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.”
The complete record
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 53 of 71.
“The Environment Fund strategic strand supports the delivery of priority environmental outcomes across Northern Ireland. The strategic strand is a three- to four-year programme that began in 2019-2020. Its scope cannot be widened. Additional Environment Fund challenge fund competitions may be operated throughout the year to support environmental priorities being delivered by not-for-profit organisations and councils.”
“There are many opportunities to which farmers are applying themselves. We need to work to ensure that we can continue to improve farm practices, which have changed dramatically over the last 40 years. I believe that there will be significant changes going forward. However, the farming community are up for those changes.”
“Moreover, the environmental farming scheme supports carbon-friendly practices, including maintaining and establishing native woodland, hedgerows, agroforestry and peatland restoration. I am confident that farmers will continue to participate positively in those initiatives and help put sustainability at the heart of our living, working, active landscape.”
“Emerging evidence indicates that managed grasslands continue to sequester carbon after 47 years and that sequestration rates are enhanced where cattle slurry is applied, which is a common practice on farms in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) is delivering advice to farmers through various channels, including the new environmental business development groups programme, which focuses on sustainable farm systems and helps farmers identify carbon-reduction measures and how to increase their farm's carbon sequestration. <BR /> <BR />Forest Service is leading on the Forests for our Future programme, which aims to create 9,000 hectares of new woodland by 2030. It plans to open a new, stand-alone small woodland grant scheme to help farmers integrate woodland on their farms.”
“<BR /> <BR />Alongside their vital role in producing nutritious food, farmers can play a crucial role in further enhancing carbon stocks by proactively adopting practices that conserve our pastures and increase farm woodland and hedgerows; by maintaining and restoring our peatlands; and by applying only nutrients that meet the crops' needs. My Department will continue to assist farmers to adopt low-carbon farming practices through scientific research, knowledge transfer and farm support schemes. <BR /> <BR />Among the body of scientific research is work to account more accurately for the amount of carbon stored and sequestered in our grassland soils.”
“Although agricultural is currently the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Northern Ireland inventory, the farmed landscape also contains important sinks for carbon in soils, peatlands, forestry, hedgerows and farm trees. The ability of our farmed landscape to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store carbon in soils and vegetation places farmers, as our primary land managers, at the forefront of efforts to offset local GHG emissions and contribute to the UK's net-zero-by-2050 ambition.”
“There is a series of means of dealing with cases. Some will involve the issuing of warning letters. Some will involve automatic fines from the NIEA. Some will involve seizing property, equipment and so on. Some cases will go to court. When the NIEA takes someone to court, it always seeks to recover costs. The fine is a matter for the judge sitting on the day. We encourage judges to implement fines that reflect the nature of the event. The public very often do not believe that that has been the case. It is a matter for the judiciary, however.”
“My Department's Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has 413 reportable active investigations into alleged environmental offending. The cases are all at various stages of consideration and cover purported waste, water and natural environment criminality.”
“The first issue is to get the current Environment Bill through and to secure environmental protections. Thereafter, it is for either me or another Member of the Assembly to bring forward further legislation, as and when required, that can enhance our support for having good environmental practice in Northern Ireland.”
“The Environment Bill, alongside existing environmental legislation, provides a basis for continued environmental protection and improvement in Northern Ireland. Making such protection temporary or contingent upon something that the Assembly may or may not agree at an unspecified point in the future in the challenging circumstances that we face at the moment is not, I believe, the best way to safeguard the environment. I appreciate that some people may have proposals that differ from what is in the Bill. If these are put forward, I will be happy to consider them in the future, and the Assembly will be free to make whatever changes it sees fit. However, if the Bill does not go forward, the result will be a loss of existing environmental safeguards.”
“We have 23 organisations funded under the multi-year strategic strand, and they have been offered funding totalling just over £2·2 million in 2020-21. Additional in-year funding may be offered to these organisations if additional budget becomes available later in the year. We also have a capital environment challenge fund competition, and it is for £650,000. So, close to £3 million of support is being offered to these organisations, which is of great assistance to them in the work that they do.”
“The environment fund multi-year strategic strand supports the delivery of priority environmental outcomes across Northern Ireland by environmental non-governmental organisations and councils. Funded organisations have always been able to request quarterly payment in advance where they have identified a need for this. To assist with the impacts of COVID-19, grant recipients were issued with emails in May, reminding them of this option and asking them whether they wish to seek any amendments to their current 2020-21 environment fund grant.”
“Therefore, properly monitoring and providing the appropriate facilities for the public to go and enjoy days out will be ever more important.”
“Absolutely. We have been engaging with local authorities, and I was recently up in south Tyrone to open a park in that area. Excellent work has been done by the local council. Hillsborough Forest park, for example, is now the responsibility of the local authority there, and it has spent a lot of money ensuring that the paths are all suitable for people with disabilities and for families with children in prams and so forth. That is excellent work, and we want to do more of that. We want to continue to work with local authorities and others to develop our parks, to develop our great outdoors and to encourage people to go out and enjoy the wonderful facilities and assets that we have here in Northern Ireland. I suppose that people are probably not going on holidays this year, so staycations will be all the more important.”
“With over 7·3 million visits per annum to the estate managed by my Department, it is, unfortunately, inevitable that some level of antisocial behaviour will occur periodically. To prevent antisocial behaviour from occurring, my staff monitor sites through regular routine patrols, which, in combination with visitor feedback and reports, allow for appropriate action to be taken where issues may be arising. Information is fed back to the PSNI as necessary to help to target problem sites. I would like to praise my officials for dealing with such issues in circumstances that are often difficult and challenging and, in particular, for dealing with the large volume of litter left behind in preparing those sites for public use.”
“Messaging was issued encouraging social and environmental responsibilities during these difficult times, but, unfortunately, some people are hard to get through to.”
“At this time, many people value the opportunity to get out and enjoy the peace and mental well-being offered by nature, and such selfish behaviour by some ruins the experience for others. The images and videos circulated on social media of antisocial behaviour at some sites, such as Crawfordsburn and Helen’s Bay, were of great concern to me and, I am sure, my Executive colleagues.”
“The PSNI has been very supportive and proactive to date, and I express my thanks for their service on that point. <BR /> <BR />The reopening of car parks at rural amenity sites coincided with a period of good weather and an easing of social restrictions. Unfortunately, antisocial behaviour occurred at a number of sites and beauty spots; in particular, there were large gatherings, consumption of alcohol and littering. Those issues were, unfortunately, not unique to one area. Issues were reported on a number of beaches, in the Mournes and at other scenic locations. I am disappointed by those who behaved in such an irresponsible manner through their lack of adherence to social responsibilities and their disregard for our environment.”
“My Department has management oversight of over 190 forest parks, country parks and nature reserves, in addition to a large public angling estate across Northern Ireland. Rural amenity sites also comprise lands owned and managed by a number of other organisations, including councils, Northern Ireland Water and environmental organisations. My Department can put measures in place to prevent antisocial behaviour at sites under our direct management only. <BR /> <BR />Since the early stages of COVID-19 restrictions, my officials have engaged with the PSNI on an ongoing basis. Where antisocial behaviour becomes apparent at one of the sites that my Department manages, my officials will, where necessary, request the attendance of the PSNI.”
“I hope that, going forward, there will be less pressure on transportation in general as a consequence of that, but I recognise that public transport has a significant problem, going forward, in that people will not feel as comfortable as they did to sit beside a stranger on a bus or train.”
“Those issues have been discussed at Executive. Certainly, there is a significant problem with people not using public transport because of fears related to COVID-19, which is entirely understandable. The upside of all of this is that many people have demonstrated that working from home can happen and works extremely well. I welcome the fact that many people are working from home and doing so productively. I hope that, going forward, firms, businesses and, indeed, government and local government will look at how they can facilitate more people working from home. That may not mean that somebody works from home five days a week, but it may mean that they work from home two or three days a week. In instances where you have a good assessment of the volume and quality of work that people do and it works, why would you not use it?”
“<BR /> <BR />Air pollution is affected by local topography and weather conditions, and concentrations of pollutants can vary in a relatively short period. Therefore continuous monitoring of air quality is needed to fully assess any real changes and their subsequent impacts. My officials will continue to monitor the data collected, and I encourage everyone to download the new Northern Ireland air app in order to receive the most up-to-date information on the quality of air across Northern Ireland.”
“My Department continually monitors the quality of air across Northern Ireland. That includes monitoring such pollutants as particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. My Department has noted that, whilst levels of nitrogen dioxide have remained lower since lockdown in 2020 than they were in previous years, the levels of particulate matter have varied considerably. On 9 April, for example, my Department issued an air pollution alert for the following day, due to the levels of particulate matter forecasted. The primary sources of particulate matter in Northern Ireland are domestic wood and coal burning and industrial combustion. Nitrogen dioxide sources include domestic and industrial combustion and road transport.”
“The period when lamb prices dipped quite badly was shorter than was the case for the beef and dairy industries. We are happy to look at all of the markets. Obviously, not all lambs that are going to slaughter are slaughtered in Northern Ireland; quite a lot are slaughtered in the Republic of Ireland and, consequently, are sold in live markets. That is an area that we will look at.”
“<BR /> <BR />The £25 million COVID support package will be targeted towards the businesses that have been hardest hit financially as a direct result of the pandemic. To that end, my officials continue to monitor the impact on all sectors, including the sheep sector, and are assessing the need for support as circumstances evolve. <BR /> <BR />It is also important to note that I am still concerned about the longer-term market for livestock and the knock-on effect that the pandemic might have on farmgate prices later in the season, when more lambs are marketed and store lambs are sold. If market developments over the coming weeks and months dictate that we need more funding, I will go back to the Executive to seek additional support.”
“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I and my officials have been in regular contact with industry representatives and stakeholders to assess its impact. I have been concerned about the serious threat to farm incomes due to falling farmgate prices in some sectors as a result of the closure of markets in food service and hospitality and the significant risk that that could pose to the existence of otherwise viable farm businesses. From factual monitoring of market data and farmgate prices, I was aware that losses had already occurred in the beef, dairy, ornamental horticulture and spring lamb production sectors. I have since become aware of other issues in the sheep sector related to the market for wool.”
“We do not need them now, so why are you trying to force them on Northern Ireland and damage Northern Ireland as a consequence?". That would give businesses some surety.”
“A lot of stability would come about if Michel Barnier would lift the nonsense of an idea that we need export certificates to go from NI to GB. The UK Government have made it clear that that is not something that they need, wish for or desire. Every party in the Chamber needs to reject Mr Barnier's suggestion that those are required, because they will be damaging to every business that exports to GB and, consequently, to their employees. Every party needs to respect the well-being of businesses and employees in Northern Ireland and say to Mr Barnier, "Export health certificates are not required for the good food that is produced in Northern Ireland and exported to Great Britain. They have not been required before, and the UK does not want them.”
“I welcome the commitments that have been made in the command paper, and my Department will continue to work with UKG and cooperate on that basis.”
“If there is no trade agreement between the UK and the EU, the implementation of the protocol becomes even more challenging. <BR /> <BR />It is my aim to ensure that the Northern Ireland protocol is implemented in a way that maximises the flow of trade and works for Northern Ireland businesses and citizens when it comes to agri-food. That means the continued importation of animal and plant products and live animals into Northern Ireland from GB and continued, unconstrained access for Northern Ireland's businesses to their key market in Great Britain. The Cabinet Office published a command paper on the UK's approach to the Northern Ireland protocol on 20 May. The paper sets out proposals on how UKG will operationalise the protocol and on how a four-point plan for the protocol will be delivered.”
“At the end of the transition period, the Ireland/Northern Ireland protocol will come into effect, whereby Northern Ireland will remain aligned to the EU on certain rules. The challenge of having a fully operational regime agreed and in place by the end of this year remains significant. <BR /> <BR />From 1 January, the greater the deviation between the UK and the EU in terms of trading arrangements, tariffs and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules, the more difficult and intrusive the protocol becomes. Therefore, one of my key priorities is for the EU and UK to agree a zero tariff and zero quota limit deal and to have maximum alignment in SPS arrangements. There is still time to achieve that, and it is in everyone's interest that we do so.”
“Obviously, the planning side of it lies with the Department for Infrastructure, and it is for it to seek further information from the developer, as and when required. I assume that it will have been requesting information as issues arise. <BR /> <BR />My Department's role has to do with the environment and marine licensing. I have stayed back from it until all the information is available and a recommendation is made to me by the experts who are looking into it.”
“I anticipate that a decision on the application for a marine construction licence for the Islandmagee gas storage project could potentially be made in autumn 2020. It should be noted that there are wider aspects to the project to be considered by other organisations that, I understand, have still to be resolved.”
“I am happy to do that. I will pass the Member's question to Minister Weir and will ask him for a response as well in following that up.”
“Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the latest official statistics showed a provisional household recycling rate of 52·3% for the 12-month rolling period up to 31 December 2019. The EU 2020 target of 50% for waste from households recycling was also met during 2019. During the last decade, the household recycling rate has increased by 15 percentage points. In order to normalise recycling behaviours post COVID and build on the momentum for recycling observed in recent years, communications and capital funding initiatives are being delivered to assist with recovery.”
“No official statistics have been published yet for household recycling rates during the pandemic, and, therefore, I cannot definitively identify whether there has been a significant impact on the household recycling rate, compared with pre-COVID figures. Provisional information for household recycling during the quarter from April to June will not be available until 20 October. Unverified information from councils and private waste companies suggests an increase in recycling at the kerbside due to more people being at home. However, there has also been a corresponding reported increase in kerbside residual waste arisings. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland is already well positioned in terms of recycling.”
“Let us get Northern Ireland back to business, and let us ensure that the markets out there get stronger once again for their product and that we do not come looking for public money to compensate people for their losses but ensure that people can do business in a profitable way. That would be the biggest success story that this Assembly could make.”
“I have worked very closely with the group of devolved Ministers on getting the food-to-go market back, for example. Mr Irwin said that one company accounts for 12% of beef sales. Another company accounts for 500,000 chickens per week. Other companies account for masses of litres of milk for the coffee houses and ice-cream parlours and so forth. It is important to get those businesses going again. It is important to get our hotels and restaurants going again, and to those parties who continue to hold back and say, "Not yet, not yet, not yet", whenever the Chief Scientific Adviser and the Chief Medical Officer say, "There is a fair degree of latitude at the minute because the R figure is low and the number of people who have COVID-19 is low", I say this: let us get on with it.”
“This is not about widespread distribution so that everybody gets a little; this is about focusing the funding to where the hit and the loss took place. All ships will rise as a result of it, and there will be benefits because, by ensuring that those people can survive COVID, those buyers will be there in the autumn time to ensure that prices hold up. That is the aim and the goal, and unless things deteriorate further, I believe it is a goal that we can achieve to ensure that we can see a year in farming that could have been considerably worse mitigated greatly as a result of us receiving this additional £25 million. <BR /> <BR />I should say one other thing. If we really want to see an uplift in agri-food prices, getting normality back into the market is critical.”
“It has hit the suckler farmers in particular", and I will be happy to push for funding. <BR /> <BR />In any event, there are beef finishers in the LFAs. The sheep that went at a loss in that period should be covered, and those farmers will be in lowland and LFA. There are dairy farmers in LFAs. All those people who have taken the hit should be given some recompense. It will not cover the loss, but it will help them to get through to the other side of COVID. It is important that the House does that. <BR /> <BR />There are some areas that are outside my Department but where I think some people have been failed, and we need to address those issues. However, within what is DAERA's responsibility, our focus must be on and our responsibility must be to the people who took the hit.”
“It is not something that should be distributed to all farmers. The consequence is that that would be where the focus would go if that is the line that I choose to take. <BR /> <BR />I will give the House this undertaking: I am happy to come back later in the year, after we have had a period of sustained poor prices over the summer and autumn time, to approach the Finance Minister again on that basis. That will feed into the upland farmers who usually, and in the main, show their animals in the autumn time in the suckled calf sales, and, if it is demonstrated then that there has been a substantial hit, I will be very happy to go to Conor Murphy and say, "This has carried on right through. The consequences of what happened as a result of COVID in the early part of this year have carried on right through to the autumn time.”
“Beef finishers were at the sharp end. They were hit with the low prices. It kicked off in January because the Chinese markets, where hides and other products dried up. For a short time the lambs were affected. This money has to be allocated on the basis of COVID-19. It has to be based on history. I cannot project forward and introduce, for example, a slaughter premium, because that would defy EU state aid rules, and I am still subservient to those. I am not at liberty to distribute to pet projects; I am constrained. <BR /> <BR />3.45 pm <BR /> <BR />UFU, NIAPA, NIMEA and the Dairy Council have all been engaging with me — I am not sure whether they have been engaging with you or you have engaged with them — and the fundamental principle coming from all of them is that this should go to the people who took the hurt.”
“The figures were produced by the Department's economists, so if he wants to query that, he can ask them. I have every confidence in the figures that I have quoted to the Member. <BR /> <BR />In March, there were 16,500 animal movements from farm to farm and there was a significant fall-off when the markets closed in April. There were 3,300 farm to market movements in April this year compared with 39,896 in April last year. Those movements recovered quite well in May: there were 34,901 movements last year compared with 32,267 in May this year. The price of store cattle in the markets has recovered very well and the market reflects that. <BR /> <BR />That is a distraction from the point that I have been making. This is not about one set of farmers against another. It is about who was impacted as a consequence of the pandemic.”
“I do not see a great divide between upland and lowland farmers; I see one community that needs to be supported and brought through the crisis.”
“Quite a few of the dairy farmers in the less-favoured areas deserve some compensation as a result of the price of their milk falling well below the cost of production. That is what this is about; it is not about upland versus lowland. That should not be the case. <BR /> <BR />It is a fact of life that when a beef finisher goes to buy cattle, he does not ask whether the calf came from an upland farm or a lowland farm. He asks whether it meets his standards and whether it is the quality of calf that he wants. He buys it at the best possible price for him and the seller sells it at the best possible price to enable that transaction to take place. The better the profitability is for the beef finisher, the better the price he pays to the breeder. The consequence of that is that the upland farmer does better when the lowland farmer does better.”
“The evidence is very clear that the lowland beef and sheep farmers will get less from the self-employed scheme than the upland farmers but the motion is focused on the upland farmers. <BR /> <BR />I want to make it very clear that I see the motion as divisive. I say to Sinn Féin's agriculture representatives that their duty is to represent all of the farming community and not just one sector. In that respect, it is our duty, as public representatives, to help those who are battling to get through to the other side of COVID-19. Consequently, the focus should be on the beef farmers who took the cattle out and took the losses over the six weeks in the meat plants. The sheep farmers who took losses over two to three weeks are the ones who should be getting the compensation.”
“<BR /> <BR />So, one can see the demands, but what I noticed today was the absence of evidence from the Members who claim that uplands farmers have suffered more than others. I have to do this on the basis of evidence. I cannot just give money out willy-nilly to any group. It has to be done based on evidence alone. As regards the evidence base, some people suggest that the upland farmers are less likely to receive money from the self-employment scheme than others. The scheme is based on the last three years, and, in 2016-17, LFA farmers got £21,352 on average and lowland farmers got £16,578. In the following year, LFA farmers got £17,725 and lowland farmers got £16, 637. In the year after that, LFA farmers got £14,368 and the lowland farmers got £12,274.”
“However, one can see that there is already a loss of at least £1·5 million. So, there is £23.5 million taken out of that money already. <BR /> <BR />Potato processors are coming forward to say that, because they were not selling to restaurants and hotels, people at that end of the market have been left with large quantities of potatoes in their cold stores. Many of them have started to sell them off at £30 a ton, instead of £170 a ton, and the consequence of that is substantial losses. <BR /> <BR />Broiler breeders have already come forward as well to indicate that there is a huge downturn in that market from Asia and the Middle East for eggs and, as a consequence, they are facing a probable £2 million loss.”
“So, that is £22 million gone. <BR /> <BR />It then goes on to point out the requirements for the horticulture sector. Those are the people who grow products for garden centres. That support is to come out of this money as well.”
“That is well based because there are 14,000 additional cattle in the system that would normally have been marketed by now but have not been.”