Edwin Poots
South Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I call Mr Eóin Tennyson. Again, this is Mr Tennyson's first opportunity to speak as a private Member, so I remind the House that it is convention that a maiden speech be made without interruption. However, if you choose to express views that provoke an interruption, you are likely to forfeit that protection.”
“Sorry — Ms Armstrong. My apologies. <BR /> <BR />That the Assembly could, in some way, get that money out when it is a UK Government responsibility. The UK Government have distributed it directly in Scotland and Wales, not through the Welsh Parliament and not through the Scottish Parliament.”
“I have not got time; I am sorry. <BR /> <BR />Ursula von der Leyen, who was in the Republic last week, made some of the most ridiculous claims about the British Government, who have supported Ukraine in a way that no other Government in Europe have and who have never engaged in the activity that was suggested by Ursula von der Leyen.”
“Today, a lot of statements have been made but there has not been a lot of fact behind a lot of what has been said. We have Michelle O'Neill, who walked out of her role as Health Minister — not for six months but for three years — and abandoned her position when we had Bengoa and there were all the problems with nursing that led to the str…”
“I need to deal with the issues first. <BR /> <BR />He referred to the Budget that he produced. No party supported that Budget. The Alliance Party did not support it, because it did not cover policing and prisons. Infrastructure did not support it, because it would not allow it to do the basics of what had to be done.”
“We had a circumstance where Sinn Féin repeated, month after month after month, that there were hundreds of millions to give to the public when that did not exist and when, in reality, Minister Murphy was racking up debt that will roll into next year, which will ensure that that will be a difficult financial year.”
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“I call Mr Eóin Tennyson. Again, this is Mr Tennyson's first opportunity to speak as a private Member, so I remind the House that it is convention that a maiden speech be made without interruption. However, if you choose to express views that provoke an interruption, you are likely to forfeit that protection.”
“— nothing from the protocol was asked to be kept. The maximisation of the United Kingdom Government's ability to support business in Northern Ireland should be availed of in legislation.”
“On a point of order, Mr Acting Speaker. It is important to clarify something when an untruth is being peddled”
“— for a women's children to be on the receiving end of that. You are a disgrace to unionism.”
“I know personally what it is like, Mr Beattie, to be on the receiving end of your tweets and messages. I know personally what it is like for a woman to be on the receiving end.”
“Apologies do not cut it, Doug. When you are a repeat offender, repeat apologies do not cut it. I will repeat what he said:”
“I have not got time; I am sorry. <BR /> <BR />Ursula von der Leyen, who was in the Republic last week, made some of the most ridiculous claims about the British Government, who have supported Ukraine in a way that no other Government in Europe have and who have never engaged in the activity that was suggested by Ursula von der Leyen. In fact, the only people outside Russia who are doing a power grab are those in the European Union, who want to make laws in this place when there is nobody democratically mandated to respond to those laws on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland. The European Union needs to get the reality here: we will not be giving in on these issues; we will be standing firm on them. <BR /> <BR />I want to briefly mention Mr Beattie's comments, because what he said was absolutely scandalous.”
“We will be making our position absolutely clear. <BR /> <BR />To Ursula von der Leyen, who was here last week —”
“Sorry — Ms Armstrong. My apologies. <BR /> <BR />That the Assembly could, in some way, get that money out when it is a UK Government responsibility. The UK Government have distributed it directly in Scotland and Wales, not through the Welsh Parliament and not through the Scottish Parliament. Let us be very clear: the money is sitting there; the capacity to spend the money exists; and it is for the UK Government to do it. <BR /> <BR />We have this nonsense, "Well, we'll call an election. That'll push the DUP into doing this. We'll cut the pay. That'll push the DUP into doing this. We'll hold the money back. We know that we have to give it to them, but we'll hold it back from the people. That'll make them have to do it". Let me be very clear: this is a constitutional issue. We will not be going back in for threats, bribes or anything else.”
“Thank you for clarifying that that is not a point of order. It was entirely disingenuous for Ms Kelly to suggest that the Assembly —”
“I need to deal with the issues first. <BR /> <BR />He referred to the Budget that he produced. No party supported that Budget. The Alliance Party did not support it, because it did not cover policing and prisons. Infrastructure did not support it, because it would not allow it to do the basics of what had to be done. Education did not support it, because it did not provide what is statutorily necessary for special educational needs. In that Budget, Sinn Féin did not care about young people with special educational needs, because it did not provide for them. We, therefore, had a Budget that was not supported by any other party in the Executive at that point. <BR /> <BR />Ms Armstrong suggested that, if we just get the Assembly back, that £600 will go out. That is entirely disingenuous.”
“We had a circumstance where Sinn Féin repeated, month after month after month, that there were hundreds of millions to give to the public when that did not exist and when, in reality, Minister Murphy was racking up debt that will roll into next year, which will ensure that that will be a difficult financial year. He also referred to the Budget that was produced —”
“I was happy to give way to Mr Murphy, and I am happy to respond to his intervention. <BR /> <BR />Clearly, Mrs O'Neill did not have anything factual when she claimed that there was £420 million to give to the public.”
“— Michelle O'Neill's quote of £420 million was a fabricated one and did not have any standing whatsoever.”
“I welcome Mr Murphy's intervention. First, he tells us that there was £300 million, which indicates that —”
“Today, a lot of statements have been made but there has not been a lot of fact behind a lot of what has been said. We have Michelle O'Neill, who walked out of her role as Health Minister — not for six months but for three years — and abandoned her position when we had Bengoa and there were all the problems with nursing that led to the strike in 2019, lecturing us about health. We also have Conor Murphy lecturing us about what could be done. Earlier this year, Michelle O'Neill was saying, "We have £420 million that we want to give to the public". That was completely non-factual in that she was claiming that there was £420 million to distribute while Conor Murphy was racking up a huge debt for the Executive — a huge debt that will be passed on to next year's Budget, because the money did not exist.”
“Does the Member recognise that, when Mr Murphy was throwing his allegations about, the DUP is subject only to the decisions of the party officer team and the party executive team, unlike Sinn Féin, which seems to rely on the IRA army council?”
“— engaging. People need to realise and recognise that.”
“I thank the Member. His point is quite correct. <BR /> <BR />Mr Tennyson's colleague Mr Blair seems to realise that we are working — he might want to have a chat with him — because he submitted a flood of questions last week. I welcome them, and they will be answered to Mr Blair as we get on with our job. I am at my work every day, and we are making many decisions. What are the other Ministers from the other parties doing? Perhaps we will see a bit more activity from them in the future. Mr Murphy said that Ms Hargey was negotiating with London about getting money distributed, so the 24-week period that we negotiated during previous talks is proving useful in that people still have government, with Ministers —”
“The DUP is not getting the support of the other Executive parties to take on the issue. If it did, Northern Ireland could speak with one voice and say, "Do you know what? It is preposterous that we have all these companies saying that they will not supply Northern Ireland." It is impacting on people who can buy things cheaper online, for example, and it is impacting on their cost of living, but people want to ignore that. <BR /> <BR />I, as Minister of Agriculture, and my colleagues are doing our jobs. I remind Mr Tennyson of that. Indeed, his colleague Mr Blair —”
“Let us be very clear: currently, the cost of the protocol is being soaked up by many businesses and by the Government, but those costs will not be soaked up by the Government or business for a long period. If we do not address the issues, every household will be impacted by the cost-of-living crisis from the Northern Ireland protocol. <BR /> <BR />Members should be standing with us in getting rid of the protocol, not backing it up. I note that we do not hear of the rigorous implementation of the protocol any more, but let us get a little bit further. It is good that Members have got off that space; that is of benefit. However, let us now get onto the space of what we can do to make things better for all the people of Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />The DUP is very much fighting this battle on its own.”
“No, I will not give way. I have limited time. The two things are incompatible, and the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement will not be brought together again while the Northern Ireland protocol is in its current form. <BR /> <BR />Mr O'Toole blandly dismissed it as an international agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom Government. Yes, it is, but what is its title? It is the Northern Ireland protocol. It is as if we, the people of Northern Ireland, should not have any say in it and should not be concerned about it. Of course, we are. <BR /> <BR />Mr Kearney heavily emphasised the cost of living. He also said that the protocol threatens no one. That is patently untrue. The protocol is damaging household after household and industry after industry, right across Northern Ireland.”
“Over and over, we are getting the message, "Stay strong, do what you are doing and do not give in". I have been very clear about it: if you want the Belfast Agreement — I expect that most Members do — you cannot have the Northern Ireland protocol. The two things are incompatible.”
“When I left the post of Health Minister in September 2014, we had the lowest waiting lists of any time. I was criticised for the health waiting lists then, but they are now more than twice as long. Over twice the number of people are on those waiting lists now. Mrs O'Neill walked away from the Health Minister portfolio when the Bengoa report was to be implemented. The reason for the health service waiting lists is the action of the very person who criticises it now: Michelle O'Neill. Own it. Own the health waiting list crisis, Michelle O'Neill. <BR /> <BR />Mr O'Toole talked about us looking the electorate in the face. I looked the electorate in the face on Saturday, and they are very clear that they support the position that the DUP is taking.”
“It is a bit of a Groundhog Day, but I welcome the opportunity for us to have the debate again and for the Northern Ireland public to hear the reasons — the very clear reasons — why we are not able to appoint a Speaker today or to progress with the appointment of Ministers. I very much wish that that was not the case. I very much desire for us to be back in government as quickly as possible. However, unfortunately, those decisions will be taken elsewhere. <BR /> <BR />In her speech, Mrs O'Neill talked much about the health service. That is the same Mrs O'Neill who was the Minister of Health and walked out of her job. Waiting lists rose in every quarter for the three years after the walk-away Health Minister left her job. They rose exponentially.”
“The same people who, a few years back, talked about rigorous implementation, thus denying medicines and medical equipment to our hospitals and the ability of supermarkets and retailers in Northern Ireland to bring in goods barrier-free, are now saying that they are concerned about healthcare and the cost of living. We need to deal with that issue. We have to deal with that issue. We will deal with that issue, and we will use whatever leverage we have to ensure that all the people of Northern Ireland will get a good deal: not just unionist, nationalist or other but every single person.”
“Let us be clear about what would have happened: 40% of the medicines used in our hospitals — the generic medicines that come from Great Britain — would be denied access to Northern Ireland.”
“When the grace periods that cover so much of this are removed and we go back to the normality that is sought by the protocol, we will have barriers placed on every mouthful of food, including food such as that which you consumed over lunchtime today. I pose this question: how does that impact on the European Union single market? <BR /> <BR />Every Member should be joining as one voice and saying that the Northern Ireland protocol does not work, cannot work and needs to be replaced. We should stand together to deliver that. Rather, we have this nonsense about its rigorous implementation. Some parties called for the rigorous implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol.”
“The reality is that the protocol will affect people's cost of living, not just in 2022 but in 2032 and 2042, if we do not deal with these issues now. It is incumbent upon us all to act. This should not be an orange, green, unionist, nationalist or "other" issue. This is an issue for all of us. When Marks & Spencer went to a House of Lords Committee this week, it said that it takes 20 staff and eight hours to load one lorry. Do you think that those costs will not be passed on to consumers in Northern Ireland? Do you think that when the Trader Support Service, which is spending £500 million a year, ceases to have government support, businesses will absorb that? Will they pass that on to consumers?”
“It is somewhat cynical of parties that, for years, have been complaining that you cannot have majority rule to now call for majority rule. That, essentially, in the speech that we have just heard, is what Mr Muir was seeking in the House. He was railing against the Good Friday Agreement — the very agreement that they preached to us had to be accepted and that, along with subsequent agreements, has been accepted over the past 24 years. We are now in a circumstance where we require the consent of both communities to move forward on the issue that is in front of us today. <BR /> <BR />We also need to deal with the elephant in the room: the Northern Ireland protocol. We hear people calling out the cost of living.”
“I do not need the European Union to tell us what to do about plastics. We in the House are capable of making our own decisions. I was not elected to be answerable to Brussels; I was elected to be answerable to the people of Northern Ireland. We are doing work on single-use plastics, extended producer responsibility and single-use bags, the fee for which will be raised, as Members know. Those things are all happening without Big Brother telling us what to do or looking over our shoulder. We are quite capable of protecting the environment here, thankfully.”
“We have other steps to take that can reduce the ammonia burden by closer to 50%. That work needs to continue to ensure that we continue to restore our peatland habitats to where we want them to be. There will be great benefits from those peatlands capturing carbon. We will work with local landowners and farmers to ensure that we have their cooperation in delivering on that.”
“Currently, most of our semi-natural peatlands have been degraded or are in poor condition and act as carbon sources as opposed to capturing carbon. <BR /> <BR />The peatland strategy is being taken forward under the auspices of the UK peatland strategy. A public consultation was carried out from June to September last year. We will be in a position to publish an agreed peatland strategy in 2022. That will set the direction of travel for the next two decades. The work that we did to support low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE) will reduce the amount of ammonia in our atmosphere by around 25%. That will be hugely beneficial to peatlands, which are overburdened with ammonia. That work, in conjunction with wetting peatlands, will be of considerable benefit.”
“I thank the Member for the question. The environment strategy will reference the Northern Ireland peatland strategy, which is currently under development. It will provide a framework for conserving our intact semi-natural peatlands and restoring degraded semi-natural peatlands. In Northern Ireland, our semi-natural peatlands are of enormous importance to the stability and general well-being of our environment. In addition to the ecosystem services that they provide, semi-natural peatlands can provide a nature-based solution to climate change. They can store and sequester carbon, with implications for the regulation of our climate. To provide those services, however, semi-natural peatlands need to be in a healthy state.”
“With that focus on nature, it will give Northern Ireland a unique opportunity to showcase to the rest of the world the positive action being taken to restore nature, as set out in the recent UK 'Nature Positive 2030' report, and our commitment to deliver for biodiversity and implement nature-based solutions to tackle climate change. We need to build on and accelerate those actions to ensure that they build a low-carbon, high-nature future for all.”
“The environment strategy is primarily concerned with the protection and enhancement of the natural environment. The green growth strategy provides more of the actions on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. However, we are all aware that climate change and biodiversity loss are aligned and must be tackled together. That is why I was delighted to visit COP26 on "Nature and Land Use Day" to highlight my commitment to deliver much-needed nature recovery and nature-based solutions and to endorse the 'Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use'.”
“2) Bill have come forward, and the green growth strategy has been further developed. We have made tremendous progress over that time. If Members reflect on the progress that was made in the midst of a global pandemic, they will find that what has been achieved in the past two years has been remarkable.”
“<BR /> <BR />We fought hard to get a financial package to deliver on green growth, and unfortunately the Department of Finance, when it had the Executive behind it, did not come forward with proposals that would have ensured that we could make the environmental changes that are needed. The party that held that office gives lip service to the environment and everything that needs to be done, but, when it came to putting money where its mouth was, it was shy about doing that. Let us be clear: Sinn Féin did not bring forward a budget proposal that demonstrated that it was serious about the environment. <BR /> <BR />Yes, there is further work to do on other strategies such as the marine strategy, but, in the previous month, the environment strategy and the Climate Change (No.”
“In just over two years of office, with the issue of COVID-19 predominant for well over half of that period, we have managed to introduce Forests for Our Future. That was never going to achieve the 1·8 million in the first year, but we have funding set aside that will assist us greatly in doing that. Organisations such as Belfast City Council and Northern Ireland Water intend to plant millions of trees, which will be of great assistance when that gets into full swing. I encourage other Departments to ensure that that happens in their areas. It is for every Department and every arm's-length body to help us to do that, as well as the farming community, landowners and others.”
“I have to say that Northern Ireland Water's response on tree planting and on renewable energy has been amazing, and I wish it every success as it continues to lead in the way in which it has been leading. Translink is taking significant steps to move to buses that do not use fossil fuels. A lot of groups, organisations and public bodies are making a difference, and I hope that all councils will take that to heart and ensure that they get fully on board to make a real difference to the environment in their area. Everybody doing their bit will help build the jigsaw, which, when concluded, will leave us with a beautiful environment and landscape.”
“Councils are responsible for waste collection, and we have been working with them on improving it. We need to get to a point at which we are not sending waste to landfill sites. People who repeatedly object to proposals to remove waste from landfill sites are ensuring that more methane goes into the air. Landfills are one of the biggest emitters of methane in Northern Ireland. Those who say, "No, we do not want this to happen" or, "We are going to object to that because we think that there are a few votes in it" need to recognise that waste needs to be dealt with in a way that is different from landfill. <BR /> <BR />Many councils are leading on issues. We have seen what they are doing on tree planting.”
“One of the things that we are looking at is extending to producers the responsibility for packaging. Work has also been done on single-use plastics. There are so many areas in which every one of us has to take responsibility, but the Government have to take the lead, and we will demonstrate that by working with one another. I fully agree with the Member's remarks.”
“The green growth strategy is an Executive strategy and is therefore cross-departmental. We have a cross-departmental working group for it. The Member is right to say that we need cooperation. Belfast City Council has an aspiration to plant a million trees, which is great. I received a letter from another council telling us that we needed to plant more trees but not identifying how it was going to do so. People need to realise that this is not something for somebody else to do but something for every one of us to do, be it personally by reducing the amount of waste that we put into the black bin and recycling more or be it companies not sending us products wrapped repeatedly in plastic and so forth. Everybody has to take responsibility, so we will ensure that everybody does.”
“I entirely agree with the Member. The Executive need to lead on those issues, and Ministers need to cooperate with one another. I look forward to a future Executive when other issues have been dealt with appropriately.”
“The Forests for Our Future policy sets out that 1·8 million new trees will be planted each year, and the soil nutrient health policy will ensure that our soils have the best health of any soils in the world, because we will know exactly what is going on and will respond to that. <BR /> <BR />The suite of actions that we have taken over the past two years and that is in place to happen over the coming years will ensure that Northern Ireland's improvement to its environmental footprint will be massive. That will be a result of the steps and actions that have been taken, which will make a real and tangible difference.”
“Ultimately, the green growth strategy will lead to substantial environmental improvements as a result doing things differently and ensuring that future growth is closely linked to the environment. That will help us to deal with animal nutrients, in particular, which will be hugely beneficial to waterbodies. The peatland strategy will see the re-wetting of peatlands, which will make them greater stores of carbon and will increase their biodiversity. The future agricultural policy will assist us in seeing more work, such as the further growing out of hedges, being done on an environmental basis on farms.”
“There is much that we can do, when we pull all of our plans together, that will ensure that we make a significant difference and improve biodiversity. The good management of our heathlands, particularly the work to achieve the reintroduction of species and the growth of species under threat, such as snipe, red grouse and many of those ground-nesting birds, is a course of work that has already commenced. It is work that needs to be expanded in other areas.”
“There is a series of things to help biodiversity loss. Re-wetting peatlands is one, and the peatland strategy is a key element of that. Encouraging the planting of more trees and hedgerows and discouraging the cutting of hedgerows so often will improve biodiversity, as will reducing the amount of nutrients that go into our soils. Yesterday, we launched a soil health action plan that will see all of our soils tested and lidar mapping taking place across Northern Ireland. That will be hugely beneficial in knowing what is going on under the ground and, as a consequence, will help to regenerate soils, and those soils will be of even greater use for farms in the future. <BR /> <BR />We can also do much to improve the quality of our rivers and water by reducing the amount of phosphates that enter our waterways and waterbodies.”
“The strategy sets out our plans for protecting our local environment by making sustainable living central to every aspect of our lives in the coming decades. As I said at the outset of my statement, the environment strategy will be a key pillar of green growth, and I commend it to the House.”
“If we all play our part and are ambitious with our plans, we can make a thriving, sustainable environment a reality here and demonstrate leadership on this crucial issue. <BR /> <BR />The environment strategy aims to focus on ambitious outcomes for the big environmental issues facing us, which will make a difference to the lives and well-being of current and future generations. I believe that the strategy that I have approved today is ambitious in both its breadth and depth. It contains over 50 key actions and targets, with timescales between 2022 and 2050. <BR /> <BR />Our environment affects every aspect of our existence. It is central to all life: what we do; what we eat; how we work; and where we live and play. It is, unquestionably, our most precious asset.”