Results 1-20 of 533 for speaker:Declan O'Loan

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

Declan O'Loan: I support the motion that the Assembly oppose any reduction in the Northern Ireland block grant. I understand the thinking behind the amendment, but I cannot support it. We would be trying to argue two cases at once, and that would not be solid ground to stand on. The amendment refers to the possibility of a 10% cut in the block grant. The effects of such a cut on the social and economic life...

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

Declan O'Loan: Only by creating that substantial case, based on the evidence that the House of Lords was aware of —

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

Declan O'Loan: That has been referred to frequently in the Chamber. Only through such an approach can we advance that cause with the Treasury.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: Transport Sectoral Format (17 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: I welcome the Minister’s very substantial statement. My question is about the new lower drink-driving limits in both jurisdictions. I welcome the reduction in the limit in the South. I was concerned about a good deal of the nature of the debate, although the argument was eventually won in what I judge to be the right way. Is any joint work planned to change social attitudes to alcohol...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: Institutional Format (17 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: I welcome the Minister’s statement. He referred to a broad discussion having taken place with Minister Martin on practical, mutually beneficial co-operation in the context of the current economic and budgetary challenges facing each jurisdiction, and I welcome that. Will the Minister tell me what the tone and nature of that discussion was and whether it was a positive discussion? Were...

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

Declan O'Loan: Will the Member give way?

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

Declan O'Loan: I note that the Member said that there is no method other than cross-community support in the House that will secure community confidence. In particular, he said, “unionist community confidence”. Therefore, I take it that he is rejecting a continuation of d’Hondt, which would lead to the SDLP’s taking the new justice portfolio. Will the Member make it absolutely clear...

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

Declan O'Loan: The Member speaks in a very principled way and, indeed, almost claims that the Alliance Party is the only principled party in the Assembly. She has spoken very nobly about how neither she nor her party has any interest in who becomes the Minister of justice and says that the Alliance Party is concerned only with the outcomes from our having a Department of justice. The Alliance Party was...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Finance and Personnel (10 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I see no Minister here to take questions.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Finance and Personnel: Social Housing: Credit Unions (10 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: I welcome the Minister to Question Time. As Mr Hamilton rightly said, there is a lot of novel thinking going on about funding for social housing. I understand what the Minister has said about the responsibility of the Minister for Social Development in that area, but clearly there are also serious financial issues. Therefore, I urge the Minister to go further than he has done in his...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Multi-unit Development  Management Company Reform (9 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: I refer the Member to the wording of the original motion, which: “calls on the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Executive to develop proposals on the matter.”

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Multi-unit Development  Management Company Reform (9 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: The motion must be one of the more mysterious to appear on the Order Paper. When it initially appeared, there was a great deal of head scratching among Members and researchers — including the Assembly’s Research and Library Service — as to what the motion referred. Although a little bit more clarity has emerged, the initial reaction says something about whether tabling a...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Multi-unit Development  Management Company Reform (9 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: I do not know. When Mr McCarthy submitted questions on the matter, they were assigned to the Minister of Finance and Personnel, although I am open to correction. The Minister of Finance and Personnel is here to respond; I presume that his attendance was discussed in the Executive, so he is here for a good reason.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Multi-unit Development  Management Company Reform (9 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: Just because the Minister is referred to in the motion, it is not obligatory for him to respond. If it was not appropriate for him to respond, he would not be here.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Multi-unit Development  Management Company Reform (9 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: I have already answered that. I do not claim to be an expert on which Department is responsible for the matter. I note that the Minister of Finance and Personnel is here to respond, so I assume that he has accepted some responsibility for the matter. The amendment is not particularly constructive. The motion calls on the Minister of Finance and Personnel and the Executive to develop proposals...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Committee Business: Efficiency and Contingency Deficit Proposals in the Health and Social Care Trusts (9 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: The pressure of achieving efficiency savings is nowhere more apparent than in the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. The Minister stated that £700 million of efficiency savings are demanded, when years of underinvestment mean that our services are not as good as those in the rest of the UK. He is quite right that objective measures show that productivity in the...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Committee Business: Efficiency and Contingency Deficit Proposals in the Health and Social Care Trusts (9 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: I leave the Member’s comment as he has expressed it. Two residential homes in the Northern Health Trust will be replaced, including Rathmoyle Home in Ballycastle. I am most enthusiastic and optimistic about this scheme, as it could provide a better standard of care for elderly people and others who need support, whether in the community or in residential accommodation. I welcome the...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Committee Business: Efficiency and Contingency Deficit Proposals in the Health and Social Care Trusts (9 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: Perhaps that tight funding environment will give the spur to the real changes that lead to a financially sustainable and better Health Service. I hope that the Minister will lead the way.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Committee Business: Efficiency and Contingency Deficit Proposals in the Health and Social Care Trusts (9 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Is it in order for a Member to refer to another Member’s words as “garbage”? I find it singularly inappropriate.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Adjournment: Primary School Provision in Ballymena South (3 Nov 2009)

Declan O'Loan: I thank the Member who secured the debate. It is a sensitive issue: when any proposal for significant school change is made, such as the proposal that we are discussing, it raises considerable emotions. Communities and parents invest much in their local schools, and changes in such matters are not at all easy. I will review some of the history of the decision as it is known to me. In November...