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Of course we always take on board the concerns and rights of children. I am particularly concerned about the impact that the housing shortage is having right now on those children who are living in temporary accommodation that is often far away from support networks such as their family and school. It is an additional…
Thank you for your answer, Minister. Nearly a third of young people under the age of 18 are currently homeless. Do the Minister and his Department consider the rights of children and young people when developing policy and solutions?
I am more than happy to provide that exact information, but I do not have it in front of me now. The answer, however, is this: far too many. As I said in response to other questions that have been asked of me today and in the past, we have far too many people who are homeless and far too many who are on a waiting…
I stand by the comments that I made. That is absolutely my intention, and I hope that the application process will have opened by then. As I said, most importantly, letters of offer will be going out the door by the end of this financial year. I assure the Member that I am doing everything that I can and that my team…
Thank you, Minister, for your answer. I appreciate that you have made some progress. Nevertheless, when you launched the project in May of this year, you did promise that an application process would be completed by the end of this year. Where are you with physical application forms for people?
Great progress has been made on the Northern Ireland Football Fund. We are finalising the application process, and, as I have said in the House and elsewhere, I hope that it will be open towards the end of this year or at the beginning of next year, with the first letters of offer being issued by the end of this…
The easiest thing that we can do to deal with the over-reliance on emergency accommodation is make sure that we have more housing in Northern Ireland, and I am absolutely committed to achieving that. There are a number of ways that we can do that. I will bring forward the housing supply strategy very soon to make sure…
Go raibh maith agat. Minister, what support is given to people placed in temporary accommodation outside the area in which they normally reside? What is the Department's contribution to reducing over-reliance on such accommodation?
Far too many people live in temporary accommodation. That is obviously not acceptable. It is not acceptable for anybody to be in temporary accommodation for any prolonged period. These are operational matters for the Housing Executive, and it is up to it to decide what meets the circumstances of the individuals who…
I am not a magician. I do not have a blank cheque whereby I can get money together and just say, "Yes, whatever it is going to cost, here is the money". To be fair, I have been crystal clear on the issue, and I have been honest about the funds that are available. I was not the one saying that things would be built and…
Minister, you spoke earlier about the contribution that Ulster people made to the United States. Let me indulge in a good Ulster quality, namely straight talking, and encourage you to do the same, Minister. Are you saying that you will not budge from the £62 million that was agreed more than a decade ago? If that is…
Let me repeat what I have said before: there is a commitment from the Executive that I stand by. The sum of £62·5 million was originally agreed in 2011. The grant was given to Windsor Park and to Ravenhill, and those stadiums were developed. As the Member will be aware, Casement Park has, for a variety of reasons, not…
I undertook a series of engagements in Washington DC, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Toronto, Canada during my recent trip to the US and Canada. As I already mentioned, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence presents us with a unique opportunity to promote the historical links between…
I certainly agree with the Member's comments about ensuring that people can play a full role in society and, most importantly, get access to basic public services that we so often take for granted. Permission to draft the Bill has received approval from the First Minister and the deputy First Minister. I hope that…
In many ways, Minister, we talk a lot about inclusivity in the House, but the Bill is a real move towards inclusivity for a section of our community that has often found itself to be invisible. Given that you talked about the cross-cutting nature of the Bill, what commitments have you had from the Finance Minister…
Given the sign language Bill's cross-cutting nature, I have received Executive approval for my officials to engage formally with the Office of the Legislative Counsel for the drafting of clauses for a Bill that will recognise and promote British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language. Engagement with the Office of the…
I certainly hope that people across Northern Ireland will take the opportunity to celebrate the contribution that people from here made to the founding and development of that nation. We are exploring funding. I hope that we will be able to secure funding from within our existing budgets, as well as support from…
Given the strong historical and enduring connections between Northern Ireland and the United States, will there be resources for schools and community groups to come together and hold celebration events to mark the anniversary of American independence?
The Member has made a critical error: he sees this only in language terms. That is a problem. It is more about the history and heritage, and the contribution that was made. That is what I want to emphasise. There is a unique Ulster-Scots tradition and heritage in the United States. You have to look only at the…
Will he establish the diversity of language that was spoken by those Ulster-Scots migrants? Perhaps, in future meetings with stakeholders about Irish language schools, he could suggest to them that they reflect on that.
Minister, I am all in favour of your developing that agenda. It is really important. We should all be proud of the contribution that people from an Ulster-Scots background made to the United States. However, it would probably have been better to do that when we were not debating homelessness in the Chamber. You talked…
I absolutely will. The 'Safeguarding the Union' Command Paper of January 2024 set out a commitment to: "Support greater outreach and education in the United States to further strengthen understanding of the different traditions in Northern Ireland." I am determined to make sure that Northern Ireland has its place and…
I visited the United States two weeks ago. A major focus of the programme was the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of America's Declaration of Independence. To that end, I met the America250 commission, the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution and the White House Historical…
That is absolutely right. It is important that we treat all languages equally. In the past, agreements were in place in that regard. Of course, one of the other things that I have been able to take forward is sign language legislation. We love to talk about diversity and inclusion, but that group has often felt left…