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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“It is primarily a matter for the industry how it makes the best use of the current set of trading arrangements. Invest NI continues to provide support to Northern Ireland exporters. In discussions with government, I have been clear in my view that the protocol causes significant difficulties for Northern Ireland businesses because of the trade friction introduced on goods moving from GB to Northern Ireland. As GB is our largest market for the sale and supply of goods, we need frictionless trade with GB in both directions. Furthermore, we have to have a say in the agri-food regulations that impact businesses and consumers in Northern Ireland.”
“I explained how preposterous it was to Maroš Šefcovic last Wednesday. The EU seems to be hanging its hat on dealing with it by having the Swiss model — I believe that the Swiss may want out of that — applied to all of the United Kingdom. In reality, that will not happen. Getting rid of the protocol is the only solution for the people of Northern Ireland, and the Government need to act.”
“The costs that I have for government alone, which are then supposed to be applied to businesses, are around £25 million per annum. The problem is that those are not the only costs for businesses, because they have to employ people to produce the common health entry documents (CHEDs) and carry out all the background paperwork. They have a series of pieces of work to do, to the point that one of our leading retailers, Marks and Spencer, apportioned a significant amount of the losses that it declared this year to the protocol and how it affected its supply of food to Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />We have 325 documentary checks a day in Northern Ireland, while, in Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, there were 125. That is how preposterous the European Union imposition on Northern Ireland has been.”
“The advice from the civil servants is that we cannot proceed. Once the civil servants arrive at some different conclusion, that is a decision for the Executive and not for me as Minister. It is a controversial decision and therefore requires the entire Executive's support. I can confirm that I will not be breaking the ministerial code by following your suggestions.”
“We cannot therefore move forward with the protocol.”
“I hope that we will get that certainty and clarity over the next number of weeks, because it is for the UK Government to make that decision. The UK Government have been very well informed by the DUP Ministers on the Executive and, I assume, by others about the issues, complications and problems that come about as a consequence of the protocol, such as the cost to businesses and therefore consumers, the constitutional impact and the democratic deficit. I am not sure whether there is any other country that has 26 other countries making the rules that are implemented in that country and where individuals in that country have no say over the rules that they are being asked to enforce. That is undemocratic. I had always thought that the European Union was an organisation that supported democracy.”
“The situation will become impossible once the grace periods that are currently in place, primarily for retail goods, come to an end. <BR /> <BR />The issuing of the controlled stop to the contractors appointed to the design and build programme has triggered a compensation event. The review process for the compensation claims is ongoing, but DAERA has not been formally issued with any verified costs. Until all claims have been submitted by contractors and reviewed in accordance with the contract, the additional cost to the Department cannot be confirmed.”
“As Minister for the Department whose responsibilities are most affected by the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol, I am fully aware of the difficulties that it is causing, especially the impact of additional new rules and the barriers that they place on the movement of goods, products and live animals from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, to which I am firmly opposed. I feel that those checks on intra-UK moves are unnecessary and totally unacceptable, as they place Northern Ireland businesses and consumers in an unfavourable position. While the current easements on the movement of goods from GB to NI are welcome, they are only interim solutions to the problems associated with the withdrawal agreement and the protocol.”
“I mourn Gordon's loss not as a colleague but as a friend — a true and genuine friend. He drew alongside me on many occasions over the last number of years. We had those quiet conversations, thought about things and how things should go forward. Gordon was always a constant, ringing you up, having those chats and offering support and advice. He was a caring and loving gentleman who will be greatly missed.”
“Stephen is a fine, upstanding young man. The relationship that he and his father had was not just a father-and-son relationship; they were best friends. We used to always see Stephen and Gordon together at all the motor sport events, whether two wheels or four. They were enthusiasts about motor sport. <BR /> <BR />With regard to how he conducted himself — I would have a much more confrontational approach, as some of you know — Gordon was always a measured gentleman and did not get embroiled in scraps across the Chamber. He chose to do his politics in a different way. He was quiet, honest, resolute, fair, compassionate and gracious. He exemplified everything in the Christian gentleman that he was. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly is the poorer for the loss of Gordon Dunne. His family are the poorer, and his constituents are the poorer.”
“Today, we genuinely mourn the loss of a very special person, Gordon Dunne MBE, MLA, who gave 36 years of his life to public service. He got elected in 2011 to this institution, gaining a third seat for the Democratic Unionist Party in North Down, a seat that would not have been gained for the Democratic Unionist Party had it not been for the standing of Gordon Dunne in North Down, especially in the Holywood area, which Gordon represented for many years as a councillor. The respect with which he was held in that community would need to have been witnessed, and I had the privilege of witnessing it. <BR /> <BR />To his wife, Gillian, and to Andrew, Stephen and Amy, we offer our sincere sympathies. Last week, I had the privilege — not pleasure, but privilege — of nominating Stephen Dunne as Gordon's replacement in the Assembly.”
“Paul was in the new generation when he entered the Assembly, and we need more young people like him to come through and win for unionism: young people who are confident in what they do and in what they say, ensuring that we achieve things and that we do not just carp from the sidelines. <BR /> <BR />With Paul in the leadership role in the First Minister's office, I believe that we will win, not just for unionism but for everyone. We will make this place that we call home, Northern Ireland, a better place, and a better place for everyone. I stand, today, privileged to nominate Paul Givan MLA to the role of First Minister of Northern Ireland.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just over 20 years ago, a schoolboy came into my office to find out more about politics. He was different from others who came in, with his eagerness and hunger to get involved in politics. Over the years, I mentored him. I brought him into Lisburn City Council at the age of 23 and, in 2010, into the Assembly at the age of 28. Over those years, I have watched that young man mature from a schoolboy into the politician that he is today. <BR /> <BR />I am proud to nominate today, not with a precondition from Sinn Féin but with a brand of confident unionism that is capable of recognising wins and even recognising those things that do not do us demonstrable harm.”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The resignation of the First Minister has taken place today, and the appointment of a new First Minister is critical to the Assembly. I wish to make it clear that I am ready to nominate a First Minister at the earliest opportunity, and I encourage that to happen. It is important that we respect each other's mandates. In order to deal with important COVID issues, the Executive can meet on Thursday only if we have a First Minister and deputy First Minister. There cannot be a North/South Ministerial Council meeting on Friday without a First Minister and deputy First Minister. Time is of the essence in getting this work done. I encourage you, Speaker, to ensure that that is the case.”
“I cannot give way. That was noted by the Speaker. <BR /> <BR />There is legislation on health reform that needs to be carried out. If Sinn Féin is for real — you brought this forward today. I have given the apology. Let us hear your apology for your actions during the Storey funeral. Let us see you commit to actually tackling waiting lists, and let us see you commit to actually dealing with COVID-19 and not use one particular issue, on its own, to bring down this Chamber and its work for political purposes alone and to ensure that you can max out the benefits for Sinn Féin, no matter what harm you do to the Northern Ireland public.”
“Is it going to care about the 335,000 people — is Mr Gildernew going to care — on a waiting list which continues to grow? Are you going to ignore that? Are you going to deal with that? Are you going to walk away from this Assembly for political purposes?”
“We need Sinn Féin to demonstrate to the Northern Ireland public that it cares and apologises. <BR /> <BR />Added to that, we have an issue to resolve over the next number of days around our next steps in response to COVID-19. Those will not be dealt with on Thursday if a deputy First Minister is not in place. The question for Sinn Féin is whether a deputy First Minister is going to be in place. I will be putting forward a First Minister at the earliest opportunity so that we can deal with those issues. <BR /> <BR />There is the issue of the delta variant, and the concerns coming from the Chief Medical Officer and others about the number of people who have the delta variant. The question is this: is Sinn Féin going to do anything about that? Is it going to collapse the Assembly and not care about the health of the public?”
“I want to make it absolutely clear that what happened in the Europa Hotel was wrong. The Member of Parliament who was caught up in it was wrong in what he did. I welcome the fact that he apologised very quickly for what happened and is, therefore, seeking to put things right. I sincerely wish that Sinn Féin had apologised for its actions at the Bobby Storey funeral, where a far greater action took place, with a far greater demonstration of criticising the procedures that were put in place. Sinn Féin actually went out and defied the law and flew in the face of the law, and the deputy First Minister has yet to apologise. <BR /> <BR />I am very clear that we apologise on behalf of the DUP for the things that are done wrong, and I am happy to do that, as was the individual.”
“I also believe that Arlene will have a role in public life yet again and that, in that role, she will again deliver very powerfully.”
“I believe that history will be very kind to Arlene. It should be kind to her, because she has done a considerable amount of work to ensure that we move forward. Even after the difficult times of 2017, with the collapse of devolution, the commitment was always there to ensure that we could get back together again, we could take people forward again and the public had this place for us to make decisions on their behalf. How important that was as COVID came in, which we did not anticipate. We could not have done without the Assembly and the Executive taking us through the period of COVID. It was therefore critical that that happened, and she drove it throughout. <BR /> <BR />As we move forward, I believe that there will be new opportunities.”
“For Arlene, I believe, ensuring that we have peace and a way of working with each other in Northern Ireland was a powerful part of what she sought to ensure in her politics, and it led her to work with people who would have been regarded as enemies. <BR /> <BR />Over the course of her career — she has had a hugely successful career — she spent many years working on the economy. Week after week, job announcements were going out in the local media. Considerable work was carried out to ensure that people in Northern Ireland had better opportunities in life through those job opportunities, and she drove that forward in a very powerful way.”
“I thank our outgoing First Minister, the Rt Hon Arlene Foster MLA, for her very considered and, indeed, powerful speech this afternoon. Arlene and I have worked together since 2003, and we have had much common ground over those years. Arlene is a unionist, and she is also a devolutionist. I believe that has, largely, been built on the fact that she and her family came through troubled times. She, like me, is a child of the Troubles, and we had a similar circumstance in that the Troubles visited our homes. Thankfully, in both instances, there was no loss of life, unlike what happened to others, but nonetheless it had a powerful impact on each of us.”
“Thank you, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, business as usual for many farmers will not be an option. The future is about deliverable food and environmental outcomes.”
“It is also important to say that I see a better role for succession planning.”
“I see a role for coupled support, targeting, in particular, suckler cow and breeding ewe producers. We need to explore how coupled support can be designed to better drive economic and environmental performance. I am also keen to examine how genetics and a livestock data programme can be embedded in that to improve the economic and environmental performance of our grazing livestock. <BR /> <BR />We need to expand investment and knowledge tools to support better nutrient management and reductions in carbon, ammonia and nitrates emissions. We need to explore the possibilities of encouraging the farming of carbon through a range of measures, including land management techniques and increased woodland planting. <BR /> <BR />There is also a need for continuing professional development, which is absolutely vital in farming as we move forward.”
“We have the opportunity to create a new approach where management of the environment becomes a profit centre in the farm business rather than a cost centre. That offers a way forward where better economic and environmental performance are the two inseparable goals of any farm business. Farmers should be able to compete with imports on a level playing field when it comes to environmental, animal welfare or, indeed, labour standards. It is absolutely critical that any future trade deal reflects those important issues. <BR /> <BR />As we look to the shape of the future support regime, I see a role for a simplified area-based support safety net that is set a level that does not blunt innovation or productivity. It should embrace some of the recommendations of the sustainable land management strategy.”
“Schemes and support are needed to help farmers to develop their businesses no matter what they farm, become more efficient and maximise the sustainable returns that they achieve from the assets at their disposal. Those assets include the environmental assets on the farm. I believe that farms, especially those on hills and in other disadvantaged areas, are well placed to play a major role in delivering more of the environmental outcomes that people who live in Northern Ireland want and that we owe to future generations. Farmers should be properly rewarded for delivering those environmental outcomes. <BR /> <BR />We will work with farmers, land managers and environmental stakeholders to co-design a new approach to agrienvironment measures that is focused on delivering outcomes and a lasting legacy.”
“We want to help the farm sector to be the best across four areas and to be an industry that pursues increased productivity; is environmentally sustainable; displays improved resilience; and operates in a fully functional supply chain. Nature-friendly farming is central to that. Future policy must allow farmers to have the best possible tools at their disposal to deliver on environmental outcomes. <BR /> <BR />The ability to develop our own local policies opens the way to create a new dynamic for key stakeholders across the food, agriculture and environmental spectrum and to work with the Northern Ireland Government to chart a new way forward with common purpose. As we go forward, I want to devise support schemes that provide opportunities for all Northern Ireland's farmers.”
“<BR /> <BR />I will make a few specific comments on future farming policy. In the past, EU CAP payments have been vital to sustaining the industry in Northern Ireland and underpinning its competitive trading position. That support must continue now that we have left the European Union. The expectations that are being placed on farmers are increasing, and we must ensure that the public goods that are provided are adequately financed. We all agree that we need to do more. However, to achieve that, we must recognise the need for additional funding in line with the delivery of additional outcomes. Previously, I have shared with the House my vision for the future of agriculture.”
“I also recognise the key role that the food supply chain's primary agricultural production and food waste will have to play in reducing carbon emissions. The prevention and reduction of food waste across the food supply chain is a key area of focus for DAERA as we move towards achieving ambitious targets for carbon reduction and recycling. Resource efficiency must be a key objective in driving better economic and environmental outputs. Input use should be minimised, recycling maximised and waste streams dealt with sustainably. Innovation and technological advances must be part of the solution. Legislation and regulation must keep pace with technological advances. At times, outdated or narrowly defined regulatory frameworks hinder the adoption of new thinking and innovation that can deliver efficiency and environmental gains.”
“Blanket bog is being managed and monitored for reservoir quality services and flood alleviation through partnership projects, and re-wetting programmes have now started. <BR /> <BR />As I have said many times in the House, Northern Ireland now has a unique opportunity to redefine its agricultural policy for the first time in 50 years and to develop a framework that is better suited to local needs and will underpin long-term sustainability in the industry. Any future agriculture regime must promote productive, efficient practices through greater innovation and capacity. As we move forward, we must join up our environmental ambitions with farm economic activity. We need to invest time, money and effort in recreating and redefining our support schemes and tools.”
“That includes a constructed wetland scheme and artificial wetland, which acts in a similar manner to the biofiltration action of natural wetlands, and all mitigating measures to minimise the impact of ammonia on nearby habitats are demonstrated in its buildings and the management of its animal manures. <BR /> <BR />The hill farm centre is focused on biodiversity, where the upland habitat is managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services in tandem with sustainable livestock reduction, grazing management of appropriate suckler and sheep enterprises, and predator control programmes are used to demonstrate positive habitat management and have led to significant improvements for blanket bog vegetation, hen harriers, red grouse, breeding waders and the Irish hare.”
“CAFRE is independently verified as having achieved LEAF accreditation since 2006, and the LEAF principle of integrated farm management is a whole-farm approach to sustainable farming that enriches the environment and engages the local community. It reaches into all aspects of farming and includes the areas of soil health and fertility, crop health and protection, pollution control, resource use and efficiency, animal husbandry, energy efficiency, water management and nature conservation, as well as community engagement. Each of the farm centres at CAFRE demonstrates the broad spectrum of environmental technologies, with the dairy centre showing the industry nutrient management practice to minimise the loss of nutrients to water and air.”
“In addition, group projects fund external facilitators to provide farmers with additional advisory support. Currently, more than 500 farmers are supported in five EFS group projects targeting environmentally designated land, water quality, priority habitat and species in specific areas. <BR /> <BR />I firmly believe that education is critical to improving the future performance, sustainability and resilience of the agri-food industry. The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) continues to deliver knowledge transfer, innovation and technology transfer programmes. In the DAERA estate itself, CAFRE is an exemplar of the promotion and demonstration of sustainable productivity and resilience. CAFRE's estate's primary measure of sustainability is through its linking environment and farming (LEAF) marque accreditation.”
“Whatever that target is, it will mean a radical change for our economy towards a more economically and environmentally sustainable model that is based on innovation, the recognition of the true value of the environment and the development of our people so that they can drive that new economy. <BR /> <BR />My Department has been incentivising and will continue to incentivise environmental sustainability. My Department currently offers a range of support measures aimed at delivering nature-friendly farming. The environmental farming scheme (EFS) aims to protect and enhance biodiversity and water quality, mitigate climate change and sequester carbon. After four annual intake tranches, 5,000 farmers are participating in the scheme across around 55,000 hectares of land.”
“<BR /> <BR />As many outlined during the debate, the sector is no less important to the health of our local environment, our air quality, water quality, biodiversity, soil health and landscape, all of which are heavily influenced by agriculture. We have to accept that that influence is not always positive, but the important point is that it can be positive going forward, and we will address our environmental challenges only if agriculture and farmers are part of the solution. <BR /> <BR />The UK Government are committed to the whole of the UK achieving net zero carbon by 2050, and we are debating Northern Ireland's fair contribution to achieving that goal.”
“The annual farm-gate value of our industry is over £2 billion. It produces enough to meet the dietary protein requirements of 10 million people. We want to feed the world; Ms Bailey wants to starve the world. <BR /> <BR />When you add that significant food processing sector to the fact that the majority of what we produce and process is sold outside Northern Ireland, you begin to appreciate how important our agri-food industry is not only to our economy but to our customers in Great Britain and elsewhere. The importance of the agri-food sector has been highlighted throughout the COVID pandemic, which reinforced the importance of resilient supply chains and the tremendous work that our farmers, in particular, do.”
“As I made my way to the Chamber, I passed the statue of Lord Craigavon. I thought about how it is a wonderful privilege to be here debating this issue, as a leader in unionism, 100 years after the first sitting of the Northern Ireland Parliament and how it is a great opportunity to carry on the tradition of unionism, even after those 100 years have passed. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the debate, as it provides me with the opportunity to assure the House that I am committed to ensuring that, moving forward, we have an agriculture policy that enables the transition to profitable, sustainable farming, continues to provide nutritious food, increases farm business resilience and delivers the environmental outcomes to which we all aspire. I do not recognise the agriculture in Northern Ireland that Ms Bailey has just talked about.”
“I hope that the Department of Justice will find a way of working with us — there is, perhaps, a greater willingness than there was — to ensure that, first, we can identify people who engage in animal cruelty and, secondly, ensure that people who engage in it do not have the opportunity to persist in their activities by being allowed to keep animals in the future.”
“I am very keen to see these laws progressed, and I am very keen to get to a situation in which people who have been cruel to animals have their names associated with that cruelty. Then, when councils are looking at applications for dog licences or for people to keep dogs, they can very quickly assess whether individuals are suitable people to keep animals. <BR /> <BR />We seem to have issues with the Department of Justice and the sharing of information. I believe that, if people have engaged in criminal activities that involve cruelty to animals, there should be no hiding place for them.”
“The Justice Minister and I met earlier this month to discuss that very issue.”
“Yes, and that is one of the reasons why I am opposed to the Climate Change Bill that your party supports. It had not gone through a rural needs assessment before coming to the House. Despite that, your party supports the Bill.”
“Our food processing sector continues to grow, and we are delighted to support it in so many ways. I have just launched a significant investment in the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). The greater part of that investment, some £43 million for the Loughry campus in Cookstown, is in food processing. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that rural communities do not suffer as a consequence of not having the same opportunities. DAERA is contributing to Project Stratum some £15 million of the overall package of £200 million, and that has been delivered as a result of the confidence-and-supply deal done by the Democratic Unionist Party. That will help to ensure that people in rural communities are not disadvantaged, and it will show that we care about them.”
“— to stand up and say, "We do not want this protocol either".”
“<BR /> <BR />Therefore, I will continue to press the UK Government hard on the issues that are at stake here, and I have the benefit of knowing that the case is unarguable — this protocol is bad for Northern Ireland. The people who previously called for the rigorous implementation of the protocol have gone very quiet about seeking its rigorous implementation. Not too many in the SDLP, Sinn Féin or the Alliance Party now call for rigorous implementation. People are recognising the harm that they have done. We now need those people —”
“That is why I have repeatedly said in the Assembly that the protocol will hurt every single individual in Northern Ireland, whether they are consumers who are affected by the costs in shops being driven up, consumers who are told, "We do not supply to Northern Ireland any more, because it is too small a market and there are too many complications", or consumers who need healthcare and the use of medical devices that our health service will not be able to provide because of an ill-thought-out protocol that is doing fundamental damage to every single person in Northern Ireland and that will continue to do fundamental damage to every single person in Northern Ireland if it remains unchecked.”
“One of the wrongs that the European Union demands of us is to pass all those costs on to businesses. Of course, when the grace period ends, those costs will spiral considerably, because we will move to what the Department suggests will be some 15,000 checks per week, which is considerably greater than what we do currently. Those costs will absolutely spiral. Meanwhile, the European Union says that we need to pass those costs on to businesses. Do you know who pays when we pass the costs on to businesses? The consumers.”
“I am happy to do that. We have developed, since June 2020, the costs over the last year. The cost for vets, including managers, is £5,271,696. The cost for the other ancillary staff provided by DAERA is £6,324,902. The cost of the environmental health officers and ancillary staff provided by the councils is £12,848,034. That brings us to a total of £24,444,632.”
“In order to fix those relations, however, we need reassurances that we will get somewhere considerably better than where we are currently with the protocol.”
“<BR /> <BR />Relations between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have never been worse, however, because the Republic of Ireland, when it was led by Mr Varadkar and Mr Coveney in particular, sought to create barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, which is our main trading partner. As a consequence, every home is being damaged, and, on the Executive's papers, there are red boxes for health. We are in the red zone in every area of health, including for medical devices and medicines. We were put in that zone as a result of the protocol, which was very heavily driven by the former Taoiseach and Tánaiste. Relations between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are very bad, and they need to be fixed.”