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 First Minister for her response. First Minister, Northern Ireland Water is facing monumental challenges, a question for urgent oral answer has been submitted today on congestion pressures in Belfast city centre, DFI officials were fielding questions on 'The Nolan Show' this morning and the York Street…
I think that I might have received a question for written answer from you at some stage recently. Yes. The position is the same. We have received the SIB review, and we hope to be able to bring forward proposals in this area, particularly because we will be bringing forward the investment strategy. It is important…
It is a far cry from constructive opposition, Matthew, I will tell you that. I am very pleased. We are coming up to the one-year anniversary of this institution coming back, and, in this first year, the four parties in the Executive have made remarkable progress collectively. I am so glad that we have made progress on…
I am afraid, First Minister, that whether it is on Assembly reform, the reform of the Stormont veto, the legislative programme, the failure to present a draft Budget before Christmas, as the Finance Minister promised, or assorted matters on the Irish language, Casement and a number of other things, too many people…
As I said, seven Bills are under way, and we are working our way through those. There are others still to come. There are some that, I believe, are only weeks away from being introduced in the Chamber. We know that there are a number of policy decisions to be made, particularly around some consultations that were had,…
I will stick with the theme of the legislative programme for 2024, which will not be delivered or even half delivered. The Minister said a moment ago that she cannot get into the detail of why individual Bills have not yet been introduced to the Assembly, but she was the person who launched the legislative programme…
Yes, I agree. I do not think that it takes into account our local situation and the fact that we have the highest agricultural land prices. It disproportionately impacts on our farmers and farm families here. We have been very vocal about the issue, and we will continue to be very vocal about it. We need to have the…
I thank the First Minister for her answer. Does the First Minister agree that the decision made by the British Government totally fails to reflect the unique circumstances and challenges faced by many farm families in the North?
On 18 November, along with the Agriculture and Finance Ministers, we wrote to the Chancellor, urging her to reconsider the decision and ensure that agriculture and business property reliefs are retained as they currently apply and the ability to pass a family farm down from one generation to the next is protected.…
Yes, absolutely. The support services are vital in supporting victims and survivors across a range of areas. We want to ensure that everything that we have in place is appropriate. You will know that we have just launched our victims and survivors strategy, which sets out clearly the area of work that we are focused…
I thank the First Minister for her response. As the First Minister knows, the Victims and Survivors Service plays a key role in the provision of support services for victims and survivors. Does the First Minister agree that making sure that there are adequate support services for victims and survivors should be a…
Following a public appointment process, we have agreed the successful candidate for the post of chair and three successful candidates for board member posts. We are considering the paperwork before we make the formal appointments, and we will announce those when letters have issued to the candidates.
I am keen to answer any of the questions that are put to me, but it is not appropriate for me to get into the ins and outs of why individual Ministers have not brought forward legislation, some of which I am aware of and some of which will take a little longer because of policy development issues. It may be the other…
Minister, you are keen to talk about Santa Claus's deliveries, but you have not been so keen to talk about delivery of the Executive's legislative programme. To be clear, you referred to it as the "programme for 2024-25": you did not call it that when it was published in a statement to the Assembly. It was the…
Seven Executive Bills have begun their passage through the Assembly, and it is our expectation that, subject to the consent of the Assembly, all the Bills included in the Executive's initial legislative programme for 2024-25, which was announced back on 23 May, will be introduced during the 2024-25 session of the…
Unfortunately, electoral legislation is not under the remit of the Executive Office. As a party representative, I absolutely advocate voting at 16. There is no agreement across the House on the topic, but we have had a debate and a discussion. Individually, I always lobby and advocate for voting at 16, including…
First Minister, do you agree that involving young people should include giving them the right to vote at the age of 16? What steps have you taken since coming into office to make that happen?
I do not have the update with me, but I am happy to write to the Member. I assure her that her voice and the voices of others who represent older people have been heard as part of the Programme for Government consultation. We look forward to advancing the draft consultation.
First Minister, the engagement of older people is also important. Do you have an update on the appointment of the Older People's Commissioner, as the current commissioner is leaving his post today?
To my knowledge, there is no specific role, but I have outlined some of the areas where we are engaging with young people on policy development. We thought it was particularly appropriate to have a child rights impact assessment for the Programme for Government and the Budget because those decisions will have an…
The Executive Office is committed to effective consultation and engagement with everyone across society, including children and young people. Officials use a variety of consultation methods and documents that can be made available in a range of formats to ensure that they are accessible. Recently, the Department took…
The language belongs to us all. Nobody has anything to fear from any language. We should all embrace it and create a better and inclusive society. Let us create fairness across our society, and let us not look over our shoulders at the other. Let us build a better society; that is what I am here for. I encourage you…
First Minister, it is claimed that the changes on Irish will do nothing to impact on the status of English in Northern Ireland. On Wednesday, at the Executive Office Committee, I pressed your officials on the legal status of the English language in Northern Ireland: they could not answer me. Is it not the truth, First…
FlaggedIrish language, Ulster-Scots and language policyCriteria met: Cultural grievance politics, Dog-whistle messaging.
They are two separate strands of work, but of course they will have to speak to each other. That will naturally happen over time, but I hope that we can see the publication of the Irish language strategy and the other strategies as quickly as possible. When that process is aligned, next year, we will start to see a…