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.
To ask the Minister for Communities for his assessment of the (i) Job Start Scheme, launched in 2021 for 16 to 24 year olds; and (ii) Job Start 50+ Scheme, launched in 2024 for those aged 50 and above.
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail how his Department has considered the needs of those with long-term medical conditions in the development of his Department's Anti-Poverty Strategy.
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any financial support his Department can provide the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters' Clubs to support their Fan Embassy work.
I appreciate the Member's giving way, and I share his view on England and Wales. Does he agree that it needs to be included in the debate that, just down the road, when the Irish Government considered introducing separate water charges, there was a huge uprising of people power there? People decided that they would…
Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I welcome the opportunity to make a winding-up speech on this important motion. I thank everyone who contributed, particularly the proposers of the amendments, both of which we are happy to accept. It is clear from what we have heard today that everyone is aware of…
Thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker. I thank Members for their contributions today. As I have said in the Chamber before, when I studied human rights law back in 2011, I met MLAs for the first time to discuss water management and the creation of Northern Ireland Water in 2007. Back then, the Assembly had to grapple…
Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I also welcome the motion's being brought to the Assembly, as it is a very important issue that deserves our focus. Debates such as these are also an opportunity for Members and parties to set out their stall on their plans and vision for NIW. The position of Sinn…
Thanks very much for giving way. Minister, as I mentioned, I sat on the Public Accounts Committee a number of years ago with your colleague and one of your predecessors Conor Murphy. I just do not want you to make all the mistakes again that were made at that time. We had at that time. That is why I highlighted a lot…
Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I thank the proposers of the motion on NI Water's funding and governance and those who tabled the amendments. The issue is well rehearsed. I have lost count of the number of times that we have had these discussions in the three months that I have been in post. That…
We have to be clear that the major obstacle to economic, environmental and social progress in the North is mostly inaction and ineptitude by the Executive. The current state of our water network does not help. Poor water infrastructure is, as we have already heard, preventing homes from being built, poisoning our…
I welcome the opportunity to share my concerns about how a limping Northern Ireland Water hurts economic growth and stifles investment across Northern Ireland. I will use my time to highlight two examples in my constituency that typify the problem that our economy faces due to an at-capacity Northern Ireland Water…
Thanks very much to the Member for giving way. Does he accept that developer contributions, while they may make some modicum of a contribution to the solution, are not the be-all and end-all and should not be presented as such?
I was not planning on speaking on the motion, but I thought that Members of the Assembly had not heard enough from me today and were perhaps hoping fondly to hear more from the leader of the Opposition. Part of the purpose of my speaking today is to reinforce some of what my colleague Patsy McGlone said. Patsy…
This is the latest in a series of debates on Northern Ireland Water and the funding crisis that it faces. It is a crisis; you do not need to be a member of the Infrastructure Committee, like my colleagues and me, to know the seriousness and gravity of the situation. Every one of us from across all constituencies is…
As a member of the Infrastructure Committee, I am aware of the very serious issues and challenges that face our water infrastructure network right across every corner of Northern Ireland. Indeed, economic growth and prosperity depend on having a water and sewerage network that is fit for purpose for the future and…
In previous debates, we have highlighted the need to ensure that NI Water fix the problems in different areas so that everyone can get the service that they require. However, not much has been achieved yet, with people, developers and businesses still restricted in what they can develop or grow. Many places in…
Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I am sure that no one who is here would dispute that our waste water network is in serious and urgent need of upgrade and repair. The current state of that network and, indeed, of much of our vital infrastructure is a result of decades of chronic underfunding of…
I thank the Member for giving way. Does he agree with the construction industry's premise of, "No drains, no cranes"? All development is being halted because of lack of capacity in the system. Housing, infrastructure, schools, hospitals and factories have all stopped being built because we do not have capacity.
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I apologise. I was a bit trigger-happy there. I thank the Opposition for tabling what is an important motion. Our amendment seeks merely to augment the motion, not to change it, because the Alliance Party is in agreement with the points that are made in it. Our waste water…