot of that, but outside Belfast it is not as prominent.”
“We have some great examples of that, such as the West Belfast festival and the Halloween parades in Derry, which other towns and villages can learn from. In Lisburn, however, the arts centre and the theatre are based at the council headquarters, which are outside the city centre. Both are completely disconnected from the city centre. If we continue to separate every function, our high streets will continue to decline. In Lisburn, that needs to change, and both of those facilities should be moved to Bow Street. That will act as a catalyst and encourage others to follow and start the regeneration of the city centre.”
“I agree with what has been said, but we also need planning reform, which Phillip Brett referenced. We need planning that balances the protection of heritage alongside the unlocking of today's high street requirements, enabling the future to be realised. Cheryl Brownlee and Phillip Brett both highlighted dereliction and planning. <BR /> <BR />I mentioned the arts in our town centres. We must encourage local artists and musicians to entertain on our streets, but they also need spaces where they can perform and attract audiences, thereby creating more footfall on our high streets. We need to support and grow inclusive annual community festivals that are unique to each town and city throughout the region.”
“City centre living must be developed with a mixed tenure apartments on our high streets and in town centres. We need to develop safe cities for all — for young people, professionals and retired people — so that they enjoy living in our town centres. We need to create towns that breathe and develop living cities with more urban space, more trees and more green space in the built-up areas, where the environment is clean and sustainable, where there is good air quality, where there is clean water in the rivers and where there are accessible green spaces. <BR /> <BR />Diane Armstrong and Colin Crawford talked about long-term dereliction and buildings that remain in our town centres, and the need for the Department for the Economy and the Department of Finance to action that.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention and I hope that he enjoys his new friendships.”
“Gerry Carroll, in a kind of protest, talked about Sundays, and the DUP nodded along. Then, Timothy Gaston was positive about Ballymoney High Street and went on to congratulate People Before Profit. So, with the new fans that Gerry has in the DUP and the TUV, who says that politics cannot change and that we cannot all be friends?”
“Furthermore, we should encourage arts and crafts to have a presence. As well as our high streets having commercial spaces and offices, we can bring them into mixed use and give them a pulse during the day and, importantly, at night. <BR /> <BR />Using rate relief or restructuring our rating system would encourage a reworking and a rethinking of our town centres to make them places of mixed use — places where we shop, live, go out to enjoy hospitality, enjoy the arts and be entertained on the streets or where our home serves as our workplace. We can do that if we tip the tax advantage towards our town centres to encourage growth. Sinéad McLaughlin and Colin McGrath laid out the need for a review of our high streets to recreate them as the heart of our communities. <BR /> <BR />Our high streets really spark discussions and change in here.”
“Yes, I agree. I highlight the situation in Downpatrick — I was there last year — that was absolutely devastating for local businesses. <BR /> <BR />In Lisburn, we have seen bad decisions at a political level that failed our high street, but I want to look forward and at solutions to change that. What is the aim, and what should the future look like? <BR /> <BR />Colm Gildernew referenced the change in usage and, moving forward, a new reality. We need to reshape and repurpose our town centres to create vibrant, regenerative, sustainable town centres that are thriving and inclusive, where everyone gets to play and no one is excluded. Within that reshaping, we need to look at good urban design that encourages people to live in our town centres, which can become living spaces where city centre living sits alongside retail and hospitality.”
“Having asked ourselves why our town centres are vital, we can then put in the measures that will help to deliver the future. I want to look at those measures and how we help to grow and sustain our high streets, because we cannot keep doing the same thing over and over again. <BR /> <BR />Philip McGuigan mentioned the places in which we live and work and need to be safe. He also talked about councils' role, as did Connie Egan, who spoke about the issues in Bangor. Thinking of my town, Lisburn, I have watched Bow Street slowly decline over the past 25 years, with bad decisions at political level that have —.”
“Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. Speaking as the Alliance Party spokesperson on the economy, I feel that this is the stuff where business meets community. It shows that there is potential, and it enthuses me that we can actually control change from the Assembly and make a huge difference right across this region. <BR /> <BR />We need to take a little step back and ask ourselves what it is about our town centres that makes them vital to our community, our local economy and our local businesses. What is it about the social fabric of our community that clusters around an urban centre? We can look back on the glory days of the past, but what is important today is that we look to the future and to a world that has changed.”
“I, and the Alliance Party, ask the Minister to create space and time to allow full confidence to be brought to the issue and to provide us with all the evidence that we need to make a decision. I also ask that the Department engage with representatives and participants to work through a solution so that the full information can be brought forward and we can have full scrutiny and have confidence in what we are voting on. I ask the Minister to do that as soon as possible. Until that happens, I cannot support the motion.”
“I urge the Minister to make all that evidence available. <BR /> <BR />The principle of closure is clear, as I have stated already. Alliance's position is clear: we want to see the scheme closed down in an orderly fashion. It is unfortunate that we are debating an uplift that, in principle, is what the boiler owners need.”
“The credibility of any future renewables scheme is absolutely critical, and, ultimately, that is what we are discussing. It goes much wider than just this rate: it is about the credibility of everything moving forward. We must look forward and provide the necessary basis for delivery of any new scheme. We must also look after those who have been badly treated and under-compensated for several years. The basis for moving forward must be recommendations that have previously been made. In a recent legal appeal judgement, Madam Justice Keegan said that there needed to be "a consensual solution" where the Department would meet and discuss with owners. Unfortunately, that has not happened. The public consultation has been withheld from us. How can we, or the public, have confidence about proper scrutiny when details are being withheld?”
“I thank the Minister for his response, which I received on Friday, and its explanation in respect of some of our questions. However, the process to get information and answers should not be so difficult. The answers should be made readily available at the Committee. The answers that officials give back to us as evidence should be consistent. I welcome the Minister's clarification on tariff tiering, compatibility with the scheme's legislative basis and state aid approval. However, I do not understand why that information was not clearly communicated when officials were in front of the Economy Committee. <BR /> <BR />It is essential that, in any new scheme or anything that we do in this field, we give confidence to investors that the Assembly will not leave people stuck or cut loose.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I was about to say that this place works best when we all work together. <BR /> <BR />Moving on, it is important to put everything out there and work our way through the process. I raised my concerns again in the Economy Committee last week, on 16 October. We are being asked to make a decision but not being given the details to do that. Since Wednesday, I and other Alliance colleagues have had further meetings with officials from the Department for the Economy to further draw out answers to our questions. In recent weeks, we have also discussed with and listened to representatives of the Renewable Heat Association for Northern Ireland and the Ulster Farmers' Union. <BR /> <BR />Further to that meeting with officials, I wrote to the Minister for further clarification and understanding.”
“I thank the Minister for addressing the issue. It comes down to having the worst of both worlds. What proposals will he bring forward to address the issue, even in the new year, and level the playing field for Lisburn traders?”
“<BR /> <BR />When I left the Committee two weeks ago, I was not in a position to be able to support the proposal, or to recommend to the party that it should do so, but I have continued to work outside of the Committee to try to get answers and get to a place where I can recommend a direction of travel. My gut, and part of the Alliance Party's DNA, is to support and work with any Minister for the betterment of all of us. That is the place that I come from, and from which I want to start to work through the process. I have said many times that this place works best when we work together, but we are not getting information —.”
“No problem. Thank you for the intervention. It has felt like we have been trying to draw blood out of a stone: information has been withheld, we have been given as little detail as possible, and there have been deflective and evasive answers. It has felt as though there is a fear of answering questions, and that we have not been given the information that we asked for to make a judgement. It is hard to build trust when it feels like the information that you are asking for is being withheld, you are being given different answers to the same questions at different times or you sense that you are simply not being given a straightforward answer or an answer that is in language that you can clarify simply.”
“<BR /> <BR />The second, and equal, issue is that of the rate. We must recognise that many people engaged in the RHI scheme legitimately and in good faith. I have said that my concern is for them. They deserve a fair rate for the scheme's lifespan. <BR /> <BR />The place for scrutiny was the Committee for the Economy. The information that came to the Committee was, at best, limited and lacking. It felt as though we were trying to draw blood out of a stone.”
“<BR /> <BR />The development of a new energy scheme will be critical to delivering our legal and moral climate obligations. I have raised in Committee many times the need for the scheme to include energy that is generated by small wind sources. I clearly put on record Alliance's position while the Minister is here with us: we have an all-island energy market, and the entry point for any new scheme that we move into must be the same as that in the South. We cannot disadvantage investment in Northern Ireland. I urge the Minister to look at that again in the Department. Alliance will keep lobbying for the same generation levels and standards, North and South, for the benefit of all of us. We share this island. Alliance believes in enhancing North/South cooperation for the betterment of everyone across it.”
“We are looking to scrutinise the legislation, and we look forward to its coming forward in 2025. Alliance supports the closure of the RHI scheme. It needs to be closed, and we need to move on. <BR /> <BR />The tariff uplift and the closure are two separate issues, but, equally, we cannot separate them because they are linked. Northern Ireland needs to move forward with renewables at the centre of our energy policy and net zero delivery. Delivering energy security is key to this region, but RHI is a failed scheme of the past. Industry and investors must be able to move into a new scheme with absolute confidence that the lessons of RHI have been learned and the debacle of RHI is firmly behind us. Without its closure, we cannot access the UK renewables energy fund.”
“Let us also not forget that it helped to finish the political career of the former DUP First Minister, who was the Minister who brought us the scheme in the first place. RHI has been a disaster from the start. There have been years of failure and the suffering of many people. <BR /> <BR />Where are we now as we start to look forward? Given that Alliance had no part in the design or implementation of RHI, our concern is primarily for the people caught up in the scheme. They honestly entered a government scheme and are now at financial loss. First, we are not talking about closure of the scheme, as the Committee Chair, Phillip, said.”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. <BR /> <BR />I want to set out my party's position. It is with regret that we debate this. The controversy around RHI alone warranted better engagement with the Committee and the groups that represent RHI boiler owners. <BR /> <BR />"RHI": three letters that terrify some people, horrify others and, further, have left a group of people suffering financially. My concern is for those people. RHI has brought the Assembly down in the past. Not only has it left some people who honestly engaged in the scheme in debt but it left the people of the whole region without a Government for three years. Everyone suffers now from the lack of reform in Departments as a result.”
“Lisburn Rangers are a great example of what could be achieved if match funding were there to help them to realise their dream. With the massive investment in sport that we see in the South, I have repeatedly raised with the Shared Island unit and the Irish Government the question of investing Shared Island funds in sporting clubs in the North. I call on the Minister to engage with Ministers in the South to explore opening Shared Island funding to grassroots clubs in Northern Ireland.”
“I want to say a massive congratulations, not only to the girls but to those behind the scenes who have helped to create the platform for the girls to perform on. A special mention goes to Ali Dickson and Nigel Farr, the coaching staff and the rest of the committee at Lisburn Rangers. They have helped to create an inclusive environment that brings people together. <BR /> <BR />Throughout Lagan Valley, there are great sports clubs full of volunteers who work tirelessly for our community. Sport unites our community, gives people opportunities and brings our community together, but grassroots sport urgently needs investment. Unfortunately, that has been seriously lacking in recent years, which continues to prevent growth and the development of the facilities that people deserve.”
“On Saturday night, I had the pleasure of being at Windsor Park to cheer on Lisburn Rangers Ladies in the Women's Challenge Cup final. What a story and journey those girls have been on. Four years ago, they were in the lowest division, just starting out. After being promoted year-on-year, this season was their first in the Premiership. It is a really young team, and many of the girls have come through the youth age grades. They secured fourth place in their first season in the Premiership and went through to the Challenge Cup final. While they came up short on Saturday night, they should be massively proud of their achievements. <BR /> <BR />Life is a journey, not a destination. It will be exciting to support a team like this in the years ahead, as the girls have a big future in the game.”
“Last week, the Minister announced the really welcome regional balance direction, saying that it will require recruitment of additional specialist staff. Setting aside those new staff, what further work will now be undertaken to ensure that Invest NI starts doing things differently and delivers a more efficient service, in line with the Lyons review?”
“The Alliance team wishes you all the very best for Friday night.”
“They have not only been welcomed but have become an integral part of the club, inviting other friends and building community. That is what a united community looks like. <BR /> <BR />Last Sunday, the club held a community breakfast that I had the privilege of attending. It was just brilliant. It was packed. Well done to everyone who made that happen. I thank the players, the committee and the volunteers who have put so much effort into building a thriving club on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis over many years. We talk about and debate issues in the Chamber: for example, we will question the Economy Minister later. It is really important, however, to remember whom this is all for and to have our local community at the front and centre of everything that we do. I congratulate Dromara GAC on its journey thus far this season.”
“I want to take a minute to highlight the success of another Lagan Valley sports team and congratulate Dromara GAC on its season. It won the league in the summer and is now through to the championship final on Friday night. Sport has the ability to unite our community like nothing else. When you add a bit of success to that, the excitement and hope that build in a community can be incredible. Dromara GAC encapsulates those inclusive values, and it is there for everyone to see. The club replicates the united community values of the majority who live around Finnis in the Dromara area. Thus, it offers a friendly welcome to anyone who wants to get involved in and play Gaelic games. I have close friends who, like me, were not born into the GAA tradition but have, like me, got involved in their local club in recent years.”
“Can the Minister confirm whether the retrofitting of social homes is a key strategic element of the housing strategy?”
“I welcome this afternoon's statement from the Minister. He referenced the regional balance of the economy and the positive economic outlook for the area. Will he provide an update on the current envisaged economic benefit to Tyrone and Derry from the new A5 road? Are any estimated figures available?”
“I thank the Minister for his response, his commitment to looking at the issues and his actions taken. Will he provide an update on his Department's work on the green growth strategy?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. How will the current funding be used to support farmers through a just transition towards a more sustainable agriculture sector?”
“I thank the Minister. I love the ambition, and I welcome the statement today. The Minister mentioned working across other Departments, and the plan talks about net zero, green energy, inward investment, business growth, development zones and so on, and I welcome all of that. The fundamental problem with all that, however, for our entrepreneurs and business owners and for job creation, is the delays in the current planning system, which is not referenced at all in the document. How can the plan not recognise that planning reform is critical to the delivery of this?”
“Thank you for outlining the time frames of what we are doing. This is a vital upgrade of the A1, and, as others have said, the safety element is paramount. Is there anything that the Department can do in the short term to improve safety on the road now?”
“Has the First Minister had any discussions with National Museums NI on the former prison buildings? If so, will she give us an update?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Since you stopped, I want to tease the issue out. Do you agree that it would be really useful to have that blueprint? Councils have local development plans, but it would be useful if the energy sector had a Northern Ireland and all-island development plan for where infrastructure should be built, as it would help planners to make decisions and protect communities.”
“Again, I stress that this place works best when we all work together. Buy-in from all of us will be required to help bring things along.”
“<BR /> <BR />I was pleased to represent the Alliance Party, alongside Matthew O'Toole from the SDLP, the DUP and Sinn Féin — we were all represented there, bar the Ulster Unionist Party — at a recent Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry round-table event to hear about and discuss the problems directly with the industry. We all agree, as we did at the time, that it was really useful to hear, first-hand, the frustrations and the need for a simple plan — a master plan — to show us where wind and solar renewables would be more appropriate. <BR /> <BR />The motion calls for Ministers to act. We can develop a plan together quickly that will allow the main infrastructure to be developed to match the connection needs. That will also help make the planning process easier and reassure local communities.”
“However, a plan needs to be brought forward as a matter of urgency. <BR /> <BR />Talking of planning delays, we have heard about the applicant being blamed for not supplying enough information. When you talk to the applicant, that is frustrating for them because it is simply not accurate. If the applicant spends £30,000, £40,000 and more on applications, they bring everything that they have to the process. As all of us who have dealt with the planning system have experienced that, once an application goes in, it gets stuck in the system with consultations, more consultations and even more consultations. That needs to be sorted out.”
“The foot comes off the pedal once we get the strategy, and we celebrate the strategy rather than make it the basis on which we work to achieve and deliver the outcomes. The strategy should be the starting point, and we need to work to its delivery. <BR /> <BR />The issue with delivering renewables in this region is that the money invested here has been restricted because energy providers cannot navigate our current planning system, which they pay for heavily. Our planning system is not fit for purpose. We need the Minister for Infrastructure to bring forward a plan to reform the planning system as a matter of urgency. Again I say, we have not had the Assembly for five of the past seven years, and we are only eight months into the mandate, so I appreciate that the Minister is not long into office.”
“It will also give direction to network providers on where they can connect easily to the infrastructure and show where the main infrastructure needs to be developed. <BR /> <BR />I welcome that the economy and green transition sit prominently in the Programme for Government, but we cannot sit back and cross our fingers that the outcomes will happen. We need to take action and make the changes that we are in control of to create the conditions for others to deliver. Unless we work hard and reform our systems to enable those outcomes, the Programme for Government will be nothing more than words on a page or a pipe dream. Far too often in this place, we have worked to get a strategy, and the strategy is the goal. The strategy should be the starting point for us to move and make changes.”
“It is about lack of reform in our public sector. As I have said so many times, it is our role in this House to lay the pitch for others to play on. Our planning system urgently needs reform. I want to make it clear that the need for faster decision-making should not be at the expense of quality decision-making. We need a planning system that delivers sustainable development, protects our environment and works to help our economy move forward while protecting society. We also need a blueprint for where renewables will be situated. That could be a map or an architect's plan with zones for what works where. That will give direction to the market and make it easier for the planning authorities to make quicker and better decisions.”
“The Minister for Infrastructure is with us, and I am in no way pointing the finger; we are not looking back but moving forward from this point. However, the Assembly has not functioned, and our public sector has not reformed. Delivery of new wind and solar infrastructure is practically at a standstill, with little hope of progress in the near future without planning reform. Investment is moving to Scotland or the South, and the delay in delivering the transformation in renewable energy will further cost each of our constituents. SONI has measured that in real terms at a cost of approximately another £100 per person annually. <BR /> <BR />The delay has been caused by two things. It is not about lack of interest; it is not about a lack of capital; and it is not about a lack of companies wanting to invest.”
“I note that, last week, the energy regulator in GB said that the price of electricity there will rise by 10% this winter. I welcome the fact that our regulator has said that that will not be the case in Northern Ireland. Let me spell out in real terms the cost of delaying the delivery of our net zero commitments. Delays hit all our constituents in their pocket. For example, the lack of the North/South interconnector costs Northern Ireland £55,000 per day. That is the latest figure from the System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI), and it works out at approximately £100 on each person's annual bill. <BR /> <BR />We made a good start on renewables, but lack of public-sector reform has halted the growth of renewable energy. The Assembly's being down for five out of seven years is a large part of the problem.”
“Minister Muir is leading the way with a green growth strategy that will help to deliver a green new deal to decarbonise our economy. Alliance will not be found wanting in its support for transformation across all Departments when that helps to deliver the vision of a greener, cleaner environment. That sits alongside our core values of equality, prosperity and reconciliation as we move at pace towards a shared, integrated and united community. <BR /> <BR />In meetings with energy experts and industry representatives, the same issues that cause delays come up again and again. Every meeting you go to is like Groundhog Day. Top of the list is planning system reform, yet, frustratingly, there does not seem to be any movement towards trying to fix that. It costs all our constituents.”