All of Mr Paul Frew’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. You have left the best to last, I just know it. It has been great to see so many young people and schoolchildren in the Public Gallery of late. Some have just left. I want to talk about chronic school absence. From September 2017 to June 2018, 1,731 pupils had an absence…
I thank the Minister for his statement. Minister, you talk about how you are going to design and implement an exemption scheme. What will the exemption scheme be designed to do? What is the difference between a register and a licence?
I am really enjoying this Opposition day for a number of reasons. One is that I like the idea of an Opposition. I believe that this place has been lacking because we did not have one, so I like the idea of having an Opposition and Opposition days. For the process of democracy, it is only right that the Executive be…
To ask the Minister of Education, in light of the news in relation to Fresh Start funding, how Slemish College, Ballymena, will achieve the proposed new capital build.
Principal Deputy Speaker, everybody struggles with these titles. I think that we should go back to referring to Mr or Mrs Speaker. "The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members." This quote is used very often by many Members, including me, but it is attributed to Gandhi. It…
Minister, the MP for North Antrim, Ian Paisley, and I have spoken to you of late about how important the Ballycastle shared education campus is to the local area. Can you provide an update on that vital project, which was part of the Fresh Start Agreement?
As reported on Downtown Radio and Cool FM news by journalist Tara Griffiths on 16 February, the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) waiting times statistics for Northern Ireland were published on 14 February. Those statistics were for the period up to December 2023. As of that date, more than 2,000…
To ask the Minister for the Economy how the Energy Act 2023 impacts on (i) his Department; (ii) SONI; (iii) the Northern Ireland Utility Regulator; and (iv) households.
I thank the Minister for giving way, I really do. She has explained the process that we are in and the reasons why we are in it as regards the limited time that she and her officials have had to work on the Budget. She has talked about the work on the 2024-25 Budget, which could go on well towards the summer recess.…
Having been to look round some of our prisons, I agree with everything that the Member says. There are also issues with the built form, with the tiny corridors and the doors opening out. Those can all lead to massive problems for the staff.
I thank the Minister for his answer. He will know, having lived through it, the issues around contracts with the Housing Executive last summer. Can the Minister assure the House that he will do everything in his power to resolve those, so that, when contracts end and new contracts start, there is not a massive gap…
Mr Frew asked the Minister for Communities, given that housing is very important, to outline his priorities for housing during his time in office and to state how those priorities will impact positively in the North Antrim constituency.
I rise to speak again in a Budget Bill debate. From my recall of all the debates on finance and Budgets that I have taken part in, there has never been a satisfactory process in order that this place can scrutinise properly a Budget Bill and the finances of the Executive. We are no different today with this Budget…
To ask the Minister of Health what barriers, legal or otherwise, are in place due to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that prevents him from meeting with (i) Covid-19 sufferers; (ii) people who have recovered from Covid-19; (iii) people who have been left disabled from Covid-19; and (iv) people who have been left disabled or…
Mr Deputy Speaker, I congratulate you on your new role. This is a very important and touching subject, and I am so glad that the contributors have spoken about the most important element in this: people. Nearly every one of us has spoken about people: the people who receive the care and the people who administer the…
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I could call you something else that you were promoted to last week, but I will not. I congratulate you on your post. I also congratulate all Members who have made their maiden speech today. It is not easy, and it has been on a big subject, so congratulations to them all, not…
I thank the Member for raising that percentage and making us all aware of it. Does he realise that it is not only the direct cost of childcare but taxation on the family home that causes hardships too?
Gandhi, I think it was, said: "The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members." This Chamber — the elected Members in it — is supposed to represent society. Yet it turns its face away and tries to ignore a certain type of people who have been seriously injured and bereaved.…