Reassessment in progress: every record is being assessed again under the updated rubric. 10,027 of 97,616 records done (10.3%). Rankings are paused until it finishes, so results from the old and new rubrics are never mixed. Progress details
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 qualifying, uncertain or not yet analysed.
We will continue to miss out on that, as will our local businesses. There is a huge opportunity for the fund to be an economic driver here in allowing businesses, local authorities and Departments to invest. In my opinion, that comes down to a misunderstanding of how Administrations work here and elsewhere. I will…
That function would largely fall under the Department for the Economy. As I said, we have been engaging with the British Government on this for some time, and I have no doubt that the Budget will arise later in Question Time. It has also formed part of the Budget discussions. There appears to be a lack of…
The issue has been raised on a number of occasions with the British Government as part of wider discussions on the Executive's Budget and funding arrangements. I have been clear that we must have fair and equal access to the fund and that we should not be disadvantaged simply because our governance structures are…
I do not have those figures to hand and do not know whether they are available. If they are, I will make them available to you. I am aware of the issue. I deal with those matters in my constituency and see the complexities that residents have to deal with. I hope to simplify that and bring in protections for them, but…
I can give them the comfort that work is now under way to give them the legal protections that they require under the law. As I said to the original questioner, it is a hugely complex area. Land law and property law here differ from England and elsewhere. You cannot simply lift legislation and transfer it over. We…
My priority is to ensure that the foundations for reform are firmly established. I expect the dedicated team to be in place within the coming months and to begin detailed policy development and stakeholder engagement. It is preparatory work to help ensure that the informed policy proposals can be taken forward and…
The issue crosses all constituencies and has been raised in the Chamber many times. It is one of the reasons why I wanted to move forward with preparing the groundwork for the legislation, which will be enacted in the next mandate. Councils will play a vital role in the consultation, and I commit to that being the…
With the Speaker's permission, I will answer questions 1 and 4 together. A recruitment exercise to establish a dedicated team with the expertise required to take this work forward has now closed, and the team will be put in place in the coming months. Once established, the team will undertake detailed policy…
I welcome the Secretary of State's statement on late Friday evening, which banned the Orange Order procession from the Garvaghy Road. This is not about a victory over one side of the community or the other. It is not about one-upmanship by anyone. It is about lifting a huge amount of pressure off the Garvaghy Road…
Early in the process, the Executive took the decision to retain the ring-fencing in the Department of Health's budget to tackle health waiting lists. That funding is in place. The Health Minister has an opportunity to spend that funding. There have been significant improvements in our health waiting lists over the…
There have been discussions on reprofiling with the Government and Treasury. In the case of the offer that is on the table, reprofiling would assist in the first year, but we would run into the same problem in the second and third year. They make the same mistake every time that they come to us in relation to this.…
The current offer that is on the table is £450 million resource for 2026-27; £400 million resource for 2027-28 and 2028-29; £50 million resource DEL per annum for transformation, which the Executive must match-fund; £50 million capital to invest in social housing; and the ability to keep 50% of any moneys raised by…
The cost of mutual aid is much higher here than it is elsewhere, because, as one of your Ministers has pointed out many times, mutual aid elsewhere crosses county lines. When coming here, officers have to come across the Irish Sea, and we have to put up bed and board for them, so there is an additional cost that the…
It is not my intention or desire to hand any power over to the British Government. When it comes to the two issues that he mentioned — fuel and energy prices — he will know that the Executive do not have the power or the financial clout to deal with them. However, it would be wholly unacceptable for the British…
My priority remains to secure a fair, sustainable multi-year Budget that gives Departments certainty and enables them to plan, invest in and transform public services. That requires sufficient, stable funding from the British Government. The Executive have engaged extensively with the Secretary of State, and I have…
I place on the record of the Assembly the names of those who have died as a result of the demand by the few to march down the Garvaghy Road over the past 30 years to ensure that they are remembered: Michael McGoldrick, a young father and taxi driver, murdered as a birthday present for LVF leader Billy Wright; Dermot…
Legislative Consent Motion: Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill That this Assembly endorses the principle of the extension of the provisions of the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill as introduced in the House of Commons on 12 November 2025, dealing…
This debate reflects the tribute that my colleague Pat Sheehan paid to Pól de Buitléir. Pól was born into a state that treated him and his family as second-class citizens. It violently beat those who demanded civil rights off the streets, and its armed forces attacked and killed people — all in pursuit of maintaining…
I return again to the subject of the proposed Orange Order parade down the Garvaghy Road. In the past 24 hours or so, residents' groups from across the North that have previously been involved in issues around Orange Order marches and band parades have issued a statement in solidarity with the residents of the…
I am aware that the Economy Minister and the Infrastructure Minister meet regularly to see how they can assist each other on that matter. I also know that the Infrastructure Minister is keen to engage with other Ministers on how each Department can work with her Department to ensure that, wherever investment goes, it…
I have had many a discussion with my colleagues on that matter, both relating to my past experience and in trying to develop a Budget and engagement around that. It is quite clearly a huge challenge, but it is not unique to this place; other places are facing similar challenges, regardless of how they fund their waste…
Investment in staff recruitment in LPS has to balanced against the resources that you have available. However, I agree with the Member: if we were able to recruit more staff, we would be able to turn those matters around more quickly. I will talk to LPS about the point that he has raised.
I do not have a figure for the overall average time in front of me. However, it will depend on the availability of district valuers and the amount of work that each district valuer has.
Those decisions have not been made yet and will finally be made by the Executive when we come to fulfil the process. However, we have a lot of experience of monitoring such projects, whether that is through Peace funding, the previous local growth fund or the Shared Prosperity Fund. There is a lot of experience there…