Conor Murphy
Newry and Armagh · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“More detailed consultations with individual childcare providers and parents are taking place this month and into February. The group agreed that the research would conclude in March 2025. The work is on schedule; there has been no delay. Childcare is an excellent example of various Departments coming together to deliver for our people.”
“The Bill looks at the issue of flexible working, but at every meeting that we have had with employers, we have made a point of talking to them about the need for them to be flexible, particularly in relation to women who are returning to the workforce, and to offer people arrangements that entice them back to the workforce and give them t…”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion. <BR /> <BR />Although the Department of Education leads on childcare, it is a priority for the Executive as a whole. When setting the Budget for this financial year, the Executive earmarked an additional £25 million for childcare.”
“As a matter of fact, I publicly launched the scheme and the courses in the Met last summer. My officials are also working with our six further education colleges to develop childcare microcourses for future delivery. <BR /> <BR />I also offered to assist Minister Givan's Department as required.”
“The group identified the need to better understand the business models for childcare, what type of support is needed to ensure the sector's financial viability and how support should be targeted. Given my Department's business expertise, we volunteered to take that work forward.”
“No tensions or obstacles have been placed in the way of any of that work, and I hope that that continues to be the case, because the issues are much more important than party political exchanges across the Chamber. We will continue to work in that manner.”
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“My understanding is that there have been discussions on planning restrictions to ensure that ownership of houses in multiple occupation is kept at a level that does not substantially change the nature of the neighbourhood. <BR /> <BR />Of course, student accommodation is critical, and the understanding when the task force was put together was that it needed to be recognised that this was not just about creating more university places but about the infrastructure in the city that is needed to accommodate that. Issues such as transport and accommodation will be central to that.”
“I welcome the Member's acknowledgement of the fact that the task force has done some very positive work. Its membership is rooted in the Derry community, which is beneficial when it comes to local engagement. Accommodation will be a key issue in the expansion, so significant work has been done to identify land and to make sure that there is engagement with the private sector, which will provide a lot of that accommodation. That work has already begun. There is engagement with the council to ensure that spaces that become available can be used. <BR /> <BR />There is a strong desire to ensure that the surrounding population is not overwhelmed by student numbers. We have seen that happen in parts of Belfast, where a neighbourhood becomes, essentially, a student area.”
“My Department is fully committed to ensuring that Ulster University's Magee expansion is done in a way that maximises the benefits to the local community and minimises the potential negative impacts. The task force is made up of local people, including a representative from the community sector. Its recently launched action plan emphasises the importance of meaningful community engagement to keep residents informed and involved. That engagement will continue throughout the expansion process. In addition, Ulster University has already initiated several community engagement forums. The Department will monitor and support those efforts in order to ensure that the expanded campus integrates well with the surrounding area, delivering positive outcomes for residents and the region.”
“We need to try to ensure that we get the best value. There has been a very significant investment in our college estate over the past 10 or 15 years, and we have a very good college estate, but we want to maximise its usage to make sure that we get the best possible outcomes.”
“We continually monitor that. As I say, we have engaged in programmes with the colleges to ensure that we understand the numbers in attendance. There is a desire to increase that. It has gone up by something like 13·5% over the past number of years. There is no doubt that there is capacity there to do more. I have spent quite some time over the past year engaging with the individual colleges and the college principals as a group to try to ensure that we align the provision so that it is seamless across all our colleges. I have also tried to ensure that we do significant outreach and work with those who are assisting in bringing people back into training and education on the potential for alignment and synchronisation between the colleges and the organisations that are involved in that work in the community.”
“That continues. It is challenged by the level of funding that we have. As is the case for, I am sure, every Minister who stands here, we would do more in each area if we had more funding to do it with. Unfortunately, given the funding settlement that was proposed by London, we remain in a very challenging situation. We will conclude that review. I am sure that it will be published in due course. We will continue to argue for as much money as we can for the further and higher education sector to ensure that we produce the level of skills and knowledge needed in our society to assist with the growth of the economy.”
“We will continue to improve in that area. I very much welcomed the report, which related to a previous period. Nonetheless, it has lessons for us. We will continue to work in that area.”
“In collaboration with the universities, we introduced higher education outcome agreements for the 2024-25 academic year. The outcome agreements are intended to demonstrate alignment between the Department's priorities and the work of the universities, including the skills strategy and related targets. For higher education provision in a further education setting, the Department approves all higher education courses planned for delivery to ensure alignment with departmental priorities. <BR /> <BR />The most recent data showed that nearly half of all graduates from local universities gained a qualification in a broad STEM subject, while a quarter gained a qualification in a narrow STEM subject. Twenty-eight per cent of full-time undergraduate students graduated from university in a narrow STEM subject.”
“My Department works closely with further and higher education institutions to support a skills pipeline that meets the needs of our local economy and addresses skills shortages. That includes a range of interventions: for example, collaborating with employers through our sectoral partnerships in order to align curricula for apprenticeships with industry needs. Promoting pathways to good careers through the Careers Service is also part of that approach, as is attracting learners to further and higher education. College development plans are another important mechanism by which the Department measures performance in addressing subregional skills need. My Department has also worked with the three universities on the first annual outcome agreements, which require the institutions to be responsive to the needs of the economy.”
“It is not a matter of trading one off against the other; it is a matter of trying to ensure that all options are open to us so that, if we end up in the situation where, I hope, that ambition is realised and we are a net exporter, interconnection goes both ways and we will be able to sell electricity off the island.”
“The solution will be a mixture of all. Of course, in order to meet our targets for climate change, which the Executive and the Assembly have agreed to, and which are very challenging, we have to ensure that we have a renewable supply. Given our location, our geography and our position on the western Atlantic, there is real potential there for renewable energy and for the industry to gear itself up for that. A long-term ambition on the island of Ireland is to be a net exporter of energy, which would be very beneficial not just to the security of supply for our customers here but for profit generally on the island.”
“Since the very first day that the Government in London came into office, we have engaged with them on those ideas. The Bill was front-loaded in the sense that there would be legislation, and now that has been backfilled, if you like, with detail. We continue to engage on it. Of particular interest are the community energy plans, which will give more resilience at a local community level rather than a reliance on one or two large producers and distributors of electricity. We are very keen to see what advantage there might be. We are told that resource is attached to some of those plans, and we will continue to investigate that with the Department in London to make sure that we get our fair share of whatever is developed.”
“The Department will publish a consultation imminently on increasing the level of socialisation of reinforcement costs for customers who are connecting to the distribution electricity network. It will review a number of options for sharing the reinforcement costs of the distribution network among all network users. My Department will review the responses to the consultation after it closes in mid-April with the Utility Regulator. I expect to publish a decision thereafter. There are ongoing developments in other areas of connection policy in the North, including NIE Networks' consultation on its cluster methodology.”
“We engage regularly with the Utility Regulator and the supply side for electricity and energy generally — we do something similar with gas — to try to make sure that there is confidence that supplies will remain sufficient to meet our needs. Of course, we cannot predict what weather circumstances might arise, but we have not had that kind of extreme weather since storm Darragh. <BR /> <BR />My understanding is that we are sufficiently covered for the remainder of the winter. We will keep on top of it. Officials will continue to engage with all those in the sector to make sure that there is an understanding of what the challenges are and to ensure that we build in more security of supply in the short term over the winter and in the long term.”
“My officials will continue to work with the energy industry and the Utility Regulator to review and monitor the short-, medium- and long-term security of supply and to ensure that our changing energy system is robust and resilient.”
“The security of the electricity supply is a risk that is managed collaboratively by the Government, the Utility Regulator and the System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI), which provides electricity transmission. <BR /> <BR />Last week, SONI published a revised winter assessment, following significant damage caused by storm Darragh to the Ballylumford power station. The assessment indicates that, while the power system will experience tighter margins for the remaining winter period, under normal operating conditions, there is sufficient generation to meet customer demand. Therefore, the current risk of any disruption to the electricity supply is low. <BR /> <BR />The owner of the Ballylumford power station, EP UK Investments, is working at pace with specialist contractors to resume generation at the site as soon as possible.”
“We are going through the consultation responses at the moment. Those will, in turn, be put into the draft legislation. There will be an opportunity for the Assembly to process, debate and amend the legislation and to put it through the Committee Stage. We will ensure that we continue to hear from those who wish to provide representation for workers during the development of the legislation and its passage through the House in order to make sure that we give the strongest possible voice to workers.”
“Thankfully, some of that has not happened here, so we are not in as bad a position as they are in Britain. However, we want to be sure that employees have the right to representation and the right to organise themselves. We are working through the consultation responses. Our intention is to draft legislation next year to reflect the outcome of the consultation.”
“One of the four themes of the consultation is "Voice and representation". That is to ensure that people have the rights to organise and to be represented by trade unions and that those rights become enshrined. The British Government have retreated from those rights in many ways over the past 14 years.”
“I agree that we should be given more powers, and if the Member wishes to take more powers from the British Government, I am happy to have his support; that has been an ambition of ours for some time. In this instance, Intertrade UK is not within my responsibilities. My responsibility involves InterTradeIreland and encouraging all-Ireland economic growth, which has been increasing at a significant rate in past years. Given the protocol arrangements, there is further opportunity for growth on the island, to the benefit of all the people who live in every constituency across the island. I do not have responsibility for Intertrade UK, but I am very much up for discussion of the Assembly's taking powers back from the British Government and exercising them on behalf of our people.”
“My understanding is that Intertrade UK will be based in Whitehall. It is a creation of the British Government, and they will have responsibility for it. No responsibility for its creation, its personnel or its staffing costs lies on this side of the Irish Sea. It is entirely a creation of the British Government and it will be located in Whitehall.”
“We will encourage more growth and do more outside that to address regional imbalance issues, as the Executive's Programme for Government has committed us to doing. That does not mean that we will abandon any area or leave it behind.”
“It does not include a commitment to move investment outside Belfast. It includes a commitment to grow more and at a higher level outside Belfast. It is not about moving anything anywhere but about growing and encouraging more growth. There have been many headlines about foreign direct investment and jobs that have been created. I would also like to see businesses that are indigenous to North Down grow and to give them opportunities to grow their businesses, increase employment and attract more people. If foreign direct investment is available, that will still be an important part of our economic prospectus. We will continue to work with Ards and North Down and within greater Belfast.”
“We are content, as I said, to work: we have set targets for outside the greater Belfast area, but we continue to want to see growth inside that area, and we will continue to support economic development there. If he wishes to discuss with Invest, or, indeed, the Department our approach to specific aspects of his constituency or council area, I am happy to do that. We want to see growth right across the region. We recognise that, to address regional imbalance, we need to put more effort into the area outside greater Belfast, but that does not mean that we will not put effort into the greater Belfast area.”
“Yes. Some colleges are struggling for people with the teaching capacity for those skills, but we are continuing to work at that and to provide more flexibility for the colleges in how they recruit people in order to try to ensure that we have sufficient trainers for young people. There are huge opportunities for young people who get trades and skills. There are significant opportunities for them to stay here, work here and grow businesses, if that is what they choose to do, and to settle and rear their families here. There are significant opportunities, and we want to encourage as much of that as possible. If there is occasionally a deficit of staff on the provision side, we will work closely with the colleges to correct that.”
“We also provide for those who are in work and who want to upskill and move on to new opportunities, regardless of what age they might be.”
“We are working on careers advice to make sure that young people have all the advice on the trades that they seek. Careers advice has not been consistent or coherent across the entire school network. We want to ensure that that is the case and that we have more apprenticeship opportunities for young people. However, that all requires resource, and we are struggling to get as much done in that area as we would like. We are working with the Department of Education on a joint programme to make sure that there is consistent careers advice. We are working on creating a careers portal so that parents can also have access to that advice and to ensure that young people have the full range of opportunities that are being offered to them.”
“If we find that the definition of a carer is not being fully understood, yes, I am very happy to ensure that it is revisited. I am sure that that will be reflected in the consultation responses, a significant number of which are being analysed over the autumn. We intend to move to drafting the legislation over the next year. There will be an opportunity to look at that, and the legislation will then have its passage through the Assembly, where, again, there will be an opportunity for scrutiny of, amendments to and other arguments and debates on it. There is quite some way to go with it, and if we find that issues are not being addressed, there will be opportunities to revisit them in the time ahead.”
“I am aware that carers continue to press for that right. I have said that quite a lot of our 'good jobs' employment rights Bill, which we are consulting on, relates to carers and their rights. I would like to see a situation where people are entitled to paid carers' leave. That will be a matter for the Executive; it is not in my gift alone. Obviously, we sincerely hope that, by the time that we get to legislate for that, the financial position will have improved. We will continue, through the Finance Minister, to press the British Government for a financial settlement and an arrangement that supports the provision of public services and supports the rights of carers and others to access paid leave.”
“We recognise that there are many bodies at work in many local areas that have ideas about economic growth as part of their remit, but we want to make sure that people pull together to develop their economic plans, that they get support from Invest NI and the Department for the Economy for that and that we improve the local voice and decision-making for economic development.”
“We have been quite relaxed about how councils and local partners come together for this work. The only thing that we have specified is that there has to be a genuine partnership. You are right that the LMPs have very similar functions to LEPs. If councils wish to have some kind of arrangement between those bodies, to work more closely with them or to look at the membership across both, we would be very happy to allow them the flexibility to work in that way. As I said, our only stipulation is that they have to be genuine partnerships.”
“Some councils are much more advanced than others, so capacity needs to be increased in certain councils. We will continue to do that over the coming months in order to make sure that we get the partnerships off to a good start.”
“We are in dialogue with councils to ensure that those plans are worked through and understood clearly by everybody, that whatever measures are needed to make sure that they can function are there and that we do so at pace, because we want to see the local economic partnerships up and running by the new financial year. We will continue to work with councils. We have a very good engagement with the councils, and, of course, they know that we have proposed that a fund be provided to support the local economic partnerships and assist them in the work that we intend them to do. Of course, we will have support through Invest NI and its officials. Departmental officials will work more closely with councils in those areas to give advice and support to ensure that there is capacity in councils to deliver economic plans.”
“From the challenges that we have in making sure that projects get moving, the impact of 10 or 12 years of austerity Budgets is very clear, particularly the impact on Northern Ireland Water and the work that it needs to do to ensure that land is fit for development. Of course, the Minister for Infrastructure will continue to bid to get more support to be able to do that work, and Executive colleagues recognise that that rise is a serious handbrake, as you said, when it comes to development. It is incumbent on all of us across the Executive to try to work collectively to make sure that, where good development is possible, sustainable and in the interests of the people who live here, all obstacles to that are removed as quickly as they can be. However, some of that requires resource, and that is the biggest challenge that we have.”
“The Utility Regulator and anyone else has to make sure that, whatever position they take on costs, it is done in a way that is sustainable and has an evidence base to support it. I look forward to engaging with the Utility Regulator on a range of those matters. As I said, we want to improve connectivity and the ability for renewables to come on to the system. That will be a key function between our Department and the Utility Regulator, so we will continue to engage across all those issues to make sure that we are satisfied with how things are being done.”
“As I said, the full impact will take time to become clear. I have acknowledged the benefits to workers from increases in the national minimum wage and the national living wage, but there are challenges, particularly with the cost of energy. I am aware of particular concerns raised by the hospitality sector about the Budget and its ongoing work to engage with Departments on relevant issues. My officials and I will continue to engage with local business stakeholders, including those in the hospitality sector, to understand the full detail of the Budget in the context of my economic plans.”
“I do not have that information to hand, but I am very happy to correspond with the Member to provide it, if there is up-to-date information and if that information attributes the causation of somebody's insolvency to how the Budget has left them. <BR /> <BR />I support the idea of giving poorly paid workers more wages, but the Government should have offset the cost of that by taking action on the cost of living and the cost of energy, both of which are also impacting on businesses. I am happy to see whether there are figures on what the Member mentioned, and, if they are available, I will provide them.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are measures in the autumn statement that present opportunities for local business, For example, there was the unpausing of the growth deals and support for key sectors such as life and health sciences, creative industries and aerospace and key elements of my economic plan, such as innovation, R&D and decarbonisation. There were, however, also very challenging elements to it, and it will take time to understand and to engage with businesses to see the full impact of the Budget on them.”
“, with your permission, I will take questions 7 and 8 together. <BR /> <BR />The Budget contained a range of announcements that affect local businesses in a variety of ways, depending on the characteristics of each individual business, including its size, location, which sector it operates in and how it chooses to manage the new arrangements. The rise in wages for our lowest-paid workers is to be welcomed, but it has not been offset by a reduction in other costs. Indeed, it has been introduced in parallel with increasing employer National Insurance contributions, which will put many businesses under more strain, given the rising cost of doing business.”
“If, however, we identify a need for legislation in order to secure protections, that should be legislated for in the next mandate.”
“That is my clear intention. As I said, it is an injustice that that particular nettle has not been grasped before in the way in which it is currently being grasped. I am pleased to be able to do that in the position that I am now in and to work with other Departments that share my commitment to addressing the issue. I expect to see tangible changes to the approach that has been taken to date, and I hope that we will see those changes made soon. It is my commitment that we will make them as quickly as we can. Given that there may be complex legislative requirements that we have not yet fully scoped out, such legislation is unlikely in the remainder of this mandate, so there is no point in building up people's hopes by saying that it will be done in this mandate.”
“If that bid is successful — hopefully it will be — the funding will give us significant impetus, but, even if it is not, we are committed to working to make improvements and to make sure that, in the areas of access to skills, access to careers advice and access to support, we do all in our power to change the approach that has for far too long not been giving young people who have special educational needs the proper support.”
“That is our ambition. I am sure that all of us, through our constituency duties, have represented people who have fallen off the edge of the system and no longer get support post 19. I have committed to trying to address that in my Department, because we have responsibility for further and higher education and skills, but that responsibility overlaps with other Departments' responsibilities. We have jointly bid for transformation funding to assist the four Departments to work collaboratively.”
“The consultation responses are being analysed, and I expect to be able to introduce a Bill in the Assembly by January 2026 or, if there is scope to do so, earlier.”
“The employment rights Bill consultation sought views on enhancing flexible working rights. Flexible working is an agreed way of meeting the needs of an employer and an employee through alternative approaches to working. It can enable those with caring responsibilities, disabilities or long-term health needs to access and remain in the workforce. The consultation, which closed at the end of September, proposed enhancements to existing rights by making flexible working requests available from the first day of employment, allowing an employee to make two statutory requests in any 12-month period and removing the requirement that an employee must explain, as part of the statutory request, what effect the change would have on the employer and how that might be dealt with.”
“Thankfully, the Economy, Education, Health and Communities Departments have all committed to work together on that with the transformation funds, if they can be secured, to help with the process. We need to get on with doing the things that we can do immediately. We need to look at where gaps remain and ensure that there are protections for young people. If that requires legislation at some stage, that will need to be done.”
“It will be challenging, because the legislation is complex and crosses a number of Departments, and we have only two years left in the mandate. I have to be realistic. I have always said that, if it requires legislation, we should legislate to make sure that the provision is protected. It is an injustice that people with special educational needs do not get the same support to progress through the education system as people without those needs. <BR /> <BR />If it requires legislation, we should commit to legislating. However, in the remainder of the mandate, we should do everything that we can across a number of Departments to make sure that we improve provision. I have committed to that.”
“It is vital that every young person in our society is supported to achieve and flourish. Improving support for young people with special educational needs is a priority in my Department's business plan and the Executive's draft Programme for Government. My officials are scoping the existing skills and training provision, including through engagement with further and higher education institutions; experts and organisations such as Mencap, Orchardville and the NOW Group; and young people, their parents and teachers. My Department, along with the Education, Health and Communities Departments, has submitted a bid to the interim transformation fund aimed at strengthening the skills and training provision and support for young people with special educational needs.”
“The Invest NI land strategy plan is not just about looking outside the greater Belfast area. We remain committed to growing the economy inside the greater Belfast area; we just want to do more to address regional imbalance beyond that. The land strategy will look at the location of strategic land. Of course, if we could get the agreement necessary to develop the Maze/Long Kesh project and get it moving, there would be a ready-made land bank in your constituency to support continued economic development. I hope that that can happen sooner rather than later. I am happy to engage with the Member or have Invest's land team engage with him if there are land issues that he wants to raise.”
“We have set an overall target of 65% for growth outside the Belfast area. The local economic partnerships will drill down region by region to see how that economic growth is to be promoted, what the ambitions are and what targets are required. Invest NI is reorientating its regional presence to make sure that it works closely with councils and others in each area to provide support to help people articulate the economic options and opportunities that exist for them but also to ensure that they are supported in the pursuit of those economic opportunities.”