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Mrs Cathy Mason: Assembly records
All of Mrs Cathy Mason’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not qualifying, uncertain or not yet analysed.
First Minister, your decision to stand with the people of the Garvaghy Road in solidarity with a community that is completely opposed to an unwanted and provocative Orange Order march was a hugely important act of leadership. Do you agree that some of the language that has been used by unionist politicians in response…
The people of the Garvaghy Road have been retraumatised: forced, 28 years on, back to a place of fear, pain and uncertainty that they thought they would never face again. That pain has reached far beyond their community, reopening wounds across the North, across Ireland and resonating with people across the world. Now…
I thank the Minister for that assessment and for reinforcing the need for the British Government to adequately fund the North. Minister, you referred to this already, but do you agree that the Fiscal Council report is only the start of the conversation?
Minister, you mentioned the system failing. Can you give us an indication of how many children are counted as having a placement, but their needs cannot be met there, and they are on a reduced timetable? Do you accept that there is a suspicion out there that those children are effectively being moved off a list, and…
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I start by thanking all Members who contributed to the debate. I appreciate the consideration that has been given to the Committee's proposed amendments to the code and guide. I specifically thank the members of the Committee, the Deputy Chair, officials Shane McAteer and…
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I rise on behalf of the Committee on Standards to present its report on the proposed updates to the Assembly Members' code of conduct and the guide to the rules relating to the conduct of Members. The code sets out the minimum ethical standards expected of all Members when…
What is happening in Cardiff is significant. Right now, the First Minister of the North, Michelle O'Neill, is sitting down with the leaders of Scotland and Wales with one democratic message: our future is ours to decide. Think about how far the North has come. We now have an Irish republican First Minister. Our First…
Minister, the latest figures show that there are almost 4,000 people on the housing waiting list in South Down. Frankly, your record of delivering social housing is deeply concerning. Do you agree that delivering just 28 social homes in South Down since taking office is not good enough and represents a failure? How…
— mouths. How can you stand here and justify taking away measures that are designed to support the most vulnerable? Should you not put your efforts into creating more and better places for those children?
Minister, you mention equality for all children as what you are trying to do here, but children do not start on an equal footing. They do not all start out from the same place, and, as Education Minister, you should understand that. You know what the socially disadvantaged circumstances criterion was for. You know…
I thank the Member for that intervention. I could not agree more. On the flip side of that, in warm weather, many girls do not want to wear socks because they fear their skirt blowing up, so they choose to wear tights or shorts underneath their skirts. Therefore, on the flip side, when we experience warm weather,…
I, too, welcome the fact that this important legislation has reached its Second Stage. Like the Chair of the Committee, I thank the Committee for its hard work, and I thank the Committee Clerk, the Bill Office and the legal team for getting us to this point. It is really important, however, that we remember that the…
I thank the Member for his questions. It is good to have clarity on them. The change is not about reducing any protections, weakening democracy or limiting free speech; rather, the repeal is about modernising our procedures so that they reflect the current standards regime and the system of accountability, which…
Minister, you will be aware that flood alleviation schemes are assessed on a cost-benefit ratio which we know can be prohibitive and can prevent schemes from progressing. As we know only too well from flooding in our constituencies, in Newry and Downpatrick, such analysis does not always reflect the wider…
Does the Minister accept that his Bill targeting teachers is dead in the water, and that he will not get away with sanctioning teachers for taking part in what is lawful action?
First Minister, speaking in recent weeks about the Loughinisland massacre, in which six men were murdered while watching Ireland play Italy during the 1994 World Cup at the Heights Bar, former Police Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire stated: "For all of the litigation and for all the criticism, there hasn’t been any…
Minister, unfortunately, the announcement is not such great news for South Down and its constituents. You talked about making some progress on achieving borrowing powers for the Housing Executive. Will you expand on that? Will the Housing Executive be able to use those powers to start building houses again?
I welcome the First Minister's statement and the continued emphasis on real and practical North/South delivery, which is important. Will the First Minister provide an update on progress with the Narrow Water bridge? How will the Shared Island investment help to unlock tourism and economic potential in South Down?
What we have witnessed over the past week has been abhorrent, as, unfortunately, has been some of what we have heard in the Chamber this afternoon. Families have been terrorised, and people have been forced from and burned out of their homes in the most brutal way. Those scenes take many of us back to the past. Men,…
On your point about ChatGPT, I am sure that the many teachers who contacted me over the weekend will be deeply offended by what you have just said, because I am repeating what they said to me, including the fears and concerns that they raised. On your other point, you clearly have no respect for the democratic…
I agree with what the Member has said. On the point that the Committee Chair made, with all due respect, the House voted that it had no confidence in the Minister. I certainly have no confidence that he will change the Bill in any way, shape or form that will make it any better. I repeat: the Bill is broken not…
Unlike the Minister, I stand here today in support of our hard-working teachers and school staff, who go above and beyond every day for our children and young people, despite the growing pressures that they face. It is clear that the Bill is an attempt to intimidate and punish teachers who dare to engage in lawful…