Analysis in progress: 13,005 of 97,616 records assessed (13.3%). Totals and rankings will change until it finishes. Progress details
All of Mr John O'Dowd’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not qualifying, uncertain or not yet analysed.
1,596 records match, page 2 of 64.
We are preparing a consultation on Jade's law. I hope to be in a position to make an announcement in the next number of weeks, possibly in November. We are making progress.
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Jade's Law Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Jade's Law
As with any negotiation, both sides have to approach it with a constructive mindset. The Executive are doing that. We have set out plans of how we see reform and efficiencies. However, the amount of money on the table at this stage simply does not meet the basic pressures that the Executive face. No one from the…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Executive Finances Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Executive Finances
Conversations and letters have gone back and forth over the past week or so. Last Tuesday — I am trying to get the days right — we had an urgent Executive meeting to discuss the latest offer from the Secretary of State. There was significant engagement around the Executive table. We discussed our priority of securing…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Executive Finances Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Executive Finances
As I have said three times now, I am working my way through the processes, legal and other, to see how we can secure a public-sector pay rise. It is an important topic that Mr O'Toole raises with me, but I thought that he might also use today as an opportunity to apologise to me for comments that he has made in the…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay Rise Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay Rise
As I said to Mr O'Toole during Question Time, I am exploring all legal options to see how we can secure a pay rise for our nurses, teachers and public-sector workers. That is my ambition and my plan. The ideal way forward is to secure a Budget. In the absence of that, I will work with my Executive colleagues to secure…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay Rise Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay Rise
I sincerely hope that we set a Budget before we get to that stage. My focus is on continuing engagement with my Executive colleagues and with the British Government.
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Executive Budget Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Executive Budget
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 10 and 11 together. My priority remains to secure a fair and sustainable multi-year Budget that gives Departments certainty and enables them to plan, invest in and transform public services. Members will be aware that there has been extensive engagement with…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Executive Budget Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Executive Budget
The Civil Service is an equal opportunities employer, including for students who come into the scheme. Measures are put in place to ensure that everyone has equal access to the workforce and within it.
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Civil Service Careers Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Civil Service Careers
Since 2024, we have offered apprenticeships in a range of fields, including heritage skills, such as joinery, stonemasonry and blacksmithing; ICT; work psychology; electrical, mechanical and civil engineering; and vehicle and plant fitting. During 2026, more than 200 people were appointed through the operational…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Civil Service Careers Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Civil Service Careers
Attracting more young people to the Civil Service is a priority for my Department. We promote the wide range of available careers through engagement with schools, universities and careers events. We also provide practical routes to public service through apprenticeships, skills academies, student placements and work…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Civil Service Careers Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Civil Service Careers
Yes. The Fiscal Council was keen to make the point that the report was the start of a conversation, rather than definitive conclusions on those matters. It is an interesting area of study, and we have to understand cost variations in a detailed way. The headlines, as I said to Dr Aiken, are about how we deliver public…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay: Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Report Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay: Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Report
The Treasury report was far off the mark regarding our society. That goes back to Diane's question about the National Wealth Fund. The Treasury does not fully understand how this place works or the differences between the roles of Departments, councils and arm's-length bodies (ALBs). When you compare apples and…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay: Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Report Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay: Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Report
The report makes an important contribution to the discussion on how fair and affordable public-sector pay awards can be delivered sustainably. In particular, it highlights the structural pressure created by the way that public services are organised and funded here, including where pay costs are not fully reflected…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay: Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Report Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay: Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Report
As the father of two young drivers, I assure you that I am acutely aware of the cost of insurance in this society. It is prohibitive to many and needs to be properly managed and regulated, as seen in a number of evidence sources, some of which Mr Kingston outlined. As I said, we are working our way through it. It has…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Motor Insurance Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Motor Insurance
I congratulate Mr Kingston on a well-researched question. That gave me a chance to catch a breather. All of those factors come into play to varying degrees. Another factor is the lack of competition: as a result of Brexit, a number of insurance companies from the South pulled out of the market, which left a gap in…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Motor Insurance Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Motor Insurance
I recognise the significant pressures that high motor insurance premiums are placing on citizens across the North. While insurance regulation is a reserved matter, I have continued to engage with the British Government, regulators and the insurance industry to highlight concerns about affordability and to press those…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Motor Insurance Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Motor Insurance
As I said, I am exploring all avenues, including engaging with the Executive's legal advisers and my Department's legal advisers to see what methods we can use to secure and deliver pay uplifts for public-sector workers. I continue to do that. The ideal way in which to do so would be to secure a Budget, but we would…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay
In the absence of a Budget, we have not secured a pathway to public-sector pay uplifts. I continue to explore all options and have been engaging with the Executive's legal advisers. Without breaching confidentiality, I can say that there has been substantial discussion around the Executive table on the matter. I…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay
Pressures across Departments in the current financial year are around £1·6 billion, while the offer that is currently on the table is around £525 million, so the Member can see that there is quite a significant gap. Public-sector pay alone is £500 million or thereabouts, and any settlement or agreement has to include…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay
We would not have public services without public-sector workers to deliver them. I recognise that it is essential that our public-sector workers be appropriately rewarded. That is why my priority is to secure a mechanism to enable delivery of public-sector pay awards. In normal circumstances, public-sector pay policy…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Public-sector Pay
We recognise how deeply personal baby loss is and how important it is to bereaved families to have the certificate. My Department therefore continues to work closely with organisations and with health and social care trusts to raise awareness of the baby loss certificate scheme sensitively and compassionately. The…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Baby Loss Certificate Scheme Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Baby Loss Certificate Scheme
Since the baby loss certificate scheme was launched on 22 June 2026, the General Register Office (GRO) has processed and issued nearly 8,300 certificates. As we mark Baby Loss Awareness Week, I want to recognise all those who have experienced the loss of a baby and the families who continue to carry that loss. No…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Baby Loss Certificate Scheme Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Baby Loss Certificate Scheme
It is only right and proper that all our workers are paid fairly and properly and that, when it comes to the real living wage, the workers who have been left behind are brought up to the level of that wage. I will do everything in my power, working with Executive colleagues and the Health Minister, to make that…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Health Funding Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Health Funding
My priority in setting our Budget in the short time ahead is for nurses, teachers and other public-sector workers to receive their pay uplift and the minimum living wage. That is a priority. The focus for us all in the time ahead has to be to agree a mechanism to ensure that teachers, nurses and other public-sector…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Health Funding Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Health Funding
Until the Budget is in place, it is not possible to make any additional allocations to Departments. The Member will know that decisions on allocations to individual Departments are for the Executive as a whole. I recently met the Health Minister to discuss the significant budgetary pressures facing our health service.…
Awaiting analysis
Assessment details for Debate contribution: Health Funding Official Assembly record for Debate contribution: Health Funding
Download all records matching these filters (up to 100,000 rows): CSV · JSON