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 thank the Member for giving way. She is always very gracious to me. I commend her for speaking directly about the Bill and for mentioning the Northern Ireland Audit Office report. She said that safeguarding is everyone's business: to an extent, I agree. The report states:”
“What oversight arrangements are in place to review decisions to establish new specialist provision in mainstream schools by the Education Authority?”
“Minister, thanks very much for your statement. Recently, your boss, the First Minister, indicated in an interview that she would be willing to amend climate change targets in order to get the A5 built. Do you concur with the First Minister that the law should now be changed to allow for the construction of the A5?”
“I feel as though I have been admonished before I have even asked the question, Mr Deputy Speaker.”
“However, I am extremely grateful to my party for giving each of us a free vote, recognising it as a conscience issue and recognising the fact that my colleagues and I, as has been evidenced today, have a range of views on the issue. Today, I will support the sponsor's Hunting with Dogs Bill, but I ask him to take on board the views of those who do not support the Bill and do not agree with everything that is proposed. We should try our best to make the Bill, if it passes this stage, fit for purpose for the 21st century.”
“I have been lobbied considerably, on both sides of the debate, by constituents. However, my office staff have informed me that I have seemingly managed to do the impossible for an MLA: annoy constituents who support and those who oppose the Bill. It is quite a skill level for an MLA to somehow get on the wrong side of both groups on the issue, and that is perhaps because of my slightly nuanced stance. That has been my experience. <BR /> <BR />Nearly every time I enter the Chamber, I have a pretty clear view about what I should do and how I should vote. I have not had such clarity on this issue, and I have spent the last week, particularly the weekend, rolling the issue around in my head. I even had my three children give me some feedback on the issue at various times over the weekend.”
“I particularly encourage the proposer of the Bill to look at how best we can protect what has been described in the Chamber as a "rural lifestyle".”
“My issue with fox hunting is not the people putting on red coats and going across fields, if that is what they want to do, but with the kill, although, as others have pointed out, animals can die at the hands of other animals in nasty ways. <BR /> <BR />If the Bill passes its Second Stage today, which, I expect, it will, it should receive high scrutiny at Committee level. My colleagues, Paul Frew from North Antrim and Phillip Brett behind me, highlighted a range of questions. The AERA Chair is not here, but the AERA Committee should take on board the comments and concerns of all in the Chamber as it is ironed out. As colleagues have said, the Second Stage debate is about policy intent and principle. It is at the third and fourth stage that the details of what the Bill will entail will be ironed out to make it the best Bill possible.”
“I have agreed with much of the commentary that we have heard today regarding ground-nesting mammals and the propensity of foxes to eat the eggs and limit the number of birds, especially rare birds, that we have. Foxes need to be controlled; they need to be shot to save other mammals. However, they do not need to be hunted down with dogs. <BR /> <BR />I have heard only one other Member speak about trail hunting; I think it was Áine across the way, right at the start. I was not in the Chamber for that; I came down later. I happen to support trail hunting. The fox is not hunted or killed by dogs. It is already dead — it has usually been shot as part of pest control by a farmer — and is provided to a hunt, and that dead fox is dragged for its scent.”
“I have spoken at several rallies in support of greater protection for animals and clearly against the inhuman and cruel treatment that has been inflicted on them. In my view, foxes are incredibly beautiful animals; in fact, I would go so far as to say that foxes are majestic. However, as has been pointed out, they remain pests, and they must be controlled. They have a God-given natural kill instinct. A friend of mine described what happened when a fox got into his henhouse. He described it as a scene from the movie 'Saw'. If you have not seen it, I do not necessarily suggest that you go out and watch it, but I will summarise it for you. There is a lot of blood, although, I am sure, fewer feathers than there were in my friend's henhouse. Foxes devastate livestock.”
“I am not sure how many meat eaters in the Chamber have ever prepared their own meat, but, if you are sitting here on your phone — doomscrolling or something — I suggest that you consider that, because we buy our meat from Tesco or Lidl and it is in those little pre-packaged containers. If you shoot a pigeon, you have killed it with your own hand, but taking the feathers off, taking off some pigeon breast and putting it in a pan is quite a process. Perhaps there are vegetarians watching the debate thinking, "What on earth is that DUP MLA on about?", but I have had plenty of vegetarians come to me saying that knowing where our food comes from is important to them. Shooting, prepping and cooking your own food will be the most ethical meat that you will ever eat. <BR /> <BR />I have been conflicted on the issue.”
“For transparency, I have a firearms certificate licence for, among other things, vermin control. However, in the time that I have had said licence, I have depleted the pest population of Fermanagh and south Tyrone by just three pigeons and two rabbits. That is probably over an eight-year period, and it is not because I am a particularly bad shot, but because I do not get a chance to use it very much. <BR /> <BR />Much of the debate has been around the ethics. I will dwell on that for a second. Most of us in the Chamber are meat eaters. I find this a sobering process. My personal ethics demand that, if I shoot something, I eat it.”
“I am not sure that I really understood the Minister's answer. John Locke, in his book 'Second Treatise of Government', said that the first and core responsibility of any democratic Government is to protect their citizens. Does the Minister accept that fulfilling that responsibility requires armed forces and a defence sector? Will she now welcome that £50 million investment in the defence sector by His Majesty's Government?”
“I thank the Member for giving way; he is always very kind. Is the Member aware of the poll published by the 'Sunday Independent' recently that asked Southern voters to rank their political priorities? Would he care to reflect on the place of Irish unity in the minds of the Southern people, given the fact that it did not get even 1% in the poll in terms of its importance to voters in the South?”
“If the issue is a priority for the police — I feel that it needs to be, especially for my constituents — I ask, again, why it has not been addressed since the Assembly was restored.”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. Minister, you will be aware that, in recent weeks, there has been significant antisocial behaviour in Bangor. Police officers have flagged to me that, in certain cases, they lack powers relating to the search for and seizure of alcohol. You referenced your Department's consultation, which concluded:”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I am not on the Finance Committee, but I know that he is. In his contribution earlier, the Member for West Belfast mentioned the diversion of funds from welfare spending to defence. Will the Member confirm whether the Northern Ireland Executive have a defence budget, because I am not aware of one?”
“I thank the Member opposite for giving way to me, as he always does. As he knows, I am no longer on the Education Committee, but I chair the Infrastructure Committee. I quoted a figure of £153 million, which has been spent on the A5. The Infrastructure Minister, who is a member of his party, is not seeking a way forward but supporting climate change targets. Does he accept that £153 million has been spent on that road, but no tarmac has been laid?”
“My concern is that, in a high-spending Department, all money is used effectively and efficiently. My further concern is that some of the things that are being done are, perhaps, short-term fixes. I could wax lyrical about potholes. However, as has already been reflected in the debate, what we need to try to do is to create permanent repairs to some of those issues.”
“In his opening statement, the leader of the Opposition mentioned the fiscal challenges that are contained in the council's report, and set out some of the significant budgetary pressures. I suppose that, as Chair of the Infrastructure Committee and in my capacity as party lead, my concern is about efficiency and how money is used. Every Member in the Chamber will know that budget allocations are made and, if those budget allocations do not rise when a larger pot is available, Ministers just have to be more efficient with the resources that they actually get. On 12 January, the Finance Minister mentioned that he had allocated an additional £60 million to Infrastructure for a range of projects at that time, towards the end of the financial year.”
“<BR /> <BR />As we know, the Assembly previously approved an approximately 45% allocation of departmental resources and capital requirements through the Supply resolution to permit the continued use of resources through the first few months of this year. <BR /> <BR />I take the opportunity to express our thanks to the Committee for Finance, its Chair and its Deputy Chair, who is in front of me, for leading on the issue. I am sure that I speak for all members of the Committee for Infrastructure in reaffirming our commitment to working collaboratively with the Department and arm's-length bodies. <BR /> <BR />I will make a few brief comments as my party's lead on infrastructure.”
“<BR /> <BR />In its response to the Committee, Northern Ireland Water stated that it had neither been provided with a confirmed budget allocation nor been advised of any proposed funding levels. The Committee noted that, for the 2025-26 financial year, Translink was projecting an operating loss of £27 million, which, it cites, is due to insufficient funding to meet its public service obligation and the increased demand for concessionary fares. Over recent years, those operating losses have been managed by Translink's cash reserves. However, those reserves have steadily reduced from £16 million in 2022 to current levels of around £10 million.”
“That approach was agreed on the basis that the amounts that were proposed in the draft Budget may be subject to significant changes after consideration by the Executive. Therefore, the Committee considered that it would be beneficial to receive each organisation's initial assessments. <BR /> <BR />For the Department for Infrastructure, as a high-capital-spending Department, the multi-year Budget presents a step forward when it comes to the security of capital resources to enable it to deliver key projects. In responding to the Committee's request for written evidence, the Department highlighted that difficult decisions would be required in prioritising services and capital schemes. Until the Budget is delivered, the Minister is unable to take decisions on prioritising those areas of spend.”
“I will make some short comments as Committee Chair and then some comments as DUP lead on infrastructure. <BR /> <BR />As we have already heard today, the Committee for Finance has undertaken the role of coordinating the responses from the Assembly's Committees. At its meeting on 21 January, the Committee noted the Committee for Finance's correspondence in the context of the draft Budget documents that had been published by the Department of Finance. Given that the draft Budget had not yet been subject to agreement by the Executive, the Committee agreed to seek written evidence from the Department for Infrastructure, Northern Ireland Water, Translink and Waterways Ireland in the first instance.”
“I thank the Chair of the Education Committee for giving way. The Member for South Down raised a question about budgets and ensuring that the funding is there for SENCO release time. Will the Chair agree that that is not in the vires of the Education Minister to deliver? It is in the vires of the Executive to deliver, so the Executive have to put in place the funding that the Minister needs to carry that out.”
“I will wait until the red light goes on. There we go. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Member for allowing me to intervene. She makes reference to the Boys' Model, which is very forward-thinking in how it deals with SEN in Northern Ireland — one of the first schools to adapt the use of classroom assistants so that they were not all in one classroom. Does she accept that some creative and supportive thinking about how we deliver SEN and how we best support children with special educational needs is the way forward in Northern Ireland?”
“I thank the Member for taking an intervention. Does he agree that the way in which we currently support children with special educational needs is not sustainable and needs reform or some level of change, because we cannot maintain the status quo?”
“<BR /> <BR />To SENCOs across Northern Ireland, I say this: you are amazing; you are valued; and thank you.”
“Most of us will agree that what we have in place currently to support special educational needs children in Northern Ireland is very far from ideal and is certainly not aligned to either the numbers of those children or the complexity of their cases. However, we do not have the luxury of doing nothing in this situation. Children with SEN in Northern Ireland need better support, and the system needs reform. We simply must do better for those children. The SEN reform agenda that the Minister is taking forward is the right way to go, and we will see its outworking in due course, as more support is placed in the system. We cannot maintain the status quo, because maintaining the status quo is not fair to the SENCOs who are under that pressure and live with it daily.”
“I think that other members of the Education Committee will accept that, and the EA has agreed to do that and has taken that on. <BR /> <BR />On the issue of wider reform, which both contributors so far have touched on, we are cognisant of the letter from the Children's Law Centre and other signatories that was sent to the Committee last week. I have to make it clear that I do not agree with it and neither does my party. I will quote directly from the letter, which states:”
“If you scope that out over the past 10 years, that number has increased from around 1,600 children to 5,300 children. To put that figure into some context, that is an increase of some 213% over that 10-year period. SENCOs and principals will agree that what school life looked like in 2015 was very different from what it looks like now. <BR /> <BR />The proposer of the motion mentioned the local impact teams. Those teams were introduced in September 2025 and have certainly made an impact. There is a change in the code and in how that code is being delivered. I am pretty sure that I have heard at the Education Committee — the EA has also stated it — that those teams need to be better resourced. The proposer mentioned that in her opening remarks.”
“That pressure is being generated not just because of some of the system pressures that the proposer of the motion mentioned but because of the sheer number of children who are presenting with special educational needs in Northern Ireland. At the outset, I want to acknowledge that I accept the motion and that SENCOs need additional support, along the lines that the proposer suggested. <BR /> <BR />When we look at some of the numbers and drill down into where the pressure is coming from, we know that one in five children in the school-age population in Northern Ireland have some level of special educational needs. However, I came across an even more striking figure, which is the number of children who are attending specialist provision in mainstream schools.”
“I thank the Members who tabled the motion for doing so and allowing the Assembly to recognise the amazing work that SENCOs do in Northern Ireland. For clarity, I say that my party will support the motion. <BR /> <BR />Anyone who has a working knowledge of education in Northern Ireland will realise how crucial SENCOs are. I have written in my notes that they are the glue that holds together the support network for our most vulnerable pupils, but the proposer of the motion was probably more eloquent than I am on that. Everyone — teachers, parents and even politicians — will realise that SENCOs are under enormous pressure.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Minister, unless I am mistaken, you mentioned three pieces of legislation, one of which is moving forward. I refer to the first two Bills that you mentioned. When did you first raise those issues at the Executive?”
“The Minister referenced a departmental circular in his answer. Is there guidance already in place for schools that are considering changing their start and finish times?”
“I am very thankful to the Member for taking an intervention. Having cited the use of drone technology, does the Member agree that that is a better and safer way to catch the young folk who do this, rather than the sort of police chase that she described? Does she agree that that is a better and safer way not just for the police but for the people who exploit the e-scooters?”
“What responsibility does the landowner have to secure the area of land that they own if young people are using quads and e-bikes on it?”
“I appreciate the Minister's taking an intervention. It was timely that I got an email to my office today about scramblers in an area of my constituency that I do not want to identify. The issue was highlighted to me, however, and the police are doing what they can. I do not know whether the Minister has any thoughts on this, and I appreciate that he is standing in for his colleague, but what responsibility does a landowner have in circumstances in which bikes and quads are being used on their land? I will quote from the email, which states that scramblers are being ridden:”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Minister, I asked your co-chair, the Sinn Féin Minister for Infrastructure, about some of the key developments over the past two years. She replied by telling me that £2 million — you referenced that figure — had been invested in "establishing the baseline". As I said, you made reference to that. Is it acceptable that, for the past two years, £2 million has, in effect, been spent on research and little has been done practically to protect the north Down coastline or, in fact, any other coastline in Northern Ireland?”
“I thank the Member for taking an intervention. The Member mentioned equality. I agree with her, completely, that equality is incredibly important. Does she agree that equality across all sectors of Northern Ireland's schools — controlled, maintained, integrated and Irish-medium — is important?”
“It is my view and that of my party that the issues that have been identified and highlighted by the sponsor and the Chair of the Education Committee today and that have come out of the consultation are, in fact, best dealt with through the work that is already ongoing by the Department of Education. That is the most appropriate mechanism for addressing those issues.”
“I hope that those groups will solve some of the problems and issues that have been highlighted today by the Bill sponsor and the Chair of the Committee. We want all sectors in Northern Ireland, regardless of where they are, what language they speak or what faith tradition they come from, to feel valued and successful in their education. <BR /> <BR />In the explanatory and financial memorandum (EFM), the Bill sponsor looked at three options: the do-nothing option; the wait-to-see-what-the-strategy-has-produced option — I am paraphrasing it a little because I gave away my copy there — and the option to introduce additional primary legislation.”
“<BR /> <BR />On the wider issue, my understanding is that the Department has established an Irish-medium strategy steering group and a working group to address some of the issues that have been spoken about today. A range of organisations are involved, including CnaG, the Education Authority (EA), the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), the Controlled Schools' Support Council (CSSC), the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) — that is a lot of acronyms — and Altram, as well as Irish-medium principals from across the sector. My understanding is that work is ongoing in that area — I hope that the Minister will touch on that in his closing remarks — and that the issues around workforce pressures and strategies to alleviate those are being dealt with.”
“I accept both points, and I will try to address them. I have been on the Committee for only the better part of six months, so I am probably not up to speed with some of the things that the Committee has been dealing with. However, I accept the points, and, to a degree, there is an element of chicken and egg in that regard. The Member highlighted the added requirements for someone to come in and use speech and language therapy in that context. I hope that, whilst the language is immersive in a range of ways, if a child in an IME school really needed speech and language therapy, some way could be found to address that. While I accept those points, I simply make the wider point that the issue is not just purely structural, and that it is not just purely structural in IME.”
“I will take the Deputy Chair's intervention at the same time.”
“I think that the Chair beat you to it. I will take an intervention from the Committee Chair and then one from Mr Sheehan.”
“There are other structural issues in teacher recruitment in Northern Ireland, and they are not specific to the IME sector. There is significant pressure across Northern Ireland to get maths teachers, chemistry teachers and physics teachers. Those are not peculiar to the IME sector; they are across —”
“The Minister will, no doubt, talk about this, but the Department is already addressing some of the workforce planning issues through the IME strategy, including retention, recruitment, pathways, capacity and some resource development. It is fair to say that the specifics of the IME sector are different from other sectors in Northern Ireland, in that that sector requires qualified teachers to be fluent enough in Irish to teach their specific subject. In answer to a question from the Committee Chair, the Minister referenced the bursaries that he introduced in, I think, 2025 to cover off Irish-medium teacher training and tuition fees, offering, I believe, £1,000 a month is offered to student teachers to encourage them in that area. <BR /> <BR />Structural issues were referenced by the sponsor and picked up on by the Committee Chair.”
“The Committee Chair mentioned the integrated sector: the Department has two duties towards that sector in Northern Ireland and one towards the Irish-medium sector. Neither the controlled nor the maintained sector in Northern Ireland enjoy such privileges. I understand and recognise the previous comments about other sectors facing specific issues — I hope to get to those — but I just point out that question of equity. That is important. Teachers and pupils across Northern Ireland should be aware of that. <BR /> <BR />The Department has acknowledged and recognised the challenges that the Irish-medium education (IME) sector faces. Those became clear in the consultation responses that the Bill sponsor referenced.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Second Stage of the Irish-medium Education (Workforce Plan) Bill. I plan to make just a few short points and concentrate on whether there is a necessity for it. The Deputy Chair and the Chair of the Education Committee have commented on that, and it is probably where the tension lies. <BR /> <BR />Both Members who spoke mentioned the statutory duty under article 89 of the 1998 Order to encourage, facilitate and develop Irish-medium education. The Bill sponsor mentioned that in his opening remarks. That is already a substantial duty, which the Chair of the Education Committee referenced in his speech. Not every sector in Northern Ireland has the privilege of enjoying it.”