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 do not know where that part of your speech came from, but it is interesting that the DUP has caught up now. In 1998, the DUP did not agree with any of what you have just said. Your party did not vote for it. You campaigned against peace. You did not want to see an agreement. It is good to see that you have caught up.”
“Building re-entry must keep everybody on board, and every option must be open to us as we build and unite our people.”
“The pro-European campaign — this is vital to state — united people across a range of parties, but to suggest that re-entry is only a binary constitutional position potentially alienates a group of people who want to rejoin the EU but who currently either vote for unionist parties or do not have a view on the constitution at all and remain unconvinced by words towards a united Ireland when there is no plan and nothing in front of them to judge it on. Who could blame them? The SDLP has never given us an idea of what that would look like. Using fear is not the best way to gain support or build our future. The reason for our amendment is to factually state that there are two entry routes back into the EU, not one. The wider coalition against leaving the EU was from a wide base from every background.”
“That is the reason for this debate: to try to become relevant.”
“I will address that very simply: the SDLP's head is in 1998. It has remained in 1998 and it is not relevant to anybody in today's world, which is why it has eight Members.”
“I can hear a rant over here, but I do not know what is being said.”
“The fact that we had a vote was because of you, so maybe try looking in the mirror before you start firing any shots across a Chamber. <BR /> <BR />Regardless of anybody's opinion on a new Ireland, it is simply not factual and not true to state that it is the only way back into the EU, and that is what has been paraded out today. The mindset of having to win is actually the root cause of division, causing further division rather than less. The spirit and values of the Good Friday Agreement, of peace and reconciliation, bring our communities together; they do not divide them. Those are the values that the EU was built on.”
“That is completely not true; it is not a devolved issue.”
“<BR /> <BR />We came through the trauma of the Troubles, which ended with the Good Friday Agreement. No side won, but everybody benefited. In the future Northern Ireland, regardless of whichever "united" we have, we must provide better opportunities and greater prosperity for all our people. We all must win, and everybody must benefit. Alliance is really clear in its belief that will come from being in the EU.”
“I will let you in in a second. <BR /> <BR />I have set out clearly the Alliance position and its values for a shared island two or three times now in the Chamber. We will work to unite, to create and deliver the best health system, to grow our economy, skills and education system, to clean up our environment and to look for investment in our communities through the arts and sports. Those are the areas around which the House should be uniting. Each requires a shared island approach in order to enable the delivery of the best possible public services. The best is what all our people deserve, and I am not trying to win any constitutional argument by saying that. Whether there is constitutional change or we remain in the UK will be decided by our people, not by the political parties in the House.”
“From sitting here listening to both sides of the House, however, I have not heard a vision of anything from either side: a vision for what a future would look like now, or in any of the years to come. All that I have heard are words that I am supposed to understand. <BR /> <BR />Alliance is not interested in your battles over territory. We do not base our politics on that. Alliance is interested in people and in making their lives better. That is fundamental to us, and fundamental to me is uniting people. I am more interested in working now to make changes to deliver a better future in 2030, 2035 or 2040, regardless of the constitution and regardless of what change may or may not come about.”
“I heard a rant, but I do not know what it was about. If I had, however, I do not think that I would have understood it. <BR /> <BR />Rather than be positive and outline the benefits of EU membership and how it would make the lives of the public better, and rather than outline how we might grow our economy and create jobs and prosperity, the SDLP has instead risked all to fall into the same trap of the first Brexit debate, with no plan and with Farage politics, where the option for change is not defined or outlined. I worry that the SDLP set up this debate to divide, knowing exactly what would follow in the Chamber. We are obsessed with the word "united" in this part of the world, whether a united Ireland or the United Kingdom.”
“Rather than be positive and outline the benefits of EU membership and how it would —.”
“The DUP literally voted to keep people down rather than seize an opportunity to create jobs and grow tourism for people here, once again exposing the fact, which it reinforced through its Members' voting, that it has absolutely no intention of making Northern Ireland work. In fact, it votes against everything that would bring about any change. <BR /> <BR />Moreover, the SDLP has lowered the debate by returning to the old style, which we also saw in the media stuff today about "not Farage". In other words, it is using the "I must win" argument as an alternative to constitutional politics. It is really disappointing that the SDLP has focused on fear rather than send a positive message, have a positive debate on the benefits of the EU and continue to build a coalition of support on all sides to oppose our leaving the EU.”
“BMWs and always being part of that; the parading of a bus advertising savings of £350 million for our NHS; and the approach of all out at all costs — who cares what damage it does? <BR /> <BR />Let us not forget that the DUP was the dealmaker for that Tory Government and that it chose the option of the hardest of Brexits, thus destroying our economy and lowering our living standards. Let us face facts: it created a border and trade barriers between our businesses and those in GB that then had to be sorted out. <BR /> <BR />Even last week, in the debate on funding North/South bodies — we had been offered greater funding and better resources to grow our economy and increase tourism — the DUP chose its failed ideology over what was best for people here.”
“There was a collapse in the UK that you helped to cause. We will get on to that in a wee second. <BR /> <BR />Restoring the three freedoms that we have lost is fundamental to us, and we welcome the fact that the UK has finally aligned more closely with the EU. Alliance led the campaign against Brexit, which was sold as every dream under the sun. It was never defined, and there was never a plan. The campaign to leave ranged across a spectrum of fantasies: we could stay in the Union”
“Listen: you want to go back that far because there was a collapse in Germany. Let us look at the period —”
“Cheers. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Alliance is a proud European party that wants Northern Ireland to rejoin the EU and have full membership at the first opportunity. We have been consistent on that, but we work to unite people and do not base policy on exclusion. Leaving the EU has been the biggest act of diplomatic and economic self-harm, and practically every stat has shown that the UK economy has struggled since. Thankfully, Northern Ireland's economy has been sheltered from that and has benefited from staying within the EU for products. I want to be really clear that Alliance believes that the best long-term future for this region is within the EU.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. It is really good news that work will start, but DFI Roads has failed to address the urgent need to upgrade the junction on the A26 as you turn towards the station and the street lighting from the station towards the village. Will the Minister ensure that the scheme to upgrade Moira station will include street lighting for those walking to the station and a safety upgrade on the main A26 from Nutts Corner to Moira Road?”
“It is depressing to hear the debate being reduced to arguing over land. Alliance is focused on people and on uniting people, working to bring better things for everybody here and for a shared future where we see true reconciliation between all the people who live in this place. That is laid out before us in the motion. We are happy to support it and the amendment.”
“That is further proof that the party's cry at election time to "Make Northern Ireland work" is nothing more than an ironic slogan. It is false advertising. It bears no truth in reality. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly should act now to secure the funding and translate it into real-world improvements for our environment, our economy and our cultural heritage. Alliance will always champion pragmatic, inclusive solutions that prioritise the needs of everybody here. By embracing that, the Assembly can demonstrate leadership and deliver meaningful change for people here. We are committed to building a shared and prosperous society that is sustainable. A fundamental value is working to share the island and working together to deliver better for people. We are not interested in territorial battles.”
“<BR /> <BR />All the outcomes that I have just mentioned are priorities of the Assembly, yet we have a mindset of fear that I just do not get. It is as though we would rather have nothing than accept a closer relationship with or investment from the South and would rather further prevent sharing this place and creating growth, which just keeps our people down. As I said at the start, it is beyond depressing. It is a frightening mindset to reject support that would not only help to alleviate the pressures on budgets but help to deliver measurable benefits for our constituents. In doing so, the DUP is undermining the Assembly's credibility and its commitment to pragmatic and practical solutions that will deliver better things for ordinary people.”
“The benefits of additional funding to North/South bodies — we are talking about supporting Waterways Ireland and the Loughs Agency — would be the protection of our natural resources and the promotion of sustainable tourism. We are talking about language and culture and strengthening programmes for Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency to preserve and promote diverse cultural heritage. We are talking about economic growth and creating investment through InterTradeIreland and the Special EU Programmes Body to drive job creation, innovate and grow further our cross-border trade. Everybody and every expert will tell you that cross-border trade is vital to taking our companies into Europe and increasing our export rates. The argument to reject the funding is just indefensible, especially at a time when we have strained public finances.”
“We are being presented with an opportunity to fund key services like InterTradeIreland to help grow our economy, create jobs and grow exports without the burden being placed on local budgets. Yet we have just heard that a party in the Chamber — the DUP — wants to reject that. I have listened to what has been said, and it simply sounds like a trap of fear, where we are living in the territorial battle of a bygone day in which everything is about land. <BR /> <BR />For anyone watching, I stress that failing to support the Irish Government's commitment is indefensible. The excuse for not supporting it has no basis in any reality.”
“It has been depressing to listen to what has been said. We have come to a point at which our public services are under severe strain. We have had 14 years of Tory Government austerity cuts to our finances, and now we have a Labour Government who seem to be continuing that austerity agenda. We have a health service that is at breaking point and a housing crisis that is growing, mainly because people cannot connect to waste water infrastructure, which stops the building of houses. Our inadequate waste water infrastructure and lack of planning reform are major barriers to economic growth. We are at a critical point: we need to act decisively and secure funding to help protect and grow key services. <BR /> <BR />Alliance welcomes the Irish Government's commitment to increase funding for the six North/South bodies.”
“This place needs to show leadership across all parties and to challenge that. Just because you have heard or seen it does not make it fact. If people have concerns, that is fine. We can list the concerns and talk through the facts. Discussion should be based on facts. <BR /> <BR />I look forward to hearing whether the Minister can take any steps or about what she can do. I give my support and that of the Alliance Party to addressing the issue and hearing what practical steps can be taken to address it and sort it out for residents of West Belfast.”
“Recently, I have noticed around my constituency that people mark transmitters. I do not know what can be done to provide better security or what work can prevent that from happening. <BR /> <BR />Conspiracy theories have grown since COVID. I want to touch on that subject. It is not helpful. Pat Sheehan talked about the "tinfoil hat brigade". That is probably the best description that we can have. It is not helpful when we have it in here. We had a debate earlier in which conspiracy stuff around COVID was spewed out as though it were fact. That is so unhelpful, as the language that comes from the House feeds into it, is heard by others and is understood to have some sort of merit. The attitude of, "Because somebody said it somewhere on the internet, it must be fact" has to be challenged.”
“My frustrations pale into insignificance when compared with those of the residents who need emergency services or a call back from a GP and the businesses that need to take calls to grow their business. <BR /> <BR />Alliance will support whatever can be done. We need to look at having better security to stop the physical damage to the transmitters. I have noticed the stencilled signs about 5G. A transmitter was burnt in the Monagh bypass area near Aisling's office, and it had been stencilled just before that.”
“I was not going to say anything. I just want to pick up on one small thing. Matthew said that his constituency is next door to West Belfast. My constituency is on the other side of West Belfast, and I travel through it every day on my way here. It is frustrating for me, but it is much more frustrating for the residents. The Glen Road has been mentioned: I stopped using that road because it would do your head in. You simply cannot have a phone call when you are driving down that road. If you try to use data to make a call, that does not work either because it drops out. There is exactly the same problem in the Monagh bypass area near Aisling's office. It is a significant issue that definitely needs to be addressed.”
“Has the Minister had any discussions with the Minister for Infrastructure on planning reform? The planning system is holding our businesses back, adding to the cost of doing business here and preventing the future development of those businesses and investment in Northern Ireland.”
“The role of the Maze/Long Kesh board is to deliver the development of the whole site. You have mentioned the Ulster Aviation Society and the Balmoral show, which are great examples of what can happen. We have also heard the deputy First Minister talk about sensitivity, but that should not mean doing nothing. When will the deputy First Minister enable progress that will see the board able to fulfil its job?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. The Minister said that InterTradeIreland has exceeded its targets. It is positive news that we have an economic body that is working and delivering for us. It is essential that we work together on opportunities across the island for the benefit of everyone. The Minister named a couple of live issues, including the delivery of renewables through offshore and hydrogen. Give that InterTrade has exceeded its targets, should we not show greater ambition for sharing the island, delivering greater economic benefits through setting higher targets and allocating further budget to InterTrade? Are we curtailing ambition and delivery?”
“The biggest single threat to ongoing tourism numbers coming north is the electronic travel authorisation (ETA), yet it has not been mentioned. The upcoming Open, to be held on the north coast, is an incredible opportunity; we are looking at having 280,000 visitors, a high percentage of whom will come through Dublin Airport. The ETA will impact on those visitors in large numbers. What progress is happening on exceptions for Northern Ireland?”
“Herein lies the problem: we get our pot of money to spend, but we do not have the ambition and the mechanisms to generate and create more and better for everyone.”
“No, I will not give way again. I have limited time. <BR /> <BR />Although the South, our closest neighbour, has major issues of its own, which is grand, the massive advantage that it has over us is its ability to raise tax and have a budget in order to pay to fix those issues. We do not have that. As a result, our economy suffers, and we cannot help. We cannot provide or have not provided incentives for small businesses. <BR /> <BR />Look at the situation in hospitality with the rises in National Insurance and rates. The costs are so high here, but nobody is making a fortune in that industry. Demand will drop, we will become uncompetitive, and our economy will slow. Local hospitality is not able to compete with the lower VAT and lower rates in other areas.”
“No, there was not. We are seeing that across the board. It brings shame on our society that people are leaving —.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. <BR /> <BR />I am talking about multimillionaires. I think that that has already been defined. We are talking about the mega-rich — billionaires — and the people on the very lowest incomes and the most vulnerable. Fifteen or 10 years ago, was there a food bank in your area?”
“I make no apology for saying that we want to see progressive taxation so that the poorest and those on the lowest incomes are looked after and those with higher incomes and the super-rich pay more in our country.”
“If we were to drop the rate of corporation tax, we would take money out of the budget for our public services, which, he said, are being squeezed. In that, he defined the issue: if we dropped corporation tax, public services would be squeezed, so which public service do we take that money from? That is the problem. None of the benefit that would potentially come from growing our economy through that would stay here. We do not see the benefit of lowering that tax, because it would cost our public services. That is why this is just not fit for purpose. We need to be able to retain finances here so that we can be accountable to our people for how we spend that money. Eóin has already gone through progressive taxation.”
“The threat remains that, at any point, either the DUP or Sinn Féin can pull this place down, and that is also a barrier to growth. It does not build confidence. If anything, we need the rules on that changed. The response that we hear from both parties is that they have no plans to collapse the institutions, but we need actions, not words. A start would be to relinquish that veto. Maybe then we would be able to plan for the longer term, to assist and change the region in order for it to prosper and deliver for everybody. <BR /> <BR />We agree with the principle of the devolution of more fiscal powers. I will pick up on what Paul Frew said about corporation tax. I use this as an example only because Paul used it. He asked why we had not got on with it.”
“Our economic growth remains really low. It is better than that in the rest of the UK, but it is still close to zero. Years of UK Government austerity have brought all public spending into focus. That does not give a Minister an excuse not to bring in changes or reforms. We desperately need reforms to Departments in order to bring in the changes that we have been talking about for years. It also does not give us an excuse not to deal with the urgent need to address the cost of division and the money that we waste every year in our budgets by having two of everything, rather than just getting on with uniting our community and working as one. <BR /> <BR />As for the security of the Assembly, the two largest parties' disregard for the Chamber over the years has meant that this place has been down as often as it has been up and has not worked.”
“It causes a complete lack of ambition in this place and this region. What we are currently working with is not fit for purpose as we look to the long term and to the funding of our public services, which, as has been said, are being squeezed.”
“Eóin laid out our position on finance, but I will speak on the economy. The DUP has told us about capability and capacity. That was repeated, and I appreciate that, but it is a bit rich for the people who lobbied for and brought us Brexit, which caused the UK economy to drop, to talk about the risk of punishing people. It is a little rich for the people who brought us the renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme and that waste to talk in the Chamber about draining people of their hard-earned cash. I wanted to start with that. <BR /> <BR />The current funding arrangements stifle our growth. The Assembly is less accountable to our people because of that.”
“It was brilliant to see that community and the atmosphere that they were building in Lagan Valley. It was disappointing for "Garvey" to lose in the final on run-ins after drawing 3-3, but what a weekend of hockey the club put on. As I said, the atmosphere in Lagan Valley was fantastic. The Lisnagarvey ladies team has also been promoted to the EY Hockey League for the first time and will compete at the top level of Irish hockey. <BR /> <BR />All three of those clubs show that sport needs proper funding. Sport gives our community so much, but it cannot survive on a shoestring. Given the massive investment that we see in the South, how will teams from here continue to compete, especially on an all-island basis, with very little investment coming in? I will continue to raise that issue.”
“I give a quick shout-out to its Scór team, which recently won the Ulster final and represented Ulster in the all-Ireland final in Castlebar over the weekend. It was not to be for the team on Saturday, but it was a fantastic effort for it to be there representing the province. That deserves to be recognised and celebrated. Scór is such an important part of the GAA. It is great to see Aghagallon keeping the tradition going. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I mention Lisnagarvey Hockey Club. Over the past number of weeks, "Garvey" has won the Kirk Cup and the all-island EY Hockey League. Over Easter, it hosted a major European tournament in Hillsborough. It was a fantastic weekend that was run so well by a small group of volunteers. I walked around Bow Street in Lisburn and saw teams from France, Spain and Ukraine chilling out.”
“I have mentioned sport many times in here. I am passionate about it and about how it brings our community together. There were some outstanding moments over recess in Lagan Valley that I want to highlight. <BR /> <BR />Lisburn Rangers Football Club recently won its league, which is a fantastic achievement. I have really enjoyed working with its committee and will continue to do so to help the club realise its dream of a new pitch and community facility at the heart of Lisburn. Well done to the team, the coaching staff and the small nucleus of volunteers who drive the club forward. I make special mention of Nigel Farr, who leads the club magnificently. The club is going places under him. Well done to everybody. <BR /> <BR />Another club in my constituency is St Mary's Aghagallon GAC.”
“That advice needs to come through from the Department of Education to schools so that schools are not solely emphasising UCAS but are offering and addressing CAO options, leaving those open for everyone. <BR /> <BR />I will leave it there. Those are the three key issues for us, and we have laid them out in our amendment. We need the Minister to continue to work to make this a fair, equality issue for our students. We need the Department of Education to highlight the issues that are there, so that all schools provide our kids with all the opportunities in order that we can build a better, shared society for all. Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker.”
“The implications of that are that students do not know that they get 25 extra points for maths. If they do not know that and do not pick that subject when they are 16, how can they ever get those extra 25 points? Moreover, they need a language at GCSE. I know that most students study a language at GCSE but, if they do not, they are ruling themselves out from studying any course at university in the South. We therefore need to advise our students and make sure that that advice is in front of them when they are making career decisions. <BR /> <BR />We talk a lot in the Economy Committee about careers advice and decisions. When those decisions are happening in your life, you need to know at that point that you are not limiting yourself.”
“The careers advice that we got at school was on applying through UCAS. There was very limited help, if any, for applying through CAO. It was basically left to students themselves to apply. They had to remember the closing date and go on ahead and do it themselves. I remember going to a parents' evening. We were simply told that the closing date for applying through CAO was in February and that we should go online to get the information. An email would have been much more useful, because the link to the CAO application would have been in there, rather than my having to go look for it. <BR /> <BR />How to apply through CAO is therefore not explained or supported by schools here, meaning that students have to complete the application process on their own.”
“She therefore took the decision that she was prepared to take a year out if she did not get a place at Trinity. It is absolutely ridiculous for an 18-year-old to have to make the decision to defer part of her life based on the lottery that is getting into a university in the South. It means that the hopes and dreams of our young people are being left to a lottery. Their immediate future is being put on hold. That is not fair. I know that the issue of allowing students from here access is outside the control of our Minister of Education, but it is one that he needs to continue to raise with his counterpart in the South. <BR /> <BR />Advice from schools is another major issue. Again, I speak from experience, but I have spoken to quite a few people about it, and it is a common issue.”