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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Every one of 3,549 lines we hold for Edwin Poots, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 35 of 71.
“With regard to sustainable economics, does the Member have evidence to challenge what the Climate Change Committee is suggesting: that we would need to wipe out over 50% of our beef and dairy herds? Does she understand that agri-food employs 100,000 people and generates £5 billion for our economy? If we do not listen to what the Climate Change Committee is saying, we will put ourselves in a position where tens of thousands of people who work in the agri-food sector will be out of jobs. Can she give some evidence to challenge the Climate Change Committee about where these economics are coming from to sustain what she has just said?”
“It will have most impact on the farms that are less productive currently. As the Member knows, the less productive farms are those on the hills.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. It is important that we debate that issue fully because we have not had a public consultation. I have to say that it is poor form not to have had that consultation, irrespective of whether it had to be done. <BR /> <BR />With regard to mixed clover and all the issues that the Member has raised as potential abatements, I accept that and agree that they have potential. However, one of the people who are most involved in this is Dr John Gilliland. There is an invitation for the Member to visit the farm at Dowth, and I have that invitation also. Just this morning, we received a letter from Dr Gilliland expressing concern on the issue. Even the people who are at the cutting edge to which the Member has referred are concerned about the Bill.”
“Can you stand over that statement of society being "fairer for all"? The Climate Change Committee indicates a 50% reduction in dairy and a 50% reduction in beef, for example. If that happens, it will migrate what is left of that sector onto the lowlands. In that case, the hill farmers that you have referred to very often will suffer most, and they will not get fairness and equity with the Bill that is being promoted by the private Member.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Is that why you engaged in a public consultation process? Did you engage in a public consultation process? If you did, can you make us aware of it?”
“I encourage the NGOs and councils that manage those sensitive areas to get in really good applications, get funding from elsewhere and maximise the support that they get from my Department by getting support from others as well and come forward with really good schemes, so that we can continue to develop, build and enhance our environment.”
“The community response was fantastic. They recognised that the fire personnel were working extremely hard up those mountains. The food did not come just from the Newcastle area. The people of Newcastle were absolutely fantastic, but people sent provisions for the fire personnel down from Belfast and from far beyond the immediate area. <BR /> <BR />In areas with that quality heathland and those beautiful landscapes, we need to work with communities and NGOs to create opportunities. I have just announced the environmental fund, which is some £2 million.”
“Both of those lead to circumstances in which gorse gets out of hand, which leads to gorse fires.”
“There needs to be a lot of engagement with the landowners there, including the National Trust, which is a large landowner, and we need to work closely with them. An example of a place that has worked extremely well is Glenwherry Hills, where there has been close engagement with the local farming community. As a result of the work between the farming community and NGOs, we have a lot more wildlife, including species of ground-nesting birds that were under threat. Tremendous work has been done there. Good work has been done in those areas on muirburn, which is strip-burning. Consequently, we do not have the devastating damage that is caused by huge fires. <BR />The other aspect is that, by working well with local farming communities, we can ensure that there is no overgrazing or undergrazing.”
“I have no recent updates on the Shared Prosperity Fund. Unlike some, I welcome it. It is good that we are getting that investment. I will take support from the UK Government as I took it from the European Union, and we will work with them to maximise that support and dispense it fairly and equitably across rural communities where need is manifested.”
“That policy has been completed and is with me at the minute, so I imagine that, over the next couple of weeks, we will be ready to move it ahead and get it launched.”
“Yes. The applications are out there. The fishermen who fish in Lough Neagh are entitled to do so on the basis of the licence.”
“<BR /> <BR />There is much that we can do through my green growth strategy to ensure that we have a better management system for slurry so that a lot less slurry is spread in generations to come. That is my big aim. I want us to move to the anaerobic digestion of slurry materials and separation and then pelletise the phosphates as opposed to land-spreading it. We do our lidar assessments, and we do our checks of nutrients in the soil and ensure that what is applied is applied appropriately. That would be of great assistance to Lough Neagh.”
“Lough Neagh is a huge asset and, I believe, an underutilised one. I have said that from my early days of visiting Lough Neagh at Antrim or Oxford Island. I would love to see Lough Neagh more utilised. It is the largest body of fresh water in the United Kingdom. <BR /> <BR />We have tremendous opportunities from the agri-environment side to reduce pollution in Lough Neagh. It has faced problems with eutrophication in previous years, and that starving of oxygen in the water undermines what we are capable of doing on the Lough Neagh waterways. It is important that we do everything that we can to ensure that Lough Neagh has clean waterways and that the land around it is low in phosphates in particular.”
“You are the first person whom I have heard say that she does not have confidence in my commitment. That has not been expressed anywhere else. That suggests to me that your reason is more political than anything else. What I will say is that I do not need an EU directive to know the difference between right and wrong. I believe that we should be reducing the use of plastic, full stop. I do not need a bureaucrat in Brussels to tell me to do that.”
“There are some nine different pieces of plastic involved. It is our intention to roll things out considerably further and to increase the plastic bag levy, which we are doing currently. We recognise the damage that plastic does and the fact that much unrequired plastic has been used in the past. We therefore want to screen out single-use plastics from Departments and, indeed, beyond.”
“The Member mentions collective bargaining, but what is more important is individual bargaining. The truth is that it is hard to get young people who want to go out in inclement weather and work in physical conditions, and that will continue to be the case as things go forward and there are more challenges in bringing people from other countries into Northern Ireland to carry out work. The best negotiating position exists when labour is more in demand than the other way around, so people working in the farming community at this time can demand a good source of income, and get it, because, if the farmer needs them, the farmer is going to have to pay for them. It is as simple as that.”
“For years, we were told, and virtually all parties said, that we needed to reduce quangos. The Agricultural Wages Board is a quango. I have not gone back on my word on reducing quangos. Such a board does not exist in any other sector. We do not have a health wages board, an education wages board or a builders' wages board. The Agricultural Wages Board was there when agriculture wages were very low and we did not have minimum pay, and before a series of conditions on pensions, sick pay, maternity pay and paternity pay, for instance, were put in place. All those things have obviated the need for much of the work that the Agricultural Wages Board did in the past. There is therefore no point in keeping a quango when it is unnecessary.”
“In my role, I have every desire to work with colleagues in the Republic of Ireland. I do not have an issue with that at all when it is in the mutual interest of both countries. It is in the mutual interests of both countries that people in Northern Ireland do not experience the damage and impacts of the protocol. Therefore, political colleagues in the Republic of Ireland would do well to reflect on that, work with us on that and on other key issues to help Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to prosper. That is what we want.”
“With road traffic collisions on our rural roads in particular, the first people who are there are the Fire and Rescue Service, cutting people out of cars, doing spectacular work, saying very little about it and just getting on with their job. It is a very stressful job, and you are absolutely right that they need all the praise that we can give them.”
“I thank the Member for her question. What she said is entirely valid and correct. I spent time with the firefighters in the Mournes around 10 days ago. It was a devastating fire, but it was not the first. Our firefighters were out before that, have been out since and are out every year, and that does not get a media profile. The wider public do not see that because the firefighting is more localised. Well done to our firefighters. They are not only out fighting fires on the mountains but rescuing farmers who have got into trouble — for example, with slurry tanks in very dangerous circumstances. They are called out to all sorts of things around farms and in rural communities.”
“They need to pull back from that decision and ensure that Northern Ireland is treated fairly and equitably within the United Kingdom.”
“The Member welcomes doing things that reduce the impact of the protocol. I also welcome those things. We do things that help, for example, potatoes or other materials to come into Northern Ireland, but many other things are negatively impacted. Ultimately, we need to deal with the underlying problem: the protocol. Northern Ireland does not pose a threat to the European Union single market. Consequently, goods that enter Northern Ireland from Great Britain — all part of the United Kingdom single market — should not be checked because they do not pose a threat to the single market. This is a political decision, taken at the behest of the Irish Government, but it is damaging Irish people living in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />I have engaged and will continue to engage with my ministerial colleagues to explore all available options that could help to remove the protocol and its impact on Northern Ireland-GB trade. Nevertheless, responsibility on the future alignment of the UK within the EU SPS rules and the negotiation of any UK-EU veterinary agreement rests solely with the UK Government.”
“As such, I believe that we must get to a position in which we minimise the impact of these checks and then remove them entirely <BR /> <BR />Discussions are ongoing between the UK Government and the EU Commission, via the UK-EU Joint Committee, with the aim of finding what I hope will be viable solutions to a range of issues related to the Northern Ireland protocol, including SPS checks. The establishment of a common SPS area, under the terms of a potential UK-EU veterinary agreement, could assist in facilitating trade in live animals and agri-food products, which would be helpful. However, as it would not address the entirety of the rules associated with the implementation of the protocol, it cannot properly address the issue.”
“Under the terms of the withdrawal agreement, the Northern Ireland protocol and domestic legislation, Northern Ireland must continue to align with the European Union’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules. I am firmly opposed to the detrimental impact of these newly mandated rules on Northern Ireland businesses and consumers, and to the barriers that they place on the intra-UK movement of animals, goods and products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.”
“The Member is absolutely right: the value of the tourism sector and of angling in that sector is phenomenal. We need to look after it and ensure that those incidents do not take place. Sadly, they do, but we need to do everything in our power to stop them and ensure that individuals recognise their responsibilities in ensuring that they do not happen.”
“<BR /> <BR />Finally, my Department’s management of salmon stocks and its conservation measures helped to stabilise, and possibly start the recovery of, the numbers of Atlantic salmon returning to the Neagh Bann catchment to spawn. That should help to attract recreational salmon anglers to the lower Bann and increase their number.”
“My Department has an annual programme to maintain and improve infrastructure at angling waters, including the provision of disabled angling stands and improved pathways. Some of these waters are located in the lower Bann catchment, such as those at Movanagher, Portna and the Ballymoney river etc. Plans to improve the access road and fishing stands at Movanagher canal are being considered. The Department continued to stock game in public angling estate (PAE) waters throughout the COVID pandemic, as well as carrying out maintenance and improvement works at over 90 PAE waters. My officials also work closely with The Honourable The Irish Society, Waterways Ireland and many angling clubs on the lower Bann tributary rivers to improve angling and fisheries habitats in the area.”
“People need to give a bit more consideration to us all finding a way forward on climate change and carbon reduction.”
“Of course, you and your colleagues in that factory also lost your jobs, which was devastating. <BR /> <BR />It is very exciting news that 400 jobs could be created. It demonstrates that we need to be wise when it comes to the proposed climate change legislation. In Northern Ireland, agri-food is such a large sector that we can make our significant contribution to carbon reduction without annihilating it. Mark my words: taking away 50% of beef and dairy production from Northern Ireland will annihilate the agri-food sector and the rural community. If people are genuine about dealing with mental health and stress, they should think very carefully before putting their hand to something that is causing real stress in the rural community.”
“That is, indeed, a very exciting proposal, and it has been tremendous to see the agri-food sector growing over the past decade and generation. I remember dealing with farmers on the back of the Lovell and Christmas factory fire, and the devastation that it caused. It drove many people out of business at that time. I visited many of those people in those awful circumstances.”
“It is a pretty shocking pollution of that waterway, and I am absolutely appalled that it has happened. My officials are in the area seeking to assist and to mitigate, but, essentially, huge damage has been done, and it will not be rectified for years as a consequence of, almost certainly, someone not doing their job correctly. We will go through the process of identifying the person, taking them to court and ensuring that all costs are attributed to the individual who caused the pollution. However, all of that will not undo the damage that has been done. It deals with the individual responsible, but it will not undo the damage. I encourage everybody who is involved in business, agriculture or anything where there is the potential for materials to get into our waterways to take every action possible to ensure that that is not the case.”
“We have other TRPSI-funded initiatives such as the enhancement of forest parks, the development of community trails, the utilisation of school facilities for community use, the regeneration of disused historic buildings in rural communities, the access and inclusion grant-aid scheme to enhance disabled access and usage of public buildings and the continued funding for rural support networks and small-grant schemes to assist the rural community and voluntary sector. Therefore, we take these things seriously.”
“We have identified that mental health in rural areas is a considerable problem. We have identified issues such as isolation, loneliness, anxiety and financial hardship, and we are focusing on community development approaches as we seek to roll out preventative activities to address matters identified at a local level. In the December 2020 to March 2021 period, over 75,000 rural dwellers benefited from that initiative.”
“The impact on the gentleman who happens to be leading the farm is perhaps more evident, but it is also there for the lady who may be a bit in the background. We need to ensure that the support is available to every person who needs it in the rural communities. The women in our rural communities are vital to their well-being.”
“Our engagement is quite extensive across the board. Rural Support, in particular, provides a lot of support for female members of the rural population. I have to say that, on most farms, women are very often the backbone of the show. Very often, the man is seen out on the front line, but the women tend to do an awful lot of the paperwork, provide an awful lot of the supporting work and keep the show on the road. They face immense pressures as well. <BR /> <BR />Farming is a difficult business at times. There can be serious problems with cash flow. Weather conditions can cause problems. The subject of TB, which we have just concluded on, is one that causes huge mental stress as people lose substantial parts of their herds. The mental health impact of that is massive.”
“<BR /> <BR />DAERA is developing a new rural policy framework in order to shape future rural priorities. It includes draft goals to reduce loneliness and social exclusion in rural areas, minimise the impacts of rural isolation and promote the health and well-being of rural dwellers. The outworkings of that will promote positive health and well-being for farmers and, indeed, the wider rural community.”
“<BR /> <BR />The SPRING social prescribing project, which is delivered in partnership with eight rural healthy living centres, links medical care to non-clinical locally delivered support services by enabling medical professionals to refer rural patients to social prescribers and, ultimately, to a range of activities and services. Although the Department of Health has lead responsibility for mental health services, we all have a role to play across government. As well as those specific schemes that farmers can access, we are supporting a range of activities to make outdoor recreation more accessible and to encourage greater community participation and engagement. As we emerge from the challenges of COVID-19, getting people outdoors and active will greatly enhance their mental well-being.”
“The farm families health checks programme also provides support to farmers and has to date screened the physical and mental health and well-being of over 20,000 individuals, primarily farmers, farmworkers and farm family members who have attended marts and community events. <BR /> <BR />Rural Support and farm families health checks programme staff recently collaborated to create an initiative called Protecting the Asset that is You, which provides key health messages to farmers, farm families and rural communities by using social media platforms.”
“The Department's tackling rural poverty and social isolation (TRPSI) programme funds the Rural Support charity, the farm families health checks programme and the SPRING social prescribing project, which supports mental well-being in farming communities. <BR /> <BR />The Rural Support charity operates a telephone helpline and a signposting service for farmers and their families. Its experienced volunteers and mentors also meet and provide continuous support to clients on a range of issues pertaining to farming matters and mental stress. Its ongoing outreach programme is targeted at farmers and farm families in order to help strengthen farm businesses and build personal resilience.”
“Yes. That is a piece of European Parliament law that was brought forward by the European Commission. We had no role in making that legislation, and we will have no role in amending it. That demonstrates the perversity of the situation that we find ourselves in, in that we are expected to implement legislation where there has been no representation. I join the nationalists of many years ago in saying that that is wrong. We cannot have legislation without representation. That is entirely inappropriate. It has an impact on the farming community, in that farmers will be required to test at their own cost before taking their animals to a livestock mart. That will have a significant impact on those farmers.”
“Our business plan identifies all those issues. That case will be made to the Department of Finance. If we require additional money, it will be on the basis of invest to save, because, ultimately, we will be driving down the cost of TB. However, there is a course of work to be done. TVR was a useful scheme that gave us a lot of scientific evidence of the links between the wildlife and bovine populations. There are a large number of strains of TB, as we learnt that there are of COVID-19, for example. However, a range of strains exists between the wildlife and bovine populations in particular areas. The linkage is irrefutable, and therefore the evidence base for moving forward is clear.”
“Absolutely. Wildlife intervention has already happened in England and the Republic of Ireland. I have spent considerable time with veterinary scientists in both jurisdictions, and their advice is very clear: if we are to rid the wildlife population and the bovine population of TB, we have to take action in both. Up to now, we have taken action only in the bovine population, and the logic of continuing to do that, without tackling the issue at the wildlife part, does not exist. The definition of madness is to keep doing the same thing and expect different answers. Some suggest that I do that, but I am afraid I cannot. We really need to get on top of this problem, stop wasting public money and stop putting individuals through immense stress and mental health issues as a consequence of doing nothing about a long-term problem.”
“I thank the Member for the question. Bovine TB cost the Northern Ireland taxpayer some £37 million last year. It has been in and around that ballpark figure for quite a number of years now. I believe that roughly £40 million could be better spent elsewhere than on doing the same thing over and over and not actually dealing with bovine TB. <BR /> <BR />Work continues apace. The business case for the strategy is complete, and I have received final advice for my consideration. It is my intention to engage with officials, with a view to launching a consultation on the preferred way forward imminently. Once I have considered the responses to that consultation, I will finalise the strategy. I have made it clear that I wish to see the implementation of the new bTB strategy as soon as practicably possible in 2021.”
“A new bTB eradication strategy for Northern Ireland will aim to reduce, and eventually eradicate, bTB by comprehensively addressing all the recognised key factors in the maintenance and spread of the disease. My officials have completed the business case required to support the implementation of a new strategy, and I have now received final advice on a proposed way forward. That will assist me in deciding on the next steps necessary to tackle bTB in Northern Ireland. It is my intention to launch a consultation on my preferred way forward in the very near future, and I welcome the opportunity that this will provide for stakeholders and the wider public to express their views on how we can best work together to tackle this disease.”
“With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will group questions 3 and 7. <BR /> <BR />The eradication of bovine TB (bTB) is one of my top priorities. I recognise the devastating emotional and financial impact that a bTB breakdown can have on farming families across Northern Ireland.”
“I hope that the Department for the Economy and the Department of Health — this is having major implications for medicines and medical devices — will join me in taking an action against the European Union and the UK Government for the damage that they are inflicting on all the people of Northern Ireland.”
“I have indicated that I have no desire to hold that position. At every opportunity, I have raised the issue of the damage that the protocol is doing to Northern Ireland both verbally and orally. The UK Government and the European Union are aware of the harm that it causes and the significant further pain that will be inflicted as a consequence of the ending of the grace periods because it is self-evident. They know that the protocol is not fit for purpose. It was a mistake, and it must be replaced. <BR /> <BR />In January of this year, I instructed my officials to get senior counsel opinion from a top UK constitutional lawyer. On my return to office, an eminent QC was appointed and is scrutinising every aspect of the protocol. On the completion of that work, it is my intention to lodge judicial proceedings against the protocol.”
“That is a possibility, and it is for the British Government to consider it. It is also a possibility that any goods that are being consumed in Northern Ireland and any product that is coming to Northern Ireland and will remain here will have no detrimental impact on the European Union's single market. Mr Coveney, Mr Varadkar and Mr Martin could tell the European Union that that is the case and support us in getting the protocol removed.”