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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“Thank you, Minister, for the prompt statement. You are right to highlight the issue of underfunding by the UK Government. Of course, the SDLP is happy to sit on the Government Benches at Westminster despite that damage. Minister, given that some of the Barnett consequentials arising in your statement result from support for changes to business rates, are we likely to see any of that money allocated to support businesses here in Northern Ireland?”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. Minister, when is Sir Frank Atherton likely to report his findings to you, and when will you make your decision on whether any public inquiry will proceed?”
“We must now see a return to diplomatic engagement. The future of Iran should be grounded in democratic principles with respect for equality, human rights and the freedoms of the Iranian people. Ultimately, it is for the Iranian people to determine their future, not for anyone else.”
“However, illegal and unilateral action is unlikely to secure that future. What we have seen over the weekend is a dangerous escalation that could threaten stability in the Middle East and beyond. Alliance calls for maximum restraint, the protection of civilians and full respect for international law, including the UN charter and international humanitarian law.”
“First of all, I express my solidarity with the people of Iran and the wider region and with the citizens from Northern Ireland who now find themselves stranded and uncertain as a result of the events that unfolded over the weekend. I also condemn outright the brutal and barbaric Iranian regime, which has been guilty of vile human rights abuses, repressing Iranian civil society and placing restrictions on civil liberties, with many peaceful protesters brutally beaten down in the streets. <BR /> <BR />Iran must cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as the legal obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The Assembly has endorsed a peaceful democratic future for Iran and called for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK Government.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. She referred to the minimum age of criminal responsibility. If that was changed, how would children's offending behaviour be dealt with?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. It was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party who made that assertion. Does he agree that, given that the Ulster Unionist Party has a councillor on Derry City and Strabane District Council who has three drink-driving convictions, perhaps that Member should get his own house in order before casting aspersions on other parties?”
“History tells us that the bar is pretty low for the DUP in that respect, so we will support the motion. I ask the Minister again to take the opportunity, even if he is not going to resign and even if he is going to treat with utter contempt Members of the Assembly who are holding him to account, to at least apologise to the families who were so heavily affected by his failure to stand up and show leadership. It is the least that those people deserve, Minister.”
“I believe in moving towards a culture of accountability and showing the public that, when there are breaches of the rules, there are consequences and Ministers will be held to account, rather than the circus of sectarian vetoes and mechanisms of the Assembly being used to protect party political interests and shield people from accountability. <BR /> <BR />It was said that the Minister's comment was made in the heat of the moment: the test of leadership is how you respond in the heat of the moment and when you are under pressure. The Minister has utterly failed that test. The standards process that we have at the moment is a race to the bottom. It is a lowest common denominator approach whereby Ministers are held only to the standards that their leader can muster.”
“<BR /> <BR />If the public are to have any trust and confidence in these institutions, we must show that there is integrity in this Building. I have to say that I do not see much integrity around me in the Chamber. We see dizzying levels of hypocrisy and whataboutery and no culture of accountability, no humility and no preparedness to admit that you got it wrong. The people whom we represent deserve so much better than what goes on in this toytown Parliament. It is disgraceful. <BR /> <BR />There are solutions, and that is why we will support the motion.”
“When community tensions were at such a febrile level and at such fever pitch and when families were displaced from their homes, the Minister's response, as housing Minister, was not to put his arm round those families and to work to get them appropriate accommodation or to call on protesters not to attend protests that, we all knew, would inevitably turn violent — far from it, his response was to distance himself and his party from the decision to place those people in that accommodation. His response was to amplify the location of that temporary accommodation even though he knew the risks, and his response since has been nothing more than arrogance and contempt, blaming the standards commissioner, blaming the police and blaming the politicians who dared to call him to order or to question his motives. It is disgraceful and shameful.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am sick, sore and tired of Members traipsing into the Chamber and engaging in culture wars and scapegoating minorities for their failures. That includes the Communities Minister, who, in the run-up to that festival of violence, when asked a question by me about the housing crisis, blamed migrants, because he was so fearful of taking responsibility for the housing targets that he had missed and so fearful of taking responsibility for the rent controls and regulation that he had not introduced. <BR /> <BR />Our ethnic minority communities — all our minority communities — deserve better.”
“What we witnessed last June was a festival of wanton racist violence, with members of our ethnic minority communities subjected to a race-based pogrom on our streets. I take great exception to Members, including the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, who come to the Chamber and say, effectively, that it is a trivial matter and that there are more important things that we should be getting on with. Tell that to the families who were hiding in their attic, fearful of being killed. Tell that to the pregnant mother who had to be removed from her home in the middle of the night. Tell that to the children in my constituency who were going into school and telling their teachers that their mummy and daddy were fearful that they would be killed when they went to bed that night.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I am impressed by his pantomime performance. The crux of the issue and the reason why Mr Buckley is so uncomfortable today is that, if he had bothered to listen to the FSB — the Federation of Small Businesses — Logistics UK or any of the host of other business organisations in 2016, we would not be in this position.”
“<BR /> <BR />I look forward to the Member's contribution, because this is a practical step that all parties, whether Leave or Remain, should be able to coalesce around in a bid to remove Brexit bureaucracy, support our businesses and remove the checks in the Irish Sea that Mr Buckley so often waxes lyrical about. <BR /> <BR />I commend the motion to the House and look forward to the debate.”
“I believe in a culture of accountability and that, when a politician takes a decision, they have a duty to be honest with the public about the consequences of that decision. Part of the challenge of the Brexit debate so far has been that politicians are not willing to ground themselves in the basic facts. The fact is that, when you come outside the European Union, you create a border. There then comes the question of where that border can be best managed and mitigated. If you want to remove the border, you do it through closer cooperation with the European Union. Therefore, until we ground ourselves in the Brexit laws of physics and unless people are willing to admit that actions have consequences and that trade-offs exist, we will not make progress.”
“— and focus instead on working with those of us on these Benches who want solutions, stability, cooperation and common sense? <BR /> <BR />Whilst Mr Buckley is not necessarily a virtue of common sense, I will briefly give way before I conclude.”
“The irony is lost on no one that the surest way to remove the customs border in the Irish Sea would be opposed by the very Members who profess to care about the issue. Those Members have a choice today: do they want to continue with the politics of grievance and fear, continuing to fight a Brexit war of attrition, or do they want to choose a different path, be honest about the folly of the Brexit that they campaigned for —”
“<BR /> <BR />Of course, as a passionately pro-Europe party, Alliance believes that only a full reversal of Brexit can undo all the tensions, contradictions and limitations that it has posed. For us, our relationship with Europe is about the kind of society that we want to build: one in which we work with our partners to tackle global challenges such as climate change, peace and security, poverty and migration. The motion is about a practical step that we can take to build on the protections in the Windsor framework and to undo some of the damage that Brexit unleashed. <BR /> <BR />Some of those who shout loudest about divergence in the Irish Sea will, no doubt, oppose the motion.”
“In the face of such instability and economic aggression, it is surely time to reorient our efforts back towards building a stable trading relationship with our nearest neighbours and largest trading partners in the EU. The Prime Minister has said that the Brexit deal hurt our economy significantly and that we must keep reducing frictions and move towards a closer relationship with the EU. A number of Cabinet Ministers have gone further than that in suggesting that a customs union is the way forward to boost economic growth. In recent weeks, it has been reported that the European Commission is open to negotiation. The UK Government must grasp that opportunity.”
“That is why we pushed successfully for a comprehensive food, drink and agriculture agreement between the UK and the EU; it is why we pushed for more cooperation on research and youth mobility; it is why we defend our unique dual market access; and it is why we have brought the motion to the Chamber. A UK-EU customs union is the surest and most significant step that the Government could take to boost growth, tackle the cost of living and eliminate bureaucracy. <BR /> <BR />Not only has public opinion changed dramatically since 2016 as the consequences of Brexit have been laid bare, but the world around us has changed dramatically. We live in a time of geopolitical uncertainty and rising populism and protectionism, with major economies, not least the United States, looking inwards and backwards rather than outwards and forwards.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are also Members who, over the course of the debate, will wax lyrical about sovereignty. Businesses, farmers, hauliers and manufacturers do not have the luxury of worrying about such ideological and academic arguments. Sovereignty does not pay the bills or put food on the table. Those businesses want us to come to the debate with honesty, to confront the challenges and to shape a pragmatic way forward to drive growth and ensure that they can thrive and flourish. That is what Alliance has always offered and what it will continue to offer.”
“OK; no problem. <BR /> <BR />There will, of course, be those in the Chamber who try to pin all of the inevitable consequences of the Brexit that they campaigned for squarely on the Windsor framework. That argument not only ignores the fact that challenges are being faced by businesses UK-wide; it ignores the protections that have insulated Northern Ireland from some of the worst excesses of Brexit, with Northern Ireland's economy growing faster now than that of Great Britain. That argument also lays bare the folly of the same Members, who claimed, on the return of the Assembly, that the Irish Sea border had been removed. As I have said many times, that is the political equivalent of driving your car square into a brick wall and then blaming the airbag for your broken nose.”
“Does the Member wish to intervene, or is he just chuntering from a sedentary position?”
“That is evidenced not least in our agriculture sector, where dairy products produced in Northern Ireland cross the border to be processed in the South and return to Northern Ireland before onward sale. <BR /> <BR />Any form of Brexit, particularly the hard Brexit pursued by the DUP, was going to cause friction and create barriers. The question became one not of whether checks would occur but of where they would occur. Alliance warned that, inevitably, they would be at ports and airports. That is not because we want them to be there but because that is where they could be best managed and their impact mitigated”
“The message from business is clear: reduce friction, cut red tape and increase growth. The National Bureau of Economic Research, a leading US think tank, has published a decade-long analysis concluding that Brexit has reduced UK GDP by between 6% and 8%. The House of Commons Library has estimated that, every year, Brexit costs the Treasury £90 billion in lost tax receipts. That is money that could and should have been used to invest in our health service, tackle the cost of living and make life better for the people whom we represent. <BR /> <BR />We know all too well that Northern Ireland, as a divided society, can function only on the basis of sharing and interdependence. Our people and businesses trade and interact daily on a North/South and an east-west basis.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, it will not surprise you to hear me say that Brexit has been an abject failure. It has put up new barriers to trade, shrunk the economy and left people and public services worse off. We are a far cry from the sunlit uplands promised in 2016, and the oven-ready deal that Boris Johnson talked of in 2019 has turned out to be a turkey. The referendum campaign was one of the most dishonest in recent political history. The campaign was tainted by dark money and ignored the warnings of businesses and civic society. <BR /> <BR />Far from control being taken back, the UK economy is now weaker and more isolated than at any point in recent history. A survey by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that nearly half of UK exporters now cite customs procedures as their biggest challenge.”
“I want to see us work collegiately together to bring about that reform in the interests of our public services and people in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />While I am supportive of reform of the Civil Service in principle, I am of the view that that reform must be used to strengthen the service to improve public services and be done with the resources that we have available to us. It is often easy for parties and politicians in the Chamber — I am not innocent in this regard — to point to the machinery and the civil servants behind the political operation for the pace of change and things that have gone wrong. Part of the leadership issue is about us taking much greater political accountability for failings. I caution that no reform of the Civil Service should be an attempt to shirk our responsibility in the Chamber for decision-making. I absolutely support the motion.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is not possible to entirely divorce this debate about reform of the Civil Service from the need for broader political reform. One of our challenges is a silo mentality in Departments, which we have all acknowledged at various points in the Chamber. We have seen that even in the lack of collegiality in the Executive around the Budget and management of the Budget in-year. Those are political failures that cannot be laid just at the door of civil servants. If we are to reform significantly how the Civil Service is structured, I believe strongly that that has to be accompanied and supported by significant political reform.”
“The long-standing gaps caused by vacancies are further exacerbated by slow recruitment and put pressure on existing civil servants elsewhere in the system. <BR /> <BR />There are also very obvious skills gaps in the service. While programmes such as the graduate management scheme have been welcome in helping with succession planning, we need to go much further. The report notes a particular challenge in the Civil Service's recruitment to generalist roles when there is an increasing need for specialist skills. I do not doubt the challenge in competing with private-sector employers for specialist skills in accountancy, economics or other professionalisms, but we need to look very closely at how we can compete more strongly for those professionals in order to protect the sustainability of the service.”
“Members have known for some time of the need for reform, and I agree with other Members who have said that it is an issue of collective leadership across parties and Departments. I recognise some of the big structural issues facing the Civil Service, the most obvious of which is its ageing workforce. That is contributing, through sickness and other things, to the high number of vacancies, which, in turn, contributes to more stress among remaining civil servants. Not only do we have a significant vacancy problem in the service, but it takes an average of seven months for recruitment in the service to complete from initiation stage to appointment. That is a stark statistic and much slower than in the private sector.”
“It is clear that this report must not gather dust in the same way. We need to go much further in implementing the recommendations that it sets out. <BR /> <BR />The report is damning about the lack of progress in strategic workforce planning and about improvements to operational resourcing and vacancy management. It notes that there is:”
“<BR /> <BR />It is also true, however, that, since the previous report, 'Capacity and Capability in the Northern Ireland Civil Service', was published in 2020, only five of its 23 recommendations have been fully achieved, with 13 partially achieved and five remaining unachieved.”
“Like others, I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion about the recently published Audit Office report on the Civil Service and how it is led, structured and resourced. The Alliance Party will support the motion, because we recognise the need for Civil Service reform. <BR /> <BR />At the outset, I commend the commitment and dedication of civil servants at all levels of the Northern Ireland Civil Service. They serve our society and public services daily, often behind the scenes and without thanks. Doing so is a particularly large challenge in Northern Ireland in the context of the shocks that we have endured from Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic and, indeed, these institutions being in abeyance a number of times. Their work and their role therefore cannot be overstated.”
“Basic decency must underpin how we do our work. Public confidence rests on our ability to uphold standards and impose sanctions when rules are broken. If we cannot show respect to one another and demonstrate that breaches of the code of conduct have consequences, we erode what little public trust and confidence remain in these institutions. As for allegations that this is an attack on free speech, free speech has limits. It is no excuse for insult, personal attack or the bullying that we repeatedly see in the Chamber and at Committees. I implore all Members who believe in standards in public life, scrutiny and accountability and want to retain public trust in the institutions to support the motion. Nothing less is acceptable.”
“The true test of leadership is not what a party says in a press release or at a campaign launch; it comes when standards are challenged, behaviour falls short and leaders must decide whether to uphold the values that they profess to champion or turn a blind eye. Today, the Ulster Unionist Party is turning a blind eye alongside the DUP and the TUV.”
“As the report reflects, if we are genuinely committed to a political culture in which women are fully represented, reflected and supported, behaviour that undermines that aim cannot be excused, dismissed or allowed to pass without scrutiny. <BR /> <BR />The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party professes to be a fan of scrutiny and of the inclusion of women in politics. At the weekend, his party announced a campaign to encourage women to step forward. That is a laudable ambition, but it rings hollow now because, at the very first hurdle, his party is refusing to support even the most basic sanction for behaviour that no woman in public life should ever be expected to tolerate.”
“They are hoist by their own petard, in that the DUP representatives on the Committee — Brian Kingston, Harry Harvey and Paul Frew — never objected to the sanction that was recommended. The question is this: what has changed, or is it just that the DUP is once again not being led by Gavin Robinson but being led by the nose by Jim Allister in the Chamber today? <BR /> <BR />I have observed a worrying pattern of women from across the political parties being framed as too erratic, too emotional, or too irate. Those arguments have been used to dismiss them, trivialise their position and undermine their credibility. I am proud of the strong women who represent the Alliance Party in the Chamber.”
“No, I will not. You have had plenty of time. <BR /> <BR />Those gratuitous insults and allegations continued this morning in breach of the embargo, overriding due process in the Assembly and with contempt for Members. Rather than learn his lesson, it is clear that Mr Gaston has continued to impugn the integrity of the Standards Commissioner, the Committee and the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />I have heard it said that this was a witch-hunt. Of course, the Members making such claims overlook the fact that all the main parties, with the exception of the Ulster Unionist Party, are represented on the Committee. I was astounded to hear the position of Paul Givan and Jonathan Buckley today.”
“The report also clearly demonstrates that false and misleading accusations were repeatedly levelled against Paula Bradshaw that she was shielding witnesses. The commissioner determined that those claims were false, misleading and completely without basis. We cannot overlook the impact that such an insult has on the complainant. I express today my solidarity with Paula, who is a fine public servant who always acts with integrity and entirely in the public interest.”
“As some other Members have done, I thank the Standards Commissioner, the Standards and Privileges Committee and all others who were involved in processing the complaint. Despite misleading conjecture, gaslighting and spin, only one Member was found to have been in breach of the code of conduct in that case: Timothy Gaston. Today's sanction follows a transparent and independent process, with the clear finding that the conduct amounted to an "unreasonable and excessive personal attack"; that he repeatedly and persistently failed to respect the authority of the Chair and improperly interfered with the Assembly's functions; and that he failed to uphold:”
“As a result of the revaluation, some pubs and hospitality businesses have seen their rateable values increase by 70% and 80%. They face a pincer movement of rising costs, which could lead to them closing their doors. During the last revaluation in Scotland, a transitional revaluation relief was offered. Have you considered taking such an approach to support businesses?”
“Minister, the truth of the matter is that, last June, a number of families, including a pregnant mother, were moved into temporary accommodation for their own safety, and your response, as Minister, was to amplify the location of the temporary accommodation and distance yourself from the decision to place them there. Beneath the bravado, Minister, you know that, if you were a Minister in any other part of these islands, you would already be gone. Surely you owe those families an apology.”
“Will the Minister provide an update on his efforts to ensure the mandatory use of CCTV in slaughterhouses?”
“Will the Minister outline the risk-assessment process that is undertaken as part of pre-release testing?”
“Jonathan is now using his voice to raise awareness, to fundraise for research and to encourage others to seek help. His courage is inspiring, but it should not fall to individuals to highlight gaps in our system. We have the evidence; we have the strategy; we have the lived experience of people such as Dr Jonathan Dillon. What we need now is action to accelerate the lowering of the screening age to 50 in line with the rest of the UK. That step would align with the Minister's commitment to move towards a more preventative system of healthcare that avoids complex surgeries; reduces emergency admissions and long-term needs; helps people to return to work sooner and healthier; and, above all, saves lives.”
“He reminds us that 13% of bowel cancers are diagnosed in people between the ages of 50 and 59, yet the screening age in Northern Ireland remains at 60. The evidence is clear: screening from the age of 50 significantly increases the likelihood of detecting cancer at stage 1, where the five-year survival rate is over 93%. Early detection saves lives but only if people are offered screening early enough.”
“I commend the campaign of my constituent Dr Jonathan Dillon, a respected Banbridge GP who has spent his career caring for others. In February 2024, Jonathan was diagnosed with bowel cancer; a diagnosis that, in his own words, came as a bolt from the blue. Jonathan had no obvious symptoms, no family history, a healthy lifestyle and nothing that would have placed him in a high-risk category; yet a 7cm tumour was discovered during a scope. He underwent major surgery just two days after his fiftieth birthday. Since then, he has spoken bravely and openly about the physical and emotional toll of his diagnosis, the long recovery and the extraordinary support that he received from colleagues, friends and family. <BR /> <BR />Jonathan has also spoken candidly and with remarkable clarity about what that experience must mean for public policy.”
“It is time to show genuine backbone against the attacks from Trump, to stand up for Greenland's self-determination and to pursue deeper ties with our European neighbours and allies.”