Debate contribution: Regional Balance Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Mark Durkan on 8 September 2026.

MLA

Mr Mark Durkan

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

8 September 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Regional Balance Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5674546

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Yes, we have seen a few of those too. I think of Shackleton Barracks, which was fast-tracked through the Executive. It was not given the hurdles to jump over and the hoops to jump through that Fort George and Ebrington faced in Derry in order to get approval through the Executive. I think of the Peace Bridge and the money that came from Europe for that. I also think of Seagate, which Mr Delargy mentioned a few times in his contribution as being demonstrative of Sinn Féin's commitment to tackling regional imbalance. I think of how Seagate came to Derry in the first place, which was despite the efforts of Sinn Féin and the IRA — sorry for sounding like someone else in here — and was down solely to the efforts of the SDLP and John Hume. Sinéad said that regional balance can create a golden that will run through the Executive, which captures the purpose of the Bill very well. When Departments here make major decisions on investment and development, regional balance should matter. As long as it does not, we will have plenty to whinge about. I remember the then DUP Enterprise, Trade and Investment (ETI) Minister, Arlene Foster, accusing us of being whingers for pointing out all the disadvantage that Derry had faced due to discrimination. We still have plenty to whinge about. Looking at the experience in the north-west, I think of two years ago, when BT jobs disappeared in Derry. Workers were told — by BT, not by a Department — that they could move to Belfast. Since then, thousands more jobs have been announced in Belfast — Belfast itself, not the Belfast metropolitan area. I am sorry that Mr Brett is not here, because I would not have minded giving him a wee lesson in history as well as geography. I will spare the rest of you, as I have given you a couple already. Key infrastructure to support our economic future remains in limbo, with the Infrastructure Minister basically using the north-west transport plan 2035 as a get-out-of-jail-free card for not delivering in many respects, from the finishing of the A6 to expanding rail services and the Buncrana Road scheme, which has now taken on almost mythical proportions. Today, we heard from and about the arts sector. We have seen major flagship arts organisations in Derry and elsewhere in the north-west close. Coleraine also lost a theatre.

One in five children across the North lives in poverty. That is a damning and shameful statistic, but, in the north-west, it is even worse. It rises to one in four children living in poverty. Our crisis intervention service was left to collapse despite a suicide rate that is three times higher than it is in more affluent areas. The west is also the worst for health outcomes. That impact on health outcomes is the result of all of that inequality. We also have the lowest psychiatrist numbers and the longest waits for surgery, autism assessments and mental health support. The Department of Health continues to allocate funding to trusts on the basis of a capitation formula that is weighted towards areas with higher life expectancy, thus enshrining and exacerbating the inequalities. The detox centre, which was promised under 'New Decade, New Approach', seems to have evaporated; we have seen funding stripped from the Northlands centre; Derry has the highest unemployment rate, highest claimant count and highest rate of household overcrowding; and, as I said to the Communities Minister earlier, the Derry City and Strabane Council area has over 11,400 people on the housing waiting list. Even with all of the challenges that I have outlined about the north-west, a report published last week or the week before using data from Land and Property Services (LPS) and HMRC shows that houses are now, on average, more expensive in Derry than they are in Belfast, despite wages being lower. We do not want special treatment for Derry and Strabane; we want equal treatment, as we want equal treatment for everywhere. The Bill is bigger than Derry. However, the experience of Foyle is one of the clearest examples of why change is needed. Communities across the North experience regional disparity in different ways. We have heard that from Members from various constituencies. That is why the Bill establishes a framework rather than attempting to prescribe identical solutions for everywhere. There will be and have been legitimate questions about the detail of that framework and how the duties in the Bill will operate or be discharged. Those questions should be asked — Sinéad will be happy to answer them — but I ask Members who have concerns about the detail not to lose sight of the principle. After decades of recognising regional imbalance and its impact, are we content to continue relying on strategies and good intentions alone, or are we prepared to say that tackling regional disparity should be a lasting responsibility of government? We believe that it should be. People in Derry have waited long enough for regional balance. It is time to move from a promise to something that they can see and feel. Supporting the Bill at this stage will not solve the problem overnight, but it will allow us to take an important step towards creating the continuity, accountability and cross-government responsibility that have been missing for too long. I am proud to support my colleague, and I am proud to support the Bill. Our message is simple: we are not looking for pity; we are demanding parity.

925 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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