Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
With your indulgence, Mr Deputy Speaker, before I respond to the debate, I want to respond to some of President Trump's remarks about the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and the MMR vaccine. I can advise that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the responsible body for regulating all…
It is shameful that, six months into the current financial year, our Health and Social Care workers are the only group in the United Kingdom's health sector that is still waiting to receive the nationally agreed pay settlements. We talk about the importance of staff retention, but, if ever there were a recipe for…
We often hear in the House and in Committee that, without the dedication of our health workforce, we simply would not have a health service. It is often said that our healthcare staff are the spine of the system that sustains health and social care. Nurses, who also need progression pathways, care assistants,…
I also support the motion and restate our unwavering commitment to pay parity for Health and Social Care staff. As outlined by the Member who spoke previously and many others, our health workers are the backbone of the system. We have all had our personal experiences of the health system, as have our family members,…
First and foremost, I put on record our deep gratitude to and admiration for our health heroes. They are the people who keep our system afloat and keep our citizens alive in the most difficult of circumstances. They are overburdened, undervalued and underpaid, yet, day in, day out, they continue to provide stellar…
The Member, in her response to the Minister, said that he could have factored in an assumption. If the Minister were to do that, can the Member give a guarantee that we would not then be back here criticising the Minister for making an assumption?
I very much appreciate the Member giving way. Will she explain to me how I am supposed to set a budget that deals with the pay rises and pay recommendations before those pay recommendations are made?
It is with great frustration that I speak on the motion. I am confident in saying that I do not believe that anyone in the Chamber will disagree with the need to ensure that health workers receive a proper wage for the work that they do. Indeed, it is only due to the commitment and dedication of the staff that we…
As others have said, we owe an enormous amount of gratitude to our healthcare staff — our nurses, our doctors and our hospital workers, who look after and care for us at our most vulnerable times, who save lives every day and who shore up a health service that is at breaking point. I make it my business to regularly…
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Our health service is the most vital of our public services. It relies heavily on its greatest asset: its staff. The safety of staff and patients alike is compromised as a result of staff shortages. There is a huge hole in our health and social care services as a result of…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is worth reminding ourselves that healthcare workers in the North are among the lowest paid across the entire public and private sectors. NIPSA reports that the NHS here is the only — I will repeat that: the only — public-sector employer paying below the real living wage for its…
I beg to move Thank you. Mr Deputy Speaker. First, I declare an interest, because of Nurse Butler and Nurse Hancock, my wife and my daughter, as the debate will impact on them. Today, the Assembly faces a moment of truth. We have been here before, and I have to be absolutely clear that this is not just a debate about…
I will cover the issues that the Member raised in the schemes that I introduce. He will have seen that with the Northern Ireland Football Fund and in the scoring mechanisms that are in place for other funds. I point the Member towards the disability strategy that I will introduce very soon. It will address many of the…
The Minister rightly referred to what people want us to do. Another area that I think of and, indeed, declare an interest in as a disabled person is access in society. The community infrastructure fund, for example, will improve community access, but has the Minister anything under active consideration for improving…
Quite a few announcements have been made and funding allocated. We will not be able to do much more in this financial year, but I always want to make sure that we make the best use of the funds that we have. We are bringing forward the Olympic legacy fund and the community infrastructure fund because people said that…
First of all, I am sure that the whole House will join me in congratulating Charlie on his success and wish him all the best for the event. The Olympic legacy fund was designed to help some of the sports that do not always get the merit or the attention that they deserve. I am more than happy to raise the specific…
I thank the Minister for his answer. One of my younger constituents, Charlie Wall, has been selected to represent Toxic Hockey in the under-12s inline hockey event in Barcelona. Charlie is the only person from Northern Ireland to have been selected. In-line hockey is not recognised by Sport NI, and Charlie's…
I am happy to review sporting bodies at any time. I want to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to compete. I want no sport to be left out. I will happily raise that on behalf of the Member and his constituents, but perhaps he can give me a bit more information, if he wants me to take something forward.
Obviously, we had a limited pot of funding available. Even with over-planning, that limited the number of projects that could go through. I wanted to make sure that we spent the money; that was first and foremost what I wanted to ensure. I also wanted to have a mixture from those different tiers: tiers 1, 2 and 3. The…
They absolutely can access that investment in the future. We have a competitive process in place. That has been done in the right and appropriate way. However, I understand that there will always be winners in the process and those who did not progress at this stage. I hope that we can get additional finance so that…