Results 1-20 of 154 for speaker:Samuel Gardiner

Northern Ireland Assembly: Committee Business: Obesity (16 Nov 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: In supporting the motion, I draw the Assembly’s attention to the fact that 60% of adults and one in five schoolchildren in primary 1 — those aged four and five — are overweight or obese. There is increasing evidence to show that the health impact of obesity is similar to that of smoking more than 10 cigarettes a day. Some people with underlying health conditions are more at...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Tyrone County Hospital: Maternity Services (16 Nov 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: Will the Minister join me in my expression of gratitude to the midwife-led unit at Craigavon Area Hospital for its dedication and hard work and the excellent service that it provides in that area?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Culture, Arts and Leisure: Places for Sport (20 Oct 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: How many applications failed to be approved by the scheme due to late submission?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: Swine Flu (15 Sep 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: I thank the Minister for keeping us informed during the summer months about this serious epidemic that has hit Northern Ireland. It is regrettable that we have had two deaths as a result of swine flu. On behalf of my party, I extend my sympathy to the family of the infant who died. Approximately £8 million will be required to deal with swine flu. Does the Minister agree that, if the...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: Public Expenditure: 2009-2010 June Monitoring and Provisional  Out-turn 2008-2009 (7 Jul 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: Like other Members, I congratulate the Minister on his new post and look forward to co-operating with him. I am sure that the Minister is aware that the swine flu pandemic is unfortunately beginning to take hold in Northern Ireland and that there will be a cost to that. Will the Minister confirm that the Department of Health will be provided with the funds that it needs to meet that pandemic...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial statement: Swine Flu (30 Jun 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: I express my thanks, as other Members have done, to the Minister and his departmental officials, who continually keep the Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety updated on what is happening. As a member of that Committee, I say that with hand on heart. I am concerned about financing, because the Minister or any of his officials could not have predicted the outbreak of swine...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Office Of The First Minister And Deputy First Minister: Children’s Action Plan (29 Jun 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: Child poverty is a big issue for Northern Ireland. Will the junior Minister say whether his Department’s original targets to reduce child poverty by 50% by 2010 and to eradicate it by 2020 have been revised? If so, will he indicate what the new targets are?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Culture, Arts and Leisure: North/South Bodies (18 May 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: Has the Minister assessed the financial cuts that are likely to be imposed on his Department after the Chancellor’s announcement of £14 billion of efficiency savings for the period after 2011? Has he discussed that issue with the Minister of Finance and Personnel and the rest of the Executive?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Healthcare for Older People (18 May 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: It is another Monday, and once more we have a DUP motion on health, the fifty-sixth, to debate. I will add little to what I said this time last week except to say that, if the then DUP Finance Minister, Peter Robinson — the husband of one of the Members who tabled the motion, who is, unfortunately, not able to be here today, Mrs Iris Robinson — had given the Health Minister the...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private members’ business: Children Missing from Care (11 May 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: I support the motion and my colleagues’ proposed amendment. I preface my remarks by making some important observations. Today’s motion is the fifty-fifth private Members’ motion that the DUP has tabled on health. It comes after the Minister has made 14 statements to the House, answered 3,500 health questions and steered no fewer than five Bills through the Assembly. That...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private members’ business: Children Missing from Care (11 May 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for drawing my attention to that point, but some statements, which I feel need clarification, were made earlier in the debate about the Minister’s actions. The Minister is active, and it is worth noting that among those who are criticising him for not being here today is not one single DUP member of the Health Committee. Where are they? They should be here...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private members’ business: Children Missing from Care (11 May 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: I again thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for reminding me about that, but certain matters must be highlighted, such as the DUP’s hypocrisy in its attacks on the Health Service. Our main concern is for children who go missing from care. I support the motion and the amendment.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Health, Social Services  and Public Safety: Caesarean Sections (11 May 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: The Minister will be aware that, in recent months, some people have criticised Craigavon Hospital, particularly its maternity unit. I hope that the Minister will join me in taking the opportunity to express my gratitude for the professionalism of the hard-working, dedicated staff of Craigavon Area Hospital, particularly given the growing pressures in that area.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: Swine Flu (5 May 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: Like other Members, I thank the Minister for his swift action in bringing the issue to the House and to the Health Committee. In fact, he has moved so fast that he might quickly earn a reputation as the ‘Action Man’ for the health, welfare and good of the community in Northern Ireland. Given that we are facing an epidemic, because people in other parts of the world are already...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Employment and Learning: Queen’s University/Stranmillis Merger (27 Apr 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: Will the Minister confirm that if the business case passes all its technical scrutinies in the Department for Employment and Learning and the Department of Finance, his ministerial judgement on the merit, or otherwise, of a merger will also allow for any factors that have changed since the summer of 2008, such as the University of Ulster’s York Street proposals?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: Swine Flu Outbreak in Mexico and USA (27 Apr 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: I thank the Minister for his statement and for being proactive on the issue during the weekend. If required, will he liaise with his colleagues in the NIO and the Department for Regional Development (DRD) to ensure that any resources, over and above those that are already in place at ports and places of entry, are provided to protect the people of Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Loss of Nursing Posts (20 Apr 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: Political distrust is a very unpleasant commodity. The political distrust that lies behind a whole string of DUP motions in the Assembly is clear for the entire electorate to see. For the DUP Finance Minister to impose 3% efficiency savings on the Health Service here and then for Mrs Robinson, the DUP Chairperson of the Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, to lead a series...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Loss of Nursing Posts (20 Apr 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: No, thank you. Instead, the reality is that the DUP, using its voting strength in the Executive, has imposed savings on the Health Minister of £700 million over three years. That masks the total failure of the DUP, when it entered Government through its close partnership with Sinn Féin, to negotiate a peace dividend from the United Kingdom Government. The DUP said that it would not...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Loss of Nursing Posts (20 Apr 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: Let the DUP proposers of today’s original motion tell that to the electorate.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Loss of Nursing Posts (20 Apr 2009)

Samuel Gardiner: I support the motion. [Interruption.] Correction: I support the amendment.