Andrew McMurray
South Down · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Minister, various greenway projects are mentioned in your statement. Those projects are to be welcomed. Recently, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council announced a feasibility study, part-funded by DFI, for a greenway between Warrenpoint, Kilkeel and Newcastle.”
“<BR /> <BR />I hope that the Minister can respond to some of those concerns directly. As I said, Alliance supports the reclassification of trust ports in principle, and we understand that that requires a limiting of the Department's powers. However, I am convinced that we need to have stronger safeguards.”
“Reclassification requires limiting some of the Department's powers, particularly the power to issue directions to trust ports. Several of my constituents have raised that with me as a major concern, and Ms Ennis also referred to it.”
“I will speak first in my role as the Alliance Party's infrastructure spokesperson and then as MLA for South Down. I echo what the Committee Chairperson said about the approach to the Bill. From the outset, it should be said that we support the ports.”
“Kilkeel and Ardglass ports have great potential for ancillary industries, such as the maintenance and security of offshore energy production. I am on the record as repeatedly calling for more investment in those areas and championing the great benefits that the blue-green economy can bring to the fishing ports in my constituency.”
“That will drive the Northern Ireland economy, and it has the potential to aid and drive the economy in South Down. Belfast Harbour would, through its master plan, like to make large-scale investments in renewable energy infrastructure but is currently severely hampered in that regard.”
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“Indeed, at this time of the year, when the clocks have changed, that is certainly a bit more prominent, and there is many an evening when many a house is unlit. Again, that really contributes to the sense of community detachment. Likewise, some properties are occupied for mere weeks of the year. <BR /> <BR />Tourism NI statistics show that the number of self-catering units in the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area has increased by almost 50% in two years, from 414 in 2022 to 619 in 2024. At times, that presents a difficult conundrum for tourist areas to grapple with. Yes, they understand the need to accommodate visitors and the economic benefits that come with that, but they also feel that the balance is not always fairly struck at the minute. Some of the previous contributors referenced that.”
“I hear from constituents who want to live in the area but have been completely priced out of doing so in towns such as Newcastle and villages such as Dundrum and Bryansford. Young couples soon to be married are not able to move to an area that is geographically central to their family and their work, and parents express concern that their children will not be able to afford a property in the area in which they grew up. It is as much about economic growth as anything else. <BR /> <BR />At this stage, I thank the Minister — the Minister is not here; I will need to rejig my notes. I acknowledge that the motion calls on the whole Executive, so there must be various messages to various Ministers. I have also heard from constituents who find that, at times, every other house in a development is rarely occupied.”
“I thank Ms Hunter and the Opposition for tabling the motion. <BR /> <BR />The issue is certainly raised with me in my office regularly. I am lucky that South Down is a brilliant part of Northern Ireland, as Mrs Mason has already pointed out. Colin McGrath will no doubt get in there too. It is famously a place where the Mourne Mountains swoop down to the sea, and it boasts wonderful beaches, forests and the peaks and crags of the hills. It is easy to understand why people wish to visit the area, and, accordingly, they need somewhere to stay. The tourism industry is making important economic contributions to the area, and there can be no doubt about that. All that is positive, within reason. However, increasingly, the balance is tipping the wrong way.”
“Thank you, Minister. Can you offer any assessment of the panel's recommendation to exit the arrangement with NI Water known as the statement of regulatory principles and intent (SORPI)?”
“Does the Minister agree that the debasing of science and evidence undermines the agri-food sector?”
“Minister, you visited Ofek School in Jerusalem, which deals with the top 2% to 3% of academic achievers. Do you agree that the focus should be on addressing the lowest achievers in Northern Ireland, which is what the people want us to do in the Chamber?”
“Thank you very much, Minister, for the reference to Knockevin School. When will the full review of nursing provision in special schools be completed so that it can provide the necessary certainty?”
“Minister, as you know, my colleague is working on a private Member's Bill that might deal with issues like that. Will you assure us that due process will be followed not only in that matter but in other matters that might arise across the board?”
“As the father of a red-headed daughter as well, I make no comment on fathers disagreeing with daughters. On a serious point, how will young people feed into the consultation on the change? Will the Minister listen to the young people who feed in, especially if they show a bit of, let us say, disagreement with the Minister in that regard?”
“Does the Member agree that our infrastructure is not equipped to deal with a month's worth of rainfall in an afternoon, regardless of how well the drains are cleared? Is that not what needs to be communicated to people about climate change?”
“Our dependency on fossil fuels that are not generated locally also means that our energy consumption largely benefits other countries when offshore renewables could bring an economic bonanza to our economy around ports such as Warrenpoint, Ardglass and Kilkeel, which are in my constituency of South Down. I want to see my area not only driving the green economy but providing its own energy security, with the financial and energy perseverance that comes with it. The response should not be to slow down renewable deployment but to increase it, so that we have a more diverse portfolio that is not dependent on mostly old gas plants. The sooner we are energy-independent, the sooner we will become energy-secure.”
“We are already obliged to do so by law, and courts are enforcing that requirement, as we have seen. <BR /> <BR />Mr Brett is not here, but I am concerned about the amendment. It is trying to twist and turn the motion into an attack on our renewable energy targets, and there is an insinuation about their impact on energy security. The truth is that the 80 by 30 target is nothing short of essential to our energy security. There is no cliff edge. Nothing will be switched off before sufficient renewable alternatives are in place, even in the unfortunate case that we miss the 2030 target. We can always put more units back on if need be. <BR /> <BR />We are currently at the mercy of international gas markets, which comes with significant geopolitical risks. We saw some of that play out in the price spikes after the invasion of Ukraine.”
“Train lines suffered significant damage, substantial resources were poured into the clean-up and people worked extremely hard around the clock to remove the trees. Even so, it took a long time simply due to the sheer extent of the devastation. That is how climate change differs from weather. That is why climate change really is the problem. <BR /> <BR />Short of removing all trees that are growing in the vicinity of infrastructure, which Mr Butler referred to, little can be done to prevent massive storms that result from climate change having an impact on people's lives. We need to step up our efforts to combat climate change. The AERA Minister is doing what he can, and so must his colleagues. We must ensure that climate change is a chief consideration when planning new infrastructure.”
“The Member makes an interesting point, and we have to accept that the way in which our tree strategy is enacted will play a big part in tackling climate change, not least with mixed woodland areas and suchlike, to prevent some of the rainfall hitting the infrastructure. <BR /> <BR />Coming back to the point, it is simple when you think about it, really. We are seeing warmer seas. Warmer things create more energy. That is creating more energy in our weather systems, which means that we see the weather events that are happening. If one or two days' rain falls in a matter of hours, we cannot expect our infrastructure to cope, but those weather systems are becoming more the norm. <BR /> <BR />During storm Éowyn, there were over 2,300 reported obstructions on the road network, including hundreds on our motorways.”
“I am not sure that we can fully avoid every road closure, public transport disruption and power cut in the future, but we have to accept that we are seeing climate change play out exactly as we predicted, with massive storms causing extensive damage.”
“Given the rain that we saw over the past weekend, it would be good to see the flood forecasting service developed, enacted and put forward, because the flooding events are stark.”
“There are simple things that can be done, like putting adaptors on the outside of fuse boxes in houses to enable portable generators to be linked up. That is one of the ideas that could be adopted, and it would be really good if it was. <BR /> <BR />We need to strengthen our infrastructure through better maintenance and new technologies to make it more resilient to extreme weather events. In our part of the world, those events tend to involve high winds and heavy rain.”
“The emergency response systems and communication on the ground can certainly be strengthened as well, and that must include putting in place a community emergency resilience network that can work with agencies to deliver local support during future storms. Thinking back to storm Éowyn, some of the community resilience that was on display in my constituency involved GAA halls, Orange halls, church halls and community halls coming together to create space. Mr Butler raised some points about medical issues, and those were experienced in my area. The County Down Rural Community Network is, I am sure, well known to everybody — it is certainly well known in south Down — and has a network in place that can put together responses.”
“I thank Mr Butler for his remarks and the sentiments about Newcastle at the start of them. I also thank Cathy Mason. I reiterate that there was a yellow rain warning: the consequences of an amber or, indeed, red rain warning do not bear thinking about. Certainly, I agree with the general intent of the motion. There is a:”
“Given the recent sightings of the Asian hornet in the greater Belfast area, will the Minister provide an update on the role played by the Shared Island initiative?”
“Minister, there are a number of Airbnb rentals across my constituency; there are approximately 100 in Newcastle alone. How does the Minister propose to balance the contribution that they make to the economy with the need to ensure that first-time buyers are not priced out of the market?”
“<BR /> <BR />We have spoken about flooding in South Down before. It could be in Ms Forsythe's Kilkeel or more towards Ms Ennis's end in Killowen. All too often, weather events are demonstrating that infrastructure has failed. Ultimately, whatever way we frame the climate change debate, our oceans are getting warmer. That means that we have more intense storm periods and are getting them more and more often. That bears highlighting. We are still chasing our tails after storm Éowyn. We have since had storm Amy, and now we have had what was only a yellow weather warning that produced a month's worth of rain between early morning and early afternoon. One dreads to think what an amber or red weather warning could have brought.”
“The Newcastle regional community resilience group has been very active on that front for a number of years now. The group needs to be listened to, because it is finding it more and more infuriating that, at times, actions taken on the ground are not necessarily marrying with what had been discussed. That having been said, everyone on that group is very keen to help. <BR /> <BR />As you referenced earlier, Mr Speaker, we can sometimes get very rumbustious in here, and political divisions are often brought into sharp focus. Members will know this, as we are all on the same WhatsApp groups, but, at times over the weekend, people from different parties were out attempting to do what they could to address the situation. There is therefore a uniform sense of desire from all parties to help sort out the matter.”
“I will speak on the flooding that affected Newcastle, specifically the Sunningdale area and the Tullybrannigan Road. It is really important that I thank all the agencies that were involved. All reports stated that the Department for Infrastructure and other statutory agencies were out on the ground, as, I am sure, were council staff. Unfortunately, it is all too often left to locals to be the first line of defence and resistance, with people volunteering hardware. <BR /> <BR />We also seem to speak about the matter all too often, and here I am again raising the issue of flooding in my constituency. The residents who have been affected need to be listened to now. They need to be engaged with in order to determine the cause of the most recent flooding and how best to treat it.”
“The Minister referenced the departmental working group. Will he outline any meetings that have taken place of the departmental working group on the Irish language strategy?”
“The Member talked about guidance from the Minister not being possible. That is fair enough, but a lot of the context for dual language signage refers to Westminster legislation. Is the Member content with the fact that there is an obvious name for denying something that has been legislated for?”
“The Member mentioned the role that Presbyterians played. Will she agree with me that the Rev William Neilson's publication 'Introduction to the Irish language' highlights how much of a shared cultural background we have on the matter?”
“The Department has never used those powers and has declined to interfere in matters, despite there being substantial local discontent. I am keen to better understand what those powers entail and what circumstances would trigger their use. I want to see safeguards in place to ensure that the interests of local communities are not compromised. <BR /> <BR />Finally, other proposed Bills have not been progressed too far, namely the rail and road transport Bill and the transport decarbonisation Bill. The Committee will be looking to see how those Bills are progressed in due course.”
“I hope that that Bill progresses without undue delay. <BR /> <BR />The current Minister intends to introduce the ports and harbours Bill in this session. I know that preparations are being made for that. The Infrastructure Committee has already received evidence in relation to that Bill. We are broadly supportive of the Bill, not least because of the financial designation to allow the trust ports to invest more. With that, we hope to see a bit more investment in offshore energy. Hopefully, that will come to my constituency. It could lead the way in offshore renewables and boost the blue-green economy by bringing in good, skilled and well-paid jobs. I have a few concerns about the Bill, however. It seems to take some oversight away from the Department in order to give the trust ports directions.”
“I wish the First Minister well in her absence. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this. It is a new experience for me, not least as some of Bills come from the then Infrastructure Minister O'Dowd's departmental legislative programme in March 2024, which preceded my coming here. The then Minister listed a number of pieces of legislation, at the time, of which one of the two main pieces was the Water, Sustainable Drainage and Flood Management Bill, which was introduced in the summer and passed its Second Stage a few weeks ago. We are beginning to scrutinise that in Committee now. I am looking forward to hearing the evidence from a range of stakeholders. I said in its Second Stage debate that I welcomed that important Bill. It is an important Bill, not least for my constituents who, unfortunately, are no strangers to flooding.”
“The Minister mentioned infection rates in other jurisdictions. We share a border with the Irish Republic. What engagement has he had with the Irish Government on working collectively to eradicate bovine TB on the island?”
“I thank the Minister. I can only imagine the trauma of being forced out of your home on the basis of your religion or race, so to hear the universal condemnation of that is good. Will the Minister ensure that rehousing offers dignity and safety and not just a roof over people's heads?”
“It is good to see you, Minister. You mentioned the outline business case (OBC) for a flood forecasting centre. Does that attribute a cost to the centre, and how confident are you of securing that, given that your predecessors' bids were unsuccessful in previous monitoring rounds?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Minister, what signs of avian flu should a keeper of birds look out for?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement and all that is included in it. Will the disability and work council contact participants throughout the year and afterwards to determine the success of the strategy? What safety nets and measures are there for participants who may find that, with the best will in the world, the work is overwhelming? What welfare benefits will be there for them to return to?”
“Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. Apologies for my premature point of order earlier. This is under Standing Order 65(1)(a). I have no skin in the game during Executive Office Question Time, but there were times when, because of chuntering in the House, I could not hear the deputy First Minister or the leader of the Opposition. Is there a ruling on that? Is there guidance on that? When political discourse is really coming to the forefront day to day, it is unbecoming.”
“On a point of order, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker.”
“Thanks to the PSNI and the army technical officers who responded, and I echo the calls for any information that is forthcoming to be passed on to the PSNI.”
“I, too, join in the condemnation of those who left an explosive device outside the offices of Ms Kimmins and Mr Hughes. Placing explosive devices in the streets was always wrong, is wrong and will continue to be wrong. That bears being said. We all have constituency staff, and we know of the pride that they take in their roles. I know that the staff involved run a good constituency office, and my thoughts are with them. My thoughts are also with the people of Newry more widely. <BR /> <BR />There is no justification for the attack, but it does point to the polarisation and the increasingly difficult discourse that the political sphere in which we operate is currently undergoing. That is relevant too.”
“Minister, will you provide an update on any actions that you are taking following the closure of the rural development programme?”
“Have you had any discussions with the PSNI on data sharing with all social housing providers?”
“We are all dismayed at the recent reports of applicants having to wait for a long time for their application to be assessed. Will you please outline what additional resources will be allocated to try to speed up the processing of applications?”
“I am confident that the Department for Infrastructure can now act with urgency, clarity and respect for the law, and, most importantly, for those affected, so that the A5 project can move forward in this mandate, thus setting the benchmark for responsible climate-conscious governance.”
“The Alliance Party cannot, however, support amendment No 2, as it directly contradicts the climate commitments that the House has enshrined in law through the Climate Change Act. By doing so, the amendment seeks to shift the burden on to the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs rather than place it on the Minister for Infrastructure to work with our climate legislation and achieve better outcomes for road users and our natural environment. Furthermore, it removes the commitment that is outlined in amendment No 1 for the A5 scheme to start construction by the end of the Assembly mandate, which is a delay that we cannot afford. <BR /> <BR />The Alliance Party remains open to constructive cooperation with other parties and Ministers in order to better protect our environment.”
“That would be for the Minister to answer. <BR /> <BR />The journey ahead for each and every Department will not be easy, but we should recognise the significant opportunities that climate change action presents: green jobs; lower energy bills; vibrant public spaces; and better health. <BR /> <BR />The Alliance Party wants Northern Ireland to be a leader rather than a follower in the green industrial revolution. The ruling therefore ruling sets a clear precedent. Climate change legislation is not optional but, rather, a binding framework that impacts on every decision, including infrastructure development. How we respond to the A5 scheme will signal how seriously we take climate obligations and collaborative governance. <BR /> <BR />To conclude, amendment Nos 1 and 3 can be supported in principle.”
“The ruling also exposes the ongoing issue of government silos that can delay progress. Greater cross-departmental collaboration is crucial, especially as climate considerations increasingly inform decisions. An integrated approach is therefore needed to prevent the kinds of delays that we see today.”
“That must be the standard practice for all future schemes. <BR /> <BR />On amendment No 1, I commend the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for his announcement that his Department intends to apply to the court to intervene in the appeal formally. Through its doing so, we can clarify the interpretation and enforcement of the Climate Change Act. That shows the Minister's commitment to his Department's climate change responsibilities. <BR /> <BR />We cannot pick and choose which laws to uphold. Striking the right balance involves supporting infrastructure while fully delivering on our climate commitments, which place binding duties on all Departments. Every Department must meet its obligations to reduce carbon emissions and protect our natural environment.”
“The judgement unequivocally stated that major infrastructure projects can proceed if they are properly planned and are integrated with strategies to achieve net zero by 2050. As the ruling states, the Act does not prevent a major project proceeding but, rather, rules out construction in the absence of robust planning and coordination across Departments. <BR /> <BR />We should not retreat from the climate commitments that were unanimously adopted in 2022. Rather, we must balance our need for infrastructure upgrades with our imperative to protect the ecosystem, restore biodiversity and improve our water quality. The main lesson to learn from the High Court ruling is that major projects across all Departments must be designed, assessed and justified according to our statutory climate commitments. There can be no shortcuts taken.”
“<BR /> <BR />Although Minister Muir's swift move to consultation is welcome, there remains an obvious absence of a finalised plan, as was highlighted in the recent judgement. Mr Justice McAlinden was clear that a climate action plan that takes into account the emissions that the A5 will generate can help provide a pathway not only to delivering the project but to meeting our carbon reduction targets. It is therefore right that the Assembly express its regret that the Department for Infrastructure did not take the necessary actions to ensure that the A5 scheme was not vulnerable to predictable legal challenges, especially regarding compliance with the Climate Change Act. <BR /> <BR />Let me be clear, however: the Climate Change Act is not an obstacle to the A5 scheme.”
“I thank the SDLP for tabling the motion. As other Members have highlighted, the cost of the A5 project is staggering, from impeding economic growth in the north-west to causing long journey times and, tragically, preventable deaths. Nearly a decade on since the announcement, the road project has come to represent our failure to deliver critical infrastructure. People who use the road, along with those who have lost loved ones on it, are fully justified in their frustration at yet more delays following the court ruling. The setbacks are symptomatic of the instability that was caused by the collapse of our political institutions, first from 2017 to 2020 and again from 2022 to 2024. That stop-start governing has also delayed Northern Ireland's first climate action plan, which is a legal requirement under the Climate Change Act 2022.”