Debate contribution: Budget Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Daniel McCrossan on 19 February 2024.

MLA

Mr Daniel McCrossan

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

19 February 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Budget Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4223644

Read the official Assembly record

Text

While it is important that a Budget is put in place to protect public-sector pay and deal with some of the other challenges that exist, this is just not the appropriate way to do business. People expect more from this House. They expect us to scrutinise on their behalf to ensure that they are getting a fair deal and the best possible deal with public money. Also, the lack of accountability that lingers around this place has returned, because, while we were out there, some of us trying to get back in again, we told the public that things were going to change. Here we are, in the first few weeks, the honeymoon of the return of the Assembly, and we are back to square one, with the same old, same old manufactured crisis met with temporary, sticking-plaster approaches. I am sorry if that bursts the bubble of some of the Members who have spoken today, but the reality is that the public are depending on us. They are relying on us to be here, and the starting point should never have been a collapse of the Assembly. However, the reality is that, for five years, people were deprived of that necessary and essential representation. In the absence of this place, the block on my democratic right and that of others in this House to advocate for our constituents was allowed to go on for five years. That is unforgivable and unacceptable, and it has done untold harm to all our people collectively. In fact, they are united in their frustration, in their grief, in their pain and in their anger. However, they are also united in their hope for better from this place. That is why today, as we debate this Budget Bill without any proper scrutiny or drilling into the detail, people will be shocked that this Budget will be allowed to slide through as a stopgap measure because of how this place has been allowed to operate. Does anyone remember this?

That was the clap that we gave our public-sector workers. When you look back on that, do you know how embarrassing that is, when we would not even pay them what they were entitled to get for years? It is despicable. They have had to stand on picket lines, when we needed them in hospitals and caring for our community, because they had no other choice. They were told that there was no money, and, now that this place has returned — thank God, and long may it be here — we need to do better by our people. Public-sector workers — health workers — should not be standing on picket lines to receive the pay that they are duly entitled to. This, to kill any myth, is not a pay increase. It is not a pay rise. It is a levelling up. They are getting finally what they should have got a long time ago and they deserve so much more. When you look at some of the detail across the various Departments, you see that it predates the most recent collapse and, indeed, the first collapse, when Sinn Féin brought down the House. We have the worst track record on a whole range of areas. We are the worst when it comes to waiting lists. We have the worst level of investment in education and the worst level of investment in roads infrastructure. We have the worst level of care for older people.

That is one of the many, many areas that needs immediate attention.

That brings me to special educational needs. It is an area that the previous Education Committee, on which I was privileged to sit, scrutinised significantly and was promised that things would change. When the going got tough, however, the tough got going. This place just disappeared. What if, when the going got tough in our health service, our workers just decided not to go in? What if our teachers in classrooms, who were there during the toughest of times, looking after our children and young people, just decided not to go in? Special educational needs is a major crisis for this place, and it is a huge crisis for the education budget. The Education Authority and the Department of Education do not seem to have a handle on the problem. There is a huge and growing concern that, after many promises, they still have not learnt lessons. Guess what? Young people — the most vulnerable in our society — are being failed daily. Too many false promises are what is causing the problems in this place. For all the worst possible reasons, we are chart-toppers when one considers some of the things that I have outlined. When we consider that this place and its population consists of six counties, 11 council areas and 18 constituencies, it is a ridiculous situation. This is not rocket science. What makes it even more unforgivable is that political parties think that the solution to any problem that we face is to go out that door and not come back in. Let us hope that that does not happen again. When I talk about education, let us look at some of the cuts that have been made, because they are significant. The Budget locks them in. I attended many meetings with colleagues in the House who were outraged by all the cuts that were being implemented by permanent secretaries, civil servants and the Secretary of State. They were saying, "When we get back in there, we will sort it". I have read countless statements that contradict the positions of parties today. In the spirit of goodwill, I will not embarrass Members, but I will list some of the cuts. For example, an end to the Healthy Happy Minds programme. Mr Butler and other colleagues from the previous Education Committee will remember the importance of that funding: cut. An end to the Engage programme: cut. An end to the digital devices scheme: cut. An end to the Book Start Baby scheme: whoa, now there is something. Do you know that we are probably the only place that has cut that scheme? That is despicable. There has been a pause on capital development. Some 28 new school projects have been paused, and 40% has been cut from the free period products budget. We debated and brought in that legislation, and we just cut it at the first hurdle. There is a 50% cut to the shared education budget. There is something to be proud of. There is a reduction in nurture funding from £70 million to £62 million; an end to school coaching programmes by the IFA and the GAA; an end to funding available to Young Enterprise to encourage innovation and development; a pause on a cashless scheme for schools; and a depletion of the funding available to the extended schools programme. The list goes on and on, and it is all locked in. The Budget today just copper-fastens cuts to all those things that we have listened to people talk about daily.

Yes.

I thank the Member for his intervention. He needs to look up the definition of "opposition". We are not in the Executive, and we will not be a mudguard for anyone in the House any longer. We are going to start standing on our own two feet to call out the cosy-corner situation in the House. The reality is that people deserve accountability, and they have not had proper, accountable politics from this place for a long number of years. We are in opposition, and we will be constructive.

Yes.

I thank the Member for raising that. You will note that I qualified what I said at the beginning by stating that public-sector pay is vital to ensure that our public services continue. That does not necessarily mean that we agree with everything in the Bill. There is a lot of it that Mr Frew does not agree with as an independent member of the DUP. However, the reality is that we need to do something about the mess that we are in, which was inflicted on us by the absence of political parties that had a responsibility to deliver for this place. That is what we are dealing with. It is not ideal. There is nothing romantic about Northern Ireland politics, let me tell you, and there is a lot of suffering as a consequence of the inaction or the action of this place when it comes to it. The public pay settlement is a major issue, and it needed to be resolved. It is unforgivable that it lingered for so long and probably will linger for so long. Pardon me for being paranoid, but, when it comes to promises in this place, there is not a great track record of delivering on them. I will move slightly away from education to healthcare. Has anyone visited A&E? It is an outrageous place to be if you are sick or unwell. Unfortunately, on multiple occasions over the last number of months, I have had to sit in A&E with a very unwell family member. When you sit and watch how the staff are overworked, underpaid and not working in good conditions, you understand why so many of them have little choice but to go elsewhere.

I do, absolutely. Bengoa needs to be implemented; those reforms need to be put in place; and our health service needs to be a major priority for the House. I am clear about that.

1,588 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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