Eóin Tennyson
Upper Bann · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Those who have come forward only now, saying that they are not surprised or that they always suspected that something was wrong, simply to use this as part of a grudge match and settle old scores, should hang their heads in shame, as should those who have attempted to use this matter for party political point-scoring in the Chamber today.…”
“Jeffrey Donaldson and Jeffrey Donaldson alone is responsible for his heinous abuse. We know that abusers lurk in the shadows and that this could have befallen any organisation, community or political party. The allegations that came to light in the 'Spotlight' documentary, however, go beyond the actions of one individual.”
“Scandal after scandal has shown that those who push puritanical, sanctimonious and hostile rhetoric towards the LGBTQ+ community are guilty of nauseating hypocrisy. All Members, including those in the DUP, should reflect on that, on the harm caused, apologise to the LGBTQ+ community and change course.”
“We owe it to them to ensure that, never again, will an institution be prioritised over the protection of victims and to make policy change to ensure that faith-based counselling is regulated, safeguarding procedures are followed and, importantly, that reforms are made to our RSE system so that, never again, will a child or young person no…”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. This is an unconventional intervention, but we are in unprecedented times. I ask for your assurance that you will engage fully with any investigations or inquiries that come about as a result of matters that were raised over the weekend.”
“The response from statutory agencies is consistently inadequate. Despite it being an offence under article 87 of the Roads (Northern Ireland) Order 1993, we see no enforcement action whatever from the Department for Infrastructure. I call on the Infrastructure Minister to set out what she will do to start to tackle the issue.”
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“Irrespective of our differing political views and beliefs, it is incumbent on all of us in the Chamber to work together to overcome the tariffs.”
“<BR /> <BR />I say to the Prime Minister that if the price is removing the digital sales tax on tech companies; undercutting our agricultural producers or refusing to regulate toxicity on social media, it is a price that is too much to bear. As I said, we need to work with our allies to bring the tariffs to an end but also collaborate closely with our European partners to strengthen the UK economy and exert growth. <BR /> <BR />I say to the Economy Minister that we can do much at a Northern Ireland level to support our businesses and manufacturers. We need to see efforts towards a "shop local" scheme for Northern Ireland, progress on a manufacturing strategy and support and advice for our businesses at this turbulent time. This is a global issue, but it will have severe consequences for the Northern Ireland economy.”
“<BR /> <BR />In the Chamber, our collective focus must be on protecting jobs, livelihoods and businesses in Northern Ireland during these turbulent economic times. That means that, first, we need to engage proactively with the UK and Irish Governments to ensure that Northern Ireland's unique position is well understood at a European level. We must stand firm with our allies and use collective bargaining to place pressure on the US Administration. Yes, of course, negotiation must be the first step in our response to mitigate the impact of the tariffs and see their removal, but we must also be willing to, where necessary, find a backbone.”
“Last week, the US president launched a destructive and damaging trade war. Donald Trump is following a path of populism and isolationism, which will damage the global economy for years to come, irrespective of how for long his tariffs are in place. The upheaval comes despite all the selfies in Congress and at the White House and the Prime Minister's almost sycophantic approach to the president in recent weeks and months. Despite what we have heard about the UK's Brexit advantage, the UK has been slapped with exactly the same tariffs as the Taliban. It is outrageous to be in a position in which a US president is attacking and slapping tariffs on his allies, including Ukraine, rather than focusing on his enemies.”
“Can the Member elaborate on any initial findings from the audit?”
“Not only do the delays cause additional costs but they damage the patient experience and staff morale when promises are made but staff are subsequently required to work with crumbling infrastructure and out-of-date equipment. <BR /> <BR />Our constituents deserve the best facilities for inpatient care, and our health staff deserve the best possible working environment. Therefore, I support the call to advance plans for Craigavon Area Hospital as soon as possible, so that we can get on with the job of delivery. I look forward to the Minister's response to the debate.”
“<BR /> <BR />We have seen delays play out in a number of areas: pseudomonas presented in the new maternity hospital; a new mental health inpatient centre required substantial investment for repairs, despite only opening its doors in 2019; and a new children's hospital, which was given the go-ahead this year, is now 17 years behind schedule. Those delays lead to rising costs and constrain our ability to deliver capital investment. The children's hospital, which was originally estimated to cost £250 million, is now estimated to cost £671 million, and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the cost will inflate further over the lifetime of the project.”
“We had an Adjournment debate last week, which was secured by Mr Beattie, to discuss some of the infrastructure challenges in the area surrounding the hospital. I would be interested to hear, in this debate, the Minister's views on those issues. In the debate last week, we heard from the Infrastructure Minister. <BR /> <BR />There is also no doubt that we must revamp and reform the Executive's approach to capital projects by acting on the Audit Office's recommendations about procurement; by ensuring that there is sufficient planning and funding in place for the lifetime of the projects once they commence; and, crucially, by ensuring that there is stable government and oversight of those projects and investments once they have been committed to.”
“and that there are insufficient ventilation, toilet and shower facilities. <BR /> <BR />The Health Department's capital budgets are stretched — there is no denying that — but this investment is becoming critical. Redevelopment is essential to enhance the staff's working environment and to improve not just the patient experience but patient safety and our ability to enhance capacity to assist with tackling hospital waiting lists. <BR /> <BR />There is no doubt, as other Members have said, that Craigavon Area Hospital has a pivotal role to play in the wider context of healthcare transformation. The development needs to be seen in the context of the Department's wider ambitions and the wider infrastructure of the area.”
“had contributed to the transmission of COVID-19 infections among vulnerable patients during the pandemic. It stated:”
“In September 2023, as Diane Dodds referenced, the independent panel, which had undertaken a serious adverse incident review, highlighted serious concerns. It identified:”
“We are also aware of the sustained pressure facing emergency departments daily and the fact that, in the Southern Trust area, over 167,000 people are on a waiting list for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment. While some parts of the hospital have since been upgraded, including the paediatric ward and the Glenanne unit, other major parts are no longer fit for purpose. Anyone who engages with the trust or hospital staff will know that capacity constraints inhibit their ability to deliver for their patients in the way that they would wish to. This is not just a parochial matter and a case of Members from the constituency getting up to call for investment in our area; it is an evidence-based call.”
“As other Members have said, it is almost 10 years since the master plan was originally published. <BR /> <BR />Linda Dillon rightly pointed out in her remarks that the Health Minister is ultimately responsible and our lead on these issues, but it is important to contextualise. The 10-year delay did not happen in a vacuum. In fact, the parties of both Members who spoke immediately before me contributed to at least five years of the 10-year delay. It is important to acknowledge our hand in and responsibility for issues when we call on others to take action. <BR /> <BR />We are all too aware of the pressures faced by staff who work in hospitals across Northern Ireland. Craigavon Area Hospital serves an estimated 241,000 people, spanning six constituencies.”
“I welcome the opportunity to have this important debate, and I thank the proposer of the motion for bringing it to the Chamber. I add my voice to the calls for the redevelopment of Craigavon Area Hospital.”
“We could do much more to engage with schools and young people at an early age to encourage walk-to-school schemes and suchlike where that infrastructure exists. That, of course, will involve changing behaviours over a long period. I recognise, therefore, that it is not an immediate solution, but it is important that we engage with that network in Craigavon — it is a real asset to us — and realise the opportunities that it presents. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I want to raise the issue of the planned redevelopment of Craigavon Area Hospital, which we will pick up in later debates on the hospital. We are now almost 10 years on from the initial promise to redevelop Craigavon Area Hospital. Whilst I understand the constraints on capital budgets, it needs to be a priority. I look forward to engaging with the Health Minister on that issue as well.”
“I absolutely agree with the Member. Adjusting the infrastructure is one thing, but adjusting behaviours after the community has become so settled with a certain infrastructure layout is a much harder task. I do not envy the Minister and her colleagues when it comes to achieving that behavioural change. <BR /> <BR />I want to make two final points. One is that we need to consider closely how active travel can contribute to easing congestion in the central Craigavon area. We are lucky that we have one of the best active travel networks of any area in Northern Ireland. There are real opportunities, but we need to do further work to maintain the Black Paths network. There has been progress on the maintenance of that network, but we would all agree that there are still patches of the Black Paths that are in need of urgent attention.”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. <BR /> <BR />It is a potential risk. There has to be a solution. Some form of alleviation scheme will have to be put in place. However, we need assurances that it is going to be the right one, that it will work and that it will not have unintended consequences, given the changes that have happened in the local area. <BR /> <BR />Even if many families moved in on the understanding that a main arterial route was going to go through the middle of their housing development, now that they have lived there for so long with the current situation, it is going to be very difficult, particularly for younger children, to adapt to that. It needs to be thought through really carefully, because there are potential unintended consequences.”
“I can understand families' concerns, now that they are part of a settled community with the current roads infrastructure.”
“I do not want us to be in a position where we develop new access and then suddenly, with the redevelopment of the hospital, it has to be torn up and done again, with all the disruption that that would cause for local residents. We also need to ensure that someone takes responsibility for engaging proactively with the local residents. I do not mean simply having a box-ticking exercise around a planning application; there needs to be meaningful engagement with the community so that it understands what the plans are and how any issues are going to be resolved. With the estate around Lisnisky Crescent operating as it has done for such a long time, families have got used to that being a dead end. Kids are often out playing on what will be the new main road.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are two things that we need to do: look carefully at the proposed alleviation scheme and understand whether, given the current context of all the changes that have happened, that is still the right scheme.”
“I am keen to hear from the Minister about how she intends to address that issue of cooperation and collaboration between the various agencies. <BR /> <BR />Consulting residents is critical. If you speak to residents on the existing Lisnisky Lane, a lot of them will tell you that they bought properties in the area on the promise that traffic would be rerouted through the Lisnisky Crescent link. Equally, if you speak to residents in Lisnisky Crescent, you will find that some bought their property at the outset but felt that it was not communicated clearly to them that the changes were going to happen. Other families who moved in were, due to the passage of time, simply not aware that the plans existed. That has created real tension, even among some residents who have different views on some of the issues.”
“To date, the expectation has been that that entrance would be progressed as part of phase 1 of the long-awaited hospital redevelopment. With that being uncertain, I am curious where we are with regard to any steps forward. In response to, I think, a question for written answer from Mr Beattie, the Department recently confirmed that the project was effectively "shelf ready" but that it was waiting for confirmation from the Southern Health and Social Care Trust and the developer that funds were in place for it to proceed. That may be the factual position, but, given the constraints on the trust's budget, it causes me concern that they are effectively being told that the ball is in their court and we are not seeing huge leadership. Where there are numerous bodies and statutory agencies involved, we often see issues fall between two stools.”
“It is another factor that we have to consider when it comes to any changes to access. We also, of course, have to consider the Health Minister's commitment to the transformation of our health service. Craigavon is an important asset as part of the wider network of hospitals, so we could see change coming to Craigavon Area Hospital, which may be in the form of additional services or whatever else that might be. We need to plan for that and account for it when we assess any alleviation scheme. <BR /> <BR />I recognise that the proposed purpose of the secondary entrance is to alleviate pressure from the main road with the new roundabout at the end of the Lisnisky Crescent development and a new staff entrance being created. From my engagement with the trust, I know that it is very supportive of that secondary entrance.”
“Helpfully, Mr Beattie set out the wider context of some of the evolution that has happened in the area since the plans were tabled for changes to local education provision, including Craigavon Senior High School and the relocation of Portadown Integrated Nursery and Primary School. I welcome those plans, but there are issues with them that need to be worked through. <BR /> <BR />Craigavon is one of the fastest-growing residential areas in Northern Ireland. That is a real strength of the area and its community, but it comes with challenges for local infrastructure and services. I will add to that another layer of change: the often-touted redevelopment of Craigavon Area Hospital. I do not want to delve too much into that, because we have a notice of motion on it that will come before the Assembly in a number of weeks.”
“I add my thanks to Mr Beattie for securing this important debate. I will not speak at length, because, in what is a rare event in the Chamber, I think that we are all singing off the same hymn sheet on many of these issues, which marks a nice change. <BR /> <BR />Like MLA colleagues, I have engaged for some time with the trust, the developer and residents on the secondary entrance to Craigavon Area Hospital that has been proposed as a mechanism to improve the road infrastructure around one of the busiest hospitals in Northern Ireland. As has been said, anybody who accesses Craigavon Area Hospital or lives nearby and commutes in the area will know about the daily build-up of traffic for anyone trying to access the main roundabout at the front of the hospital. That causes concern about access, particularly for emergency vehicles.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. It is telling that, when we are debating the cost of division, some parties decided to go into their individual trenches. Does the Member agree that, irrespective of whether there is constitutional change on this island, we will still live in a divided society unless we all work together to break down that community division?”
“I thank the Minister. He is always willing to take part in debate, and I appreciate that engagement. The Minister often asks that Members come to the Chamber with solutions. We have suggested a solution, as we see it. If the Minister does not agree with that approach, what is his suggested approach to ensure that the cost of division is tackled through our Budget cycles and process?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Whilst I understand the difficulty in asking the Fiscal Council to undertake a full assessment, does the Minister see any merit in asking academics, for example, to undertake an assessment and then asking the Fiscal Council to have due regard to Departments' approach to tackling the cost of division? I understand that we do not want to be too prescriptive, but surely there are some innovative solutions to ensure that the issue is addressed.”
“The Minister mentioned engagements with the UK Government. Will he give us an update on any engagements that he has had in respect of a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) veterinary agreement?”
“I think that we would all recognise that progress on tackling some of the issues raised in that report has been slower than any of us would have liked. However, we have a crucial opportunity now, away from collapse and crisis, to move beyond simply managing division as an Executive and towards a future where we finally break down and overcome division once and for all. We have the opportunity to build a future where our children thrive from being educated together; where we fund services, not division; and where everyone, no matter their background, can reach their full potential. <BR /> <BR />I ask all Members to unite behind the motion and grasp the opportunity to start taking steps towards a more united community. I commend the motion to the Assembly.”
“It is even more disappointing that the cost of division appears to have been absent from any conversation about public transformation and the Executive's Budget sustainability plan. I would welcome the Minister's views on any progress in that space in his response to the debate. <BR /> <BR />There is also a role for the Executive Office in developing a shared future framework, which the Assembly has already debated, through which every Executive policy should be viewed. That is why Alliance has continuously argued that peacebuilding should be a core pillar of the Programme for Government. <BR /> <BR />Of course, since the previous assessment of the cost of division in 2016, we have dealt with two collapses of the Executive and a global pandemic.”
“We also need a mechanism by which to hold Departments to account. Too often, the hard graft of reconciliation and peacebuilding is ignored or, worse, actively frustrated by Ministers. A good example of that is the fact that the Department of Education faces a judicial review in respect of decisions that it took on integrated education. Including a requirement to have due regard to the cost of division within the statutory remit of the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council is one such way of holding Ministers to account on those issues. There will be a key opportunity to do so in this mandate when the Fiscal Council Bill comes before the Assembly. I have to say that it is disappointing that the previous Sinn Féin Finance Minister ruled out any such requirement.”
“That work is pertinent at a time when Professor Holtham has been tasked with assessing relative need and the unique factors that affect Northern Ireland, because, whilst many of the costs associated with division in our society can and should be addressed by Departments, others may be genuinely unavoidable, given our past, and require attention from Treasury.”
“That is why Alliance is calling on the Department of Finance to commission an independent assessment of the cost of division in 2025 in order to give us a more contemporary understanding of the challenges and bring the 2016 Ulster University report and the 2007 Deloitte study up to date.”
“Whilst that is not a comprehensive list of Alliance's ambitions for Northern Ireland and we recognise, of course, that generating savings from reducing division will not happen overnight, it still illustrates the transformational potential of tackling the cost of division and the incredible range of programmes and services that could be funded were we not spending money in that way. <BR /> <BR />Tolerating the cost of division is morally and economically indefensible at any time but is particularly scandalous at a time when Departments are under enormous financial strain, with departmental bids for the 2025-26 draft Budget far outweighing the funding available for allocation.”
“<BR /> <BR />Whilst assessing those costs is difficult — allow me to be the first in the debate to acknowledge that addressing them is even harder — doing nothing is simply not an option. Rather than squandering hundreds of millions of pounds on division, we ought to be investing in our health service, in housing and in tackling the cost of living. Just imagine the difference that even some of that £800 million could make. It could, for example, fund the first year of the Department of Health's plan to tackle waiting lists or a year of PSNI recruitment. It could make a significant difference to our mental health strategy and Lough Neagh action plan, and it could enhance community-based funding to tackle violence against women and girls.”
“Not only is that anathema to the vision of the truly shared future that the people of Northern Ireland signed up to in 1998 but it comes at a huge financial cost. <BR /> <BR />A 2016 study by the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC) estimated that the cost of division could be up to £833 million a year. More recently, the Executive's Programme for Government placed the annual cost of paramilitary harm alone at £750 million. Those costs manifest themselves in a number of ways: the duplication of services, as seen in our education system and in community and leisure provision and elsewhere; increased policing and justice costs, including for our prisons; and opportunity costs in respect of foregone investment in tourism and other investments.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Over the course of my lifetime, Northern Ireland has been on a journey towards becoming a more progressive, inclusive and united place. However, despite the enormous strides forward that we have taken together, young people today still grow up in a community where children are, largely, educated apart; 90% of social housing remains segregated; peace walls divide communities; and paramilitary organisations continue to exert a toxic influence. This is a society where, for too many, community background still dictates where you go to school, what street you live on, the football teams that you can support, the sports that you can play, the services that you access and what your political views should be.”
“Minister, it is welcome that the study will inform your negotiating position with the UK Government, but will it also inform your Department's position? Will we see any tangible actions from your Department to support businesses with the cost of doing business?”
“Let me be clear: the Alliance Party will not be found wanting in working to deliver the twin-track approach of robust criminal justice measures and efforts to tackle socio-economic deprivation in our society. By doing so, we will build a stronger, safer, more equal and more vibrant community in which paramilitarism is finally consigned to the history books and in which people can live at peace with themselves and their neighbours, free from intimidation and harm. <BR /> <BR />The time for pandering to those organisations is long past. The UK and Irish Governments must now abandon their plans to sit down for tea and biscuits with them and instead work with us in the Assembly to put them behind bars, where they belong. I commend the motion to the House.”
“which is an outrageous implication to make in the debate.”
“Clear and unequivocal political leadership is required from all of us in the Chamber and from the two Governments. I fear that that leadership has been sadly lacking in the Chamber today. It is absent in the two amendments. I am particularly aghast at Sinn Féin's amendment, which directly contradicts the position that the First Minister stated at Question Time last week. As for Mr Beattie's contribution, I heard him categorise paramilitaries and members of paramilitary organisations in three broad terms. From where I sat, it sounded as if he was implying that there were good, bad and indifferent paramilitaries”
“There is also work to do on community resilience, including the long-overdue anti-poverty strategy; work to tackle educational underachievement; work to support those struggling with addiction; and the pressing need to tackle paramilitary flags, symbols and emblems in our community. That is our job, which we in the Chamber are too often not doing. I do not accept that those avenues have been exhausted when there is still so much work to do. I ask Members in the Chamber to reflect on that. <BR /> <BR />Crucially, continuous and stable government will be required to avoid a vacuum that paramilitaries will seek to fill and to lead the sustained change that is required to tackle the socio-economic disadvantage that they so gleefully exploit. The task is enormous, but, unlike others, I am not willing to surrender to a counsel of despair.”
“<BR /> <BR />Although I fundamentally disagree with the recommendation pertaining to group transition, there is much in the IRC's report that I can support and is to be welcomed. In the criminal justice sphere, for example, the IRC has called on the two Governments to ensure that sufficient resources are available to fund the work of tackling paramilitarism. I echo that call. The commission also recognises the importance of neighbourhood policing to support work, in tandem with that of the paramilitary crime task force, while recommending a number of interventions that are being addressed through the speeding up justice initiative and the creation of new criminal offences for organised crime as part of the Justice Bill.”
“The IRC, however, has highlighted the real impact that the Executive's strategy is having and has recognised its tangible effect in communities in which paramilitaries operate. The commission has also cited the downward trend in the number of paramilitary-style attacks, for example, and the reduction in the terror threat level from severe to substantial, acknowledging that progress has been made whilst, rightly, warning against complacency. That is evidence that the existing twin-track approach is working, albeit more slowly than any of us in the Chamber would like it to. I do not, however, accept the argument that the twin-track approach of robust criminal justice interventions alongside efforts to tackle socio-economic vulnerability has been exhausted.”
“<BR /> <BR />Rather than moving us closer to a future free from paramilitarism, the Governments' proposals will serve to undermine the progress made to date through the Executive's programme to tackle paramilitarism, for which my colleague Naomi Long serves as the lead Minister. That should concern us all. The programme has focused on delegitimising those organisations whilst building resilience in communities, providing robust criminal justice interventions, working to ensure that future generations are not exploited and traumatised in the same way as those who have gone before and shining a light on the often hidden harms that paramilitaries visit on communities. <BR /> <BR />Of course, that proposal had its genesis in reports by the Independent Reporting Commission, as Members have referenced.”
“I say this to the Secretary of State, the Tánaiste and Members in the Chamber: put yourself in the shoes of the small business owner who is asked to pay protection money; of the young mother who is exploited through drug dealing and loan sharking; of the child who is abused; or, indeed, of my constituents, who had a policing and community safety partnership meeting disrupted by sinister elements. What message does it send to them that those responsible will be invited in for a fireside chat rather than being held accountable? That would not be tolerated for constituents in Dublin or London, and it should not be tolerated for our constituents here in Northern Ireland.”
“Nor have I heard any answer to the question of what such organisations will transition into. Are we seriously suggesting that, with a helping hand from the Governments, those involved in the malign activities of dissident republican and loyalist paramilitaries will simply become a benign old boys' network? <BR /> <BR />Those unanswered questions lay bare the folly of the Governments' approach. Our foremost consideration, however, must be the impact that any process of formal engagement would have on the victims of paramilitary crime.”
“<BR /> <BR />Despite asking on numerous occasions, I have yet to hear articulated a single legitimate barrier to those organisations leaving the stage at any point over the past 30 years. They could, of course, voluntarily cease recruitment, withdraw threats of reprisal against those who seek to leave of their own accord and end their illicit activities. The only conceivable barrier to disbandment is the commitment of those involved to continue lining their own pockets and profiting at the expense and misery of some of the most marginalised in society. How will any Government conceivably play a role in removing that barrier, unless, of course, the Secretary of State is willing to countenance some sort of payday, which, he says, he is not? That is inevitably where that sorry gravy train leads.”
“Whatever their flag of convenience, paramilitaries are driven fundamentally by greed, making money by controlling, exploiting and terrorising some of the most vulnerable in our community through drug-dealing, extortion and coercive control. Far from breaking down the coercive grip that paramilitaries enjoy over communities, the Governments' plans would simply enhance it. A formal process of engagement would simply confer on them a platform, a status and a veneer of legitimacy that not only do those organisations not deserve but which would be unthinkable anywhere else in these islands. I have no doubt that it would be wielded as part of their wider arsenal as they seek to further gatekeep and control communities in the future.”