Fire Services (Appointments and Promotion) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002: Prayer of Annulment

Part of the debate – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 5:15 pm on 7 October 2002.

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Photo of Paul Berry Paul Berry DUP 5:15, 7 October 2002

The Democratic Unionist Party is fit enough to deal with those people.

We have heard much about the legal implications. Let us consider the wording. The legal advisers returned to the Department and said that the word "probably" cannot be justified. If that is the legal advice, that person should get the sack. That is not clear guidance for us as a Committee.

We have also heard people say that this annulment will discriminate against people across the world, in places such as Germany. Anyone who says that we are going to discriminate is a hypocrite. These Regulations are discriminating against the Northern Ireland firefighters who have gone through the ranks — people who have developed their career and progressed through the Fire Service for 30 years. If the Regulations were to go ahead, those people would be clearly discriminated against. The Minister’s attempt to have those enacted is once again a political move.

We then had the words of John Kelly — what a courageous man. He said that he would question the motives behind the motion. He said that the motion’s object was political. Who is political today? The Minister of Health and Mr red-faced John Kelly. He went on to talk about leaked documents. Sinn Féin/IRA’s spokespersons are the last people who should be talking about leaked documents in the Assembly today, given the circumstances of Friday past.

We move on to the issue of equivalency, qualifications and the firefighters’ morale. That is being basically laughed off. Forget about the morale of the firefighters, even though the Fire Brigades Union has consulted with us all and made it known that it is against these Regulations because they basically say to the men and women of the Northern Ireland Fire Service, no matter what their religion, that there is no one capable within its ranks.

I thank Eileen Bell and Iris Robinson. Iris Robinson said that the Chief Fire Officer must be aware of the geography and culture of Northern Ireland. We are aware that the Minister of Health will not be in close consultation with the Chief Constable and the General Officer Commanding (GOC) for her own political reasons. Over the past 30 years, we have been aware of Sinn Féin/IRA’s view of the police. It has been in close contact with the police, because it has pointed the gun at them and has murdered many police officers across the streets of Northern Ireland. It is clear that it is not going to consult closely with them.

But we need a Chief Fire Officer who is prepared, capable and aware of the geography of Northern Ireland. While the Minister will not consult with the Chief Constable of Northern Ireland, especially after all her screaming in the corridors of this Building on Friday, we need a man or woman capable of taking on this position.