Northern Ireland Assembly, 6 February 2024

225 contributions from 46 members. The official report.

Assembly Business

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Members, there are a few matters that I want to address before the start of today's business.

First, I confirm to the House that I have written to His Majesty The King to convey our best wishes following the announcement of his cancer diagnosis. Cancer is something that affects many families in the community. Thankfully, medical advances have made a huge difference to its treatment. We have thousands of cancer survivors in our community and, indeed, survivors in the Assembly, including me. I know that we have a Matter of the Day shortly for parties to express their views, but, on behalf of the whole House, I send our best wishes to His Majesty for a speedy recovery.

On a different matter, after my election on Saturday, we said how important that it was for the Assembly to get down to business, and we are glad to see that we have a motion today to allow the Assembly the opportunity to discuss a really important issue.

I also inform the House that the Business Committee has agreed that Question Time should begin a week sooner than is normal after Ministers are appointed. We will be encouraging Ministers to bring business to the House at the earliest opportunity. When I referred to myself on Saturday as "a poacher turned gamekeeper", I meant that in more ways than one. I am the first Speaker to have been a Minister previously, and I therefore know many of the ministerial strategies that Ministers will use with the Assembly and Committees

[Laughter]

and the tricks that they will try to pull, so I will be writing to Ministers this week to remind them of the key procedural issues and requirements and of the courtesies towards the Chamber.

Ministers have exceptionally important roles, but so do Members in carrying out their scrutiny and ensuring accountability. That is the case for every Member who is not a Minister. Whether a Member belongs to a party on the Executive, the Opposition or a smaller party, or is an independent, I intend to uphold every Member's right to exercise that scrutiny. Thank you.

Matter of the Day

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Ms Sorcha Eastwood has been given leave to make a statement on the recent cancer diagnosis of His Majesty King Charles III that fulfils the criteria set out in Standing Order 24. If other Members wish to be called, they should indicate that by rising in their place and continuing to do so. All Members called will have up to three minutes to speak on the subject. I remind Members that interventions are not permitted, and I will not take any points of order on this or any other matter until this item of business has been concluded.

Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance, Lagan Valley)

I have tabled the Matter of the Day as an opportunity for Members to express sympathy and support for King Charles III, who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. I wish to reserve my maiden speech at this time, given the nature of the Matter of the Day; indeed, I also want to extend the Alliance Party's condolences to the family of former Taoiseach John Bruton.

The King did not have to share his cancer diagnosis, but he did so to raise awareness of the issue; indeed, with a full heart and public spirit. As well as Members having an opportunity to express well wishes and support at this time, it is important for us to do exactly what the King has said and assist public understanding of cancer. Over 10,000 people are diagnosed each year in Northern Ireland. Projected figures show that one in two of us will get cancer. Thank you, Mr Speaker, for your comments at the start of the sitting. I know that this is something that you have battled with personally, as have many other Members in the Chamber today. All of us have been directly or indirectly impacted by cancer; indeed, it was only on Saturday past that the issue was raised in the House by both the First Minister and deputy First Minister. That gives me hope that it is seen as urgent and as a priority.

We know that, while great progress has been made, Northern Ireland lags behind comparable countries in survivability. We also know that the King revealed that it was only by accident that his cancer was found. Immediately, I can think of three people in my constituency of Lagan Valley who were diagnosed in the emergency department last year. Sadly, two out of the three are dead. Time is of the essence in battling the disease. I think of people like Christine Campbell, who, with late-stage ovarian cancer, is using her platform selflessly to advocate for cancer care and survivors. I also think of Eimear Smyth, Ozzie Rogers, Adam Watson and Adam's Army, Poppy Ogle, many other young people and, indeed, family members of Members of the House.

While we take the opportunity, rightly, to offer support to the King in his fight ahead and wish him strength and recovery, it is also vital that we listen to the other part of his message, for it is we in the Chamber whom the people of Northern Ireland have charged to address this, make it better and get it right for them and their families. I know and trust that we will all push forward to make that happen. I know that we have the support of the whole House in wishing His Majesty The King well and, indeed, all the families who, in the past 24 hours, have also received a cancer diagnosis.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

There is palpable shock and empathy across our nation at the news that His Majesty The King has fallen victim to the pervasive and dreadful disease of cancer. Of course, it is a reminder to us that cancer is no respecter of persons. Therefore, our first and primary thoughts, undoubtedly, are with the King himself, the Queen and his immediate family, who have all to shoulder the burden. Of course, as has been said, it is something that has touched many families, yourself included, Mr Speaker, and, indeed, the family of the previous Member to speak in the debate. It, therefore, creates a common feeling among so many.

As you have properly conveyed to the King the best wishes, thoughts and prayers of the Assembly, we trust that he will see a speedy and effective recovery and be enabled to continue to rule over us. The transparency with which the matter was dealt with was highly commendable. I trust that its effect will be that people go to seek help. They may have neglected symptoms but will now take it upon themselves, as they probably did after the King's prostate situation, to ensure that they put their health first and foremost.

I join as many in the House as are conveying thoughts, prayers and support to His Majesty and his family at this time.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

I thank the Member for bringing the issue to the House this morning. I am very mindful of her own family situation, and I offer my best wishes to her husband, Dale, whom she has spoken publicly about previously.

I extend my support to the King and wish him the very best and a speedy recovery in his journey. Over the last 12 hours, since yesterday evening, when the news became public, the issue has hit home, as others have said, to so many families. We are all acutely aware of all the people who are going through a cancer journey. Few of us in society have not been touched in some way in our family or friend circles, and it can be such a devastating time for so many people. I am so glad today that we are here and are back to business. We have work to do to deliver on our cancer strategies here. We have a lot of work to do, and, certainly, I know that we are up for that.

I am also mindful of this morning's news headlines about the Children's Hospice. I know that we will all be concerned and will all want to do our very best for the hospice service, particularly given that it deals with children going through such a difficult time. I have spoken to the Health Minister. He, I and, I am sure, the deputy First Minister will want to do everything that we can to be as supportive as we can of the hospice, and I have communicated that to the hospice this morning.

Finally, I want to pass on my condolences to the family of former Taoiseach John Bruton, who, we have just been notified, has sadly passed away. We send his family and friends our condolences at this very sad time.

Jonathan Buckley (DUP, Upper Bann)

I join many in the House in paying tribute to His Majesty The King for the bravery that he has shown in coming forward to publicly put on record what he is going through. Nine months ago to this very day, many millions in the United Kingdom and across the world celebrated the King's coronation. To listen to the news yesterday and hear of the cancer diagnosis was certainly a shock to many in the nation, but I commend the King for his bravery in highlighting an issue — cancer — that has affected so many homes across Northern Ireland and across the world.

I listened yesterday to the news and was particularly touched by how, following the King's prostate operation, he was touched by the uptick that there had been in the number of those contacting the NHS helpline. I think that it was up 1000%, and those people talked about issues that had been affecting them. It is sometimes a taboo subject, but the King came forward and put, at the front and centre, what he and many others are facing.

As the King begins his treatment, I want to put on record the thoughts and prayers of the Democratic Unionist Party and, indeed, of all the constituents whom we represent. We are proud to have a King whose commitment to his duty is unwavering. The fact that, just yesterday, he announced that, while his treatment starts, he will continue in his state duties shows the type of leader that the nation has. I join everyone in wishing His Majesty The King well and a speedy recovery. Our thoughts are with his family and all the families across the nation that suffer from cancer. We pray and thank the Lord for the continual advancements in cancer diagnosis across the spectrum, and we wish everyone well as they continue that battle.

Doug Beattie (UUP, Upper Bann)

Cancer is a terrible disease that respects nobody, young or old. I do not think that there is anybody sitting in the Chamber now who has not been affected, directly or indirectly, by cancer.

I am minded to think of Dale, and I send my best wishes to him. Even in my party, there are members who have had to battle through cancer. It is so invasive. It really is a disgusting disease. However, we have made huge advancements. I am also reminded of the fact that, right across these islands, many families are dealing with cancer at this moment.

The Ulster Unionist Party's best wishes go to the King — of course they do — and to his family, who will have to deal with this in the long term. We hope that he has a speedy recovery, and we thank him for being open with the diagnosis that he has received. That conversation cannot be hidden, and it needs to be had more often than it has been. Our best wishes go to him.

I will finish by passing on my condolences to the family and friends of John Bruton on his passing. That is another terrible shock. The one thing that I am grateful for is that we are now in a position to start to help those people who are dealt this terrible affliction.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

I commend the Member for Lagan Valley for bringing this Matter of the Day to us. Obviously, she spoke with immense emotion of the cancer experience that she and her husband are going through. She, like the King, is an example of people being open about their experiences with cancer, which, as has already been said, will very soon affect 50% of us. Our condolences also go to the family of the former Taoiseach John Bruton, whose sad passing we learned about today. We may have an opportunity to debate his legacy on another occasion.

The King has done something very brave. He has used the office and the role that he holds not simply to make this a private matter but to do something that takes courage at a very difficult time for him and his family, which is to talk about his cancer experience. It has also been said that, because of the problems in health services — this is true in England but even more so in Northern Ireland — an increasing number of people receive their cancer diagnosis on an incidental basis. That is deeply troubling and worrying. It is a good thing that we are back in the Chamber and able to do something about that, and it is a good thing that a Health Minister has now been appointed who can start to deal with the issues in our health service, which will, hopefully, improve cancer outcomes.

Once again, let me express that my thoughts are with the family of the King. It is true that very few roles in the world are more public than that of a monarch, but I pay tribute to him for using his office not just to bring awareness but to encourage discussion and openness about this very difficult situation.

Our thoughts go to the King and the rest of the royal family as they deal with an intensely private moment. I thank them for talking about it with candour and honesty.

Emma Little-Pengelly (DUP, Lagan Valley)

I add my thanks to the Member for bringing this subject forward. It is incredibly important that, across the House, we formally offer our concerns and best wishes to His Majesty The King.

We all know that it is about not just the person who goes through that journey, difficult as it is, but the huge pressure that is put on the family and friends of those who are suffering. I am sure that many people across the House have been through that or at least know many people who have been through or are going through that very challenging journey. We absolutely wish His Majesty The King all the very best for his treatment and recovery.

I am glad that, at our Executive meeting yesterday, we took the opportunity — it was important to do so — as one of our first items of business, to talk about the waiting lists for cancer. There are waiting lists for all kinds of different issues of course, but, in particular, we discussed the waiting lists for cancer because they are, quite simply, unacceptable. That is a very good example of the type of issue on which we, collectively, need to work to try to resolve. I am confident that there is that collective will, just as there is in the House today as we send our best wishes to the King, to work together constructively to find the solutions that, as we know, so many families and individuals need.

Many in the House and beyond will be deeply concerned to hear the news today about the hospice. We will raise that and, hopefully, find a resolution. It is not just about the person and their family and friends; we rely hugely on the incredible work of so many people in our health system, in the hospices and beyond. It is about the people who care for and support people going through what is often the very worst time of their life. We should put on record our thanks to them. I have no doubt that the King will receive excellent care, as do many of those who go through a similar journey throughout Northern Ireland.

I also extend my condolences to the family and friends of former Taoiseach John Bruton this morning.

Stewart Dickson (Alliance, East Antrim)

I thank my colleague Sorcha Eastwood for the very brave and open way in which she has dealt with her husband, Dale's, diagnosis of cancer. I add my best wishes to those of the House to His Majesty The King and the royal family as they face this particularly difficult time. I know only too personally, as a survivor of one of the eight least survivable cancers in the world — oesophageal — what it is to face that diagnosis, to have to share it with family and friends, and then, as I have a small insight into public life, to stand up to let people know and share my story, without knowing what the end of it was to be, with Mark Devenport and the BBC, and subsequently with the 'Belfast Telegraph'. That was four years ago. Oesophageal cancer is one of the least survivable cancers. It must be caught early. It is vital that our health service is ready, willing and able to support patients like me and others who have those particular cancers. I place on record my thanks to the cancer centre at Belfast City Hospital, the nurse specialists who looked after me, my oncologist and my surgeon, all of whom did an amazing job for me and do an amazing job for the many patients like me who face the diagnosis of oesophageal cancer.

I have immense admiration for His Majesty The King and the way in which he has publicly come forward at this very early stage to make people aware of what is happening to him and the difficulties that his family will face. I also place on record my particular sympathies to the family of John Bruton, the former Taoiseach, who, sadly, died this morning. As others have said, I am sure that we will have an opportunity to pay tribute to him. My memories of him go back as far as the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation: he was very actively involved in the very early stages of our peace process.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I thank Members who have spoken for the dignified way in which this item of business has been conducted. I add my sympathies to the Bruton family. I became aware of the situation only on taking the Chair. I will write to the Bruton family. John Bruton was a fine man, a man of integrity, a very decent man and a fine Taoiseach.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I want to raise a matter of far less significance than the issue that we have just discussed, but it is, I think, appropriate that I raise it. How are the dignity and expectations of your office compatible with your public venting of your desire to "clean" my "clock", which has the colloquial and indisputable meaning of indulging in physical violence? How is that compatible with the dignity of your office?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I thank the Member for his point of order. In reference to that, I think that the Member is being a little sensitive. We were in a debating Chamber, and the reference was in the import of the debating Chamber, so, Mr Allister, had I had the opportunity to put you right, I would have put you right on that occasion, but I did not have the opportunity to do that. No other connotation should be taken from it. That would be entirely disingenuous or misleading. That is the situation.

Assembly Business

Sinéad Ennis (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I beg to move

That Standing Order 20(1) be suspended for Tuesday 6 February 2024.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Before I proceed to the Question, I remind Members that the motion requires cross-community support.

Question put and agreed to. Resolved (with cross-community support):

That Standing Order 20(1) be suspended for Tuesday 6 February 2024.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

As this is a business motion, there will be no debate.

Resolved:

That, in accordance with Standing Orders 46 and 47, this Assembly determines that nine Statutory Committees shall be established, as follows: the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs; the Committee for Communities; the Committee for the Economy; the Committee for Education; the Committee for the Executive Office; the Committee for Finance; the Committee for Health; the Committee for Infrastructure; and the Committee for Justice. Terms of reference, quorum and composition of the Committees shall be prescribed in Standing Orders 48 and 49. — [Ms Ennis.]

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

In accordance with the procedure set out in Standing Order 48, I shall ask the nominating officer of each political party, in the order required by the formula contained in Standing Order 48, to select an available Statutory Committee and nominate a person who is a member of his or her party and a Member of the Assembly to be the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

I remind parties of the requirement of Standing Order 48(5) that nominating officers shall prefer Committees in which they do not have a party interest over those in which they do. For the avoidance of doubt, that means that I will expect parties to refrain as far as possible from selecting Committees that coincide with the ministerial offices held by their party.

I now call on Mrs Michelle O'Neill, as nominating officer of the party that has the highest figure under the formula, to select an available Statutory Committee and nominate a person who is a member of her party and a Member of the Assembly to be its Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

Sinéad Ennis (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Mr Speaker, may I call for a short suspension at this juncture if that is agreeable to the House?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

A number of Whips have asked for this matter to be suspended because some more work needs to be done. I propose at this time to suspend for 15 minutes.

The sitting was suspended at 10.58 am and resumed at 11.15 am.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Members, we resume business.

Colin McGrath (Social Democratic and Labour Party, South Down)

We propose another break, of 30 minutes, to allow discussions to continue.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

That is granted, but get it sorted in the next 30 minutes, because we will not grant another one. The sitting is suspended for a further 30 minutes.

The sitting was suspended at 11.15 am and resumed at 11.46 am.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Members, we will resume business.

David Brooks (DUP, Belfast East)

Mr Speaker, on behalf of the party Whips, I seek another 30-minute suspension.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Granted. This is definitely the final time. The sitting will resume at 12.15 pm.

The sitting was suspended at 11.47 am and resumed at 12.18 pm.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

The sitting is resumed. I remind Members that Standing Orders allow 15 minutes for a nomination to be made and for a nominee to take up the selected office. It is not necessary to seek a suspension for this time to be available. Any additional time would require Assembly approval.

I call on Mrs Michelle O'Neill, as nominating officer of the party that has the highest figure under the formula, to select an available Statutory Committee and nominate a person who is a member of her party and a Member of the Assembly to be its Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

I select the Committee for Health and nominate Liz Kimmins as Chair.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Liz Kimmins (Sinn Féin, Newry and Armagh)

Yes.

Ms Liz Kimmins appointed Chairperson of the Committee for Health.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Keith Buchanan to select an available Statutory Committee and nominate a person who is a member of his party and a Member of the Assembly to be its Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

Keith Buchanan (DUP, Mid Ulster)

I nominate Joanne Bunting as Chairperson of the Committee for Justice.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is Ms Bunting willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Joanne Bunting (DUP, Belfast East)

I am.

Ms Joanne Bunting appointed Chairperson of the Committee for Justice.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I now call on Miss Nuala McAllister to select an available Statutory Committee and nominate a person who is a member of her party and a Member of the Assembly to be its Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

Nuala McAllister (Alliance, Belfast North)

I select the Committee for Education, and I nominate Nick Mathison as Chair.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Nick Mathison (Alliance, Strangford)

I am.

Mr Nick Mathison appointed Chairperson of the Committee for Education.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call again on Mrs Michelle O'Neill to select and nominate.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

I select the Committee for Communities, and I nominate Colm Gildernew.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Colm Gildernew (Sinn Féin, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Tá mé. I am.

Mr Colm Gildernew appointed Chairperson of the Committee for Communities.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call again on Keith Buchanan to select and nominate.

Keith Buchanan (DUP, Mid Ulster)

I nominate Phillip Brett for Chair of the Committee for the Economy.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Phillip Brett (DUP, Belfast North)

I am.

Mr Phillip Brett appointed Chairperson of the Committee for the Economy.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I now call on Doug Beattie to select an available Statutory Committee and nominate a person who is a member of his party and a Member of the Assembly to be its Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

Doug Beattie (UUP, Upper Bann)

I choose the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. My nomination for Chair is Tom Elliott.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Tom Elliott (UUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I am.

Mr Tom Elliott appointed Chairperson of the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call again on Michelle O'Neill to select and nominate.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

We select the vice chair of the Committee for Education, and we nominate Pat Sheehan.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Sinéad Ennis (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Mr Speaker, a letter was lodged this morning. Pat is absent today, so the letter states that he is willing to accept the nomination in his absence.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

We have written confirmation that Pat Sheehan is willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated.

Mr Pat Sheehan appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Education.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call again on Nuala McAllister to select and nominate.

Nuala McAllister (Alliance, Belfast North)

I select the Committee for the Executive Office, and I nominate Paula Bradshaw as Chair.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Paula Bradshaw (Alliance, Belfast South)

Yes, I am.

Ms Paula Bradshaw appointed Chairperson of the Committee for the Executive Office.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call again on Keith Buchanan to select and nominate.

Keith Buchanan (DUP, Mid Ulster)

I nominate Deborah Erskine to be Chair of the Committee for Infrastructure.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Deborah Erskine (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Yes, I am.

Mrs Deborah Erskine appointed Chairperson of the Committee for Infrastructure.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I now call on Mr Matthew O'Toole to select an available Statutory Committee and nominate a person who is a member of his party and a Member of the Assembly to be its Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

This is slightly embarrassing, because I was not expecting to be in this position. I select the Committee for Finance, and I nominate myself, Matthew O'Toole MLA, to be Chair of said Committee. I hope that that is within Standing Orders.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office of Chair?

[Laughter.]

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

Mr Speaker, may I have a 15-minute suspension?

[Laughter.]

Yes, I am willing to take up said office.

Mr Matthew O'Toole appointed Chairperson of the Committee for Finance.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call again on Michelle O'Neill to select and nominate.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

I choose the vice chair of the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and I nominate Declan McAleer.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Declan McAleer (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

Yes.

Mr Declan McAleer appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call again on Keith Buchanan to select and nominate.

Keith Buchanan (DUP, Mid Ulster)

I nominate Diane Forsythe to be vice chair of the Committee for Finance.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Diane Forsythe (DUP, South Down)

Yes, I am.

Ms Diane Forsythe appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Finance.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call again on Nuala McAllister to select and nominate.

Nuala McAllister (Alliance, Belfast North)

I am in a similar position to Matthew O'Toole. I select the Committee for Health, and I nominate myself, Nuala McAllister, as vice chair.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Nuala McAllister (Alliance, Belfast North)

Yes, this time.

Miss Nuala McAllister appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Health.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call again on Michelle O'Neill to select and nominate.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

I select the Justice Committee and nominate Deirdre Hargey as the vice chair.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Féin, Belfast South)

Yes.

Miss Deirdre Hargey appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Justice.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Keith Buchanan to select and nominate.

Keith Buchanan (DUP, Mid Ulster)

I nominate Gary Middleton to be the vice chair of the Economy Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Gary Middleton (DUP, Foyle)

Thank you, Mr Speaker, I am.

Mr Gary Middleton appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for the Economy.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Doug Beattie to select and nominate.

Doug Beattie (UUP, Upper Bann)

Thank you, Mr Speaker. My nomination for vice chair of the Infrastructure Committee is John Stewart.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

John Stewart (UUP, East Antrim)

I am, thank you.

Mr John Stewart appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Infrastructure.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Michelle O'Neill to select and nominate.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

I choose the vice chair of the Communities Committee and nominate Ciara Ferguson.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Ciara Ferguson (Sinn Féin, Foyle)

I am, thank you.

Mrs Ciara Ferguson appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Communities.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Finally, I call on Nuala McAllister to select and nominate.

Nuala McAllister (Alliance, Belfast North)

I nominate Connie Egan as the vice chair of the Committee for the Executive Office.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Connie Egan (Alliance, North Down)

Thank you, Mr Speaker, I am.

Ms Connie Egan appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for the Executive Office.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Thank you. That concludes the appointment of Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons of the Statutory Committees.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I am required to supervise the appointment of a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson to each Standing Committee other than the Business Committee, in accordance with the procedure set out in Standing Order 51. Standing Orders make provisions for the Committee on Procedures, the Public Accounts Committee, the Committee on Standards and Privileges, the Audit Committee and the Assembly and Executive Review Committee. Further to those, the Windsor Framework (Democratic Scrutiny) Regulations 2024, which came into force last Friday, make provision for a Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee to be established by the Assembly. The membership of the Committee is to be determined in the same way as the membership of Standing Committees.

Before we commence, I remind parties of the requirement of Standing Order 56(3) that neither the Chairperson nor Deputy Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee shall be a member of the same political party as the Minister of Finance or of any junior Minister appointed to the Department of Finance. I also remind parties of Standing Order 56(4) that, where there is an Opposition, the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee shall be nominated by the leader of the Opposition. For all other Standing Committees, I shall ask the nominating officer for each political party, in the order required by the formula in Standing Order 51(2), to select an available Standing Committee and nominate a person who is a member of his or her party and a Member of the Assembly to be Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

I call on Michelle O'Neill, as nominating officer of the party that has the highest figure under the formula laid down in Standing Orders, to select an available Standing Committee and nominate a person who is a member of her party and a Member of the Assembly to be Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of it.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

We choose the Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee and nominate Declan Kearney as the Chairperson.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Declan Kearney (Sinn Féin, South Antrim)

Tá mé toilteanach. I am willing.

Mr Declan Kearney appointed Chairperson of the Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Keith Buchanan to select an available Standing Committee and nominate a person who is a member of his party and a Member of the Assembly to be Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of it.

Keith Buchanan (DUP, Mid Ulster)

I nominate Jonathan Buckley to be Chairperson of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Jonathan Buckley (DUP, Upper Bann)

I am.

Mr Jonathan Buckley appointed Chairperson of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Nuala McAllister to select an available Standing Committee and nominate a person who is a member of her party and a Member of the Assembly to be its Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

Nuala McAllister (Alliance, Belfast North)

I select the Committee on Procedures and nominate Kellie Armstrong as Chair.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Kellie Armstrong (Alliance, Strangford)

I am.

Ms Kellie Armstrong appointed Chairperson of the Committee on Procedures.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Michelle O'Neill to select and nominate.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

We choose the Standards and Privileges Committee and nominate Philip McGuigan.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Philip McGuigan (Sinn Féin, North Antrim)

Yes.

Mr Philip McGuigan appointed Chairperson of the Committee on Standards and Privileges.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Keith Buchanan to select and nominate.

Keith Buchanan (DUP, Mid Ulster)

I nominate David Brooks as vice chair of the Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

David Brooks (DUP, Belfast East)

I am.

Mr David Brooks appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Mr Doug Beattie to select an available Standing Committee and nominate a person who is a member of his party and a Member of the Assembly to be Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of it.

Doug Beattie (UUP, Upper Bann)

We select the Audit Committee and nominate Alan Chambers.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Alan Chambers (UUP, North Down)

I am.

Mr Alan Chambers appointed Chairperson of the Audit Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Michelle O'Neill to select and nominate.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

We choose the Assembly and Executive Review Committee and nominate Pádraig Delargy.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Pádraig Delargy (Sinn Féin, Foyle)

I am.

Mr Pádraig Delargy appointed Chairperson of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Nuala McAllister to select and nominate.

Nuala McAllister (Alliance, Belfast North)

I select the Committee on Standards and Privileges and nominate Danny Donnelly as vice chair.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Danny Donnelly (Alliance, East Antrim)

I am.

Mr Danny Donnelly appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Standards and Privileges.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Keith Buchanan to select and nominate.

Keith Buchanan (DUP, Mid Ulster)

I nominate Cheryl Brownlee as vice chair of the Public Accounts Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Cheryl Brownlee (DUP, East Antrim)

I am.

Ms Cheryl Brownlee appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

It is now the turn of the SDLP to nominate. On Saturday, the party informed the Assembly that it chose to be recognised as the Opposition. Standing Order 56(4) requires that, where there is an Opposition, the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee is to be nominated by the leader of the Opposition. I now call on Matthew O'Toole to nominate a Member to be Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

In line with Standing Order 56(4), in my role as leader of the Opposition, I nominate Daniel McCrossan as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Daniel McCrossan (Social Democratic and Labour Party, West Tyrone)

I am.

Mr Daniel McCrossan appointed Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Michelle O'Neill to select and nominate.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

We choose the Committee on Procedures and nominate Sinéad Ennis as vice chair.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which she has been nominated?

Sinéad Ennis (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I am.

Mrs Sinéad Ennis appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Procedures.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call on Keith Buchanan to select and nominate.

Keith Buchanan (DUP, Mid Ulster)

I nominate myself to be vice chair of the Audit Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Is the Member willing to take up the office for which he has been nominated?

Keith Buchanan (DUP, Mid Ulster)

Yes.

Mr Keith Buchanan appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Audit Committee.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

That concludes the appointments of Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons of the Standing Committees.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

The next item of business is the election of a Deputy Speaker to act as Principal Deputy Speaker. The process will be conducted in accordance with Standing Order 5A. I will begin by asking for a nomination. Any Member may rise to nominate one of the Deputy Speakers to act as Principal Deputy Speaker. I will then confirm that the person nominated is willing to act as Principal Deputy Speaker. A debate relevant to that nomination will then take place. The Business Committee has agreed that only one Member should speak on behalf of each party in the debate. They will be allowed up to three minutes each. At the end of the debate, I will put the Question on the nomination. The vote will be on a cross-community basis. If the proposal is not carried, I shall ask for a further nomination and the process will be repeated.

Do I have a proposal for a Deputy Speaker to be nominated as Principal Deputy Speaker?

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

I nominate Carál Ní Chuilín for the position of Principal Deputy Speaker.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Carál Ní Chuilín, do you agree to act as Principal Deputy Speaker?

Carál Ní Chuilín (Sinn Féin, Belfast North)

Glacaim leis.

[Translation: I accept.]

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

Standing Orders provide for a debate to take place on the nomination. Members may speak only once in the debate. Standing Orders require the debate to be relevant to the nomination, so I will not allow Members to stray into other areas. Members will have up to three minutes in which to speak.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

It is my privilege to nominate my colleague Carál Ní Chuilín for the position of Principal Deputy Speaker. Carál is no stranger to many of the MLAs who are in the Chamber, having been here since 2007 and having held many roles, including as a Minister across several Departments and as Chief Whip. Those roles gave her enormous experience of the operation of this place — the institution itself.

I have worked with Carál for many years. She has always been a determined voice for not just the people of north Belfast but those in the marginalised sections of society. I have no doubt that, when called upon, she will bring maturity and respect to her new role. She will be a valuable support to you, as Speaker, and a huge asset to the Chamber.

I am delighted to nominate her not as Deputy Chief Constable today

[Laughter]

but as Principal Deputy Speaker.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

This is a wholly farcical position. It exercises no greater authority than a Deputy Speaker. Of course, it was brought in in 2011 to stroke some egos so that the two big parties could demonstrate their superiority over the lesser mortals in the smaller parties. They puffed themselves up and decided, "We need a Principal Deputy Speaker, and we'll get a nice plaque and put it on the door of a swanky office and pretend that this is a really forceful, important office". What a farce, and here we go again, appointing a Principal Deputy Speaker as a moment to show the lesser parties that they are lesser and that the egos of the big parties are here to be stroked.

Today, it is Miss Carál Ní Chuilín. Of course, she showed her propensity in the past to have an attraction to titles, because, when she became a Minister, her first appointment was her commander from the IRA in the jail, a murderer, as special adviser until, thankfully, we were able to put an end to that obscenity, and here she is now: Principal Deputy Speaker. It really is a farce. I hope that this appointment does not end in the same ignominy as that of the previous Sinn Féin Principal Deputy Speaker, Miss Ruane, who even her party could not get out of office or get her funds in that respect.

However, it reminds me that the previous Principal Deputy Speaker was a man of panache and ability. I am referring to the late Christopher Stalford, who filled that office, whatever the title, and the Chair with great ability and humour. Today one thinks of his wife, his children, his sister and his mother while remembering the indelible manner in which he conducted affairs in the House.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I thank the Member for mentioning the late Christopher Stalford. His absence has certainly been on my mind over the past few days.

We now move to the next element, which is to remind the Assembly that cross-community support is required.

Question, That Ms Carál Ní Chuilín be Principal Deputy Speaker of this Assembly, put and agreed to. Resolved (with cross-community support): That Ms Carál Ní Chuilín be Principal Deputy Speaker of this Assembly.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

As there were Ayes from all sides of the Chamber and only one dissenting voice, I believe, I am satisfied that cross-community support has been demonstrated. I offer my congratulations to Carál Ní Chuilín as Principal Deputy Speaker. That concludes that item of business.

Private Members' Business

Sinéad Ennis (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I beg to move

That this Assembly endorses the letter sent to Prime Minister Sunak by all Executive Ministers calling for our public finances to be placed on a sustainable footing and for the Executive to have the resources that they need to deliver effective public services.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

The Business Committee has agreed to allow up to two hours for the debate. The proposer of the motion will have 10 minutes to propose and 10 minutes to wind up. As an amendment has been selected and is published in the Marshalled List, 15 minutes will be added to the total time for debate.

Sinéad Ennis (Sinn Féin, South Down)

It is a relief, and we are delighted, that we have been able to achieve all-party support for the motion. I am sure that I speak for us all when I say that we are relieved to be back in the Chamber doing the job that we were elected to do and working together to support workers and families.

All parties today speak with one voice to ensure that the Executive have the resources that they need to deliver effective public services. Our public services have been devastated by a decade of Tory cuts and austerity. The money now available from the Treasury does not compensate for the funding that has been stripped from our public services, and that is totally unacceptable.

I was struck by the absolute irony of the Secretary of State's suggestion that we should focus on delivering public services, when his Government are solely responsible for the underfunding of and the damage done to those public services. If we are to cut waiting lists across our health service, make childcare affordable, improve special educational needs services for children and young people and give public-sector workers the pay rise that they are absolutely entitled to, we need the finances to deliver that.

The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, heard that message yesterday during his engagement with the Assembly parties. The £3·3 billion funding package on the table will bring short-term relief to Executive Departments, but it falls far short of what we are entitled to and what is required to efficiently run public services, delivered on the basis of objective need.

Just before Christmas, the British Secretary of State conceded that we have been underfunded for many years. That is an important and telling admission.

Robbie Butler (UUP, Lagan Valley)

I thank the Member for giving way so early in her speech. I agree with absolutely everything that she has said. I agree that we have been underfunded, and we have all signed up to the letter, but the other thing that the Northern Ireland population has been subject to is, in five years out of 10, a failure to have a democratic Assembly. Could the Member say — perhaps the Members to my right might answer — whether there has been any retrospective thinking from the two parties that have denied democratic access and systemic change in Northern Ireland, which also has to be factored in to the calculations on where we are today?

Sinéad Ennis (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I thank the Member for his intervention. I remind him and everyone else in the Chamber that today is a day for party unity. We are here to talk about the shortfall in our funding package. That is what we need to focus on, and that is what I expect everybody's remarks to follow.

Robbie Butler (UUP, Lagan Valley)

Will the Member give way?

Sinéad Ennis (Sinn Féin, South Down)

I will not give way, sorry. I will just finish, if you will allow me.

Just before Christmas, the British Secretary of State conceded that we have been underfunded for many years. As I said, that is an important and telling admission. It needs to be followed by action and funding to address the underfunding and serious problems in our health service that that has created. It is time for a fresh look at the model of how we are funded. That is the conversation that Executive Ministers will collectively have with the British Treasury in the coming days. That must come in the form of a new fiscal framework that delivers effective public services that meet the needs of people here, instead of one that results in an endless cycle of financial crises.

As I mentioned earlier — I will probably finish on this point — the irony will not be lost on anybody that, yesterday, we had a British Prime Minister and Secretary of State telling other people that they should not be talking about a border poll but be focused on public finances. My response to Mr Sunak and Mr Heaton-Harris is this: how about you take your own advice? The audacity of a Tory Government to tell anyone else to focus on public services when they have made it the hallmark of their time in Government to gut public services and bring our health service to the point of collapse.

My response to him is this: take your own advice. Give us what we need. Stop gaslighting us about our public finances. Give us what we need to effectively fund our Departments and public services and to rescue our public services, because that is what they need.

I am delighted that all parties across the Chamber have been united in signing the letter that will go to the British Treasury and that they have supported the motion today. I look forward to hearing the rest of the debate.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call Matthew O'Toole to move the amendment.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

I am delighted that we are back in the Chamber of the Northern Ireland Assembly, debating the vital issues that face the people —.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

You just need to move the amendment first.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

I need to move the amendment first. Do I need to just say "moved"?

I beg to move the following amendment:

At end insert: "; and calls on the Minister of Finance to work with all Executive Ministers to produce and publish costed plans for revitalising public services and addressing immediate priorities, including public-sector pay awards, hospital waiting lists and delivering affordable childcare in line with a comprehensive Programme for Government."

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

The Member has 10 minutes in which to propose the amendment and five minutes in which to make a winding-up speech. All other Members will have five minutes.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

Like Scrappy-Doo, let me at 'em. Some of us are slightly rusty on the process after a couple of years.

I am delighted that we are back in the Assembly Chamber, debating vital issues. Let me say first that we were pleased to co-sign the letter with the Executive parties, and I concur with Ms Ennis that the settlement from the UK Treasury needs to reflect the level of need in Northern Ireland.

I pay tribute genuinely to the fact that all parties, including our party, which was not going to be in the Executive, gave a unified message at Hillsborough Castle before Christmas and since that there has been a long-term and unacceptable underfunding of Northern Ireland. That is not just the opinion of political parties here; it is obviously the opinion of the Fiscal Council, the Fiscal Commission and various independent academics, who have acknowledged that this place needed to be funded at need and that it was not. I commend the letter and the motion in that respect.

We have said consistently that we intend to be a constructive Opposition. That role has two parts. First, it is about being constructive. We joined in agreeing with the letter, although we were not signatories to it, because we are not in the Executive. We agreed and signed today's motion. The second part is opposition. Opposition does not mean, as some have said, tearing lumps out of those in the Executive, but it means offering challenge and scrutiny. Today, we saw me being nominated as Chair of the Finance Committee and my colleague Daniel McCrossan being nominated as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee. We intend to bring to those roles seriousness, scrutiny and a sense of constructive opposition. Given that both roles face into public finances, they are very relevant to the motion and the amendment that we are debating.

Northern Ireland's public services are in an absolute mess. It is almost too painful to list the problems with our health service, but they are shocking. Hospital waiting lists are twice as long as those in the Republic. They are not just the longest in the UK but are among the longest in western Europe. Cancer waiting times are far behind their targets. We know what public-sector workers are having to endure. Many of us have been on the picket lines in recent weeks, talking to them not just for politicking's sake but because they are our constituents. They are teachers, nurses and classroom assistants who, in many cases, cannot afford to put petrol in their car to get to their place of work and serve all of us.

It is welcome that we are in the Chamber, doing our work and debating. It is welcome that there is a degree of unanimity around the need for the maximum financial settlement from the UK Government, but it is also important that the Executive parties, particularly under the leadership of both First and deputy First Ministers and the new Finance Minister, promptly and quickly come together to agree, as our amendment says, a costed plan to start to resuscitate public services.

Pivotal, the Northern Ireland policy think tank that has come together in the past number of years, published a paper recently that talks about the need not just for a period of stability but for difficult decisions from the Executive parties. It also talked about a proper move towards budget setting and honesty with the public around the time that it will take to repair our public services and the steps that will be needed. In our role as an Opposition, we think that it is vital for us to say this to the Executive parties and particularly to the Minister of Finance. She is not in her place, but I congratulate her warmly on her appointment.

She is a really talented public representative. I served with her on the Economy Committee, and I wish her well. I am sure the she will acquit herself and work very hard in that role. The time is right to ask her to take the lead, with the First Minister and the deputy First Minister, in order to bring forward a plan, in conjunction with the financial settlement that has been provided by London, and communicate to the public in this region what the plan is to start to resuscitate public services. How are we going to start to get waiting times down? How are we going to start to deal with the crisis in special educational needs, and, yes, how are we going to take advantage of the economic opportunities that lie in front of us?

What I, as the leader of the Opposition, will pledge is that our approach to that will always be constructive. I am sure that, at times, we will be accused of stunts, as we were the other day; we will be accused of hurling from the ditch or of being Monday morning quarterbacks, but that is the job of being an Opposition. Those are the things that are levelled at an Opposition, just as it is the job of those in Government to take difficult decisions, to be honest and to provide leadership to the people who elected them.

Let me commend our amendment and reiterate my party's support for the motion, which, I hope, will become the motion as amended. Those who have just entered office have a really big job to do. What I promise them is that we will not be unreasonable and unfair and we will not carp. We will, however, be robust, serious and fair, and we will, on behalf of the people who have elected us, ask fair questions and ask, as our amendment calls for, for a plan and for honesty — a plan to deal with the crisis in our health service, a plan to deal with the crisis in special educational needs and a plan to allow working parents to come close to the support that working parents in other jurisdictions get to deal with the crippling cost of childcare. Those are promises that have been made to the public in Northern Ireland in recent years, and we intend to ensure that those promises are kept. We will do our best to work with the Executive parties to ensure that they are.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I now call Phillip Brett. As this is Mr Brett's maiden speech and is his first opportunity to speak as a private Member, I remind Members of the convention that a maiden speech be made without interruption. However, if you choose to express views that may provoke an interruption, you are likely to forfeit that protection.

Phillip Brett (DUP, Belfast North)

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I associate myself with your remarks and with the people of North Belfast in sending our best wishes to our monarch.

I start by offering my apologies to my mother, who has been logged on since 7.00 am to watch proceedings today

[Laughter]

and to watch this moment. I apologise for our tardiness here today.

It is with huge honour and grateful thanks to the people of North Belfast that I rise to support this motion and to make my maiden speech here in the Northern Ireland Assembly. In May 2022, the people of that wonderful constituency bestowed upon me the greatest honour — the honour of being their voice, the honour of being their champion and the honour of being their MLA. They chose a new voice from a new generation who is committed to working hard for everyone. They elected me to be on their side and to fight their corner, and they supported me in my vision to ensure a better and brighter future for everyone who calls North Belfast home. While I will never be able to fully repay the trust that they put in me, I commit myself today, with a renewed sense of vigour and, indeed, boundless optimism for the future, to continue to work in order to build back that proud community by bringing to an end the chronic housing crisis in North Belfast, by ensuring that every child in North Belfast fulfils their full potential and by demanding an end to health inequalities. As long as I remain an MLA for North Belfast, we will never settle for second best. We are a proud community, yes, shaped by our past, but that will not define our future, and I am even more confident that our best days in North Belfast lie ahead.

While time will not allow or permit me to thank all those deserving, I stand here only thanks to the loyalty and support of my friends and family. To them, I owe a huge debt of gratitude. I want to pay a particular tribute to a former Member of this House and a Member of the other place for putting his faith in me. The faith and trust that Nigel Dodds placed in me, a 20-year-old who wanted to make his community that he loved a better place, is something that I will never forget. For that, Nigel, I will be forever grateful.

For me, it cannot simply be about holding office. Rather, it is about how we use that office to improve the life of every person in our society. That is why the motion is so important.

It would be remiss of me not to credit the start of that process to my party's deputy leader, Gavin Robinson, who put in the hard yards to ensure that we proved and got agreement that there has been underinvestment in Northern Ireland. He busted the myth peddled by others that hundreds of millions of pounds sat in a dormant Stormont bank account, and he forced the Government to recognise that we were funded below our level of need. Now, in this House and in this place, we must finish the job together. The money that has been secured from the Government is important and welcome. It does not, however, provide the long-term sustainability that is required. Maintaining services in the here and now simply to make drastic cuts in the future cannot and will not be a tenable or acceptable way forward. The cost-of-living crisis, the disparity in public-sector pay, industrial action and the further deterioration of public services will, I am sure, unite the House to work together.

There was a rightful public expectation that the funding that was secured would resolve the public-sector pay disputes. I think that all Members now recognise that we need a long-term sustainable basis for that in order to ensure that our hard-pressed public-sector workers get the pay rise that they deserve. The public will rightly judge this House and this place not simply on our returning but on how we use this House and this place to deliver on the issues that matter to them, which include the transformation of our health service and driving down waiting lists, providing hard-working families with the childcare support that they need, ensuring that innocent victims receive their victims' pension without delay, and ensuring and delivering jobs to every region and part of this place.

The collective will of the House will be a clear sign to the Government that Northern Ireland deserves better. The Democratic Unionist Party, with all other parties, will work to ensure a better and brighter future for all the people of Northern Ireland. I urge all parties to support the motion.

Some Members

Hear, hear.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call Mr Eóin Tennyson. Again, this is Mr Tennyson's first opportunity to speak as a private Member, so I remind the House that it is convention that a maiden speech be made without interruption. However, if you choose to express views that provoke an interruption, you are likely to forfeit that protection.

Eóin Tennyson (Alliance, Upper Bann)

Thank you, Mr Speaker. First, I congratulate you and your team of deputies on your appointment. I also wish the First Minister, the deputy First Minister and each of their Executive colleagues well as they embark on this new endeavour.

I am hugely grateful to the people of Upper Bann, who have placed their trust in me. It is a huge honour to represent them in the Assembly as the first Alliance MLA for that constituency. I pay tribute to Dolores Kelly of the SDLP, my predecessor, who served the constituency with distinction for many years.

There have been a number of historic firsts this week. It would perhaps be remiss of me not to mention at the outset the historic moment on Saturday when my party colleague Andrew Muir MLA was installed as the first openly gay Minister. On a personal note, I am immensely proud of my colleague, whose appointment represents a landmark moment for equality and takes us one step closer to having an Executive that fully represent the diversity of the society that we are all here to serve.

Rightly, there is an expectation outside the House that we move on quickly from the symbolism and start to deliver for the people whom we represent. There is no doubt, as others have said, that the challenges are immense. The cost of living weighs heavily on households and businesses, with too many struggling to make ends meet. Nurses, teachers, classroom assistants and so many other public servants have been forced on to picket lines in pursuit of fair pay. Our health service is in need of radical transformation and reform. Parents are being crippled by the cost of childcare. Delivering on the ambitions that we all share in the Chamber and tackling those challenges will require a step change in our approach to public finances, both from the UK Government and, I argue, from those of us in the Chamber. On that basis, my party is content to support the motion and the amendment.

Over the past 13 years, successive Tory Governments have given us more than a decade of austerity, a botched Brexit and a disastrous mini budget. They have prioritised tax cuts over public spending and ignored the impact of the so-called Barnett squeeze. The constraints that flow from that are having an impact right across the UK but are perhaps most acute here in Northern Ireland, as attested to by the Fiscal Council, because we are the only devolved Administration that are currently funded below the independently assessed level of relative need.

It is welcome that that is now a matter of public record and that, in recent negotiations, the UK Government conceded that fact. It is inconceivable, therefore, that the Government will continue to wilfully underfund Northern Ireland on that basis, yet that is exactly what the Government propose to do.

The adjustment to our funding formula diagnoses the problem but ultimately fails to remedy it. Instead of being applied to baseline Barnett, as is the case in the Welsh model, the formula operates not as a fiscal floor but as a fiscal ceiling, with funding per head slowly gliding towards a point below which we should never have been allowed to fall in the first place. The deal that the Government have put forward is imperfect. It is not a guarantee of long-term financial sustainability. However, it provides space and time to engage with Treasury on a more sustainable financial framework when the £3·3 billion runs out in two years' time. Crucially, with the Executive restored, we now have a stronger collective position from which to negotiate rather than separate and disparate political voices. To inform that negotiation, Alliance proposes the establishment of an independent commission to set out recommendations pertaining to our funding formula and fiscal framework, drawing on the experience of the Holtham commission in Wales, to ensure that our funding model is built on evidence rather than political horse-trading.

We must also be honest that it is simply not possible to have sustainable public finances without sustainable political institutions. Stop-go government has impeded our ability to deliver good governance and has undermined the Executive's ability to transform public services and make the necessary changes to tackle the cost of division. It is therefore regrettable that, given the opportunity on Saturday by the Opposition and again here today by Mr Butler, to commit not to collapse the institutions for the remainder of the mandate, neither the First Minister nor the deputy First Minister was able to make that commitment. It again underlines the need for reform of the system to ensure that the institutions can never again be collapsed so that we protect our people, our public services and our public finances.

Undoubtedly, huge challenges and difficult decisions lie ahead, both for the Assembly and the Executive. At this juncture, I give my commitment that I want to work constructively with all the Executive Ministers as they navigate those challenges. I would much rather that those decisions be taken by locally accountable and elected local Ministers than be in the hands of the Secretary of State and the Conservative Government, so I wish those Ministers well as they proceed.

Steve Aiken (UUP, South Antrim)

I start by congratulating Mr Tennyson and Mr Brett — he seems to have disappeared off for his lunch — on their maiden speeches. The speeches were both good examples of what we should all be moving towards.

The Ulster Unionist Party will support the motion and the amendment, but there are issues that we need to be aware of. I notice that Jayne Brady is in the Building at the moment. We have until May to get together a plan that we can present to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to enable us to unlock funds for stabilisation and transformation. We have to get a Programme for Government that matches what we need to do to be able to demonstrate that we can put ourselves on a sustainable footing.

I welcome the idea of having an independent commission to look into, as Wales did, the relative levels of funding. We know from the Fiscal Commission and the work that the Fiscal Council has done that there is already a lot of data there, and we need to be in a position where we can make a strong and arguable case that Northern Ireland's level of need is where it should be. However, when we compare ourselves with Wales, the north-east and north-west of England, Devon and Cornwall and other areas in our nation, we have to be cautious about how we approach that, because, using the Fiscal Council's figures, we can see that, in some areas, we pay several hundred pounds less than those areas. Lest anybody think that this is just an issue to do with Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, I say that we would be paying thousands more if we were part of the Republic of Ireland. These are really significant issues that we need to look at and manage going forward.

The one thing that we have to do is to think about a plan for growth and a plan for opportunity. Many of us sat in Hillsborough Castle for far too long and had numerous conversations about trying to improve our finances, but the most significant point that we talked about was prosperity and how we can get that growth agenda moving. We need to shift the dial.

It is regrettable, I suppose, that neither the Economy Minister nor the Finance Minister is here. On several occasions — indeed, all the way back to 2010 — the Ulster Unionist Party proposed changes to corporation tax. Whether we like it or not, we are in the single European market for a lot of our business, trade and economy, yet we are absolutely penalised by the fact that we are dealing with a corporation tax level that is uncompetitive with the rest of this island. We need to argue strongly to get our corporation tax to the OECD level of 15%.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

I am grateful to the Member for giving way, and I congratulate him on his appointment as Deputy Speaker. It sounds like he is arguing in favour of an all-island economy and greater harmonisation. Can I assume that he and his party will make those arguments in the Executive?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

The Member has an extra minute.

Steve Aiken (UUP, South Antrim)

Thank you very much indeed.

Here are the circumstances: we did not ask to be put in an all-island economy, but we have businesses in Northern Ireland that have to compete on an all-island basis and they are hampered. We should be making a very strong case to get corporation tax down to 15%. For those of us who were in Hillsborough Castle, I said to the representative from the Treasury, who looked at me a bit askance, "We didn't ask for a border to be put in the Irish Sea. It is there. We need to make sure that our businesses are not damaged by that". I would hope that the First Minister and deputy First Minister, the Economy Minister and the Finance Minister will argue for corporation tax to be lowered to 15%.

I would also like, as we move forward, to start thinking seriously about fiscal responsibility and where it lies. Difficult decisions will need to be made. The Health Minister has already started to make them, and other Departments are going to have to do exactly the same. We are going to have to bring forward things like mutualisation of Northern Ireland Water, and look at the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. Those are really big issues. For the First Minister and deputy First Minister and the rest of the Executive: we need to get on with it. This is February. In May, we will need to make our case to the Chief Secretary of the Treasury. Time is running out. I encourage everybody to start thinking about fiscal responsibility.

I welcome the new Chair of the Finance Committee. We did have some fun, Matthew, didn't we?

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

[Interruption.]

[Laughter.]

Steve Aiken (UUP, South Antrim)

I welcome the fact that we are now beginning to take this seriously.

[Laughter.]

Through the Speaker: do not chunter from a sedentary position. I have read my notes about being a Deputy Speaker.

We must take this seriously. We cannot keep on kicking it down the road. We have to make difficult decisions, and we have to make them now. We must push forward and do that.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call Diane Forsythe. As this is Ms Forsythe's first opportunity to speak as a private Member, I remind the House that it is the convention that a maiden speech is made without interruption. However, if you choose to express views that provoke an interruption, you are likely to forfeit that.

Diane Forsythe (DUP, South Down)

I welcome the opportunity to support the motion and make my maiden speech. I consider it a great honour and privilege to represent South Down in this place. I am a proud Mourne woman from a small village, Ballymartin, at the foot of Slieve Binnian. I love where I live: the beautiful countryside, the culture and the diversity of industry, through farming, fishing and manufacturing and much more. However, especially, I love the people at the heart of our rural communities.

South Down is large geographically but it is made up of many individual core rural towns and communities: Kilkeel, Annalong and Newcastle, and over the mountains to Rathfriland and Katesbridge. We have Warrenpoint, Clough, Dundrum, Crossgar, Downpatrick and many more. I represent all those rural communities, which have been disproportionately disadvantaged by the chronic underfunding that Northern Ireland has experienced over many years. Access to emergency healthcare in the countryside is a huge challenge. The poor transport infrastructure cuts us off so easily in times like the recent flooding. Rural transport, access to nearby preschool places and childcare facilities all face significant barriers.

All of that is a consequence of the long-term injustice in the funding of public services in Northern Ireland. For decades, our public funding was spent on rebuilding and patching up our roads, hospitals and town centres after the devastation of bombings. Unlike other jurisdictions at that time, we were not investing our money in enhancing our infrastructure, railway networks or on making our hospitals world-class, and we have, inevitably, fallen behind in our services.

On top of that pressure, our funding model has not been sufficient. I support all that my colleague Phillip Brett said, and I thank our DUP deputy leader, Gavin Robinson MP, and our DUP peers in the House of Lords, particularly Lord Morrow, for securing debates on the matter. The consequences of funding being below need are so damaging and dislocating that, when parts of the United Kingdom get so close to need, it is vital that the UK Government treat them and are seen to treat them in exactly the same way, affording them equality of protection. I make no apology for arguing strongly that Northern Ireland should benefit from exactly the same protections as Wales has enjoyed since 2012 and especially since 2018-19.

Northern Ireland's funding should never have been allowed to fall below need. The UK Government cannot adopt a UK needs formula and agree to intervene to protect one part of the UK to ensure that its funding does not fall below need while not doing so for another part of the UK, which has allowed the funding not only to fall to need but to plunge well below it. That is what has happened. Not only that, but the Government have had the audacity to compound our underfunding by making us pay back an overspend last year. That overspend would never have happened, had they funded us to need in the first place, let alone funded us to need plus an uplift. It is not acceptable to say that protecting funding to need in one part of the country must be done by means of an uplift and a fiscal floor, while another part of the country will have to make do with a fiscal ceiling to the level of need and a recurring £600 million deficit in the baseline arising from our underfunding. Northern Ireland cannot afford to settle for a fiscal ceiling or a fiscal floor. Our block grant budget needs to be afforded the same protection as that in Wales: a fiscal floor to need and an uplift. That is the only fair way forward.

I support the motion. I support sustainable finances with multi-year budgets. We need them to be able to deliver public services for Northern Ireland; to deliver on key objectives, such as childcare, to ensure that no mother or father in Northern Ireland has to choose between caring for their children or going to work; to ensure that our rural communities are delivered the critical infrastructure that they need to thrive; and to deliver a better future for Northern Ireland.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call Danny Donnelly. Again, as this is the Member's first opportunity to speak, I remind Members of the convention that he is heard without interruption.

Danny Donnelly (Alliance, East Antrim)

It is a huge privilege to make my maiden speech here today, on the first sitting of what, I hope, will be a sustained and productive Assembly term. As MLAs in a functioning Assembly, we have the ability to effect more change in a day in this place than we will have in a lifetime once we walk out of those Doors. Like Mr Brett, I apologise to my parents, who have been up in the Gallery all morning.

Before I get to the motion, with your indulgence, Mr Speaker, I will say a few things about my predecessor and my constituency of East Antrim. Roy Beggs will be known to many of you in the Chamber. He was one of the class of 1998 and served as an MLA for East Antrim from then until 2022, including as Deputy Speaker on two occasions. He was widely respected across the Chamber and the constituency. His continuing dedication to public life was reflected by his recent election to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. I look forward to working with him and with all our other local elected representatives to deliver a better and more positive future for the area.

It was a huge privilege to have been elected to the Assembly by the people of East Antrim and to join my good friend and colleague Stewart Dickson in doubling the Alliance representation in the area, working for everyone from Jordanstown to Cushendun. Like those of all 17 Alliance MLAs, our politics are liberal and progressive. We are committed to working towards a peaceful, prosperous and shared society. The constituency of East Antrim is a wonderful part of Northern Ireland. Nowhere else compares to the beautiful scenery of Islandmagee, the coast road and the glens of Antrim. I grew up in Larne and went to school at Garron Tower, outside Carnlough.

My wife, Maeve, and I moved back to Larne to raise our family in the town, and it is truly an honour to represent the constituency and its people in this place.

My career to date has been in healthcare, and I am a proud nurse. As such, I am acutely aware of the crises that are afflicting our health service. We have more than 500,000 cases languishing on waiting lists in a country of fewer than 2 million people. Many people, predominantly older people, wait years for routine operations such as hip or knee replacements and cataract surgery. They suffer unnecessarily as their condition worsens, often resulting in increased pain, loss of mobility, worsening eyesight and associated mental health conditions.

We have a retention and recruitment crisis across the service, with more than 7,000 vacant posts, 2,000 of which are in nursing. The Royal College of Nursing recently published a survey showing that 83% of nursing staff in Northern Ireland said that, on their last shift, the actual number of nursing staff was not sufficient to meet patients' needs safely and effectively. As well as fair pay, safe staffing was a key factor for many striking nurses in the recent industrial action. It is something that I am passionate about, and I hope to see a safe staffing Bill delivered by the Assembly to protect patients and improve the working lives of nursing staff. Many of our healthcare staff feel overworked, burned out and undervalued, and that needs to change.

Our accident and emergency departments are regularly full of patients waiting to be admitted to wards that have no beds available for them. Indeed, the wards regularly have extra patients lying in undignified corridor beds, pushed wherever there is space for them. Ambulances that cannot safely discharge patients to departments end up stacked outside with patients in the back for many hours at a time. We know that extended stays in A&E are associated with longer stays in hospital and even increased mortality rates. Overcrowding is a major threat to public health.

There is a huge issue with how we care for older people in the community. There is a critical shortage of care packages, and that means that people who are well enough to be discharged from hospital end up staying as inpatients because their needs cannot be met at home. It is essential, therefore, that people are attracted into working in domiciliary care and not pushed out of it.

We all know that we have to reform our health service, and the Bengoa report has been sitting on the shelf since 2016. All the main parties have pledged to support the Bengoa principles, and there has been a missed opportunity here. We could have been seven years into a 10-year programme of reform by now. We cannot miss another opportunity. Inaction is no longer a choice. There is no point transforming something if you cannot make it stable. We need funding for transformation and for stabilisation. This is, first and foremost, a finance issue, and I support the motion as all of our public finances, including the health service, need to be placed on a sustainable footing. The Executive need adequate resources to deliver effective public services.

I also wish to congratulate Minister Swann on returning to the role that he held from 2020 and throughout the pandemic. Clearly, he is experienced and knowledgeable and is well respected across the health service. I know that the issues that I have highlighted and many others affecting the health service will be familiar to him. It is worth being clear from the outset that, where the Minister is willing to proceed with tough decisions to deliver on the transformation and improvement of health and social care, he will be able to rely on our party's full support. If we disagree, we will seek to be constructive. It would send a powerful message if all MLAs supported the motion as a signal of our intent to work together to improve public services for everyone in Northern Ireland.

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

I congratulate Mr Donnelly, Ms Forsythe, Mr Tennyson and Mr Brett, who have made their maiden speeches. I see that Mrs Brett has just noticed that I have got to my feet — and has logged off.

I come to speak in support of the motion. I will not oppose the amendment, but it conflates matters a little. The amendment, it seems to me, deals with the short-term pressures that we as an Executive and Assembly have to deal with, whereas the motion is about sustainable long-term funding from London. I do not think that we have always had fair and equitable funding coming out of the UK Government; in fact, it has not always been generous. Looking around the Chamber, I see that not that many Members will remember, as I do, that famous moment in 1974 when the then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, described us all as "spongers". The block grant is not about being a sponger. The annual subvention is about giving us the tools that we need to run the country; in fact, I cannot describe it better than another Harold, Harold McCusker, did in the House of Commons in November 1985:

"I can accept money from the richer parts of the United Kingdom being given to Northern Ireland if it is the decision of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to redistribute the United Kingdom's wealth to the poorer parts. However, I cannot accept, and I do not want, United Kingdom charity."

The block grant is not UK charity. The block grant is about giving us the appropriate financial tools to ensure that our people prosper.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

Will the Member give way?

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

You are very keen.

Matthew O'Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

After two years, Mr Nesbitt. I thank the Member for giving way. I appreciate his comments about our amendment. I just want to say gently that it is designed to be constructive and complementary. Some of those urgent public-service resuscitation plans are exactly related and are related in the public mind to long-term, sustainable financing. You will note that our amendment does not call for that plan to be delivered tomorrow, next week or next month, because that would be unreasonable; it is about linking the two, which is important.

I do not think that Harold Wilson, in 1974, was talking about all of us. He had in mind a particular group of people who were blockading some of the roads outside this Building, but that is one for the historians.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

The Member has an extra minute.

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

I thank the Member for his intervention. On the second point, that is a matter of interpretation. On the first part, yes, they are complementary, but I would rather keep the focus on what the UK Government are and are not doing for us financially.

Back in 1998, the buzz phrase, as Members will remember, was "the peace dividend", and that was a financial thing. We were saying that, if we stopped spending tens of millions, as we had to, on security, we would free up that money to invest in the economy and therefore in our people and in prosperity. It seems, 25-and-a-bit years later, that far too many people have not had a taste of that prosperity agenda. For example, I point out the truly shocking levels of economic inactivity in our society.

We need to attack the barriers to people becoming economically active, and I can think of no bigger barrier than the lack of accessible and affordable childcare. I am glad to see that the Executive are going to make affordable and accessible childcare one of the key priorities for the rest of the mandate. You cannot fix the lack of affordable and accessible childcare unless you have the appropriate funds to do so.

I understand that we have to focus on the current pressures, not least the public-sector pay deal, but we also have to think about infrastructure, otherwise we will short-change the next generation. If we think about transforming the health service, we have to take a blank map of Northern Ireland and populate it with the ideal National Health Service structure, then take the map of where we are and figure out how we get from A to B in simple, affordable steps. Those steps will not be affordable unless we get the appropriate help from London.

I will finish by mentioning one thing that is in the letter to the Prime Minister and one thing that is not that fascinates me, that I am curious about and that maybe the First Ministers can address. What is in the letter is a call for a fiscal reserve, and it makes enormous sense to have that kind of rainy day money, because what happens come the next pandemic, holiday pay or McCloud judgement? All these things come upon us and we do not have a reserve to help is start to work through that fix. The thing that is missing is something that I remember the late Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson promoting at all-party talks back in the day, and that was the sense of a Northern Ireland bond, whereby we would raise money specifically for projects in Northern Ireland. I note it is not in the letter. I have not heard it discussed in the talks that led to the restoration, and, if either First Minister could shed some light on that, I would very much appreciate it.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Belfast South)

I call Nuala McAllister. Again, as this is her first opportunity to speak, it should be done without interruption.

Nuala McAllister (Alliance, Belfast North)

Thank you, Mr Speaker. As I make my first contribution in the restored Assembly, I pay tribute to my predecessor, Nichola Mallon. She served the North Belfast constituency for six years, and everyone in the Chamber knows just how hard Nichola worked. I wish her all the best for her future.

I also want to say thanks to a number of people. I will start with my family. Like some other Members, I have my mum in the Gallery. She has been loving the biz about the place so she did not mind all the reconvening in the breaks. My nephew is also in the Gallery. He is supposed to be at school today, but he is a politics A-level student, so I was thinking that, perhaps, if he gets a letter from the First Minister and deputy First Minister to bring to school, he will not get into any trouble. They are just two members of a very large family that I have to thank for all the support in getting me here today, and there are three very special boys who are watching at home: Sam, Finn and Art. Most of all and most importantly, I thank my constituents of North Belfast. I hope that I can repay them over the coming years.

As I move to the motion before us, it is important to reflect that, while we may be discussing the financial settlement, we need to ensure that we do not get lost in the numbers. We must not forget the impact that the previous year's Budget has had on people, schools, hospitals, businesses and the entirety of our society. There are clear examples of that in my North Belfast constituency. Schools across North Belfast are in dire need of adequate resources to ensure that our young people receive the education that they deserve. Belfast Boys' Model, Stanhope Street Nursery School and Glengormley Integrated Primary School have been waiting for capital works to be approved or work to be completed. That work would free up much-needed resources or additional places for students. Our teachers and classroom assistants in all our schools deserve to be paid fair wages. Instead of using resources to teach, resources are being used to plug gaps and gaping holes across our education system.

It is clear from the financial package that we have already won the argument for financial reform. The UK Government have accepted that Northern Ireland is funded below the level of need. Our underfunded finances, coupled with years of Tory austerity, have had devastating consequences. Research undertaken by the Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network last year showed that North Belfast had the highest rate of child poverty in Northern Ireland, at 27·6%. Organisations such as the North Belfast Advice Partnership work to address the crisis, but with Barnardo's UK finding that the two-child limit impacts on more than 1,000 households in North Belfast, we cannot leave it to our community and voluntary sector.

Adding to that, a report from the mental health champion last year reaffirmed that poverty can have an extreme adverse impact on mental health, which is acutely clear in North Belfast. Where mental health services have fallen down, excellent community organisations have stepped up. PIPS on the Antrim Road, for example, provides outstanding mental health support services from counselling to crisis support to people in North Belfast and beyond. However, that crucial support should not fall solely to an under-pressure and underfunded community and voluntary sector. Our health service, including mental health support, must be sufficiently funded. It is literally a matter of life and death.

Our health services have been crippled by the dire financial circumstances that we find ourselves in. I took the opportunity to join public-sector workers on the picket lines in North Belfast a few weeks ago. I spoke to workers from the Mater Hospital and the Royal Victoria Hospital, and their commitment to our health and social care services was undeniable. If we do not pay fair wages, we will literally drive away those dedicated workers.

We feel the impact not only on our health and education system but on our economy. In the past two years, our people have not been able to reap the benefits of any new Barnett consequentials and the impact any additional finances could have on our economy. We could have had a bespoke affordable childcare system implemented so that parents in all our constituencies are helped back into the workforce. More money in parents' pockets means a more thriving local economy.

Our public finances must also enable safer communities. We need to properly fund our police service so that we can protect neighbourhood policing, which is fundamental to our communities. In North Belfast, we feel that squeeze just as much as any other constituency in which boots are being pulled from front-line policing.

Mr Speaker, I am glad that you indulged my slight sidetrack into North Belfast, but it is important that we highlight the fact that the Executive approach to public finances is about all our constituencies and all our people benefiting. For that, I hope that every party and every Member can support the motion.

Alan Chambers (UUP, North Down)

I wish each of the incoming Ministers well. While we as an Assembly have a very important role in holding them to account, ultimately, it is in our interests and those of all the people whom we represent for the new Executive to succeed.

There is little other way to describe the pressures weighing down on so many public services than "crisis". While that word has often been bandied about in Northern Ireland throughout the respective political impasses, on this occasion we really face an emergency and a dire position. Recent weeks have seen unprecedented industrial action and disruption. Even more serious is the perilous state of essential and life-dependent services. That, of course, is nowhere more important and apparent than in our health service; indeed, just this morning, we learned of the pressures faced by our Children's Hospice.

As this is my first opportunity to do so on the record, I wish the Minister of Health in particular well with the mammoth task ahead of him. While we may be the smallest party in the Executive, once again I am proud that the Ulster Unionist Party demonstrated bravery and commitment by stepping up and taking by far the biggest Department. With Health being so big and so far-reaching, it is perhaps unsurprising that, when there are constraints on public finances, the implications are often felt most in Health. Equally, when pay awards cannot be delivered, it is often health workers who experience the immediate inequity. The 2020 Executive made a clear and welcome decision to support Robin Swann's ask to restore and maintain pay parity for health workers. Unfortunately, owing to subsequent budget and political barriers, that pledge was no longer maintained after he left office.

I do not want to make political points today, because, to their credit, I believe that all political parties are now on record as saying that they want to see the reinstatement of pay parity. I therefore very much welcome the fact that significant funding was set aside in the recent package for public-sector pay. While it may be a big figure, it is not sufficient to meet the range of cross-departmental pay demands, so I wish the Executive well in their request for sufficient funding.

There are so many areas in the Health Department that deserve and could really benefit from immediate financial intervention: primary care, social care and the slate of initiatives and previously published plans that are ready to go. The one that I want to focus on is the funding needed to tackle our truly appalling waiting lists. While I acknowledge that funding alone will not be enough, without adequate resources and the necessary workforce we will never turn the situation around. That was a point well made in the previously published elective care framework. As with restoring pay parity, I think that all parties in the Chamber are at one in recognising that tackling waiting lists is an absolute priority.

I look forward to our working collectively on that in the weeks and months ahead. Doing so will require sustained investment. While money from the recent package, especially that set aside for stabilisation, will help, we need to recognise that sporadic allocations here and there simply will not work, nor will single-year budgets provide the sustainability that we need. When, during their engagement with the UK Government, our new First Minister, deputy First Minister and Finance Minister are making the case for additional funding, I urge them to keep to the forefront of their mind the absolutely horrendous position facing so many of our patients and staff.

Sinéad McLaughlin (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

Mr Speaker, I congratulate you, the Deputy Speakers, the First Minister, the deputy First Minister and all the Ministers in our new Executive on their positions and wish them good speed in their work.

As the Assembly begins its work, it is clear that the Executive have a huge job ahead when it comes to our public finances. Over the past two years, public services have been allowed to crumble and collapse. Services that were already overstretched were tipped to breaking point, and families and workers paid a heavy price from the boycott of the institutions. I am glad that we are back in the Chamber. It has been a long time, but the hard work starts now.

In that work, the SDLP has always made it clear that we will be a constructive Opposition and that we will work with parties in every corner of the House on the issues of common cause. That includes coming together to make the case for a better deal for Northern Ireland, recognising that our public services need to be properly funded to meet the level of urgent need across the region. The British Government have already admitted that they have failed to fund us properly for many, many years, and we agree that the current deal on the table does not go far enough. We cannot allow Northern Ireland to be trapped under a fiscal ceiling and permanently disadvantaged. Short-term funding will go only so far before we see this institution lurch into another crisis. Immediate and durable changes are undoubtedly needed, and the truth is that we are already years behind when it comes to implementing the changes that we need to see.

The British Government must listen to the united voice of the parties in the Chamber. However, we need to be very clear on that point and on the responsibility of the Executive parties. After years of chaos and collapse, people want to see delivery. It is often easy to write a letter, but the public do not just want to know that we understand that there is a problem; they want to see solutions, and they want to see results. The Tories have been absolutely catastrophic for people and public services here, but the failure of government here does not end there.

We need to see plans from every Department that detail how the same public services that have been decimated in the past few years can be revitalised and transformed. Those plans must include helping parents to deal with the crushing costs of childcare that put so much pressure on so many parents, particularly mothers. That is the responsibility of the Government.

In the interests of the public sector that the Executive parties claim to be fighting on behalf of, I will make another point: this mandate, we need a different approach to government, particularly from the two largest parties, which have taken turns at tearing this place down when the going got rough. That is not acceptable, and it is not a recipe for fiscal sustainability. The truth is that our finances will never be sustainable until our politics are sustainable. Fiscal sustainability needs political stability. Parties that entered the Executive need to fight for a fair deal for Northern Ireland, and, where we can, we will support the Government on that issue. I support the motion and the amendment. Now, let us get on with the job.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

I begin by commending those who made their maiden speeches for their thoughtful contributions. I noted that all except one Member paid tribute to their predecessor. It was disappointing that Miss Forsythe could not find anything worthwhile to say about a man who served 24 years in the House, namely Mr Jim Wells. Everyone else was able to pay tribute to their predecessors. I trust that, at some point — even now — Miss Forsythe will make good on that oversight.

Diane Forsythe (DUP, South Down)

Yes, thanks very much to Jim Wells for all his service to South Down. It was greatly appreciated by the entire community.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

I am struck by how short a time it took for the Assembly to get back into its parallel universe orbit. The very first debate is about taking apart a financial deal that all these parties accepted. That was the basis on which they came back to the House.

Eóin Tennyson (Alliance, Upper Bann)

Will the Member give way?

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

Yes, I will.