Debate contribution: Hospital Parking Charges Bill: Consideration Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Colin McGrath on 24 March 2026.

MLA

Mr Colin McGrath

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

24 March 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Hospital Parking Charges Bill: Consideration Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5463532

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move amendment No 1:

When I last spoke on the Bill, I described the entire process as "a farce". Today, I stand not just to repeat that but to fix one part of it, because that is what a constructive Opposition do. We have in front of us legislation that does one simple thing: delay. It delays a promise that was made to all staff; it delays delivery; and it delays accountability. The Bill pushes the implementation of free hospital car parking to a date that may, at the discretion of the Department, be as late as May 2029; yet, despite that delay, the years that have already passed and the millions that have already been spent, as has been discussed, we still do not have a clear and transparent account of the true cost of the policy. My amendment would close that gap, because trust is at the heart of the issue. In 2022, following the passage of the private Member's Bill, staff were told that free parking would be delivered, that that would not impact on front-line services and that money would be found; yet, here we are, four years on, still waiting. We are now told that many millions have been spent; we are told that money may have to come from front-line care if we do not carry out this delay; and we are told that implementation must be delayed again. However, what we are not told clearly or consistently is how much has been spent; how much has been lost through the delay; and how much, ultimately, this will cost the public purse. My amendment is straightforward. It requires the Department to publish within six months a full report on the costs arising from the delay and to continue to report annually thereafter. It is not to be hidden away or buried in departmental papers or briefings but laid clearly before the Assembly and the public. If we are going to delay delivery, the very least we owe is honesty about the consequences. All parties supported the Bill four years ago, and we have to own the consequences of that. My amendment is about ensuring that decisions taken in the Chamber are matched by our responsibility to the people outside the Chamber who elected us. It is about ensuring that, when legislation is passed with promises attached, those promises are not eroded quietly and without explanation. It is about ensuring that the public, particularly our health workers, are not left in the dark. We cannot continue with a situation in which infrastructure is installed and then sits unused and in which the costs of delay simply accumulate without scrutiny. That is not good governance; it is not accountability; and it is certainly not fair on all the people who were told that help was on the way. The amendment does not fix every flaw in the Bill, but it does something essential, which is to shine a light. It means that, if we delay, we must explain why; if we spend, we must account for that spending; and, if we ask people to wait, we must be honest about why and for how long. Without transparency, there can be no trust, and, without trust, legislation such as this becomes exactly what I said it was: a farce. I hope, therefore, that all Members will support my amendment to ensure that this place operates with honesty, openness and transparency at its core.

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

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:16 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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