Brian Kingston
North Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“As a DUP member of the Justice Committee, I welcome the Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill moving to Second Stage. As other Members have mentioned, we are currently handling three substantial Bills at Justice Committee: the Justice Bill, the amendments on which we completed voting on earlier today after seven days of debate; the Criminal…”
“We recognise, however, that the commissioner is not to be an appeal mechanism for when, for example, the outcome of a trial is considered to be unsatisfactory, such as when an unduly lenient sentence is handed down.”
“The special measures include ensuring that an alleged perpetrator is not allowed to cross-examine the victim of the alleged offence, including in sexual crime cases. <BR /> <BR />We heard comments from the Sinn Féin Member for Mid Ulster in praise of her party's support for victims' human rights.”
“We are aware that the trial process often focuses more on the defendant who is charged with an offence than it does on the victims of the alleged crime. Victims must be at the heart of the justice system, not peripheral to it.”
“We welcome the fact that, through the legislation, the post will be formally established and regulated. <BR /> <BR />The principal aim of the commissioner is to promote the interests of victims and witnesses. The commissioner is intended to have a strategic role rather than to become involved in individual cases. Indeed, clause 8 states:”
“Although the Minister notified us a week ago that he would make his statement, it was disappointing that we received the text of it less than an hour before he was scheduled to give it in the Chamber, which did not help us with scrutiny.”
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“There is just one currently present in the Chamber. I think that the others have all left. <BR /> <BR />My motivation as an elected representative is essentially the same now as it was when I was in community work. That is to be a difference maker, to help make positive things happen — things that improve people's lives, their opportunities and their local community — and to tackle issues that are having a negative impact on people's quality of life. I want the greater Shankill area in North Belfast to be the best that it can be, a place where people are supported and enabled to achieve their potential. It is a pleasure to work alongside many people in various sectors who share that goal and to encourage cross-sectoral working among voluntary sector groups, statutory agencies and the private sector.”
“I am honoured to follow in their footsteps. <BR /> <BR />I have lived and worked all my adult life in North Belfast and West Belfast, where we raised our children. For 20 years, I worked in community work in the Suffolk estate, on the Falls Road, in Rathcool, in the greater Shankill area, in upper Ardoyne and in Ballysillan. In 2008, the opportunity arose for me to work for Nigel Dodds MP from his Shore Road office, which I was very pleased to do. I went on to serve for 12 years on Belfast City Council as a councillor for the greater Shankill area. Those years included three years as the DUP group leader on the council and also my serving as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 2016-17, which was the greatest honour of my life. I note that there are five other former Lord Mayors of Belfast currently serving in the Assembly.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I welcome you to your role, and I wish you well in it. I also wish the Finance Minister well in her role. As this is my maiden speech, officially, I wish to say that I consider it a great honour and a great responsibility to have been elected to the Assembly by the people of North Belfast. I sincerely thank those who have given me that mandate and duty, and I am here to serve the well-being of all my constituents. <BR /> <BR />I wish to begin by paying tribute to my DUP predecessors who represented North Belfast in the Assembly. That is Nigel, Lord Dodds, William Humphrey, Nelson McCausland and Paula Bradley, all of whom I worked for. I also pay tribute to Diane Dodds, who represented West Belfast in the Assembly at an earlier stage.”
“While we all want to see a more regionally balanced economy, does the Minister accept that, ultimately, it is for investors to decide where they will invest? While we can present opportunities and incentives, being overly prescriptive and restrictive could result in potential inward investment going elsewhere and being lost to Northern Ireland.”
“Seriously, public fundraising and support is very important to this vital service. We should all encourage the public to continue to support the hospices.”
“I thank the Minister for his answers so far and Colin McGrath for bringing the issue to the Floor. It is important that we all do what we can to support the hospice and the Children's Hospice, which, I am glad to say, while they are based in North Belfast, are Province-wide facilities. <BR /> <BR />Will the Minister reiterate the importance of public fundraising in support of the hospice? I understand that, currently, around 30% comes from statutory funding and 70% comes from voluntary fundraising. With your indulgence, Mr Speaker, I will mention a practical way in which Members can support it. In three weeks' time, I will run the Tokyo marathon. I am raising funds for the Children's Hospice. I have my shirt that I will be wearing on the day. I have a JustGiving link on my Twitter and Facebook accounts.”
“I welcome the announcement of £1 million for potholes. Some of the worst examples of potholes are in unfinished roads in private developments. We lobbied for phase 2 of Buttermilk Loney in Ballysillan for five years, and, finally this week, it is getting the top layer of tarmac. In another similar development off the Ballygomartin Road at Mount Gilbert, residents have been waiting for over three years, and departmental officials have said in replies to questions from me that they wish they had more resources to put pressure on the developers. Will the Minister also seek to highlight unfinished roads in private developments where residents have bought their houses and have been waiting for years for their roads to be finished?”
“I congratulate Paul Givan on his appointment as Education Minister. I know that he will be hard-working and enthusiastic in the role. I particularly welcome the mention of his visit to Glenwood Primary School on the Shankill Road last week. My party colleagues and I have been lobbying for many years to bring forward the major capital investment that is needed there. If funding for such major works is made available, what criteria will be used to prioritise those major capital investments?”
“No, I have nearly finished. <BR /> <BR />We will continue to be condition-led, not calendar-led. Those conditions are not just stipulated by this party or by political unionism; they are contained in the Belfast and St Andrews agreements, which enshrine the need for consensus and mutual respect between traditions.”
“We will appoint a deputy First Minister when those issues are addressed. However, at present, such action would be premature. Less than three months ago, DUP MLAs received a clear mandate to resolve the problems created by the Northern Ireland protocol. We are resolutely committed to that. The views of the unionist community must be respected. <BR /> <BR />This party made sure that responsible and operable arrangements were in place to allow routine decisions to continue in the absence of a First Minister and deputy First Minister or Speaker. Ministers are in place. Money continues to flow to key services such as health, education and our roads.”
“Our party leader warned last September that time was running out to preserve the institutions. By February of this year, in the absence of action to remove the Irish Sea border, further steps were needed to bring matters to a head. The DUP acted to bring about that focus of attention, as we said that we would, before the election. The publication and progression of legislation in the House of Commons is welcome recognition of the destructive impact of the protocol on political, constitutional and economic life in Northern Ireland. However, only with its passage undiminished can our institutions be freed from the dark shadow of the protocol. That point has not yet been reached, and we will assess the views of any future new Prime Minister before taking any further action. We are democrats.”
“— across from us — insisted on the protocol without local consent. They pressed for its rigorous implementation. For the past two years, they have insulted the unionist community and others who hold genuine concerns about the protocol's impact.”
“It is astonishing when one hears the parties opposite falsely claim that the Belfast Agreement and St Andrews Agreement provide grounds for an Irish Sea border, yet they now want to do away with cross-community consent, which is fundamental to those agreements. Let us be clear: the Northern Ireland protocol has caused a deep fracture in our politics. That fracture will continue to grow unless it is dealt with now through arrangements that command cross-community consent. It impacts negatively on our supply chains, on our constitutional positions and on the cost of living. <BR /> <BR />The DUP is a pro-devolution party. We want to see stability and sustainability in our political institutions. That is what we are working hard to deliver, in keeping with the consent principle enshrined in the Belfast and St Andrews agreements.”
“I commence by expressing my deepest sympathy to the family and friends of our dear colleague Councillor John Finlay, who sadly passed away on Monday morning and whose funeral will take place this afternoon. John was a man of great faith, and, whilst our hearts are heavy today, we know that he faced death with great hope in his Saviour, and that is of great comfort to us. <BR /> <BR />Turning to the matter before us, which is the recall of the Assembly due to a petition signed by pro-protocol parties, I have to say that this is stunt politics. These proceedings are not a genuine attempt by the parties opposite to restore the political institutions; rather, they demonstrate a wilful disregard for the views of unionists and for the principle of power-sharing in Northern Ireland.”
“I am on my last sentence. Thank you, Mr Speaker. <BR /> <BR />Regarding the Northern Ireland protocol, we will stand by our pledge; we will use our political leverage; we will focus minds; we will bring matters to a head; and we will hold our Government's feet to the fire until they bring about the necessary changes to the protocol.”
“The DUP will do all within our powers to see that those funds are delivered —”
“Despite some pretence otherwise, we have Ministers in place to make ministerial decisions; indeed, Sinn Féin appointed a new Infrastructure Minister just last week, and the Sinn Féin Finance Minister allocated an extra £400 million to the Department of Health the week before. <BR /> <BR />Last week's American delegation only reinforced the suspicions regarding the motives and partiality of such delegations. However, I noted that it represented the Ways and Means Committee. Perhaps some of the other parties here could bear that in mind. Instead of trying to block the spending of public money during this period, for party political reasons, they should work with Her Majesty's Treasury and other Ministers to ensure that ways and means are found to deliver those public funds, as they surely can be delivered.”
“It is not good enough for Maroš Šefcovic to repeatedly turn up to talks and say that he does not have a mandate to make the necessary changes. If the EU will not move, our Government must make the necessary changes and undo the harm that they previously and foolishly agreed to. We will judge them on actions, not just words. There is a great prize for us all in terms of political stability, if we can get the protocol issue sorted. We ask other parties to work with us and support us in achieving that stability. <BR /> <BR />I hope that all MLAs have a long list of constituency work to get on with, as I do.”
“We look forward to Her Majesty's platinum jubilee celebrations later this week, and we congratulate Her Majesty on that unique achievement. <BR /> <BR />The DUP will continue to stand firmly by our manifesto pledge. People would do well to remember that what we have currently is not the full implementation of the protocol. We are in a grace period. Our access to the UK internal market and the impact on our people and on household bills will be much worse if that ends without the protocol being rewritten. <BR /> <BR />For those who say, "Let's get the Assembly up and running and we can talk about it", this is not the level at which the necessary powers reside. The powers lie with Her Majesty's Government and the European Commission.”
“Since last September, our party leader has made it clear that we could not continue with business as normal under the Northern Ireland protocol. The DUP made it abundantly clear as a manifesto pledge in the recent election that we would not support the formation of a new Executive unless our Government brought about the replacement of the protocol. We have set out our seven tests for how we will judge that. <BR /> <BR />For any who dispute it, I assure them that we have very strong backing for our position in the unionist community. I hear it every day. I heard it on Saturday, here in the grounds of Stormont and along the route into the city centre, when over 125,000 people gathered for the centenary of Northern Ireland parade. And a wonderful day it was too.”
“No, I am not taking interruptions, thank you. <BR /> <BR />It is no coincidence that we have seen greater movement on the matter in the past two weeks, since the DUP took this stand, than we have seen in the previous two years. <BR /> <BR />The DUP is a pro-devolution party. We strongly support the operation of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive as per political agreements, including the principle of parallel consent. Not a single unionist MLA — not one — supports the Northern Ireland protocol, which was imposed on us and foolishly agreed to by Boris Johnson's Government. It is for other parties in the Assembly to explain if they think that the need for parallel consent applies only when nationalists object. Does it not also apply to the unionist people of Northern Ireland? <BR /> <BR />Our objections must and will be addressed.”
“The Northern Ireland protocol remains the single greatest obstacle to political stability in Northern Ireland and to the operation of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The DUP will continue to act to focus the minds of Her Majesty's Government and the European Commission on the need to address the fundamental errors of the protocol.”