Timothy Gaston
North Antrim · Traditional Unionist Voice · Northern Ireland
“I begin my remarks by putting on record, once again, my thanks to the victims and survivors who have campaigned for many years to bring us to this point today, where the Bill will pass its Final Stage.”
“There is an onus on the Assembly in the next mandate to ensure that the work continues, with a second phase of redress that will consider individualised acknowledgement of the harm and trauma that the birth mothers and adult adoptees experienced.”
“I trust that those who have worked diligently in the background on the terms of reference will reflect the requests of the Committee and those who have given evidence to ensure that they are victim-centred and that truth and justice will be pursued.”
“Throughout the process, the Committee has taken steps to ensure that victims and survivors of religious institutions, state homes and private homes see themselves reflected in the Bill.”
“At a recent meeting of the Committee for the Executive Office, the Migrants' Rights Network complained that, in the second half of 2025, the UK Government increased raids focused on illegal working. When raids increased by 76%, arrests increased by 169%.”
“The revelations that have come to light since dirty Donaldson's conviction and the red flags that his colleagues ignored raise profound and troubling questions for the DUP, but for Sinn Féin generally and Deirdre Hargey in particular to come to the Chamber and pontificate about safeguarding is utter hypocrisy.”
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“For many businesses that trade with Great Britain, maritime transport is not simply one logistical option amongst many; it is the only viable route to market.”
“On the face of it, Members may be tempted to see the Order as a routine environmental measure. I can already hear the green welly brigade chime, "One small step for mankind, one more technical step in the pursuit of decarbonisation". However, when one examines the detail of what the Order means and, more importantly, the consequences for Northern Ireland, it becomes clear that it is anything but routine. <BR /> <BR />The proposal risks imposing significant new costs on Northern Ireland businesses and consumers while delivering no environmental benefit. Worse still, it does so in a way that treats Northern Ireland differently from other parts of the United Kingdom. That is the sole reason that we see the nationalist and republican alliance once again coming together. Northern Ireland is uniquely exposed to measures of this kind.”
“Minister, in a previous answer, you stated that the metric that is used is 1·2 parking spaces per property where sufficient residential parking does not exist and where DFI owns green space. Will investment finally be made in local section offices to alleviate the parking problems faced by residents across many of our towns and villages? If it is not included in this scheme — I do not think that it is — what are your plans to address that issue?”
“Secondly, the commission recommended that the Assembly Commission seeks its own legal advice about the policy. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly should treat those matters with the utmost seriousness. A Committee of the House now has it in black and white that the legal basis of the toilet policy operating in this Building is open to serious question. That cannot be allowed to continue. It is time for those who sit on the Assembly Commission to change the current policy to reflect biological reality. The current policy is repugnant to common sense, biologically illiterate and an insult to women, girls and the children who use the building.”
“The letter contains two salient points. First, it makes it clear that the Assembly's policy has been shaped by guidance that the Equality Commission regards as outdated. I will quote directly from the chief commissioner:”
“Last Wednesday, the Executive Office Committee pack contained a letter from the chief commissioner of the Equality Commission, dealing with the toilet policy operated in this Building. That policy allows individuals to access the toilets of the opposite sex on the basis of their supposed gender identity. To put that in layman's terms, a man pretending to be a woman can access female toilets: that is simply wrong and must stop.”
“The success of any reform will ultimately depend on neither documents nor strategies but on the people who are working day-to-day in our classrooms. Classroom assistants deserve clarity about their future and fairness in how their work is valued.”
“<BR /> <BR />Secondly, there is the issue of workload and safeguarding. If the model of support is to change, what assessment has been made of the implications for workload, responsibility and safeguarding in the classroom? Classroom assistants already carry significant responsibilities in supporting pupils with varying needs. If those responsibilities are to be expanded or altered under a new model, the Minister must answer on whether their terms, conditions and pay scales will properly reflect that reality. It cannot be right that expectations grow while recognition does not. If reform is the command, it has to command the confidence of the workforce and all families. Questions must be answered clearly and transparently.”
“children in our schools. Even the DUP Members must recognise that there are serious questions, which the Minister must address, about the practical implications of the proposed changes to SEN provision. First, there is the issue of jobs. Many classroom assistants are deeply worried about what moving away from one-to-one support will mean for them in practice. What estimate has been made of the number of classroom assistant posts that may be at risk as a direct result of the proposals? Have any impact assessments been carried out of the potential for redundancies, reductions in hours or redeployment of staff? Those are the real fears being expressed by the people who I meet every morning at the school gate — people who have devoted years to supporting some of the most vulnerable children in our education system.”
“I welcome the recognition in the motion of:”
“I recognise that it was discussed at the Committee last week, but what we are seeing today is an 11-month gap in your timeline, which means that there are further questions to answer. <BR /> <BR />Minister, I wrote to you last week requesting a visit to the AFBI farm, accompanied by Dougie Beattie, at a time convenient to you. I hope that you will take us up on that. Will you apologise to Dougie Beattie and GB News in the Chamber today, or will you wait until you meet us in person to do so?”
“Minister, I have seen evidence of slurry and Bovaer milk being blown into Hillsborough Forest by the government-funded Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) farm. Spreading by a sludgegator was made illegal at least seven years ago. Farmers rightly ask me why AFBI is above the law on your watch. Last week, you dodged the question. Can we get an answer today without you slandering Dougie Beattie in the process of giving your response?”
“I thank the Minister for her response. Will she commit to meeting me and the commissioner to decide how best to take forward the idea of a prevalence survey?”
“I join others in welcoming the statement coming to the House, and coming to the House so promptly. Minister, £227·8 million in resource DEL is coming in 2026-27. When you then take in the reserve claim, however, it brings it down to £147 million of debt. When you get into 2027-28, there is only £5·6 billion, and, when you take in the reserve claim, it brings us to a negative £154·4 million. Did you have any input, or can you have any input going forward, so that each year we get the same amount of money to allow for a better financial structure? That would mean that, when we are making the repayments, there is not one year when we are getting money net receipt and then giving a lot back. Surely it makes your job very difficult when it is not the same amount of money coming each year.”
“Does the Minister agree that unsafe roads are a greater threat to life than climate change and that modern infrastructure is more important than carbon emissions? Has the farce of 2,000 acres of prime farmland being destroyed by the botched A5 project not exposed the folly of Sinn Féin, the SDLP, Alliance and the Greens in backing the Climate Change Act and its amendments?”
“For far too long — for nearly two decades — your Department has operated a two-tier system that has allowed Northern Ireland Water to do what it wants. Closer to home, Minister, do you have any comment on the allegation that AFBI has been causing pollution in Hillsborough Forest by blowing slurry and Bovaer milk into it from a slurry tanker? Will you agree to meet the journalist Dougie Beattie, who has raised those concerns, or will you continue to hide and shy away from scrutiny on that issue?”
“Minister, I agree with the line in your statement that reads:”
“Minister, I want to focus on the changes to GCSEs. I support continuing with the modular approach for maths, English and double award science to ensure that resits are available in year 12 for those core subjects if required. By aligning the rest of the GCSE subjects with a linear approach, do you have any concern that more children will leave school without the qualifications that they need and that more children will be driven to resit in further educational colleges the exams that they failed because it is a linear approach for GCSEs?”
“The House could address that problem, but here we are, debating how best to streamline the process for sending even more students elsewhere. That said, students have a right to study where they please. It would be a mistake, however, to pass this narrow Sinn Féin motion, with its inoperable proposals and narrow-minded, Irish-nationalist scope.”
“The motion speaks about aligning the CAO system with UCAS as though it is some simple administrative tweak that a Minister can instruct. That is simply not the case. Universities set their own admissions policies: application systems do not determine who gets in, universities do. We are being asked to pass a motion that promises a solution that the Assembly does not have the power to deliver. Even if such alignment were achieved, it would not address the real barriers that students face when they consider studying in the Irish Republic: housing shortages, rocketing rental costs, a higher cost of living and no access to the UK's NHS. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland already loses a significant proportion of its school-leavers every year because of the limited number of university places that are available here.”
“Thank you very much. I welcome the intervention, but, as I set out in the early part of my remarks, there have been long-standing initiatives. They have been in place historically, and, indeed, a lot of people from Northern Ireland who went to university there have benefited from them. <BR /> <BR />Getting back to the motion, I cannot support a quiet attempt to re-engineer Northern Ireland's education system around an all-island framework.”
“Those links are not incidental; they reflect the historical, family and constitutional links that bind the United Kingdom together. In the motion, the emphasis is on creating smoother pathways into the Irish Republic. That suits a particular constitutional narrative, not the reality of where our students go. If the Assembly wishes to promote mobility, it must do so honestly and even-handedly. I have nothing against North/South opportunities, but they cannot come at the expense of east-west opportunities.”
“Therefore, independently of motions such as this, institutions have been taking their own measures to help people from Northern Ireland who want to study in the South. I make it clear that, if they wish to study in Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester or London, that, too, should be open to them. <BR /> <BR />The motion is not simply about choice. It reflects a particular partisan framing, one that pushes Northern Ireland's educational system towards the Irish Republic while ignoring the east-west relationships that have long served our students well. That is where the problem lies. Thousands of students from Northern Ireland go to universities across the United Kingdom every year. They train as doctors, engineers, teachers and lawyers. They build careers across the UK labour network.”
“I start my remarks on the Sinn Féin motion on a point of agreement: no one in the House should oppose opportunity for our young people. If a student from Northern Ireland wishes to study in Dublin or Cork, it is their right to make that choice; indeed, the TUV has a very capable young man working in our Westminster office who was educated at Trinity College. I asked him for his thoughts on the motion. He highlighted the fact that, historically, the Irish Universities Association adopted a set of admissions criteria for applicants from Northern Ireland. They were aimed at increasing the number of students from this part of the UK attending third-level education in the Irish Republic. Applicants benefited from up to 30 additional points per grade band.”
“— but, because they were Protestants, she has not a word to say about them.”
“If they were Palestinians, I am sure that Ms Sheeran would have something to say about them —”
“It does that largely through economics. That is the way: it is, by large measure, by way of economics. That is why there is a single market across the EU's 27 member states, and that is why there is a customs union across the EU's 27 member states: because the EU knows that, where economics goes, politics inevitably follows. <BR /> <BR />I will pick up on Ms Sheerin's remarks. I am sure that the families of 11-year-old Paul Maxwell, who was murdered by an IRA bomb in 1976, and 14-year-old Stephen Parker will take great comfort from them.”
“The truth is that the protocol that the SDLP, Sinn Féin and Alliance pushed for has trashed east-west relations. <BR /> <BR />I cannot let unionism off, because, shamefully, the DUP and the Ulster Unionists broke their pledge to the people by returning to this place as protocol implementers under the tainted Donaldson deal. Who among them today would like to defend Gavin Robinson in his claim that the Irish Sea border was removed? Who among them went around the doors of the Province promising that they would not return to the House unless the Irish Sea border was gone? Who would say that they kept their word? It is time that unionism found its backbone again. <BR /> <BR />The protocol works on the same principle as the EU itself: ever-closer union, breaking down the barriers between its member states.”
“We had Irish Prime Ministers waving around newspapers about IRA bombings and SDLP MPs threatening violence. Next up, we had Sinn Féin: it did not want to be outdone by all that. At the time, the First Minister of no alternative said that, if the British Government were to impose a hard border on the island, there would be serious consequences. Let us not forget that she spoke from a position of leadership in a movement that filled 1,700 graves in the Province. <BR /> <BR />What of the Alliance Party, the nice, middle-of-the-road people who just fell into line with barely a word of criticism of their fellow democracy deniers? Let us look at the motion: it talks about "strengthening east-west ... cooperation" as a result of the Irish presidency.”
“Absolutely. The Irish Government have no interest in unionism. That is clear from how they got on during the Brexit negotiations.”
“I want to ensure that that is attributed to Mr O'Toole's party leader. I will give you a heads-up in future, but I trust that I will not have to rehearse more of the SDLP leader's language.”
“I will give you that warning. Hopefully —.”
“We had Irish Prime Ministers waving around newspapers —.”
“Accepting that Northern Ireland remains part of the UK means that the people of Northern Ireland have the right to expect that, when they take part in a UK-wide referendum, the result is respected, honoured and implemented in Northern Ireland in the same way as anywhere else in the UK. Of course, that was not the case. In practice, Great Britain left the EU while Northern Ireland remained trapped. No one asked, "Do you want Great Britain to leave the EU while Northern Ireland remains trapped in its single market and its customs union?". The republican/nationalist alliance would not accept democracy — oh, no. How did Mr O'Toole's party leader put it? She said:”
“This afternoon, the SDLP has returned the focus of the House to one of its favourite subjects: bemoaning the result of the biggest exercise in democracy that the British Isles has ever seen. I begin by reminding the SDLP of some facts. Unionists, insofar as they were persuaded to sign up to the Belfast Agreement, did so on the basis that it accepted the principle of consent. For the benefit of nationalism in the House, let me quote from the sacred text of the Belfast Agreement:”
“What activities has the Minister's Department been involved in to build a hydrogen economy here in Northern Ireland? Wrightbus in my constituency is a world leader in building hydrogen buses, but, due to there being no investment in local infrastructure, its hydrogen buses are being exported. When will we see proper investment in hydrogen development in Northern Ireland to make Ballymena the home of hydrogen in Northern Ireland?”
“That is not independence; it is a process that will result only in this place sinking lower in the public's estimation. If there was ever a sign of a Government being out of kilter with their people, a £14,000 pay increase for MLAs is it. I call on each MLA present to make their response public when the consultation closes on Thursday. Failure to do so will speak volumes on where they stand on the issue.”
“The amendments that would have made the board genuinely independent were voted down, and the amendments that would have allowed for real public consultation were rejected by the House. When MLAs made it a requirement for the board to benchmark salaries against other roles for which pay is higher, they knew exactly what they were doing. The dice were loaded from the outset. The press were told, "This is out for consultation", and the Assembly even sent the press an email address, which was carried in some outlets, but there is no public consultation: the only people being asked to comment are MLAs and pension trustees. <BR /> <BR />At a time when households are struggling and we cannot fix our potholes, Sinn Féin, the DUP, Alliance, the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP constructed a process that excludes the public.”
“For the first time in my 20 months as an MLA, I will use the terms "Stormont" and "efficient" in the same sentence: Stormont has discovered how to be efficient, but only when it comes to MLA pay. Two weeks ago, we were told that there is no time left in the mandate to legislate on support for children with special educational needs when they leave school, but there was no problem finding space in the Order Paper to rush through a Bill to implement a massive 27% rise in MLA pay. <BR /> <BR />Of course, that is only because of the independent remuneration board, my detractors tell me, saying, "But, it's an independent board: it's nothing to do with me, guv'". Let us examine that fig leaf. The only meaningful amendment to the legislation that established the board was to insert the term "independent" into its title.”
“For as long as the Members to my left continue to defend the blood-soaked IRA, they will be treated with contempt when they profess concern for the lives of innocent civilians, including Iranians and Palestinians. The truth is that Sinn Féin has never had much difficulty finding common ground with those oppressive regimes abroad. When Sinn Féin looked around the world for someone willing to honour the furniture shop bomber Bobby Sands by naming a street after him, Iran was the only place to put its hand up to do so. Those who defend terrorism at home have forfeited their right to lecture anyone about violence abroad.”
“That kind of moral outrage from Mrs O'Neill seems to be deployed selectively. There was no moral outrage over the shooting of 10 men on the side of the road because they were Protestants; no moral outrage over the blowing up of people who were remembering the war dead; no moral outrage over the firebombing of a dog charity dinner dance; and no moral outrage over the murder of a mother of 10 in a nationalist area. The First Minister maintains that there was no alternative to any of those murders, yet bombing a murderous dictatorship is a "deeply troubling" violation of the UN charter.”
“For almost half a century, the people of Iran have lived under the jackboot of an Islamist dictatorship. In recent days, we were reminded of how that regime maintains its grip on power, when thousands were gunned down on the streets for daring to protest. Christians in Iran face persecution simply for professing the name of Jesus. The Open Doors' world watch list 2026 has Iran ranked number 10 owing to the extreme level of persecution that Christians face. None of that appears to trouble some in the House, however. Take the First Minister of no alternative, who could not find time to attend a security briefing on the situation yet could find time to tweet:”
“The Budget provides for just under £33 billion of public spending, which works out at roughly £17,000 for every man, woman and child in Northern Ireland per year. That is an odd kind of austerity. The people of the Province are entitled to ask whether they each get £17,000-worth of value from public services: I believe that the answer is a resounding no. I will vote against the Budget, as it simply does not deliver value for money. The priorities of the Executive are not to look after the hard-pressed in our society, and that is why I will not support the Budget that has been presented to us today.”
“Since 2018, over £26 million has been poured into the same communities, while other communities have been starved of money. At what point do we say, "Enough is enough", and start to scrutinise what the money is spent on? <BR /> <BR />The Executive Office's remit includes seeking contributions from institutions towards the cost of redress. My experience of seeing that in action is underwhelming. The House needs to do more; it should not always be left to the state to pick up the bills. That may be the core element of Sinn Féin's economic policies, but more needs to be done to go after the perpetrators, who must contribute to redress for the pain and suffering that was inflicted on many people throughout Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland benefits greatly from its place in the United Kingdom.”
“<BR /> <BR />People can read in the Executive Office budget on page 29 about Climate Commissioner structures, Windsor framework coordination, identity offices and cultural commissioners. They all come with bells and whistles attached, but they are not the public's priorities, and many, including me, regard them as wastage. They do nothing to address the pressures that ordinary people experience in their daily lives and nothing to ease the current cost-of-living squeeze. <BR /> <BR />The Bill authorises billions. It gives legal force to spending across an ever-expanding Executive Office remit. It provides for spending on an Irish Language Commissioner, a Climate Commissioner, Windsor framework coordination and asylum integration programmes, but the Executive Office cannot tell me when a community in transition becomes transitioned.”
“<BR /> <BR />As I have said, clause 1 highlights the fact that Northern Ireland receives substantial support because of our place in the United Kingdom, yet, when we look around, we see record waiting lists; crumbling roads; and, when the Finance Minister launched the consultation on the Budget, an Education Minister who rushed to the press to air his grave concerns that the allocation to his Department left him in an impossible position. I think today of classroom assistants, many of whom have reached out to me to ask what the Minister's announcement means for them. We should prioritise those services and not the waste that this place loves to blow money on.”
“To put it into language that everybody can understand, money allocated to that flagship policy will support groups that support men seeking access to female-only spaces. That is not combating violence against women and girls; it is creating concerns in our community. <BR /> <BR />Nodding through spending, as the Assembly will today, without clarifying such issues and without legislation in place is not how a proper legislature should operate. If the Executive wish to fund new structures, new commissioners and new immigration programmes, they should introduce legislation and subject those policies to scrutiny before the money flows or is released to them.”
“There is no greater concern in many working-class areas throughout Northern Ireland than losing their local identity, yet here we are, debating the passing of a Budget with over £4 million going into immigration issues, as referenced on page 29, lines 39 to 40. That, instead of bringing legislation to the House for proper debate, is how the Executive have chosen to allocate the money. <BR /> <BR />Let us look at ending violence against women and girls. That is a real concern in every community across Northern Ireland. As I said yesterday, the scheme has £6·077 million allocated to it in the Budget but Mrs O'Neill and Mrs Little-Pengelly do not know and do not want to know how much of that will go to groups that include transgender women.”
“The money spent on the Irish Sea border comes courtesy of Sinn Féin, the SDLP, Alliance, all the "Remoaners", all the Remainers and all those who called for rigorous implementation. That is a cost. There, Mr O'Toole: you got your bingo money tonight. That came at a cost, thanks to those sitting to my left. They seem to champion that and to trumpet it, but that is what they have delivered: money coming out of our capital spend to clean up a mess because we did not get the Brexit that we should have; because we have the protocol; and because of the rigorous implementers. They are the ones who cost us money. <BR /> <BR />The £15 million that sits in the Executive Office includes money for asylum seekers.”
“A massive £15 million of that sits in the Executive Office, and it includes all the money spent on asylum seekers.”