Debate contribution: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers

Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on 17 January 2024.

MLA: Mr Gordon Lyons
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 17 January 2024
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Assembly Business
Heading: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4177546

Text

Before I begin my remarks, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the sad passing of our friend and colleague David Hilditch last year. David served his constituents in East Antrim with distinction for 25 years, and he is very much missed by them, by his friends, by all who knew him and, in particular, by his family. Our thoughts continue to be with them today. I am glad, however, that Ms Brownlee is in her place today. Cheryl will be a fantastic representative for the people of East Antrim, and I look forward to working with her. This recall is much like the five others that came before it. It is a stunt. It is being cynically orchestrated to coincide with the industrial action that is scheduled across our public sector. It has been done in an attempt to make the public believe that the restoration of the Assembly today will lead to the cancellation of the strikes tomorrow. Sinn Féin knows full well that there is no prospect of a Speaker being elected today. It knows that there will be no Ministers nominated today and that, even if those things were to happen, the pay issue will not be settled today but will be subject to further processes that will, of course, take time. It is disingenuous to suggest otherwise. Sinn Féin has form in that regard. Its disinformation is nothing new. Do Members remember when it told us that there were hundreds of millions of pounds sitting in a Stormont bank account just waiting to be spent if an Executive were to be restored? Sinn Féin was wrong, and, in truth, there was a huge overspend. It told the public that the Government's household energy payments could be quickly delivered by local Ministers. It was wrong. In truth, the fastest and simplest way for that to happen was for the Government to do it. As we found out last week in the High Court, Sinn Féin does not like the truth.
The barrier to public-sector pay increases has not been the lack of an Executive; it has been the lack of finance to properly fund it. We should not forget that the Department of Finance was able to progress a range of decisions on public-sector pay over the last year. Those powers still exist. However, each decision had to be affordable under the Budget imposed by the Secretary of State, and that is where the crux of the problem was and is. The cake simply is not big enough. Much has been made by some of the other parties of the additional resource offered by the Government. That resource would not be on offer if it were not for the DUP highlighting the issue in the first place. The extra money on the table —
They do not like to hear it, but it was the DUP that raised and highlighted the issue, and it is the DUP that has been fighting for that money. While the extra money on the table is a good start, it is just that. What is presently on offer is a one-off package for public-sector pay in the current financial year. Without that being provided on a recurring basis, it is difficult to see how Departments could ensure that commitments to staff can be honoured in future years without significantly hampering the delivery of core public services. However, if the Secretary of State has the money ready, he should deliver it immediately. It is unfair on our public-sector workers to tie it to a demand for increased household taxes, more revenue raising or the restoration of the Assembly. We all know how important the issue is. Our public-sector workers have not had the pay increases that they deserve for years. There has been an ever-growing squeeze on their incomes due to inflation and cost-of-living pressures. In our discussions with the Government, they have recognised that. They claim to have secured the money, albeit for one year, so they need to release it and get on with that today. In addition to that stable financial foundation, we need a stable political foundation. The arrangements from the Northern Ireland protocol damage the basis on which power-sharing works and have prevented the formation of an Executive. Our goal throughout the process has been to restore Northern Ireland's place in the UK internal market, as set out in our manifesto. Our negotiations with the Government have made real and significant progress but will continue until arrangements are agreed that unionists, as well as nationalists, can support. That is our goal, but it should in no way prevent the Secretary of State from providing the money necessary to ensure that public-sector pay awards can be made. We urge him to do that today.

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

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