Analysis in progress: 97,639 of 97,778 records assessed (99.9%). Totals and rankings will change until it finishes. Progress details
Search Assembly records
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.
I thank the deputy First Minister for her answer. Given the lamentable track record of the Executive in the delivery of major projects — they take far too much time and cost far too much money, which is not just a recent phenomenon — does the deputy First Minister agree that doing nothing is not an option and that, if…
The interdepartmental working group was established in 2021 to bring forward advice on the options for an infrastructure commission. A draft paper was produced in early 2022 that set out an initial assessment of options for consideration and as a precursor to more detailed analysis and development of a business case.…
It is important to remember that, when we ask Ministers for Bills that will be included in the legislative programme, we do not see the substance of that legislation. As it comes up for consideration to the Executive, there may well be large parts of it that not everyone agrees with. We are always conscious of that…
What role will the deputy First Minister play, along with the First Minister, to ensure prompt scrutiny of legislation through Committees to enable the programme to be completed in this mandate?
I thank the Member for his question. We are in a four-party coalition. There will be many different aspirations in all four parties, but we are determined to make a tangible difference to people's lives on the issues that matter to them. We listened to what people said in the draft Programme for Government process,…
Does the deputy First Minister agree that Ministers across all Departments have been getting on with decision-making and have made several key decisions during her past year in office?
I thank the Member for his question. It has been a busy first 12 months, and, of course, we make it clear that that is not the totality of our ambition. We are finalising the Programme for Government, and we hope to come forward with that very shortly. It will set the high-level prioritisation. Of course, the…
Alongside the progress on the legislative programme, will the deputy First Minister outline the top-line achievements by the Executive over the past year?
I am not sure whether I can choose which question to answer, but I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. First, from a standing start, we were keen for the legislative programme to have ambition. When we came in just a year ago, Ministers were required to go into their Departments and assess what was…
Deputy First Minister, an ordinary, reasonable person out there who looked at a target for 2024 that is just about half met in 2025 would think that that is pathetic. The Executive promised a modest list of Bills that they are not even halfway through. When will the 2024 legislative programme be complete? Furthermore,…
Since our statement last May on the initial legislative programme for the 2024-25 Assembly session, seven Bills have been introduced, with the introduction of a school uniforms Bill expected shortly. We recognise that there has been some slippage. However, that reflects the complexities involved in turning policy into…
I thank the Member for his important question. I spoke to many families who were very much in that situation. It was not just a single issue of having no electricity but two, three or more issues, in that multiple key aspects were down from their mobile phone signal to internet and broadband to water. We simply must…
Minister, we had a sample of climate change recently with storm Éowyn. How or in what way are the Executive Office or, indeed, the Executive collaborating with utilities such as NIE, NI Water and others, especially the likes of the providers of fibre networks? We saw at one fell swoop how virtually the entire region,…
I thank the Member for his question. As outlined before in this place, our farmers do an incredible job. They are such an essential part of our economy in Northern Ireland. They are essential to the supply of nutritious, good, locally produced food. They need our support; they do not need additional burdens placed on…
I am sure that the deputy First Minister will agree that the measures to address climate change must be balanced and affordable, particularly in regard to our agrisector. How are balance and affordability being ensured?
I thank the Member for his question. Collaboration is always to the benefit of anything that we are trying to do. It is not just about collaboration across Departments and agencies here but about collaboration across the UK and, indeed, these isles. I am pleased to say that those issues have been discussed at a number…
I thank the deputy First Minister for her answer. Deputy First Minister, do you believe that there is adequate collaboration amongst Departments to tackle climate change effectively?
As an Executive, we are making progress in relation to climate change adaptation measures. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs recently published a report on our most recent adaptation programme that showed that, of over 130 individual actions contained in the programme, significant progress…
I thank the Member for his question. The Executive Office — the office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister — is different from other Departments in that we have to agree on an answer to go out. Sometimes that is easier than at other times, but we endeavour to turn answers around as quickly as possible. It…
Deputy First Minister, on 12 September last year, I tabled a priority question for written answer asking how much your Department spent on your last trip to Washington. You still have not answered. When did your officials provide you with a draft answer to that question? More importantly, why does your Department so…
Many key areas of the international relations strategy are not devolved, but we have engagements to attract inward investment, in which we have had some success, and to build relationships and networks in the US and beyond. As indicated, we should continue to endeavour to do that. It was right and proper that revision…
Will the Minister please outline when the international relations strategy will be updated to take account of the change of Administration in the US, which, in recent weeks, has been aggressive towards its neighbours and others?
With every change of Administration, there is a change of tone, direction and views. There is no doubt that we will see that in the new presidential term. We will always do everything that we can to fight and push for the best deal for Northern Ireland. We have had many contributions to Northern Ireland from those…
Does the deputy First Minister share my concern about the potential loss of funding to the International Fund for Ireland, which is in doubt as part of a review of overseas funding directed by the new US Administration?