Analysis in progress: 70,137 of 97,616 records assessed (71.8%). Totals and rankings will change until it finishes. Progress details
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.
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. With your permission, I wish to make a statement, in compliance with section 52 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, on a meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in trade and business development sectoral format. The meeting was held in Armagh on 23 October…
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I thank Members for their contributions to today's debate and thank the Economy Committee for its engagement with officials. There seems to be a strong view in the House that the regulations should not go ahead, and so be it. The uplifted tariff was an attempt to give some…
I beg to move I seek the Assembly's approval of the draft Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024. The 'New Decade, New Approach' document, which was published in 2020, states: "RHI will be closed down and replaced by a scheme that effectively cuts carbon emissions." The current…
If she had listened to my previous answers, she would find that I have done so directly. I am happy to repeat it for her so that she can understand. I apologise for not engaging in all the facts in relation to the due diligence issues that we talked about in some of the interviews. Had I known all the facts, I…
First, the foundation has not been slurred by me. Secondly, although a person was informed, we learned of that only last Thursday. The party leadership, which was responsible for dealing with Mr McMonagle, was not aware of his movements, engagements or employment after he was suspended from our party. We were not…
As I said, the university has autonomy. It may well be the case that your colleague beside you on the Committee invites it up here to have a discussion about the issue. The Department is not involved in the university's recruitment processes. I am very happy to ask questions and seek information from the university,…
The university is an autonomous body when it comes to its appointments and recruitment. That question has been sent to me in written form, and the response that was delivered to people is that that is the university's responsibility. I saw a public statement somewhere in which it outlined the appointments process for…
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council intends to write to me shortly to set out how it believes that any underspend could be utilised. On the basis of discussion with council officials, it is anticipated that it will suggest that the money be reallocated elsewhere, such as some being reallocated to the Department…
The total amount allocated to the Department for the Economy for flood support is £9·7 million. That includes £1·1 million for the £7,500 flood support scheme and up to £8·6 million to cover costs associated with the enhanced flood support scheme, business hardship schemes and the reimbursement of council clean-up…
As I said, I offered an opinion. That opinion has been corrected by the Chief Constable's view that, if someone had information — it is very clear that I did not, nor did my party leadership — it would not be inappropriate to pass it on to a subsequent potential employer. I am very happy for that to be corrected. If…
As I said in response to a previous question, had you listened to the full interview, you would understand that I made it clear that I had no information about Mr McMonagle. I then went on to have a theoretical discussion with the journalist about what the responsibility of an employing organisation would be in those…
We have a careers advisory council, so all those matters are interlinked. Business organisations and people with senior business experience are involved in that council. Ongoing contact on careers between ourselves, businesses, trade unions and others is critical, because we have a very fast-moving and growing…
Sorry, I beg your pardon. I picked you up wrong. The Minister of Education and I agreed, at the first Executive meeting following the restoration of the Assembly, I think, on the importance of developing consistent careers advice. We have worked together on that, and continue to do so, and are making substantial…
I have made a commitment, in my previous ministerial posts and, certainly, in this one, to co-design as it is the best way to develop policy, be it on employment rights, with the trade unions and business organisations, or any of the areas in which we are trying to develop and grow the economy. That is why we set up a…
The Member may be aware that the consultation closed on 30 September. We had 192 responses to the consultation, which is quite significant. As I am sure that the Member is aware, we did a lot of pre-consultation, as well as the consultation during the process, and will continue the dialogue with those organisations,…
My party will certainly conduct an inquiry into the processes that were applied, and we will seek outside assistance on that. I have to say that this matter is not unique to my party. Your party had issues with a councillor in South Down, which brought it into conflict with Rape Crisis when it refused to suspend him…
First, had you listened to the interview in full, you would have heard me say, on a number of occasions, that my party had no information on Mr McMonagle's whereabouts beyond the time when we suspended him, so I was not, in fact, in a position to advise the British Heart Foundation on his employment. The party…
To date, £152 million has been committed to the Magee campus expansion. That includes £38 million from the Shared Island Fund for a new teaching block and investments from city deals, the Inclusive Future Fund and Ulster University's own reserves. Additionally, my Department's 2024-25 budget included £4 million in…
The commitment to 10,000 students at Magee is now part of the draft Programme for Government, which means that it is a whole-Executive commitment. As I said, it is my intention to raise the report and the asks within it with Executive colleagues and to ask that they engage. A lot of departmental officials are already…
The interim report emphasises the need for a coordinated, cross-government approach to achieve the expansion of Magee. It identifies asks for various Departments, and I have written to my Executive colleagues to secure their commitment to achieving those. Progress is being made on the asks. For example, I recently…
Part of the work that is being developed now is a consequence of the Lyons report on Invest NI, which found that it was much too Belfast-centric. It needed a stronger and more dynamic regional presence. Critical to that are the personnel that Invest NI has in its office and what they will do. That is the discussion…
We will work through the detail in the time ahead. I have not been very specific, other than to say to councils that it has to be a genuine partnership. It is therefore not just money to supplement what councils had already intended to spend. We anticipate and expect people who have an economic input in local areas to…
Regional balance is a commitment in the draft Programme for Government. In line with that commitment, I announced a new approach to regional economic development last week. Invest NI subsequently launched its business strategy for consultation. In the strategy, the new regional operating model is prioritised. The…
As the Member will know, I introduced that when I was Minister of Finance. It sits at 10%, with the intent to move it to 20% in due course. From conversations with the current Minister of Finance, I understand that she is looking very closely at that. We want to ensure that the sector is ready to engage with that…