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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“Many women, because of their dedication to placing the needs of their child before their own, simply cannot go out into the workplace, or, if they do, it can be on only a part-time or temporary basis, and only then if they can find an understanding employer prepared to work around their needs. Consequently, they all too often find themselves struggling to make ends meet. <BR /> <BR />A briefing paper from Carers NI that was issued ahead of the debate makes for sobering reading, and we should all sit up and take notice: 28% of unpaid carers in Northern Ireland are living in poverty, with 48,000 people in receipt of carer's allowance. As we have already heard in the debate, that benefit is worth a token gesture payment of £81·90 a week.”
“I welcome the opportunity to debate the important motion. I commend Mr Carroll for bringing it to the House. Once again, a motion from this corner of the Chamber is shining a spotlight on issues that are too often ignored by the Executive parties and the official Opposition. This issue should not be ignored. I have no doubt that Members across the House can, like I can, think of specific cases — perhaps even in their own family — in which someone goes above and beyond every day to care for the needs of another. The motion, rightly, turns our attention to the fact that that is particularly the case when it comes to children with additional needs. It is also an issue in which there is a gender inequality: those caring responsibilities often fall to mothers.”
“I am surprised that it has taken until the last contributor from unionism for some of those issues to be raised.”
“Have the proposers of the motion considered how changes in VAT in Northern Ireland that break parity with the rest of the UK would impact on Northern Ireland's Budget? Have they discussed with the Health Minister how much less funding he would have if the proposal in the motion were carried? <BR /> <BR />I have, first, an economic objection to the motion. We should be calling for a UK-wide reduction that leaves us below the level in the Republic. Secondly, I have a constitutional objection to the motion. The people of the UK should decide our VAT rate. That responsibility should not be outsourced to Dublin. Lastly, I have a block grant objection to the motion. The motion may sound good to some, but, in my book of unionism, it is, clearly, ill thought out.”
“I want the Assembly to consider a final point on the matter. What would be the Barnett consequential of the motion? When this place had an obsession with the devolution of corporation tax, HM Treasury was clear on the issue: any reduction in the level of corporation tax would have to be offset by a corresponding reduction in the block grant to Northern Ireland. The Holtham commission considered the devolution of corporation tax to Wales and concluded that it did not want it because it would:”
“It would have permitted a more extensive discussion on this important subject.”
“Under the protocol, Northern Ireland continues to follow EU rules around VAT and goods. As a result, goods in Northern Ireland are overseen by EU VAT rules. As a result of that, businesses in Northern Ireland that are trading goods with the EU class their trade as intra-EU supplies; products sold from Belfast to Dublin are treated as they would be if two EU nations were trading with one another; and goods crossing Northern Ireland to and from Great Britain are treated as imports and exports, triggering more extensive documentation and compliance. Why? Because goods moving from here to Great Britain are treated as exports with zero rating of VAT, and goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are treated as imports from a foreign country. I am disappointed that the House is not debating the amendment to the motion that I tabled.”
“I have no desire to give the harmonisation process another boost by starting to line up VAT rates. <BR /> <BR />Furthermore, I note that, because of the protocol, which is so beloved of some in the House, there are aspects of our VAT regime that neither this place nor Westminster controls.”
“I did some research ahead of the debate and discovered that there is no example of VAT being varied in such a fashion anywhere else in the United Kingdom. Why would a unionist party seek to change that and give us a situation in which, when it comes to hospitality, our VAT rate is no longer decided by anyone in the UK but aligned with the Irish Republic? It would be much more sensible to push for a reduction of VAT on hospitality across the United Kingdom. Why would we seek to merely match the rate across the border? If a lower VAT rate gives businesses in the Republic an advantage, why should we not push for a situation that would give hospitality in Northern Ireland the edge? Why should we vote to align our VAT rate on hospitality with Dublin when the people of Northern Ireland do not elect anyone to sit in that foreign Parliament?”
“Does the Justice Minister believe that the ombudsman should apologise to the officers whom she unlawfully defamed? Will she ensure that all reports are speedily amended?”
“If, as I suspect, that proves to be the case with this law, it will be scandalous, because, within our United Kingdom, only the people in Northern Ireland will be denied the protections that the Bill offers. I trust that the Minister will address that when he responds to the debate.”
“What assurances can the Minister give the House that, after today's vote, MLAs will not simply find the democratic will of the elected representatives of Northern Ireland overruled by our EU colonial masters? I have no doubt that there are those with powerful voices in the industry who will seek to challenge the application of the law to Northern Ireland. We know what happened when similar issues arose with the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 and the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024. In both cases, the High Court ruled that laws that are not made by our sovereign parliament at Westminster or, indeed, this House are supreme. Rather, the court decided that EU law is supreme in Northern Ireland.”
“The legislative consent motion seems, on the face of it, to run counter to that. Indeed, there is an interesting precedent. In 2022, Denmark tried to do something similar. The legislation had to be withdrawn, because, as the Health Minister told the Danish Parliament on 6 April 2022:”
“With around 18,000 admissions to hospitals in our Province each year due to smoking-related problems, action needs to be taken to relieve the stress that that puts on our NHS. <BR /> <BR />However, I fear that the laudable intent of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will not result in "Northern Ireland's inclusion", as the motion states, regardless of the decision of the House. I say that because we in Northern Ireland, uniquely in the UK, remain subject to the EU's tobacco directive. We are subject to it because it is one of the 289 EU laws listed in annex 2 of the protocol that remain in force in a part of this United Kingdom. Article 24 of the tobacco directive states:”
“I support the idea behind the legislative consent motion. I imagine that I am not alone in receiving a briefing paper from the British Heart Foundation that highlighted startling stats. From its helpful paper, we learn that smoking increases the risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, cancer and lung disease. We have heard during the debate that around 2,300 people die each year from diseases that can be attributed to smoking. <BR /> <BR />The human cost is staggering, but so are the financial costs. I will put them on record once again. According to the BMA, smoking is estimated to cost the Northern Ireland economy £0·4 billion and the Department of Health an estimated £0·2 billion annually.”
“— from beginning to end. I look forward to debating the amendments to the Bill when it returns to the House.”
“The Executive Office guidance on consultations also sets the standard period for consultation at 12 weeks. Consultation should be an important part of the legislative process, because it permits all parties, organisations and the public to feed into the policymaking process. In this instance, however, the Assembly Commission decided to consult only parties with representation on the Commission and never dared to let the public or other parties even see the proposals, much less have their say. Frankly, the whole process stinks —”
“It was never sent to me, and I received it only after my office asked the Business Office whether there were any papers that could be studied ahead of the debate to approve the Commission's budget on 9 December last year. <BR /> <BR />Guidance from the UK Government is clear:”
“Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. <BR /> <BR />I will briefly touch on the underhand manner in which the Assembly Commission has progressed the Bill designed to give MLAs a massive pay increase. Why were only the parties that are on the Commission consulted? Why, prior to the debate last week, were MLAs outside Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the DUP and the Ulster Unionists totally in the dark about the contents of the Bill? I was aware of the projected £19,000 pay bonanza for MLAs only because I read the Audit Committee's briefing to assist in its scrutiny of the Assembly Commission's budget for 2025-26. I was totally in the dark as to the contents of the Bill prior to its publication on the Assembly website. One suspects that the parties on the Commission hoped that I had not read the Audit Committee's briefing note.”
“On Friday, the High Court delivered its judgement on the judicial review by the Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers Association against the Police Ombudsman. In that judgement, we have had an overdue clipping of the ombudsman's wings. The language of the judgement is emphatic and clear: the ombudsman's role is investigative, not adjudicative. In issues of criminal conduct, or even misconduct, it is not for the ombudsman to act as judge, jury and executioner. Too often, the ombudsman has played to the anti-police gallery by throwing around findings of collusion or such behaviour. The ombudsman needs to take note of that judgement and stop making rulings that she has no power to make.”
“There was no warning from the IRA terrorists to those they set out to murder in the Coalisland RUC station. <BR /> <BR />Last week, we had another illustration of the coroner's system, for which Labour pledged to continue putting the security forces, but never the terrorists, in the dock. We have further evidence of republican double standards. On the one hand, they argue that they engaged in a legitimate war, yet, on the other hand, if anyone fired on republicans, they cried foul. It was OK when they shot an unarmed off-duty UDR man in the back but it was unfair when heavily armed terrorists were taken out by the SAS. What sort of war was that? <BR /> <BR />I do, however, want to use this opportunity to welcome another legacy judgement.”
“<BR /> <BR />One does not go out for a quiet evening drive in a stolen lorry with a heavy machine gun welded to the back while armed with an assortment of assault rifles. When four fully armed terrorists go out on a murder mission, that mission includes their escape plan. If the continued threat posed by such fully armed terrorists is neutralised, that is a service to the public.”
“Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The events of 16 February 1992 are exceedingly simple to understand. A stolen car and lorry were driven into the village of Coalisland. Terrorists then fired 30 rounds of armour-piercing ammunition at the local police station from a heavy machine gun that was mounted on the back of the stolen lorry. The other terrorists were armed with assault rifles. They then drove off at speed before arriving at St Patrick's Church at Clonoe where they were engaged by the SAS, with four terrorists being neutralised. It was at 10.45 pm in February. It was, therefore, dark, and the SAS unit was engaging with heavily armed terrorists who were more heavily armed than it was.”
“The recording clearly shows that at least two Members challenged Madam Principal Deputy Speaker's judgement that the motion was carried, and she was, therefore, under an obligation to call a Division. Mr Speaker, having viewed the recording and established what I just said to be correct, there is an onus on you, as the defender of good order in the House, to insist that the Question on the motion be put again, and the previous result nullified.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would like you to view the audiovisual recording of the end of the debate on the motion brought by the Assembly Commission in light of Standing Order 27(1)(b), which states:”
“I thank the Minister for his response and invitation; indeed, I will take him up on that. The crux of it is, Minister, that I want you to commit to carrying out a survey to determine the current stock levels of trout in Lough Neagh to establish how long current levels will last and to avoid the trout stocks reaching a critical level, as pollan and eel stocks in Lough Neagh have done.”
“You have to take some responsibility for that.”
“I would like to give the Member the opportunity, in the remaining seconds that he has, to correct the record. He said that Mr Allister did not take up his position on a scrutiny Committee. He wanted to be on the EU scrutiny Committee, but the big parties kept him out of it.”
“<BR /> <BR />A similar move is afoot in local councils, In the 2025-26 rate-setting process, councils are preparing for a £7,000 increase in councillors' salaries along with generous back pay. Many councils are building in between £250,000 and £500,000 to cover the costs to flow from the announcement expected from Minister Lyons before the summer. <BR /> <BR />As with the council increase, the motion is an attempt by the parties represented on the Commission to give cover for the awarding of a pay rise to MLAs. I do not believe that we are worth it and will therefore vote against the proposal. Anyone who thinks similarly can join me in the No Lobby.”
“I make it clear that I do not believe that MLAs should receive a pay rise of one penny, never mind £19,000. <BR /> <BR />While the briefing did not note this, I urge any independent body reviewing MLA pay to link it to our performance in the House; to consider the fact that we are Members of a legislative Assembly that seldom legislates; to consider that MLAs sit on scrutiny Committees that do not scrutinise; and to remember that MLAs, when asked whether they would like to have a say on laws that govern our economy, voted to hand power to those in a foreign Parliament. Is that the track record of an Assembly whose Members deserve a £19,000 pay hike? I think not, and I trust that the remuneration board will take those indisputable facts into account.”
“Really? It does that in a context where the briefing to assist the Audit Committee's scrutiny of the Assembly Commission's budget for 2025-26 said:”
“Perhaps, we could look at other trusts that are doing crisis intervention and de-escalation, and, after raising the issue in the House for a second time, along with the other letters of support from elective representatives, local authorities and statutory agencies, it might finally be taken seriously. <BR /> <BR />I invite the Minister to visit Turning Point NI to understand the issues and address them accordingly before it is too late. That charity was based and created on the back of too many lives being lost in the Ballymena area. I trust that we will not get to the point at which we see the number of lives being lost increasing because that charity has run out of money.”
“The motion before us talks about how we fix the health service and issues with mental health services. I believe that my comments about that charity fall within that. To me, it is clear that the Northern Trust is simply not well enough resourced to deal with the most complex mental health needs. Yet, it is expected that a charity in my area will continue to pick up the slack for free. <BR /> <BR />I dread to think what will happen to the people who are failed by the system should Turning Point disappear from the landscape. To where will they turn, who will care for them and where will the almost 100 people currently on its waiting list go? Who will intervene when they are most vulnerable?”
“<BR /> <BR />Turning Point specialises in tier 3 and tier 4 cases, which include those with complex diagnoses, often dual diagnosis, and those who, sadly, present as wishing to end their own lives. The crisis intervention and de-escalation front-line service that it provides is essential and cannot be left by the wayside. Indeed, it is often referred the most complex of cases by the community mental health team, under the banner of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and other public bodies. Yet, none of these agencies has directly offered or provided funding for that work to continue. Last September, it was estimated that the work carried out by Turning Point has saved the trust in the region of £70,000 —”
“I wish to focus my remarks on a local issue in my constituency of North Antrim, which I believe falls within the scope of the motion. <BR /> <BR />In September 2024, I spoke about a mental health charity in my constituency that provides an invaluable service in crisis intervention, counselling and family support. As of today, Turning Point NI in Ballymena remains without secure long-term funding, despite continuing to provide an essential service across North Antrim. At the end of March, the National Lottery funding that directly pays four members of its staff will stop. The next round of allocations will not be assessed and awarded until September 2025, which puts the vital charity at risk of closure.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Before Question Time, my contribution to the debate on enhancing accountability and trust in government was cut short by Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, who ruled that my remarks were out of order. I respect the Chair, but, for the benefit of lowly Back-Benchers such as myself, will you review Hansard and tell me exactly where I stepped outside the remit of the motion? I believe that, when we were talking about accountability in these institutions, I was addressing issues inside the Chamber and in Committee, which was within the scope of the motion.”
“Deputy First Minister, 20 years ago, on Thursday past, Robert McCartney was brutally stabbed to death by the IRA. In the aftermath of his murder, his sisters were subjected to a campaign of intimidation by the republican movement that you partner with in government today. Will the ending violence against women and girls strategy ensure that no other woman or girl suffers the same intimidation as the McCartney sisters?”
“— when I should be allowed to progress my concerns.”
“Principal Deputy Speaker, this is all about trust and accountability, and I am giving instances and examples of where trust and accountability have been trashed in this place. It has been trashed in the Chamber, in the TEO Committee, which you are a member of —”
“— if she had seen a paedophile enter this Building.”
“Thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker. <BR /> <BR />Will they put the process before trust and accountability? Moving outside the Chamber, we have seen efforts to ensure that trust and accountability are paramount in our Committees. Sadly, that is not the case. We saw a junior Minister shielded by a Committee Chair. Ms Bradshaw even asked —”
“Will the other parties insist that, as called for in last week's motion, a robust audit system is put in place to ensure that Sinn Féin creaming off public money to fund its press operation does not continue?”
“I could not agree more with some aspects of the motion. It is particularly welcome that it notes the lack of trust and accountability in our politics. <BR /> <BR />Last week, the House debated a motion that lambasted the report on the Michael McMonagle scandal. Without a vote, it was passed. We all agreed that the conclusions drawn in what was supposedly a robust probe into the abuse of public money in this Building were simply not credible. What now? Will there be a fresh report? Will the First Minister, whose party provided the only voice to say that the report was sound, return to the House and correct the record? If Mrs O'Neill believes that we should accept the report, she accepts that, on 7 October 2024, she misled the House, which should be a resigning matter.”
“I thank the Minister for coming to my constituency last week to visit Castle Tower School. I am unapologetic when I say that I hope and trust that he will look on that school fondly when he is deciding on his Department's priorities. <BR /> <BR />One of the struggles facing controlled schools is their historical budget deficits, which often have an impact on their teaching ability, and which arose because of dither and delay from the EA. Will anything in your statement address the historical deficit issue in the short to medium term to allow schools to get back to delivering first-class teaching?”
“All the while, unionist Ministers continue to implement the protocol by virtue of the office that they hold. <BR /> <BR />Has Stormont delivered on the laws that it does control? If we strip back the bluster, the harsh truth is that it has not. We do not debate legislation in this place. Day after day, we debate motions that are non-binding and have no impact on anything, apart from making people believe that something productive is happening in this place. It is time for unionism to realise the folly of returning to Stormont with the protocol still in place. Doing so meant that we surrendered the one strong card that we held. Day by day, the Union is being eroded. It is time to realise that and to put the constitutional status of Northern Ireland before the ministerial limos.”
“One year on from the return of the Executive, the uselessness of the arrangements supposedly put in place to justify that return is now clearer than ever. The DUP deal, which was sold as Safeguarding the Union, is now seen to be what many of us always said that it was: a con. The Irish Sea border has, far from disappearing, become harder. We see that the Stormont brake, now that it has been tested, has no brake pipes attached at all. The guarantee that no community could impose its will on the other has been completely thrown out the window. As we sit here today, 300 areas of law in Northern Ireland are made by people whom no one in Northern Ireland elects. Importantly, those vital laws that shape our economy are the same laws that shape the economy of the Irish Republic.”
“The SDLP talks about constructive opposition. It is about time that the SDLP took off the gloves, because the Executive need to be held to account. <BR /> <BR />It is sad that it took one MLA to bring this matter to the attention of the House and put it in the Order Paper, but that is what I have done. I trust that all parties, including Sinn Féin, will support the motion.”
“to suggest that we cannot tell the difference between party and constituency work. Every MLA who spoke in the debate, apart from the Sinn Féin Member, accepted that the First Minister has questions to answer. <BR /> <BR />Mr Carroll attempted to table an amendment to deal with the FAPP scheme, and I am glad that he brought that up today. He reminded the House that, in the past, many MLAs paid family members and that we had the RHI scandal. The House has been tainted by scandals from mandate to mandate and from year to year. I agree with Mr Carroll that the FAPP scheme was a carve-up for the bigger parties, namely the DUP, Sinn Féin and Alliance. My goodness, they do not like the voice of opposition here in the corner. There are not very many of us, but we take the opportunity to hold them to account where possible.”
“<BR /> <BR />Alliance's Eóin Tennyson said that the matter raised serious concern. Unfortunately, it was an Alliance Member who shielded the First Minister when she came to the Committee. The Committee Chair, who is from your party, shielded Michelle O'Neill from answering the questions that were put directly to her by Committee members. <BR /> <BR />Mr Butler, from the Ulster Unionist Party, reminded the House of the scandal's unfortunate links to the British Heart Foundation and the fact that it involved that organisation when it really did not need to. A shameful slur was put on the British Heart Foundation by Ms O'Neill and Mr Murphy. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP's Mr O'Toole, the leader of the Opposition, called into question the competence of the First Minister. I agree with his comment that it is:”
“Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. <BR /> <BR />There was also the Assembly expenses scandal surrounding Sinn Féin 11 years ago, when the BBC 'Spotlight' programme lifted the lid on Research Services Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I will go through some of the contributions to the debate. As I said, Mr McGuigan was Sinn Féin's sole contributor. He is the man who did not cancel the pass. Here, today, there was no response to the points that were made. <BR /> <BR />The DUP's Diane Dodds highlighted that questions still exist, having gone unanswered to this day. Yes, I am aware that audits exist, but my problem is that the existing audits did not pick up on the scandal. We need to go back to the drawing board to make the audits more robust and ensure that this does not happen again.”