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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“Areas of need could be targeted, giving a clear understanding of what is needed in particular areas. Most importantly, that approach would allow our renewables industry to get on and deliver, reducing the need for fossil fuels much faster. We live in an exciting time — an era of change — and Alliance wants to see action, rather than words, on delivering renewable energy transformation.”
“I will make a final point about the overall design of our energy system. Traditionally, we have had three centres of generation here. With the introduction of renewable energy, generation has spread across the region. There needs to be a lead, in the design of the system, on how we work towards our renewable energy goal. If you start to build a house, you follow an architect's designs, drawings and plans. They show you where you are going and give you the platform from which to deliver. It is not a shotgun approach, and it is not a case of saying, "We'll put this here, do that there and hope for the best". Our new energy system needs the same approach: an overall design that brings together all the moving parts from access to the grid to geography to helping to address the planning issues.”
“The Minister for Infrastructure has to get a grip on the issue quickly and reform the planning system to deliver planning decisions in a much shorter time. I am not saying that there should not be consultations; I am saying that we need to have a much easier and simpler process that delivers results. This must be treated as an emergency, and the reform and updating of our planning system must happen straight away.”
“We must quickly address renewable storage, such as how to store additional wind energy for use on days when it is less windy. <BR /> <BR />The second issue, which is a major problem and which is causing delay in the transition to renewable energy, is a completely outdated planning system. Everywhere I go — I speak to people across the industry — planning delays are raised as the number-one priority. The Minister for Infrastructure needs to address that urgently. We cannot imagine any of our emergency services being called to an emergency but having to sit in traffic, yet we are in a climate emergency, so delivery should not be delayed by being stuck in a planning system. Again and again, we are seeing investment that should and could have been made here moving South.”
“We need to invest in the diversity of all our renewable sources, and Alliance believes that we must work on that in partnership across the island, taking a shared-island approach in order to develop the scale and energy security that are required. It is also important to continue to develop a system that is connected to Scotland, Wales, France and on into mainland Europe. <BR /> <BR />We need to address three issues in order to allow us to move at a faster pace and enable the development of renewables. The first is energy security and storage. Energy storage of fossil fuels is all around us, whether it is oil tanks for our homes, petrol or diesel tanks in our cars and lorries, storage tanks at petrol stations or at docks or ports, as has been said.”
“I speak as the Alliance spokesperson for the economy. Alliance will support the motion and all bans on fracking, petroleum licensing, drilling and extraction. <BR /> <BR />I said recently in the Chamber that we live on a beautiful island in the Atlantic Ocean and have a wealth of renewable energy opportunities and resources at our fingertips. In the future, we should have next to no need for fossil fuels, so now is finally the time to introduce a ban to reassure those local communities that are affected. <BR /> <BR />As our entire means of power generation continue to positively evolve, Alliance wants to see the transition completely away from fossil fuels and faster movement towards a fairer, greener society that is powered by renewable energy.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your response. Every quarter, 13% of hospitality businesses are losing money, 20% are just breaking even, and a further 20% have no cash reserves. You have outlined that the hospitality industry is a hugely important sector that generates growth and drives the economy. Is it now time, Minister, for you to get together with the Department of Finance to come up with a relief package for those businesses?”
“When will the scheme be extended to include those people who were bereaved?”
“First Minister, when will the scheme be extended to include those people who were bereaved?”
“I will be brief because I was not expecting to be called. We support and welcome the regulations. Free access must be the norm in all workplaces. We thank the Minister for bringing them through, as Phillip from the Committee said. It goes beyond workplaces to further education colleges and sports facilities. Alliance wants to see this become the norm in society. <BR /> <BR />I have spoken previously about Pat Catney, and Phillip has mentioned him. As someone from Lagan Valley, I wish Pat all the best in his role as a councillor. He is now elected to Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, and he will do a first-class job there, as he did in the House. I pass on my regards to him, and I welcome the regulations.”
“While it is important to continue the work towards a truly peaceful society, this has to be the time when we finally start to look forward and finally start to look for and build prosperity for the wider region in the North. The development of the MLK site is subject to ministerial agreement on the way forward. Decisions finally need to be made, setting political baggage and aspirations aside, decisions that move this forward. I look forward in hope that decisions will come that provide the opportunities that this generation and the next deserve.”
“That is what Peter Robinson said about the site in 2012. <BR /> <BR />It could be an economic driver for tourism in the wider area. Approximately 70% of tourists enter the island from the South. We need to attract them into the North, and developing the site will help us to market the area and benefit everyone. This is the future that we could have. This is our future, but we need political leadership to deliver the results that will bring the community along. If we choose to walk into this, we will need decisions, not nice words. <BR /> <BR />We have had a peace process for the entire adult lifetime of practically everybody under the age of almost 50.”
“Finally building a peace and reconciliation centre could massively enhance and add to the offering and bring our community together in a way that helps us to deal with our past and our history. It would physically demonstrate the progress that we have made as a society, as we move towards peace, and it would be a place where others could learn from us. <BR /> <BR />The site would be:”
“There has been substantial tourism investment in Hillsborough. There has been investment in Hillsborough village by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, and it is to be commended for that work, which has been funded as part of the city deal. The city deal is to create and market a tourism opportunity and offering for the stunning Georgian Hillsborough village, with its bars, restaurants, cafes, boutique shops and hotels. Alongside the royal residence of Hillsborough Castle and its gardens are The Dark Walk, the fort and the neighbouring forest park. The area hosts the Ulster Aviation Society, as was mentioned, and there is the Eikon Exhibition Centre. <BR /> <BR />Importantly, the Maze/Long Kesh site contains one of the remaining H-blocks.”
“It could link with our colleges to grow our entrepreneurial base, and it could use the intellectual property that is owned and lives here to generate wealth locally. The site could be used for our design and manufacturing industry to generate foreign direct investment and create jobs, apprenticeships and opportunities. The Maze/Long Kesh site is located centrally on the island in the M1 economic corridor, and the new Knockmore Link will provide easy access, linking the potential of the central industrial hub of the Belfast/Dublin economic corridor to the site. There are opportunities to provide land for community leisure facilities and sports pitches, which are in huge demand in the area. <BR /> <BR />Like Northern Ireland, the Maze/Long Kesh site was once associated with conflict and has not realised its full potential.”
“If the Assembly is to fully function and deliver for everyone in the North, the Executive, First Minister and deputy First Minister must start to make hard decisions and long-term investments that future generations will feel the benefits of. They must make the decisions that are a vital component of growing our economy in order to give local companies a platform on which to thrive and attract inward investment. The advantage of growing our economy is that it raises the living standards of every one of our constituents. <BR /> <BR />My colleague Sorcha Eastwood said that there are opportunities at Maze/Long Kesh to develop a new green business technology zone for green energy and agri-food.”
“As I and others have said before, Maze/Long Kesh is a symbolic microcosm of Northern Ireland. It has all the potential, resource, location and opportunity, but it lies underutilised and, in the main, dormant. <BR /> <BR />Maze/Long Kesh symbolises not only our past but the Northern Ireland of today and its potential for the future. It is an example of where our ambition for growth, unfortunately, meets the divisive nature of Northern Ireland politics, where we will not make a decision. Unrealised potential means that everybody misses out and everybody loses. I remain hopeful, however, that the potential can finally be realised and seen and that the community around the site can play a part in that. <BR /> <BR />I also feel hopeful that this region can be confident and have a prosperous future.”
“Given that the delivery timeline for Casement Park is extremely tight, I asked why what is good for one DUP Minister is not good for the other. The Education Minister is pressing ahead without a business case and without security of funding, so can the Minister give a firm commitment, reassure the House and ensure that he will not let the tender process or any other process delay or drag to the point that we miss out on Euro 2028?”
“Importantly and centrally to those objectives, the Alliance party will, equally, stand up for our constituents and for equality and justice. Nobody should suffer fuel poverty in 2024.”
“I thank Justin for his comment. The answer is, simply, yes. I was saying that we need to redistribute wealth. We want to live in a region where everybody thrives, so we cannot sit back and allow hugely exaggerated profits from oil and gas companies to go to just a few people with high wealth while ordinary people on ordinary incomes are hurting. While that is a Westminster issue, I stress again that Alliance believes that taxation should be progressive and must redistribute wealth fairly and protect our most vulnerable. <BR /> <BR />Given all that I have said on energy, be in no doubt about this: Alliance will always stand up for people and for the planet. It will stand up for action against climate change as well as for actions to deliver net zero and a green new deal and to support new green industries.”
“<BR /> <BR />I have said before that every business should make a profit, but the other side of profit is taxation. That should redistribute wealth and support low and middle earners. Alliance —.”
“<BR /> <BR />We need to invest now in offshore wind, onshore wind, solar, biogas and hydrogen in order to create the conditions for those technologies and industries to flourish. I stress that our green industry and all that development have been held back by an outdated and completely under-resourced planning process. Reforming that process needs to and absolutely must be one of the priorities of the Chamber to allow that development to happen and to move forward. <BR /> <BR />Another practical thing that we could do quickly is to fit smart electricity meters to our homes, which would allow consumers to save money and use energy away from peak times and when excess clean energy is available. We are the only part of these islands that does not have smart meters, but they could help the situation quickly and simply.”
“A lot of what I am saying is about the economy, but that shows that we need the cross-party Executive to work together, including the Minister for the Economy, the Minister for Communities, the Minister for Infrastructure and the Minister of Health. In this case, the Department for the Economy needs to look at incentives to make it easier for people to upgrade homes and properties and for the Housing Executive and housing associations to upgrade their properties. Even a cost-neutral facility, like interest-free loans that would enable people to spread the cost over several years and thus see savings quickly, would be of huge benefit. I would love to see schemes like that being put on the table and taken forward.”
“If we look at what we can deliver straight away — some of this has been said — we see that that includes upgrading the insulation of our houses and that improving airtightness is another way to reduce the amount of warm air that leaks out and the cold air and draughts that come in. We can and should help with such measures, which would drastically reduce the energy that is needed in the first place and protect the most vulnerable people. We should start retrofitting their homes first. Our constituents need us to make that wider change in order to transform homes from oil dependency to more energy-sustainable methods, be they biogas, heat pumps or solar panels. <BR /> <BR />The initial capital outlay to upgrade property is a barrier that, with a little thought, we can help to overcome. I appreciate that the Minister is with us.”
“Alliance believes that that is the energy target that we need to be delivering, and it is an issue that we need to continue to work on with an all-island approach.”
“I will speak to the motion from an economy and energy perspective. I echo a lot of the comments that were made by Sian, Kellie, John, Colm and the proposer of the motion. I want to look at some long-term stuff as well as practical support that we can do now. <BR /> <BR />I will start at the beginning. We live on an island in the Atlantic Ocean, and, moving forward, we should have little or no need for fossil fuels. It is very simple. With new technology quickly advancing, we have all the natural resources at our disposal, and we must be looking to develop our capacity to the point where we can actually export energy rather than aim to produce 70% or 80% of our own requirement. As well as that, we should be rolling out progressive technology around biogas and hydrogen. If we do that, we could eliminate fuel poverty in the longer term.”
“It generates economic growth and drives investment in all our towns and cities. Our economy needs our hospitality industry to be strong and to grow, and I ask the Minister for the Economy and the Minister of Finance to urgently look at and act on the issues that the hospitality sector faces and on which it is crying out for help. This urgently needs all our support at this time.”
“Last night, we heard the terrible news that another restaurant is closing. This time, sadly, the restaurant, really well known locally, is in my area: Clenaghans, outside Aghalee in Lagan Valley. That follows the announcement only a few weeks ago of the closure of the Owl and Pussycat in Hillsborough; another hugely popular, key hospitality business in my area. I have so many memories from over the years of being in Clenaghans, from the Tuesday night trad sessions to nights with friends and family. The food and service were always incredible, the surroundings were beautiful, and this news is disappointing for the area. <BR /> <BR />Clenaghans highlights, unfortunately, a problem for our hospitality sector that Ministers need to get a grip on really quickly. The hospitality industry is a hugely important sector of our economy.”
“When will the Minister bring her paper on fiscal devolution to the Executive?”
“It is important to stress that the growth of our economy is not a single-Department issue. That growth includes not only DAERA but the Department for Infrastructure and the Department for Communities. <BR /> <BR />My colleague Eóin Tennyson already made the point about reform. The Alliance Party looks forward with hope and to seeing better. Now is the time to draw the line and to end the cycle of collapse so that we can build the economy, see financial growth and create new jobs and the opportunities that all our people deserve.”
“If we are to build a skilled workforce, we need the best qualified experts to teach and train the next generation in our colleges. Our further education colleges can no longer be viewed and valued as second class or the back-up option. That starts with how we pay and treat our staff and lecturers. Developing FE colleges into technical universities is something that I will continue to raise. As a minimum, the reform of FE needs to be adequately funded. We cannot continually ask for more but pay and invest less. <BR /> <BR />It is really important that, moving forward, the Department for the Economy has an adequate budget allocation that enables it to make all those reforms and pay staff appropriately. We cannot afford to miss the opportunity that we have for a short time. We have a window of opportunity to transform and grow our economy.”
“<BR /> <BR />There were significant challenges for our economy last year, and those continue into this year: the loss of £30 million in EU funding for programmes; the energy transition, which urgently needs investment if we are to reach net zero targets; the reform of Invest NI and funding for a new direction, which needs prioritisation; and the need for adequate funding of higher and further education, skills and all-age apprenticeships. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the pay award for teachers in our schools, but our FE college lecturers need to see an agreeable pay award that rewards and values them fully. The Minister for the Economy and the Minister of Finance need to deliver for our lecturers as soon as possible. It cannot be left to the side.”
“It needs to be set alongside supporting and encouraging our indigenous businesses to realise the potential that that market access can bring for them, including encouraging greater collaboration, partnership and economic trade across this island as well as the rest of the EU. Significant investment is needed to realise growth, but, when we look at the figures, we see that the Department's resource DEL was about £130 million lower in 2022-23 compared with the three-year draft Budget that the Department of Finance prepared in 2022.”
“It is essential that we work in here to create the conditions for business and that we work in partnership to provide the skilled and trained workforce to give our business community in every sector the best platform so that they can grow. <BR /> <BR />Alliance absolutely supports the unique position of access to both the GB and EU trade markets. I have said before that it is one thing for us to understand that opportunity but another for the world market to know about it. It is another thing to invest in what is required to exploit the opportunity. That will cost money, and it will not happen without vision and investment.”
“That is completely unsustainable, and the resulting squeeze has been brought into sharp focus by the UK Treasury's below-need funding of Northern Ireland's spending. We cannot afford to view the economy any longer as a side issue. Our economy is central to creating the future that we all want. Our economic success is also central to funding, reforming and improving our public services. <BR /> <BR />I want to focus on growth, opportunities and some challenges. I have said this before, and I will keep repeating it: we should not lose sight of the fact that it is our business community that creates employment and apprenticeships and brings money into our economy to grow our GDP.”
“As the Alliance Party spokesperson on the economy, I will raise a couple of things that are not only important now but essential for future years. I will mention a couple of stats. Innovation levels among Northern Ireland businesses are the lowest across these islands. In the UK, we are twelfth out of 12 regions. Other stats indicate that, unfortunately, we are not seeing the growth in higher and further education enrolment that our economy needs. While it is welcome that we are seeing a little growth in apprenticeships, figures from 2020-22 are likely to be skewed by COVID. <BR /> <BR />Our economy has not been a net contributor to the UK Treasury since the 1930s but has been in deficit annually since the 1960s, so it is heavily reliant on the public sector.”
“It is about starting to look at the man in the mirror, looking at ourselves and making decisions that provide opportunities that build on the work already being done across our community to change and challenge ourselves. We urgently need a strategic framework that will work to deliver a shared future and deliver on public-sector reform to tackle the cost of division while building on the good relations work that is already happening in our community. Talk and words are no longer anywhere near good enough.”
“I thank Kellie for her words. <BR /> <BR />If we want to live in a place that thrives and prospers and celebrates diversity for everyone on this small island, we need more than words and photographs. We need decisions that will build and bring our community together. Nor should we settle for second best or some sort of false pretence. We can never settle for dividing out or trying to pretend that dividing out is sharing. If we want to have a prosperous future, we need to share a model of confidence and integration that helps to bring people together so that they can do life together. <BR /> <BR />Twenty-six years after the Good Friday Agreement was signed, we need to make decisions to deliver prosperity. When I say prosperity, I do not mean money, wealth or foreign direct investment, although those are part of it.”
“Her opinion was never going to be challenged by words, press releases, Photoshop images or Facebook posts or by a shared trip or visit somewhere where you do not know where anyone is from. What challenged her was her great-grandson living out a completely different way of life, uncomfortable, right up close and personal. <BR /> <BR />While photo opportunities are good for building confidence in this place — I am not dismissing that, because it is important that that happens — hard decisions are needed to help challenge, to integrate and to unite people.”
“He took off his fleece, and his GAA top was underneath: two sports, two Irish teams and a completely different reaction. My granny was 90-ish at the time, but, as quick as a flash, she saw the GAA logo. I remember seeing the speed at which her eyes locked on that badge. Here is the thing: this was her blue-eyed boy, and he was wearing a GAA shirt. I will never forget what happened and how that challenged her view and how her reaction was instantly different because this was her family and her great-grandson. I am not saying that her opinion completely changed or reversed, but her opposition certainly did, and her perception was completely challenged and was transformed.”
“In case anybody did not realise what her beliefs were, she had a little Union Jack clock on her mantelpiece that ticked as loudly as she could speak. Everybody knew exactly where Sally came from. Sundays were a complete day of rest: you did nothing on a Sunday in her house. You did not wash the car or cut the grass; that was completely frowned upon. <BR /> <BR />When my son — her first great-grandson — was about seven or eight, he was playing in the Sunday Go games at our club, St Joseph's. We were to visit my granny on that afternoon. When he came home from the Go Games, I told him to get changed so that he would not cause her any offence. Unknown to me, he had simply thrown an Irish rugby hoodie over his GAA top. My granny was getting old, and her flat was really warm all the time, so, when we arrived there, Tim was too warm.”
“I have said before in the Chamber that I probably would not be here were it not for my community involvement, particularly in local sports clubs in Lagan Valley. I stand as a proud development officer of Glenavy GAC. I do not come from a GAA background, nor does my wife or any of her family. Before Matthew O'Toole left the Chamber, he talked about getting real, but I want to look at some of the things that happened around me and what it looks like when you do life together and change mindsets. <BR /> <BR />My late granny was called Sally. She was pretty loyal. She was from Ballysillan. She owned a chip shop on the Shankill Road, and, when I was young, she used to take me to the band parades. My granny moved to Bangor when she got older, and, at the end, she lived in the Fold. Her flat was full of plates of the royals and royal weddings.”
“— stops at the border. Alliance will always be up for creating the conditions for our economy to grow, and our vision is based on evidence for growth. We support the motion, but we need to get real.”
“Although we have, for example, a Wild Atlantic Way product across the rest of the island, it —”
“I absolutely agree. You can only start from where you are. The fact of where we are is that we are one of the poorest regions of Europe. We need to work and grow from that point. That is where we are, and that is what we need to do. I totally agree. You have to be realistic about your starting point and your end goal. <BR /> <BR />How does business create 5,000 new jobs without the financial support to grow and without access to bank funding and debt markets so that businesses can actually invest in themselves? How does business create 5,000 new jobs if our current planning system, which, at best, can be described as seriously lacking in delivery, is still in place? How does business create new tourism jobs when the electronic travel authorisation has been enforced by GB?”
“What is the Minister doing to develop that sector? Those are questions that we need answered and the things that we need to discuss. A great start would be to value our FE staff and enhance their pay and conditions.”
“If we continue doing what we have been doing, this will be nothing more than a pipe dream. It is a road, and our business community needs the Chamber to build it. We need to be in one lane, providing public services, and stay out of the way of the rest to allow our business community to flourish. <BR /> <BR />We need major change. Alliance wants to see that change and to look at where we can work in partnership across this island and within these islands. I ask the Minister what actions have been taken to deliver essential collaboration between IDA Ireland and Invest NI, because those actions are needed right now. <BR /> <BR />We need financial investment into skills and apprenticeships and to create more opportunities, including in technical universities in our FE sector. I have raised that before.”
“Our job here is to set the conditions to allow it to happen. <BR /> <BR />The past 15 years have been talked about as some sort of romantic notion. Recent reports have said that we have actually been below the UK average over the past 15 years. The UK is hardly the benchmark that we should base our growth ambitions on. The potential that we have here needs a holistic approach that addresses every element of our economy. Part of that may be, as my colleague Sorcha said, about higher education. All of this is interconnected. <BR /> <BR />What is really important is that those changes are not held back and restricted by constitutional ideologies. We need to get serious, leave our political ideology at the door and start to create the conditions that our business community need. If we do not, we create barriers before we even start.”
“We all want 5,000 new jobs. Pluck a figure — why not make it 10,000? We absolutely all want our economy to grow, but surely we should agree the changes that are needed to grow our economy and then measure the outcomes of those. <BR /> <BR />This is like giving a football team that is down the divisions a target of winning the Premier League without giving them any help, any resources or anything else to change. You just give them a target of winning the Premier League. It is completely unrealistic unless you make the changes that are needed. I hope we can all stand and support the policy changes that will be needed for our business communities to flourish. I hope that the Minister will bring those policy changes forward quickly, because we have a limited window of opportunity. It needs to happen now.”
“is interesting coming from the party that campaigned and voted for Brexit, and therefore for trade friction, and that took the huff for two years, pulling the Assembly down and leaving our business community to get on with it and sort out issues for themselves. Now, when we have an election coming up, there is a road to Damascus conversion. <BR /> <BR />I said that I was not sure where to start, but I will start by saying that business need us to start by reforming the Assembly, so that no single party can collapse this place and we guarantee stability for our business community. It is the business community that creates the jobs; it ain't us. That is the point that is missing in this. Any business will tell you that the starting point is to give inward investment the security of stability to invest. Stability is the starting point.”