Peter Martin
North Down · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Minister, the Northern Ireland Audit Office report is very critical of your Department on the topic of flood risk. You have just read out some interventions that your Department has made. The report's most substantial criticism is that your Department cannot show that its activities to build flood risk defences:”
“It also seeks to rebalance a level of government control by removing certain powers that the Department currently holds, including direction and control over appointments to board positions. That supports the case for reclassification by ONS.”
“<BR /> <BR />Members were keen to hear directly from young people, who will probably be most affected by GDL, so we consulted the Youth Assembly. The Committee was impressed by the thoughtful and constructive nature of that engagement.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am confident that the Committee will be able to engage positively and work collaboratively with the Department to ensure that the Bill reflects the current areas where reform is required.”
“<BR /> <BR />Having considered all the evidence, the Committee ultimately concluded that it would not be appropriate to proceed until it was fully satisfied that the driving instructor sector believed that the proposed date of 1 October 2026, which the Minister referenced, was realistic and achievable.”
“With your permission, Mr Speaker, it is important to consider the proposal in the context of the wider legislative package that is required to bring GDL into operation, and the Minister referenced that. <BR /> <BR />At the outset, I make it clear that the Committee supports the principle of GDL.”
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“I believe that amendment No 2 not only covers off and respects everything in the motion — as has been stated, it is a very important motion — but covers and includes the cross-departmental model about which we have heard so much in the Chamber this afternoon. Very importantly, it also includes the clear DOH and PHA responsibilities. My view is that this is not really just a matter for the Department of Education. That was reflected on by Members throughout the House. We use the phrase "cross-departmental", and nearly every Department has been mentioned at some point this afternoon. I commend amendment No 2 to the House.”
“The Member also highlighted that the Department for the Economy has a role to play and that this is, indeed, a cross-departmental issue. <BR /> <BR />In his response, the Minister said that vaping can act as a gateway to other drugs and other drug use. He said that all schools should be smoke-free and vape-free and that that is an important matter of public health; that all schools should already have — I imagine that they do — a drug policy in place; and that this is an issue that goes well outside the school gates. That has been reflected on by other contributors to the debate. He said that any approach to this issue should be collective and comprehensive. <BR /> <BR />In summarising the arguments for amendment No 2, I commend it to the House.”
“Justin McNulty said that schools were at crisis point and that there was incredible demand on teachers to meet the challenges of vaping in schools. <BR /> <BR />Deirdre Hargey said that the research on vaping is still out and, as such, we do not know how safe, I suppose, or dangerous it actually is and that, now, there is evidence that shows that children who have never smoked are going straight to vaping. Kellie Armstrong highlighted a shop and made an important point about the proximity of the normal products that kids would want to buy, such as ice cream and sweets — that is certainly what my kids buy a lot of — to vapes and the dangers that that legitimately presents to children who are going there for other products.”
“<BR /> <BR />The proposer of amendment No 1, Michelle Guy, stated the fact, which we heard quite a few times this afternoon, that nearly one in five 11- to 16-year-olds has used a vape, and she went on to suggest that vaping could, indeed, be a gateway to smoking cigarettes. <BR /> <BR />My colleague David Brooks, who proposed amendment No 2, stated that reducing vaping in schools required a multifaceted approach and that parents, teachers and the PHA all have a role to play in trying to bring a solution to the motion that we are debating today. <BR /> <BR />Colin Crawford highlighted a number of the dangers of smoke-related illnesses and called on the Assembly — this has been done today — to raise awareness on that particular issue.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The greatest struggle that I will have is to read through this handwriting for the next five minutes, but I will certainly do my best. <BR /> <BR />In summarising the debate, for which I, like my colleague has just done, thank Cathy Mason for bringing, I think that it has been an interesting and informative debate for everyone in the Chamber, and it has been useful to highlight the matter in the Assembly. I shall summarise a few of the arguments and make some closing remarks. <BR /> <BR />The proposer of the motion highlighted that a licensing regime for the selling of vape products could be useful and went on to highlight the measures that principals are having to take to reduce vaping in schools.”
“Today, your work has not gone unnoticed — you are having a really significant impact on children's lives. I welcome the chance to speak in the debate. It seems that the Chamber is wholly united in its support for deaf children and their families.”
“Northern Ireland has certain advantages over the rest of the UK. It has one single, unified sensory service, which is located within the EA. As has been noted, however, availability of support can be patchy across the Province. I recognise the excellent work done in this field by the previously referenced National Deaf Children's Society, which supports all the deaf children in Northern Ireland and their families. A number of other local organisations work in this area. Action Deaf Youth recently came to my son's school to highlight communication methods with deaf or hearing-impaired children. The read-out that I got was that the session was "really good". <BR /> <BR />I thank every teacher of the deaf in Northern Ireland who works with those amazing children and their families.”
“That is certainly something in which all Members would like to see an improvement. One of the key interventions that ensures that deaf children can succeed is that they are, obviously, taught by very skilled teachers, who can adapt teaching methodologies and materials to accommodate individual strengths and needs. Again — I have reflected on this before in many other speeches — the earlier the intervention, the better the educational outcomes in the end. <BR /> <BR />A further aspect that I noticed when I was preparing this research is that deaf children can achieve better academic results when teachers and families have high expectations of those children. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Helen Ferguson, who is the head of policy and influencing at the National Deaf Children's Society, said:”
“I welcome the motion from UUP colleagues. It has certainly been an interesting debate so far. <BR /> <BR />In Northern Ireland, children should already have access to a teacher of the deaf — that has been reflected on already — and an educational audiologist, regardless of their level of deafness, where they are educated or when that need is identified. We know, and Ms McLaughlin has just highlighted, that deafness is not a learning disability and that, given the right support and help, children can at least match pace with hearing children and, in many cases, outperform them. The majority of deaf children are educated at mainstream schools, yet it is the undisputed case that many deaf children do not achieve the same academic outcomes as their hearing peers.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. His Department has already engaged in some really good work around early intervention and early years, which was a recommendation from the independent review. Does the Minister have any plans to do more in those areas in the rest of the mandate?”
“My final ask is for the inclusion of additional SLT content in undergraduate and postgraduate teacher training. <BR /> <BR />For school-age pupils, the challenge is now how we manage and support those children who are already —.”
“My understanding is that, in 2023 and 2024 respectively, there were an additional 10 and 12 additional places for students from the Republic of Ireland, but that brings challenges for the royal college in Northern Ireland. It must then facilitate placements in the trusts without any additional funding for placement educators and with no guarantee that the new students will stay in the Northern Ireland workforce on completion of their course. We desperately need additional SLT workforce members, but once therapists qualify, they should remain in Northern Ireland and support our children. My second ask is for the introduction of a professional SLT adviser across the Department of Health and the Department of Education to assist in driving forward positive policy change.”
“From 2019-2023, there was a 196% increase in the numbers of children who hold a special educational needs (SEN) statement in nursery and in primary 1. As of June 2023, there were 104 whole-time equivalent vacant SLT posts in Northern Ireland. That is a rate of nearly one in five. In 2021, 2,444 children were on waiting lists for SLT. In 2023, there were 4,527. That represents an 85% increase over that period alone. Those four sets of statistics should be sobering data for Members. <BR /> <BR />I will highlight three modest asks. The first is that we increase the SLT workforce by raising the number of commissioned undergraduate places in Northern Ireland.”
“I want to raise the importance of speech and language therapy (SLT), its effectiveness when it is used as an early intervention and the current prevalence of need for it in Northern Ireland. We already know from research that a two-year-old's reading ability can strongly predict their later attainment at school. Therefore, intervening early has innumerable benefits. <BR /> <BR />A recent report by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, which was very appropriately titled 'We are the Village', cites the following statistics that I feel it is important for Members to hear. Some 90% of early years providers have seen an increase in the number of children with speech and language and communication needs, and community paediatricians have witnessed a 91% rise in that group.”
“It is, therefore, clear that we must continue to articulate in the House that we need to treat those issues upstream rather than downstream, and the best methodology for doing that is early intervention and prevention. <BR /> <BR />One of the key measures of the success of the reform programme should be an outcome where fewer children have to enter care, fewer children are subject to child protection arrangements and more children live healthily and happily with families. I do not underestimate the challenges in embedding the review findings, but, as other Members have said this morning and as I highlighted, we must know now where the Department is on the issue and the timescale for where it is going.”
“Research is clear that there is already a strong evidential base that early intervention in supporting children and families results in better and improved outcomes and happens to be more cost-effective. In England, for example, research has been carried out into the evidential impact of early interventions such as Sure Start, which was just talked about. It appears that, over a period of about 10 years, while spending on early interventions has reduced in England, spending on latter interventions, such as youth justice and safeguarding, has increased by a similar amount. I imagine that, if you are a policymaker in England, that is exactly the opposite of where you would want to be.”
“I begin by putting on record that I fully support the motion, and I thank the Chair of the Health Committee for tabling it. I also recognise the Northern Ireland review of children's social services report and the work of Ray Jones, which has been spoken about in the Chamber this morning. A number of years ago, I conducted a piece of research on adverse childhood experiences. As part of that process, I interviewed young people who had a care experience. I still recall vividly those interviews and the highly articulate and passionate young people who shared honestly with me their experiences of care. I will be frank and say that some of those were heartbreaking to hear. <BR /> <BR />I will make some points on a fairly specific aspect of the motion that the Member has just touched on.”
“<BR /> <BR />I encourage anyone in Northern Ireland or in the British Isles who feels that they would have liked to apply for those two positions but could not to contact the Equality Commission as soon as possible in order to lodge a complaint. I would certainly be more than willing to help them in that process. The lawfulness of the approach should concern everyone in the Chamber, because it runs a cart and horses through the merit principle.”
“Personally, I think that you would need either an excavator or dynamite to find any transparency in this process. <BR /> <BR />Some of the questions that I would like to ask the VC are as follows. When were Dr Farry and Dr Carson added to the exceptional talent pool? Did anyone involved in the recruitment process declare a conflict of interest? What was the compelling case that no one else in Northern Ireland or the UK could fulfil those two roles? Who was involved in the final decision to employ those individuals? Given the fact that the VC's commitment to transparency does not seem to include meeting public representatives, I hope that he has a good FOI team, because I intend to keep it extraordinarily busy.”
“I thought that that was strange, given the fact that one of Ulster University's value statements is:”
“I will leave it to Members to decide whether they deem Dr Farry or Dr Carson to be "world-class" in the field of academia. <BR /> <BR />There are legitimate questions for a number of parties to answer, the first of which is for the Alliance Party. When did the conversations between those two senior Alliance Party members and Ulster University start, given the fact that, five months ago, one appointee was an Alliance MP and, one month ago, the other was the Alliance special adviser to the AERA Minister? Were any Alliance Party members involved in Ulster University's selection process? There are questions, too, for the university's vice-chancellor (VC), Paul Bartholomew, who, ultimately, signed off on those appointments. I asked for a meeting with the VC, but he declined.”
“The recent appointment of two senior members of the Alliance Party, Stephen Farry and Jodie Carson — who was formerly the special adviser to the AERA Minister — as Ulster University professors, to a newly created strategic policy unit, with salaries of circa £80,000 a year, has caused significant concern. Those posts were not advertised but, instead, were drawn from the university's exceptional talent pool (ETP). You may not have heard of the exceptional talent pool before. I had not and, in fact, before last week, neither had the Equality Commission. <BR /> <BR />I found a document that outlined the ETP. It states:”
“I thank the deputy First Minister for her answer. In light of what she said, does she agree that the First Minister should now answer with complete transparency all questions put to her about how she, individually, and her party acted in all aspects of the case?”
“Therefore, I urge the Health Minister to, first, provide relatively modest investment to stabilise the sector and, secondly, to provide the platform for development to enable our pharmacies to do more.”
“The fees and payments that they receive often do not fully cover their business costs and overheads, such as wages, insurance, rates and rent. At times, there is a disparity between the actual cost of drugs that the pharmacy dispenses and the drug tariff that regulates the reimbursement price. That has the effect of the pharmacy having to wait to see whether a temporary drug tariff increase will be applied that month and whether it will cover the cost of the drugs that were dispensed. <BR /> <BR />The Department of Health needs to recognise and value the importance of our community pharmacies. They are, effectively, the front line of primary care in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />We know that our health service is under considerable pressure, with growing waiting lists and sometimes frustrating repeated attempts to access appointments with GPs. It therefore comes as no surprise to learn that pharmacies have become critical in alleviating some of the current burden on our healthcare system. The fact that professional advice and support can be accessed in community pharmacies, with no appointment needed, is a very rare commodity in our health service these days. However, I have to point out that some of our local pharmacies are struggling. There have been 17 permanent local pharmacy closures since January 2023, and the health trusts did not intervene to ensure that those pharmacies remained viable. <BR /> <BR />One of the key challenges that pharmacies face is how they are funded.”
“This morning, I want to highlight community pharmacies in Northern Ireland, their core importance for primary care and some of the challenges that they face. For transparency purposes, I should declare that my wife, Melanie, is a pharmacist. However, these issues were raised by Community Pharmacy NI at a meeting that I recently held with it. <BR /> <BR />Our local pharmacies are a vital service at the heart of our communities. They are where we go for medicines, advice, vaccinations and a variety of additional services that they now provide through Pharmacy First. If we were to quantify the output of that service, we would find that it procured, financed, stored and dispensed half a billion pounds' worth of medicines in 2023-24 and provided more than 190,000 emergency supply items in the same period. That is a phenomenal achievement.”
“It has a strong management board, which has been ably demonstrated by how it has raised financial support, and a team of amazing volunteers who staff the centre, act as tour guides and do minor restorations to the boat. I commend the project to colleagues, and I hope that the relevant Departments, which are Communities from the heritage perspective and Economy from the view of tourism and economic development, will lend their active support. I would welcome discussions with both Ministers.”
“The Donaghadee Heritage Preservation Company is focused on its objective of finding a permanent home for the lifeboat. Ards and North Down Borough Council's master plan for the town included a visitors' centre, and the company is now pressing the council, which owns the boat, to come to a decision about where that centre should be. Increasing numbers of visitors, including schoolchildren and older people, mean that it is imperative that the Kelly site be provided with appropriate infrastructure. The company has only four years left on its lease, so there is, naturally, a time imperative. <BR /> <BR />The project has enormous social, cultural and economic potential.”
“<BR /> <BR />A shelter over the lifeboat was put in place in 2019, paid for entirely by local subscriptions. The boat has since been repainted, but it remains in a temporary shelter. Last year, the company received a grant of £90,000 for two years from the National Lottery to build an exhibition room outside the boat and employ an outreach worker to bring the project to the attention of local schools and the local community.”
“I would like to highlight the amazing work of the Donaghadee Heritage Preservation Company in conserving and then building on the legacy of the Donaghadee lifeboat, Sir Samuel Kelly. In 1953, the Sir Samuel Kelly performed a historic rescue when, under extreme weather conditions, it saved 33 of the 44 survivors from the wreck of the Stranraer ferry, MV Princess Victoria. On its retirement in 1980, the lifeboat was acquired by the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, but the museum lacked the resources to care for the boat. Volunteers transported it back to its home in Donaghadee, where it is now looked after by the Donaghadee Heritage Preservation Company. This new company had the objective of not just conserving the boat but building a heritage and visitor centre in Donaghadee, of which the Sir Samuel Kelly could be a focal point.”
“I hope that that type of initiative commands the support of the entire House.”
“In other words, whilst clearly needing funding at the outset, those initiatives can prevent the need for more expensive interventions later in a child's life. I especially welcome the Education Minister's announcement in May this year that there will be an additional £25 million for early learning and childcare in Northern Ireland. That is exactly the sort of invest-to-save measure that I am talking about. <BR /> <BR />This is primarily a Health Department issue, as that Department has the legal vires for this stage of a child's development and life. Therefore, I strongly encourage the Health Minister to look again at the area and prioritise spending accordingly, as I believe that it will reap benefits in the long run. In my view, special attention needs to be paid to the numbers and frequency of midwife and health visitor supports.”
“Intervening more proactively in the first thousand days of a child's life can improve a child's health, emotional development and life chances, and, more importantly, it is just the right thing to do. Excellent work has been carried out in that area by WAVE Trust and others over the past 10 years. Sure Start centres across Northern Ireland are crucial in that regard, and I pay tribute to the one that operates in my constituency of North Down. I also recognise the excellent work that Kilcooley Women's Centre and North Down Community Network do alongside young mums in the Bangor area. <BR /> <BR />Positive interventions that are put in place during the first thousand days are classed by economists as invest-to-save initiatives.”
“The first 1,000 days of life from conception to the age of two are a critical phase. That has been widely recognised by clinicians, psychologists and researchers. During that period, crucial foundations are laid for a child's development. If a child's body and brain develop positively, their life chances are considerably improved. However, exposure to stress or adversity during that phase can result in a child's development faltering and, in some cases, falling significantly behind that of their peers. Left unaddressed, adverse childhood experiences — more commonly known as "ACEs" — can stay with children throughout their lives and can even be passed on to future generations.”
“Thank you very much, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. Thank you for your lenience and the Kevlar.”
“During Question Time, the Minister answered a question from me about funding and mentioned that, if we in the Chamber got the money, it would go to the Executive; it would not go directly to the PSNI. Do you know what? That is probably true. However, Treasury could ring-fence that money, and the Executive would have to take cognisance of Treasury's — I see the Member shaking his head — ring fencing of the money. <BR /> <BR />That is not really what concerns the police officers whom I have spoken to. One said to me, "If Justice actually got the money, would it send it back? Say the Chief Constable had been successful in getting the additional funding, what would Justice have done?".”
“That then prompted the permanent secretary in the Department of Justice to write a letter admonishing the Chief Constable or, to use the words of the Police Federation — the body that represents the rank-and-file police officers that we have been talking about in the Chamber — to "gag" and "embarrass" the Chief Constable. I do not know the Chief Constable, but, from what I have learned about him over the past few weeks, I suspect that he is not easily gagged, and more power to him, because he has the welfare of the people who serve and protect all of us in the Chamber and anyone who happens to be watching this live feed. <BR /> <BR />I am not going to talk about the macro issues of the Budget. Mr Dickson talked about the accounting officer and accountable officer.”
“I have had a number of police officers contact me in the past week, and, when the debate was tabled, several more contacted me over the weekend. I have heard from a range of ranks. They have highlighted to me the immense pressure that the service is under, the additional hours that they have to work and the stress that that puts on them and their families. They have said to me that they have been appalled at this political debacle that has unfolded over the past number of weeks. <BR /> <BR />It was a simple series of events. The Chief Constable wrote directly to the Prime Minister for additional financial resources, and we have talked about it this afternoon already. My colleague said that that was maybe not the procedural way to do things, but it has certainly engendered some debate and discussion about PSNI funding.”
“<BR /> <BR />It will come as a shock to no one in the Chamber that I am a proud and unashamed unionist, but that solely, in itself, does not define me. I have personal faith in my Lord, who wants me to treat people with dignity, respect and compassion, regardless of their background or political allegiance. I care passionately about the children in this country, and it makes no difference to me whether they are from east or west Belfast. I am concerned about the vulnerable: those struggling to make ends meet at the end of the week; the elderly, who feel increasingly isolated; and, perhaps, the most vulnerable of all in our society — the unborn child — who has no voice. <BR /> <BR />I turn to the debate in hand.”
“My father and grandfather were both named James Alphonsus Martin, so I narrowly body-swerved being called after Saint Alphonsus de Ligouri, the patron saint of moral theologians. Thankfully, I got simply "James". I thank my wife Melanie, who has had to endure the ups and downs of political life for 14 years, and our three children, Lucy, Sam and Zach. If I did not get their names in, my life will not be worth living when they watch this later. They mean the world to me. Lucy, at 13, is a political animal who can explain the single transferable vote or d'Hondt as well as anyone in the Chamber. Sam, at 11, is a skilled cricketer and rugby player. Our third child, Zach, is best described by a T-shirt that he likes to wear, which simply reads, "Admit it: life would be more boring without me".”
“My goodness. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I feel that you have just taken off my Kevlar, which, perhaps, has some relevance to what we are talking about. <BR /> <BR />I start my first speech by thanking the Member of Parliament for North Down, Alex Easton, for my place on this Bench. I also wish Alex's wife, Denise, well, as she recuperates in South Africa from unexpected surgery. In all honesty, I do not consider this to be my seat until I win it at an election; of course, that will be up to the people of North Down. My constituents know from their experience that I have a strong work ethic, and I have, hopefully, built up a reasonable reputation as an on-the-ground councillor. <BR /> <BR />I take the opportunity to pay tribute to my mum and dad for their constant support and their wisdom for the name that I got at birth.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Does she stand by the letter from her permanent secretary to the Chief Constable admonishing him for asking for additional financial resources directly from the Prime Minister? Did she have sight of the letter before it was sent, and does she support its contents?”