Results 1-20 of 173 for speaker:Thomas Burns

Northern Ireland Assembly: Social Development: Housing Budget (17 Nov 2009)

Thomas Burns: 5. asked the Minister for Social Development what steps she is taking to ensure optimal use of the housing budget.          ;  (AQO 395/10)

Northern Ireland Assembly: Social Development: Housing Budget (17 Nov 2009)

Thomas Burns: Will the Minister explain what innovations she has introduced in the area of housing policy and delivery?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Clause 4 (Powers of entry) (17 Nov 2009)

Thomas Burns: I oppose clause 6, which will provide the Department with the power to impose a fixed penalty notice to anyone believed to have committed an offence. It is my understanding that the offences being considered are those involving disease control measures; for example, the movement of restricted animals, especially during times of crisis. However, the offences are not stated in the Bill;...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: EU Fisheries Council (16 Nov 2009)

Thomas Burns: There has been general agreement on the key issues in the debate, and I do not want to repeat the contributions that have been made by my party colleague and other Members. The issue is complex. Regulations and legislation on fisheries are as complex and detailed as any that have come from the EU. There is no denying that certain fish stocks, such as cod, are in desperate trouble. I will do...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (16 Nov 2009)

Thomas Burns: I speak as a member of the Committee for Social Development, which considered the new proposals in June 2009. I urge the Assembly to adopt the Committee’s recommendations and to approve the new Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009. I will not dwell too much on the specifics of the legislation, because the Minister has spoken about them in great...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Finance and Personnel: Civil Service: Recruitment and Overtime (10 Nov 2009)

Thomas Burns: The hole in Cromac Street will be filled in by the end of the week. Will the number of people employed in the Civil Service decrease in light of those recruitment freezes?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Environment: Recycling (9 Nov 2009)

Thomas Burns: What consideration has the Minister given to an all-island approach to the marketing of recyclable materials? That market is an important one, particularly in these harsh economic times.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Committee Business: Town Centre Regeneration (2 Nov 2009)

Thomas Burns: The recommendations will go a long way towards making towns and villages much more vital and vibrant.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Committee Business: Town Centre Regeneration (2 Nov 2009)

Thomas Burns: I speak as a member of the Committee for Social Development, and I declare that I am a member of Antrim Borough Council. I support the motion. I largely agree with the Chairperson of the Committee, and I thank him for providing the Assembly with a summary of the report. It is a lengthy document, and some Members may not yet be familiar with its contents. Town centre regeneration is an...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Social Housing (6 Oct 2009)

Thomas Burns: No. Mitchel McLaughlin did not mention all the other priorities that the Social Development Minister has, such as the warm homes scheme, the Supporting People programme, neighbourhood renewal, the economic downturn, and the creation of more jobs in benefit offices. The Department for Social Development is a big-spending Department, and it deals with a lot more than just housing. Jonathan...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Social Housing (6 Oct 2009)

Thomas Burns: I thank everyone who contributed to the debate. My party colleague Alban Maginness said that when the war broke out, the soldiers went out and played football, and then went back to the trenches. I do not want us to go back into our trenches. I want us to work together to solve the social housing problem.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Social Housing (6 Oct 2009)

Thomas Burns: The SDLP wants to build more houses. Question put and agreed to. Resolved: That this Assembly notes with concern the particular impact on the housing construction industry of the current economic downturn; further notes the recent research by the University of Ulster that investment in social housing would have a multiplier effect on job creation; and calls on the Minister of Finance and...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Social Housing (6 Oct 2009)

Thomas Burns: I support the motion and repeat the call for more money for social housing. The SDLP has made that point many times previously, during many different debates. I make it again, unashamedly. Putting money into social housing programmes is one of the best ways that the Assembly can help the local economy. That has been the SDLP’s position, and it is the position of people such as Professor...

Northern Ireland Assembly: environment: Irish Hare (5 Oct 2009)

Thomas Burns: 9. asked the Minister of the Environment what protection will be given to the Irish hare in the review of the Wildlife Order. (AQO 158/10)

Northern Ireland Assembly: environment: Irish Hare (5 Oct 2009)

Thomas Burns: Does the Minister intend to keep funding the Irish hare population study at Queen’s University after 2010?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: McClean Conacre Case (28 Sep 2009)

Thomas Burns: I hope that the amendment will serve as a reminder to raise the matter with the British Treasury. That will be no easy task because taxation is a reserved matter, but the issue must be challenged at every opportunity. I bring my remarks to a close by thanking Ian Paisley Jnr for proposing the motion. The House is united, and I support the motion and the amendment.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: McClean Conacre Case (28 Sep 2009)

Thomas Burns: I am grateful for this opportunity to speak today on this very important subject. First, I wish to thank the DUP Member Mr Ian Paisley Jnr for tabling the motion and for accepting the SDLP’s amendment. I am glad that there has been little difference across the House. This issue affects farmers in every constituency. All farming families have experienced a certain amount of fear and...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Employment And Learning: Further/Higher Education Assistance (28 Sep 2009)

Thomas Burns: Has the downturn led to a fall in the number of overseas students, particularly from America, applying to universities here?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Education: School Building Programme: South Antrim (28 Sep 2009)

Thomas Burns: What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the procurement of capital programmes will be free from the long delays that they are currently subject to?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: North/South Ministerial Council Agriculture Sectoral Meeting (21 Sep 2009)

Thomas Burns: I thank the Minister for her statement. She referred to an all-island animal health strategy. Will the Minister tell us whether there was any discussion about tuberculosis and its eradication on the other side of the border? I know that considerable work is being done on this side of the border, but what work is being done on the other side of the border?