All of Mr Mike Nesbitt’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I thank the Member for his question. I have been discussing the public health Bill in my early days. We are currently governed by an Act dating from 1967. It seems to me that that Act is all well and good if the issue is noted on the face of the Bill, but that, if it is not, there is a problem. I am in the early…
I acknowledge the Member's long-standing interest in those issues. I have no difficulty in saying that I will meet members of that group. It is very important for me to understand their viewpoint, but it is also important for the Member to understand that that was, effectively, an unprecedented time for the devolved…
Between July 2021 and December 2023, the COVID certification scheme in Northern Ireland cost a total of £21·5 million. The funding covered the creation and use of a Civil Service identity authentication service; the creation and maintenance of an internationally trusted mobile app and paper certificates; and the…
I thank the Member for his question. The Health and Social Care COVID certification scheme was introduced at the start of July 2021. It was to enable Northern Ireland's citizens who wished to undertake international travel to satisfy the requirements of the destination countries. Without the service, citizens would…
The Member will be aware that I am fewer than two weeks in post. There is yet to be an Executive meeting during my time as the Health Minister, although I hope that that will cease to be the case on Thursday. I have identified some of the areas that I consider to be the most difficult or challenging in Health and…
I thank the Committee Chair for her comments and her question. I was aware that Professor Jones was at the Committee last Thursday. He was good enough, on his way back to the airport, to drive by Castle Buildings, and I was able to have a brief introductory conversation with him. I woke up this morning to find a very…
I thank the Member for her follow-up question. I accept that working in children's social care services requires fully staffed, well-motivated and well-managed teams of social workers and, indeed, other staff. Work to identify measures to address the issues in the social care workforce is ongoing under the workforce…
I thank the Member for her question. The report of the independent review of children's social care services was published in June of last year. It was followed by a public consultation on the review recommendations. That ran for 12 weeks from September to December 2023. My officials are developing advice based on…
I beg to move I seek the Assembly's approval for the making of this set of draft regulations, which will amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 or, as they are commonly known, the "HMRs". The regulations will enable original pack dispensing of medicines and will require whole-pack dispensing of medicines…
I thank the Member for his question. I suggest to him gently — collegially— that just because it is not mentioned explicitly in the text does not mean that it is not implied. If you take that imaginary map that I have of Northern Ireland, it will be informed by whether there are accessible services on the other side…
I thank Mr McGlone for his opening remarks. I repeat what I said at the beginning of my statement earlier: I extend my sympathies and condolences to our colleague Colm Gildernew and the wider family on their tragic loss. I am aware of the issues with community pharmacies. I visited one in my constituency recently and…
The Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone has asked a good question. I, too, represent a rural constituency: Strangford. I take the point that it is all very well saying that we can have centres of excellence that have better services, but that is no good if you cannot get there. I have already had discussions with…
I do not want to challenge the Deputy Speaker, and let us not quibble, but I thought that there were three. I thank the Member. I am afraid that I do not particularly agree with her analysis — in my statement, I talked about areas where I will be doing work — but, for the avoidance of doubt, I am talking about reform.…
I thank the Member for her question and her point, which is absolutely central. When we talk about the health service, we think about buildings, equipment and medicines; we do not think enough about the people who are the National Health Service and the Health and Social Care staff. In the first instance, I want to…
I do not want to frustrate the Member by again saying that it is a little early for me to lay out a definitive plan, but, during the short period building up to taking over the Ministry, I visited a community pharmacy in Killyleagh, which is in my constituency, and got a good briefing from a practitioner on the issues…
I thank the Member for those comments and look forward to working with him in the remainder of the mandate. As I said, I came here because I wanted to give the House its place before engaging in any substantive way with the media. However, I hope that Members will understand that, as this is day five of my being in…
I begin by apologising for the tardy release of the statement. As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker, the Order Paper indicated that I would not be on my feet until 4.00 pm. I was in a series of meetings, culminating in one with the Finance Minister, and I was unaware of the supreme efficiency with which the Chamber was…
I feel moved to begin by thanking the Chair of the Economy Committee for his very generous words when he opened his remarks, and I want to reciprocate. I have been on a few Committees during my 13 years in the House, and I think that the Economy Committee is particularly collegial and coherent. I wish it every success…
In his capacity as head of Operation Kenova, Jon Boutcher was the last person to recommend an annual day of reflection. What are the First Minister's thoughts?
Motion Amendment · Private Members' Motion · to “Budget 2024-25”
Budget 2024-25 - Amendment 1 Leave out all after the first ‘Assembly’ and insert: ‘notes the programme for expenditure proposals for 2024-25 as announced by the Minister of Finance and set out in the Budget document laid before the Assembly on 20 May 2024; further notes the ongoing engagement with HM Treasury and the…
In 2018, I had the pleasure of being a guest of Oxford College, which is part of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The occasion was a debate involving Colum Eastwood, the leader of the SDLP, Patricia O'Lynn of the Alliance Party and me. We were speaking to students after a screening of the remarkable film 'John…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. As the motion and the amendment make clear, this is an economic debate, and many Members have made that point. Moreover, as Mr Beattie and Ms Eastwood made clear, there is an ethical aspect to it. The ethics are separate from this debate, however. In opening the debate, Mr Buckley, if I…
I thank the Minister for that answer. Just to clarify: is he basically opening the door for a meeting with Cricket Ireland to discuss the Test match and its funding?