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Mr John O'Dowd: Assembly records
All of Mr John O'Dowd’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I welcome the opportunity to respond to the debate. I fully recognise the social and economic value of the community and voluntary sector and the vital role that it plays across our society in supporting and strengthening communities and delivering essential public…
I thank the Member for giving way. He somewhat answers his own question. We are bringing through a piece of legislation to establish the Fiscal Council. The Fiscal Council has a role, and that has to be set out in legislation, otherwise we would just bring in a piece of legislation that says, "We are establishing the…
Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Apologies to the House for my phone going off during Diane's contribution. I thank all Members who have contributed to the debate on this important issue. I also thank the Finance Committee for its detailed scrutiny of the Bill throughout Committee Stage. As…
As I said, if the Member has any concerns, he can contact LPS, and it will carry out due diligence on those matters. I am supporting businesses. We have just talked about the Back in Business scheme. I want to support businesses by allowing them to physically expand and giving rates relief in the first year of their…
There are assessments by members of staff, when they are available to carry them out. Like other bodies, Land and Property Services (LPS) has a constrained budget and a constrained number of staff, but spot checks can be carried out on request.
The Member is aware that the A5 case is before the courts and that there is an ongoing appeal involving the AERA Minister, the Infrastructure Minister and the A5 Enough is Enough campaign. I hope that the appeal is successful and that we then move rapidly to the delivery of all the road schemes to which the Member…
I have had a number of engagements with the Infrastructure Minister about her Department and her bids to the Budget. It is the responsibility of each Minister to run their Department and its policies. As I said in response to the first listed question of Question Time, the costs of climate change are real and include…
There is no actual agreement with the British Government for a share of that funding pot. We need to be conscious of that at all times. There is a statement on those matters in 'New Decade, New Approach' (NDNA), I think, although I may be wrong — it may be further back than that. We do not have a firm commitment from…
No update is available. There have been back-and-forth communications with the Treasury on questions that it had on submissions that were made by the Department for Communities. My officials have engaged with the Department for Communities, and information has been supplied back and forth.
As I said earlier in Question Time, the eTendersNI portal is used by 147 contracting authorities and has over 35,000 registered suppliers. It is encouraging to note that eTendersNI figures for the 2025-26 financial year show that the vast majority of public spend here benefits local suppliers. Of the total value of…
My procurement officials regularly collaborate with InterTradeIreland and participate in its Go-2-Tender programme. It delivered 10 sessions last year and has commenced delivery of the 17 sessions that are scheduled to be delivered by December this year. My Department's buyers engage with SMEs and microbusinesses…
It is important legislation, and, again, its delivery showed unity of purpose across the Chamber, which is welcome. The SL1 for the baby loss certificate scheme regulations was forwarded to the Finance Committee on 27 March and will be provided to the Assembly when the Committee has considered it. Should the…
There has been a degree of envy in the Chamber since our ard-fheis in Belfast at the weekend. Those who hold their party conferences in a telephone box now realise that there are parties with representation across the island of Ireland that have a mandate and a strategy for the way forward. As Members of the…
You talk about squabbling, but the SDLP is the only party, and I mean the only party, that stands up for the British Government on this point. The DUP, the Alliance Party, the Ulster Unionist Party and Sinn Féin are united on the position that the Executive are being underfunded by the British Government and that, for…
I was in the room, along with around 1,000 other delegates at an all-Ireland party conference. I encourage the Member to follow that pathway and get more involved in all-Ireland politics and end his party's partitionist stance on a lot of matters. It was really refreshing and thrilling to listen to debate and…
Yes. The well-being of the child has to be paramount in all those decisions, and I assure the Member that my Department and I will play our part in the ongoing discussions and, where we believe they are required, work our way through policy and legislative changes.
I welcome the 'Totally Invisible' report and have considered its key findings, which highlight a number of concerns about the experiences of the victims, survivors and children who have been involved in private family law cases. I recently met Connie Egan MLA, alongside representatives from Women's Aid and the NSPCC,…
My understanding is that the high street task force was under the auspices of TEO, so that question is probably best directed at TEO. I am not sure that I accept that there is a lack of strategy. The scheme is market driven, so the businesses that we want to encourage back into town centres and villages are driven by…
I outlined in November that I wanted to have a public consultation on that policy proposal. My officials have been developing a consultation paper and have started preliminary engagement with key stakeholders. My intention is for the consultation to commence prior to the summer recess. When a business decides to…
The Back in Business scheme has been extended to 2026-27, and will continue to offer a 50% rate discount for up to two years where a business occupies a long-term vacant property that was previously used for retail from1 April 2024 onwards. The scheme is designed to incentivise the occupation of empty retail units,…
There has been a change to how the Treasury manages the use of financial transactions capital. We will have the net return of that, which allows us to reinvest into the public sector, businesses, wherever it may be, so there will be a churning of that investment throughout the system. We have to continue to engage…
Yes. In February, I visited a new aparthotel and hospitality complex in Derry city centre that was supported by the fund. The scheme represents an investment of £5 million in the local economy, which will support around 30 jobs. That was precisely the type of scheme that the fund was set up to support, one that…
The investment fund has provided £178·5 million in support, which has generated a further £179 million in additional investment. That has helped to support around 5,200 jobs and the development of close to 100,000 square metres of employment space. The fund recently provided an £8·1 million loan to support the…
I am on the record as saying that one of the first tasks that Ministers need to do when we agree the multi-year Budget is that we settle public-sector pay awards. We cannot wait until the end of the year or until a crisis moment to support our public-sector workers. One of the awards that needs to be settled is for…
One of the best strategies to tackle poverty is to have good jobs with good pay, and offering the living wage shows a commitment from the public sector that we are determined to tackle low pay. I encourage others to do so. On my responsibility for public-sector pay guidance, my Department has strongly encouraged other…