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.”
The complete record
Every one of 868 lines we hold for David Honeyford, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 18.
“I cannot for the life of me understand why anybody would want to sell stuff only one way and not be able to sell in either two markets or multiple markets, why you would want to limit our business community, why you would want to create more barriers when you have created all the damage of Brexit in the first place and why you would choose now to simply have the UK-EU trade deal. It is just mind-blowing. <BR /> <BR />I can tell you now that the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI), InterTradeIreland, the Department and business owners here are all looking at this and asking, "Are you for real? Are you absolutely serious?".”
“It is about the units and products that are being built in those areas. Yes, services are wrapped around that, but growth is mainly coming from those areas. That is where we see it. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland's economy is growing. This is a trading nation. It has always been a trading region that works by selling stuff. That goes right back to the early 1900s, when 90% of the economy was based around the greater Belfast area. Now, we are looking at close to single digits in that area. That is how far we have gone. Our prosperity depends completely on selling goods and services beyond our borders. We cannot make money by selling to each other. We have to sell stuff out of here.”
“If I were a business person looking on at the debate, I would be in absolute despair at what has been said — the gaslighting, actually — in the Chamber. The Northern Ireland economy is growing. We should celebrate that. We should be absolutely shouting from the rooftops that our economy is growing, people out there have better opportunities and we are bringing in jobs. We should not be arguing about where that growth is coming from. You can talk about services coming from services, but that is not actually true, Jonathan. If you were at last week's Committee and read the members' pack, you would know that the Department, InterTradeIreland and a third one — I cannot remember the third body that was there — said clearly that the fastest growing parts of our economy are life sciences and advanced manufacturing.”
“Thank you, Minister, for that response. Removing HGVs from Hillsborough is absolutely vital for residents. HGVs are making the state of the roads in the village worse. There is an area from the war memorial round to Lisburn Street that has completely broken down; people are getting their cars wrecked. Is there anything the Minister can do by way of a temporary patch for that area until the village renewal happens in a couple of years?”
“Over three years ago, I met the residents of the Carnreagh area of Royal Hillsborough with the Department's permanent secretary to discuss the removal of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) from the village. It was agreed that a report would be done, and I thank the Minister for meeting the same residents last summer,”
“This is a really good initiative to help our high streets and to support our local traders, and I welcome that. However, there was and is an issue with communication with the public to do with public parking in council car parks and getting a ticket because it was not on-street parking. Moving forward, is there any way that that communication can be extended to make sure that the councils are also part of it and to see whether any temporary signage can be erected for on-street parking so that everybody is aware of what the conditions are?”
“I absolutely agree with the Minister on that, and I thank her for the statement. <BR /> <BR />Minister, we are talking about delivery targets for tourism, and you talked about strategic growth in international tourism, which is about bringing more people here, and how welcome that is. You talked a bit about the brand and aligning with Fáilte Ireland. Can you give us a bit more on that? Was it discussed by the North/South Ministerial Council? Do you have next steps for that or a timeline for progress?”
“The Minister regularly highlights dual market access as an opportunity for growth, which I and Alliance welcome; it creates opportunities and is common sense. All the time in the House, we hear data being questioned and Northern Ireland being talked down. Will the Minister outline whether the Council has examined how we can bring forward data and evidence to show the benefits of dual market access to local jobs and investment?”
“I will take a slightly different approach. Many of our roads have been opened by utility companies, and the reinstatement work that is then done breaks down. Our constituents should not pay twice for the repair. What work has the Department done to make sure that such work is done properly the first time? Has the Minister considered full-lane resurfacing — surfacing the whole side of the road — rather than allowing work to be carried out on a strip of road that then breaks down, which causes a lot of problems?”
“I welcome the fact that the Minister said that he is listening and that the process has been paused. I worry, however, that it is only a short-term sticking plaster. As we move forward, we need to support our businesses and grow our economy. Will the Minister commit to undertaking an independent, root-and-branch review of the entire business rating system, which includes the hospitality sector, that looks at the methodology and then tries to deliver a progressive and fair system?”
“Does the Minister accept that the new barriers that will go up in April with the end of the Shared Prosperity Fund and its successor's capital/revenue split will directly undermine the social enterprise action plan? What action can she take to help organisations such as Stepping Stones in Lagan Valley that provide community and employment support?”
“We get the blame from unionism for everything, which is hilarious across here. The figures show that there was 2·8% growth in Northern Ireland and 1·3% growth in the UK. The difference is our dual market access. Without it, those figures would not be there. Will he at least acknowledge that?”
“Have you undertaken a review of the methodology to see where this comes from?”
“Minister, I appreciate that you do not want to answer questions about specific businesses, but I will give you an example, because rates are based on hypothetical turnover figures that LPS produces for what a business, such as a pub, can achieve. I am not getting at any businesses, because I want all to excel, but a large American food chain pays rates of approximately 1% on an £8 million turnover. If I speak to a pub owner in Moira in my constituency, however, I hear that he is paying rates of 3% to 5%. Both have same similar rates bills — about £80,000 — but one has a turnover of £8 million, and its gross profits are similar, at 67%. The pub would need to be doing £10 million. I want all businesses to excel —.”
“I spoke to the sports bodies just before I came in here, and they did not get that guarantee. The Commonwealth Games are in six months' time, and we do not have secure funding for our athletes, coaches or support staff. They are being absolutely failed. Minister, you have spoken a lot over the past two weeks about providing clear, unequivocal guidance, but what are you doing as sports Minister to address the issues that are affecting our athletes and our sports?”
“If that is totally accurate, and if that is the only reason for that, why is trade east-west growing in both directions?”
“We need the Minister to start work on that to align the further and higher education colleges to the employment that we have on the island, North and South, so that somebody can live somewhere here and a job will be there for them when they come through training. Those are the changes and reforms that we need.”
“We do not have the link, which we have been talking about for quite a while, where businesses can input into how we develop and grow courses and skills. Education needs to reform. We cannot sustain 25,000 people under the age of 25 not in education, employment or training. That is not sustainable. We need reform without the cliff edges of what is happening in education, where people are basically in the dustbin very early in life. Outcomes in the South are much better. Those are changes that we can make. <BR /> <BR />We also need changes in the North for Skillnet Ireland, which we have cross-community support for in the House. We need that brought through urgently.”
“When we start to look at that, we need to start making the changes and the reform. We hear the word "reform" used, and we talk about it all the time, but what does that look like? <BR /> <BR />I was at the launch of ESRI's report in its offices in Dublin, and my question after the launch was: what do we do? Give me one or two things that we do to make a difference and to make a change. First, we have a problem because we left the EU, which was uncomfortable for some, and we do not have freedom of movement. Therefore, we have an issue with the number of people coming through to continue and sustain the growth of our economy. The second thing is that we have a skills gap in Northern Ireland.”
“I have talked many times in the Chamber about sharing this island, collaborating North and South to grow opportunities, deliver better for people, break down barriers, make sure that people have better opportunities for skills, grow our economy, reduce our energy costs, put more money in people's pockets, improve our health outcomes and everything at the very beginning of what has been listed. Those are barriers to creating better wealth, better health outcomes and a stronger economy. That is just common sense. One colleague called it the common-sense alliance. We want better for people. I am not interested in a debate about the constitution; I am interested in making things better for people. If we are serious about that and serious about increasing and growing living standards, we need to start looking at what needs to change.”
“We should celebrate the good news because it brings better for ordinary people.”
“The reason for that difference in the rate growth is uncomfortable for the people sitting on my right, but it is because there is a difference in the situation here and that in the rest of the UK. Invest NI has said very clearly that we are growing our economy and seeing that difference because we have access to the two markets for the very first time. Equally, growth in trade with GB has increased in both directions, from just over £10 billion three or four years ago to £17 billion in the last financial year for which the figures were counted. Some 51% of trade is now with UK. Trade with the South has grown to 26%, and trade with the EU and the rest of the world has also grown. Those are all good news stories; it is not a choice between one or the other, as has been said.”
“I came into the Chamber to debate a motion on growing our economy. We have just had minutes upon minutes of constitutional nonsense. I was at the launch of the ESRI report; I went to that because I wanted to hear about and see the trends. Too often, we do not have evidence on which to base policy and have mature political debate. The ESRI report gives us that factual baseline for understanding what our economy is doing, what is happening in the South, how we are performing, how we are succeeding and how we can grow. <BR /> <BR />As I said last week, our economy in Northern Ireland is growing by 2·8%. That fact is in the report. That should be celebrated because it is more than double the average growth in the UK, which is growing at a rate of 1·3%.”
“For anybody in the Chamber who might not know, I say that scór is the part of the GAA that involves music, storytelling, language and performance arts. It is about passing those things on from generation to generation. <BR /> <BR />I place special focus on one person: Bronagh Lennon. Bronagh and I first met at my club in Glenavy many years ago when we hosted the Ulster semi-final. She has made an unbelievable contribution to scór in keeping it there, keeping people active in it and making sure that it has the prominence that it deserves in the area. I pay tribute to her for that. <BR /> <BR />Well done to St Mary's Aghagallon GAC from your Alliance team. We wish you all the success in the world. You are a credit to the club and the area.”
“I rise to celebrate some success for the people of Lagan Valley. I acknowledge and recognise the outstanding achievement of St Mary's Aghagallon GAC, which won the All-Ireland Scór na nÓg title at the weekend. It is a fantastic achievement for everybody at the club. That incredible result is richly deserved. It speaks volumes of the dedication, commitment and hard work put in by the team, the supporting members of the club, their families and those around the club. <BR /> <BR />Sorcha and I had the privilege of meeting the club last year — it is hard to believe that it was only a year ago — before it went off to the final. It narrowly missed out on that occasion, but that makes this victory even better.”
“It is refreshing to have a debate in which, in the main, everybody is speaking with one voice to say that we need to back our EDs and move to bring change.”
“At that time, the Fiscal Council explicitly warned that, unless the issues of delayed discharge and patient flow were addressed, winter pressures would continue to get worse. That warning remains. It was never acted on, no urgency was ever given to dealing with it, and patients, our constituents, the public and hospital staff pay the price. <BR /> <BR />We need the details of the winter plans to be published as soon as possible. We need those plans to be brought through, year-on-year, to allow for a better workforce, realistic bed modelling and genuine integration in social care and community services. That would bring a lot of transparency, so that gaps could be identified earlier and the Minister and the Department could be held to account for closing or not closing those gaps. <BR /> <BR />The choice before the Assembly is clear.”
“Patients who are medically fit cannot be moved on because there is nowhere for them to go: there is restricted care in the community; beds remain blocked; ambulances queue outside; and the corridors become holding areas. In England, there was a discussion about turning the lights off or dimming them at night. Hospital staff could not get over the fact that we have to keep the lights on in Northern Ireland while people are sleeping, because so many people lie in corridors in our EDs for days upon days. <BR /> <BR />Our emergency departments are left to carry the consequences of the Department's actions. That issue was highlighted in the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council's 'Sustainability Report 2022: special focus — Health'.”
“<BR /> <BR />When I was chatting on the phone last night, there were 10 ambulances sitting outside the Ulster Hospital: one of them was an emergency that went straight in, and nine were for patients who were catered for and cared for in those ambulances. The patients in five of those ambulances could have been dealt with by GP out-of-hours or community care. Those are the sorts of cases that are being left in emergency departments, because the services elsewhere are not there. <BR /> <BR />Our emergency departments are not failing to meet time targets because staff are not working hard enough or because demand has surged suddenly; they are failing because the system is not functioning. Northern Ireland has a persistent problem of poor throughput.”
“I absolutely agree. The difficulty with a lot of this is that, as the staff said, the situation has become normalised; this has become the standard. That is what is being said. When I was speaking to those staff yesterday, they said that every problem is being filtered through the emergency department. People cannot get access to their GP — something that the Public Accounts Committee has been dealing with recently — and, when they do, the practice and outworking to be followed to get them into special care hubs mean that they still have to go through emergency departments. Everything is being filtered through that one department.”
“Dedicated staff are working flat out, but delays that are caused by a system that backs up with beds being blocked — patients being trapped because they cannot get home — leave our staff firefighting instead of doing what they are paid to do, which is treat people. We have brilliant front-line staff. All of us need to thank the staff for the job and the work that they do every day. They do an incredible job to make sure that everyone who comes into that department gets the best emergency care possible. It is the system around them that is failing them. They cannot move patients through or on, and that creates delays that no amount of goodwill on their part can fix.”
“At this point, it has, in fact, been normalised. As has been said repeatedly across the Chamber, the crisis was entirely foreseeable; it was forecast because we could see what was happening, year-on-year. It has been simply a failure to plan and to then resource that plan. I spoke yesterday to an ED consultant who said that what was previously a winter crisis has been left to become a 12-months-of-the-year crisis. It has become standard practice, but it spikes even further in the winter months. <BR /> <BR />The Nuffield Trust's analysis of the productivity of Northern Ireland's health service sets out clearly why emergency care is under sustained strain. Its conclusion is set out clearly in front of us: emergency departments are not the problem.”
“It has been a really good and honest discussion — bar one contribution — that has been focused on people, but, with new Ulster Unionist leadership, we are getting new Ulster Unionist arrogance. Blaming the Alliance Party for criticising their Minister is pushing it to the absolute limit. The motion focuses on the extreme pressures that are on the people who are attending our EDs. Those pressures are felt most acutely by our constituents, who are the patients who are being left on trolleys or in ambulances or are the staff who are having to work under conditions that none of us would accept for ourselves or for our families. <BR /> <BR />What has been happening, for years, in our health system has been shocking, as has the failure of concurrent Ministers to deal with it and bring about change and reform.”
“I have raised the issue with the Department repeatedly, and it keeps coming back to me with talk about budgetary pressures. Frankly, the residents there should not be bearing the cost. The situation has been going on for more than 10 years. I welcome the Minister's response, however. I will send her the information so that she can look at it in order to try to arrive at a conclusion for the residents.”
“No. I asked about the community in the Ayrshire development.”
“The Maze/Long Kesh site shows how vetoes are being used to block progress completely. Power-sharing was designed to help us work through difficult issues to share this place, not to place them indefinitely in the too-difficult-to-deal-with drawer. Does the First Minister accept that, while safeguards are essential, permanent vetoes undermine public confidence in the Executive? How will she and the deputy First Minister start to deliver the regeneration of the Maze/Long Kesh site, while reassuring communities, bringing them together and taking them on that journey?”
“Mr Speaker, apologies for missing the very start of the statement. <BR /> <BR />I really welcome the statement: it is essential that our voice is heard at the British-Irish Council, and it is positive that opportunities are created at it. The focus this time was on economic collaboration, which is vital for us, especially our arts and screen industries. I really welcome that. <BR /> <BR />You talked about giving a bit more detail, Minister. I heard a lot of your statement, but can you give us any more detail on how, practically, that collaboration will work and lead to a result for people on the ground through jobs, skills and opportunities? How will it work out in practice?”
“The EU office in Belfast is part of enabling the business community to get the access that they need in order to export more. I support the motion.”
“We live on an island. We either share that —”
“Coca-Cola is on its second extension in Lisburn, and Monster has come to Lagan Valley because we have access to both GB and the South. It is gaslighting people to tell them that Invest NI said there are no such examples: it did not. <BR /> <BR />As my colleague mentioned, Invest NI representatives, in answering a direct question by me, said that businesses are afraid to say that growth is because of dual market access, because it has been politicised by the TUV, DUP and the Ulster Unionists. That is the reason. That is what Invest NI said. When the chief executive was asked if it was the same for the South, his clear answer was that it was not. The issue has been politicised instead of our focusing on supporting our businesses and allowing our economy to grow to create jobs, employment and opportunities for the young people and all of us.”
“I absolutely agree. I will go back to this point, because it has been made multiple times and it is false. Way back when the Assembly had just returned, Invest NI said that it did not have an example at that time. Invest NI has now said that it has multiple examples of businesses that are already here and that are expanding. I can name four or five businesses in my constituency that employ people and that are growing. That is the fact of what is happening on the ground. I was at Leprino — it is currently in Upper Bann, but it will become part of Lagan Valley at the next election — and it has moved its base to Magheralin, because the cheese is now distributed and exported to GB and the South of Ireland because we have access. Leprino, which was Glanbia before it was bought over, has grown.”
“Having an EU office in Belfast is about the practicalities for our businesses. They are screaming for information to enable them to move forward. Everybody who comes to the Economy Committee from business groups has asked for information. The fact is that, for the first time ever, our economy is growing at more than twice the rate of the UK's. Our economy is at 2·8%, and the UK is at 1·3% and going down. That difference has nothing to do with constitutional politics; it has to do with access to the EU market. We live on an island, and we share an island. We either collaborate and grow our economy, or we will go nowhere. We will go backwards.”
“I did not want Brexit or vote for it, but, if you light a fire, there will be some smoke. This is the bit that might be uncomfortable for some: you created the smoke that we see. It is there because you created it. You wanted it, supported it and screamed for it, but we have a benefit now. Our economy —.”
“I was invited to speak. I was not meant to, but I will not sit here and listen to multiple things being said about Invest NI and everything else that are not based on facts. We are gaslighting people because —.”
“He wants me to speak. That is absolutely true, but the reality is that our GB trade has grown from £12 billion to £17 billion. Trade in Northern Ireland is up by 2·8%. Our economy is growing because we have access to Europe and because we are different from the rest of the UK. Our rate of growth is double. Where do you think that is coming from, and why would you not want our businesses to get the support that allows them to move on?”
“They are being badly let down, not only by the authors of the motion — it is another case of 'The Grand Old Duke of York', where everybody is marched to the top of the hill and then left lying — but also, to be frank, by the Ulster Farmers' Union, which continues to choose outrage over outcomes. <BR /> <BR />Food security is important. It needs to be prioritised but not as a political stunt and not to raise stuff about the Windsor framework. Our people deserve better than division dressed up as debate.”
“<BR /> <BR />Keeping our supply chains open in every direction strengthens food security. We should build on that advantage, not talk it down or try to tear it down. If we are serious about growth, the Department for the Economy needs to bring that master plan for energy through to allow investors and local communities in rural areas to have confidence not in a strategy but in a plan of action. <BR /> <BR />Farmers need to be part of that solution. I see their commitment every day. I live in a rural community. I married a farmer's daughter, and my brother-in-law and wider family still farm.”
“<BR /> <BR />Again and again, through such negative motions, the DUP talks Northern Ireland down — every time. Fact is fact: dual market access is growing our economy. Our growth figures are different from those in the rest of the UK. We see that with real jobs and growth, and we see our economy starting to pick up and grow. We see jobs being created. <BR /> <BR />Across the Chamber, I see that DUP Members are shaking their heads. They do not live in the same world as the rest of us and the community out there. People in my constituency have a job today because they have dual market access. Food producers are creating jobs today because they have dual market access. The facts are clear. You can shake your heads and bury them in the sand, but that is actual fact.”
“<BR /> <BR />Once again in the Chamber we have the DUP tabling a motion that chooses division. Instead of focusing on what makes people's lives better, we are yet again dragged back into yet another debate in another week about the Windsor framework, which is a direct consequence of the very Brexit that the DUP championed. You cannot push for Brexit, create all the barriers and then act as though you are shocked when the consequences land, nor can you set fire to regulatory frameworks and then complain that there is smoke in the room. Businesses tell us all the time that they want stability and certainty and clear, easy access to information and support for investment. Our agri-food sector thrives because food can be moved seamlessly across the island. The final product can trade to the UK, the South and into EU markets.”
“<BR /> <BR />Although we are having this debate after years of rising food prices, one of the biggest drivers of food prices is energy costs. Our bills are still tied to global gas prices, which are shaped by wars around the world and instability in international politics. Those shocks feed directly into farm and business costs and on to the price of goods on our supermarket shelves. We on this island have the ability to become self-sufficient in energy. That is the transition on which we need to be focused if we want long-term lower costs to deliver real energy security. Alongside food security, we need a proper master plan from the Department for the Economy on renewables, biogas and all those future technologies. That links in with the wider rural community.”