Analysis in progress: 90,878 of 97,621 records assessed (93.1%). Totals and rankings will change until it finishes. 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.
That has been a long-running saga, as the Member will be aware. Work with the British Government on the matter has been a very disappointing experience. However, we are now in a position in which the Executive have approved a package of proposals for which departmental allocations of £27·4 million of capital funding…
Yes. As I said, the business community faces a number of pressures with growing costs, rising inflation and other issues. We supply around a quarter of a billion pounds annually in rates relief to small businesses. We also have the Back in Business relief scheme, so there are other areas in which we can provide…
As I mentioned to your colleague, the public consultation on the business growth accelerator and non-domestic vacant rating launched on 1 July and will close on 23 September. The proposed business growth accelerator will provide temporary targeted relief for businesses that are making qualifying improvements to their…
I have, specifically in relation to a reduction in VAT and the pressures facing our hospitality sector, particularly along the border corridor. Along with others, I have pressed them to bring forward a pilot scheme that reduces VAT on the hospitality sector here and examine how that reduction assists business growth.
We launched a public consultation on the business growth accelerator and non-domestic vacant rating in July. That will finish in September, and it relates to business rates. I have also included in my draft Budget a £10 million fund for the sole purpose of supporting our business sector, which is facing challenges of…
I think that everybody should pay their rates in a fair and equitable manner. I believe in fair and equitable taxation, which is then used to provide public services and support the economy. That is my firm belief in all these matters. To match one year against a previous year may not provide an accurate read of these…
Land and Property Services (LPS) takes a very studious approach to rates collection. It will engage with those who owe rates money to try to understand each case and circumstance. LPS will work with those people right up to the point at which it feels that it is necessary to bring them to court to retrieve the funds.…
The position is that the questionnaires etc will have to go out for consultation. There will be engagement on what exactly will be in the questionnaire. I look forward to hearing the public's responses to the consultation and learning the best way forward.
It would be best if you wrote to the Departments concerned about the stories and information that you have gathered, and asked them why those various scenarios have arisen. Departments are operating on a 95% Budget, which is far from ideal. However, I have had no reports of any Department running out of funds to carry…
I would say to them today that grandiose statements from you will not produce one penny extra for public services or the economy. The work that we are doing has the potential to make real and meaningful change not only to the quantum of funding that the Executive receive but to how that funding is assessed in the…
As I said, £1·8 billion is being invested here. That is a game changer, so it is one of the most significant pieces of investment that has ever taken place in the region. It is also a very good example of how the Executive, the British Government, councils, the private sector, further education institutions,…
There has been much misinformation about the project — loss of funding etc — from those on the Benches opposite in particular. Let me assure the Member, the people of Enniskillen and those further afield that the funding for the project is part of the funding for Executive flagship projects. In fact, it was one of the…
The total of £1·8 billion that is being invested through the city and growth deals represents a major opportunity to strengthen our economy, support regional balance, create employment opportunities and improve productivity. The Mid South West growth deal is progressing towards deal signing, with a current target for…
I wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 24 July urging her to progress the necessary steps to secure European Commission agreement to extend the VAT reduction to here from 1 October. In parallel, my officials, working closely with colleagues in the Department for the Economy, have also engaged extensively…
As I said, the Casement Park project is a significant economic driver and a catalyst for regeneration, not just in west Belfast but across Belfast, the region and the island of Ireland. It will be a driver for economic growth, job creation and investment. With all those boxes ticked, it is everything that any…
As I understand it, the publicity centring on the project over the summer was not about an official announcement. The GAA has yet to make its position clear on the matter. I will not speculate on what leaks there may or may not have been or on who said what at a meeting. It is for the GAA to say what it requires of…
Casement Park is an Executive flagship commitment, as reaffirmed in our Programme for Government. The Executive, the Irish Government and the GAA have committed to funding the development. I have also successfully ensured that the British Government lived up to their commitment to make a £50 million contribution…
I will certainly take that under consideration. That might be a good project. I welcome the work of the Finance Committee on the matter. Despite there sometimes being a bit of friction between a Minister and a Committee, which is often healthy, on this occasion, everybody worked well together. I also commend the…
Each person who received a certificate will have their own story to tell about the impact that it has had on them and their family. I have had testimony from a number of people who have been through the process and who found great comfort in receiving the certificate. I also have to say that they were very…
Since the launch of the scheme on 22 June 2026, the General Register Office has had almost 6,500 applications to the baby loss certificate scheme and has processed and issued nearly 8,000 certificates. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, demonstrating that the time spent during the scheme's development to…
At no stage during the conversation or debate have I said that I did not publish a draft Budget. I published a draft Budget because a draft Budget needed to be published for the reasons that I set out to Mr Buckley and because of the consultation process that was required under legislation. All of those reasons are…
To get a process started, you need a starting point. I published a draft Budget. I am on record as saying, when I published that draft Budget, "I am in listening mode". Without the draft Budget, there was no starting point. What would we have talked to the British Government about in terms of the pressures that face…
Our public servants and the public who use the public services want to ensure that, one, the services are there, in place and sustainable, and, two, that our public servants are properly paid and rewarded for the services that they deliver. That is at the core of my discussions and other Ministers' discussions with…