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Mr Gordon Lyons: Assembly records
All of Mr Gordon Lyons’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not qualifying, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I am absolutely happy to look at that. The Member will be aware that many of the services that were originally provided to people across Northern Ireland, such as schools and hospitals, came from a faith-based background. That continues today. Many churches and faith-based organisations are involved in various…
The faith-based sector plays an important role in society across Northern Ireland, and the Department works closely with faith-based organisations that are involved in delivering projects and support to communities to help address societal issues including childcare, deprivation, health and well-being and access to…
Yes. Sport NI offers its facilities at the Sports Institute in Jordanstown, in our constituency, which seeks to support national governing bodies by helping to improve individual athletes' sport performance through the provision of its science, medicine and support programmes. That includes performance management,…
I should have answered the Member's initial question fully by saying that £37,000 has been provided to individual Paralympic athletes through the athlete award programme and that, since 2020, Disability Sport Northern Ireland has received £663,502 from Sport NI. The Member asked what support we can give those who are…
I eagerly await the upcoming Paralympic Games in Paris for the opportunity to watch athletes from Northern Ireland competing on the world stage. Northern Ireland has a number of noteworthy Paralympic athletes, including Claire Taggart, who is from my constituency, and James MacSorley. Both Paralympians have…
The Member is absolutely correct to recognise that all that will, obviously, be subject to Executive agreement and a Budget being in place. Our carers do a fantastic job. In so many areas, we have people — carers who work in the voluntary and community sector — who take huge pressure off Departments. That should be…
The funding that is paid for the current mitigations, not including their implementation and delivery, is £24 million for the social sector size criteria; £2 million for the benefit cap; £122,000 for the loss of care payments; £113,000 for the time-limiting of employment and support allowance (ESA); and £354,000 for…
The Member will be aware of the independent advisory panel report on welfare mitigations. That sets out the issues and the potential costs of some of the mitigations that are in place currently. As well as that, it offers additional mitigations that could be put in place. Obviously, it is not for me to commit to any…
There certainly is evidence on the impact of the lack of mitigations in GB compared with what we have in place. It is my understanding that the number of families affected is going down. I think that will be a smaller cost to the Executive in future years. It is right and proper that we examine all the mitigations…
My Department has a statutory obligation to produce a report on the operation of existing welfare supplementary payment schemes before 31 March 2025. It will then be for the Executive to consider the next steps.
That issue is raised frequently. I know that there is a sense of unfairness about the fact that issues such as domestic abuse are not included. Protecting the most vulnerable in our society is central, and some of those who have been subject to domestic abuse, obviously, fall into that category. Under the current…
No, I am unable to provide that, because, of course, we do not have concrete evidence of exactly who has or has not been abusing that. A lot of the information we have is based on anecdotal evidence, which is not always possible to verify. The issue is raised frequently with me. I look forward to receiving the report…
Yes, that is part of the review. It is the one of the recommendations on which progress is to be made. I can give her that specific information. I am pleased that the recommendations that were agreed are moving forward at pace. I understand that some have been slower to progress than we would like. I intend to move…
The Member has given an example that, I am sure, will be familiar to many Members. She is correct to highlight the importance of protecting the rights of existing tenants and the peaceful protection of their property. That is what I intend to do as Minister. As well as looking at the issue of intimidation points, I…
I am aware that there is significant concern that intimidation points are being abused. I can confirm that the Housing Executive undertakes a robust verification process to ensure that points are awarded to those who meet the specified criteria. However, I believe that change is needed to ensure that victims of trauma…
The Member is correct to raise the impact of the legacy of the Euros. As I have said in the House and elsewhere, it is important that a footballing tournament has a footballing legacy. I intend that the subregional stadia programme, as well as other work that I intend to carry out in this area, will mean that we will…
The Member is absolutely right to highlight the subregional stadia fund, and all of us in the House know how important that is. I have been asked a lot of questions about it, and I can inform the Member that significant work has been carried out in the two months since I came into office. I am pleased to report that I…
My officials are working closely with the Irish FA to take forward the development of a national training centre. National training centres are common in other jurisdictions, and the Irish FA considers a national training centre to be a crucial component of its future strategy to develop football locally. It is…
I beg to move The Pensions (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 6 December 2023. Clause 1, which relates to the definition of terminal illness, makes provision for devolved matters and requires a legislative consent motion (LCM). The Bill extends the definition of terminal…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I start by declaring no interest. I am not a landlord. I would like to make that very clear. I thank those who contributed, and I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion. There is much in it that I support and much that I am taking forward already to deal with some of the issues. I…
I have to take exception to that point, because I have been in the Chamber a number of times over the last couple of days and given examples of how we have worked collaboratively on the defective premises legislation, for example. There has been very good working together between Departments already on this, which is…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the leader of the Opposition for bringing the motion to the House today and the Member who moved it. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue. One of my first engagements as Communities Minister was to visit the home of someone who had seen significant improvements in the…
I thank everyone who has contributed to the debate, and I sincerely thank the Members from the SDLP for their Opposition motions. It is useful for us to have such conversations around what are really important issues, and I am pleased to take part in the debate. I thought it strange that SDLP Members Mr O'Toole and Mr…