Results 1-20 of 750 for speaker:Roy Beggs

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Block Grant (17 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: My colleague David McNarry rightly posed the question of how double-jobbing MLAs and Ministers will protect Northern Ireland from potential cuts in the block grant. Double-jobbing restricts their time in and influence on Westminster, and that is where the decisions are made. It is much easier simply to wait for results before taking a step back and criticising the Government, whether it is...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Block Grant (17 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: I urge Members to take the step now. Support the amendment, rather than face last-minute firefighting and, potentially, wasting limited public resources.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Block Grant (17 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: Does the Member acknowledge that the SDLP has asked for a budgetary review Committee to examine the difficulties that currently exist, never mind those that may exist in the future? Does he also acknowledge that the amendment simply says that the Assembly should make preparations for cuts of up to 10%? We are not accepting any particular figure; we simply wish to be prepared for the options.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Block Grant (17 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: Will the Member give way?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Block Grant (17 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: Is the Member advocating tax increases?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: Together Towards Entitlement (16 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: In answer to earlier questions, the Minister highlighted the unacceptable number of children in secondary schools who are not meeting baseline levels of education. Does the Minister not accept that the critical stage for children is when they are between the ages of 0 and 6 and that those are their formative years? Why has she not acknowledged that in anything that she has said about what is...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: Does the Member accept that he has illustrated the lack of confidence that surrounds the devolution of policing and justice?

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

Roy Beggs: 2. asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel which Departments and agencies have recently introduced a recruitment freeze, or a policy to cut or reduce overtime.        
60;  (AQO 349/10)

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

Roy Beggs: I thank the Minister for his answer. Recruitment freezes are much more preferable to the costly alternative of redundancies. Does the Minister agree that recruitment freezes can expose areas of need and work required due to staff being in the wrong place; and will he acknowledge that his late acceptance of a financial black hole may well have contributed to the problem, and that this matter...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Clause 1 (Operators’ licences) (10 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: I am content with the Bill and the amendments. The evidence that we received at the Committee, particularly from the traffic commissioner for the north-western area, ensured my support for moving forward in this area. We have to improve the standard of the vehicles on our roads to improve road safety and the protection of all our road users, including pedestrians who might get caught up in...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Clause 1 (Operators’ licences) (10 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: Does the Member agree that, perhaps, we were fortunate that there was a change of Minister? The information that came back to the Committee was that the previous Minister was minded not to proceed with the Bill. Is that correct?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Clause 1 (Operators’ licences) (10 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: Does the Member not accept that, if criminal gangs do not have lorries, they will not be able to move goods around illegally? If they attempt to do so using someone else’s lorry, that operator will risk losing his or her licence. That will, therefore, make life much more difficult for criminals.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Environment: Planning: Permitted Development (9 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: I give a general welcome to the proposal to remove many minor modifications from the planning system. However, the Planning Service costs several millions of pounds more each year than it raises in planning fees. The proposal will further reduce workload and income and increase deficit. Given that loss of income, how will the Minister balance the books?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: Planning Policy Statement 7:  Draft Addendum (9 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: The Minister rightly points out that overdevelopment can lead to the erosion of an area’s character. That is evident in the North Road in Carrickfergus, where there has been a rash of apartment applications and approvals. Will the Minister advise the House of what assessment Planning Service has undertaken to establish the proportion of current approvals that will be affected by the new...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: Environment Sectoral Format (9 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: I thank the Minister for his statement, in which he indicated that the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency in the Republic of Ireland are developing a common set of environmental indicators. Will the Minister ensure that the finalised and agreed indicators remain consistent with those that are standard throughout the United Kingdom, so that we can...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (3 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: Will the Member accept that much of our limited funds will end up being spent on lawyers’ fees and that there will, therefore, be even less money to improve housing, health and education?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (3 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: Will the Member give way?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (3 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: Does the Member not accept that the fact that there is such division in the attitude of political parties and in communities to a consultation represents a flawed start and, therefore, means that any public consultation will be a complete waste of funding. Those who came up with a set of words should have put consensus at the heart of a bill of rights: we have to reach consensus in order to...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Child Abuse: Ryan Report (2 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: The publication of the Ryan report was a dark day for the Government of the Republic of Ireland and for the Catholic Church. The horrors and grief that the report uncovered shocked not only people in Northern Ireland but everyone in the Republic of Ireland and people throughout the world. However, the report confirmed what countless victims, participants in abuse and silent observers already...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Child Abuse: Ryan Report (2 Nov 2009)

Roy Beggs: I thank the Member for his intervention. I am not aware that the Ryan report has any legal standing in Northern Ireland. Our legal justice system has standing here. I hope that the debate and the report’s publication encourage more victims to come forward and give evidence so that perpetrators are held to account and are brought before the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland....