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Mr Conor Murphy: Assembly records
All of Mr Conor Murphy’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not qualifying, uncertain or not yet analysed.
We have been quite relaxed about how councils and local partners come together for this work. The only thing that we have specified is that there has to be a genuine partnership. You are right that the LMPs have very similar functions to LEPs. If councils wish to have some kind of arrangement between those bodies, to…
We are in dialogue with councils to ensure that those plans are worked through and understood clearly by everybody, that whatever measures are needed to make sure that they can function are there and that we do so at pace, because we want to see the local economic partnerships up and running by the new financial year.…
From the challenges that we have in making sure that projects get moving, the impact of 10 or 12 years of austerity Budgets is very clear, particularly the impact on Northern Ireland Water and the work that it needs to do to ensure that land is fit for development. Of course, the Minister for Infrastructure will…
The Utility Regulator and anyone else has to make sure that, whatever position they take on costs, it is done in a way that is sustainable and has an evidence base to support it. I look forward to engaging with the Utility Regulator on a range of those matters. As I said, we want to improve connectivity and the…
As I said, the full impact will take time to become clear. I have acknowledged the benefits to workers from increases in the national minimum wage and the national living wage, but there are challenges, particularly with the cost of energy. I am aware of particular concerns raised by the hospitality sector about the…
I do not have that information to hand, but I am very happy to correspond with the Member to provide it, if there is up-to-date information and if that information attributes the causation of somebody's insolvency to how the Budget has left them. I support the idea of giving poorly paid workers more wages, but the…
A Cheann Comhairle , with your permission, I will take questions 7 and 8 together. The Budget contained a range of announcements that affect local businesses in a variety of ways, depending on the characteristics of each individual business, including its size, location, which sector it operates in and how it chooses…
That is my clear intention. As I said, it is an injustice that that particular nettle has not been grasped before in the way in which it is currently being grasped. I am pleased to be able to do that in the position that I am now in and to work with other Departments that share my commitment to addressing the issue. I…
That is our ambition. I am sure that all of us, through our constituency duties, have represented people who have fallen off the edge of the system and no longer get support post 19. I have committed to trying to address that in my Department, because we have responsibility for further and higher education and skills,…
The employment rights Bill consultation sought views on enhancing flexible working rights. Flexible working is an agreed way of meeting the needs of an employer and an employee through alternative approaches to working. It can enable those with caring responsibilities, disabilities or long-term health needs to access…
It will be challenging, because the legislation is complex and crosses a number of Departments, and we have only two years left in the mandate. I have to be realistic. I have always said that, if it requires legislation, we should legislate to make sure that the provision is protected. It is an injustice that people…
It is vital that every young person in our society is supported to achieve and flourish. Improving support for young people with special educational needs is a priority in my Department's business plan and the Executive's draft Programme for Government. My officials are scoping the existing skills and training…
The Invest NI land strategy plan is not just about looking outside the greater Belfast area. We remain committed to growing the economy inside the greater Belfast area; we just want to do more to address regional imbalance beyond that. The land strategy will look at the location of strategic land. Of course, if we…
We have set an overall target of 65% for growth outside the Belfast area. The local economic partnerships will drill down region by region to see how that economic growth is to be promoted, what the ambitions are and what targets are required. Invest NI is reorientating its regional presence to make sure that it works…
The energy — sorry, I am back at the previous question. The land strategy that has been developed by Invest NI will be significant in supporting regional balance, because, if we are to encourage development and growth across all areas in the North, we need to ensure that land is available on which to do that. Last…
Invest NI holds 126 acres of land across four business parks in the East Derry constituency, with two sites located in Coleraine and two in Limavady. A total of 57 acres of that land remains available to support new investment, with the remainder having been sold and developed in support of business investment.
As I said, the Department's energy team sits jointly on a number of bodies with DFC. We give advice on the energy strategy, which will also inform the housing supply strategy from DFC. The energy strategy will very much focus on renewables and on ensuring that we have security and stability in our energy prices, as we…
My Department continues to work closely alongside the Utility Regulator and the Consumer Council to ensure that energy is affordable for all customers. We meet the price-controlled energy suppliers for natural gas and electricity to review tariffs quarterly. That is part of the Utility Regulator's regulatory processes…
Our senior officials sit on the fuel poverty strategy board as well as the housing supply strategy board. We are encouraging the move away from fossil fuels. Not only does it make good economic sense, but it will be a key part of our targets for reducing carbon emissions. We will continue to engage. I met Minister…
I will answer the second question first. Of course, we will look at that. A significant project relating to warm homes is being brought forward by the incoming British Government. I had correspondence on that recently and wrote back to the Minister responsible for it to see whether any synergies could be made there. I…
DFC takes the lead on the fuel poverty strategy. However, the actions that will deliver change sit across government. Therefore, we have collective responsibility to support the people who are worst impacted on by fuel poverty. My Department has several areas of policy responsibility that can positively influence fuel…
The MOD consultation response came in very late in the process. There was a period of, perhaps, nine months in which no issue was raised by the MOD. When the project was about to move on, it suddenly came in with objections. I have raised that with British Ministers in Whitehall and asked them to expedite the matter…
Interconnection, wherever it comes from — of course, there is a North/South interconnector and another one in the planning system — gives more security of supply and also gives more opportunity for competitive prices. That can come from any direction. Ultimately, if we want to get to security of supply and security…
I had conversations on all renewable sources, including tidal energy, with Eamon Ryan when he was the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. He will no longer be the Minister. I am happy to pick that up with the incoming Minister. I have to say that, in the areas that we have been prioritising,…
I assure him that we are moving as fast as we can. We recognise that security of energy supply and our focus on having an energy supply that is not reliant on fossil fuels is critical not just for CO2 targets and carbon reduction targets but for the security of supply for our businesses and homes right across the…