I thank the Member for her intervention. Yes, of course, your life should not be determined by your postcode or where you were born or live, but a lot of people ensure that that is not how their life evolves. They make their own choices in life.
There are skills that are not in Northern Ireland — at least, they are not here in great quantities — that we need to develop. I hear the figure of 5,000. I am not sure where that figure has come from, to be fair. However, if a business came from America in the morning offering 5,000 jobs of a specific type, could we fulfil that? I do not believe that we could at the moment, and that is one of the dangers.
We have to look at employers as well. Where are the skills required? I hear employers say, "I can't get the lorry drivers", "I can't get the people to do the office administration" or "I can't get the healthcare workers whom we have heard about." There is a huge dearth of some skills that has not been identified. I have to be fair to the regional colleges. In a lot of instances, they have moved on from the old technical colleges that I remember. They provide a much wider range of skills now, but that requires further development, particularly in areas that need specific skills.
I point to Fermanagh and South Tyrone. The south Tyrone area has huge numbers involved in food production, but it also has small engineering firms that require the skills that need to be provided by the regional colleges. That is important as well. I always like to support indigenous businesses. We have witnessed so many foreign direct investors coming into Northern Ireland, but they last for a short time and then they are gone, whereas those indigenous businesses, grown in the communities, survive for much longer.
I cannot not mention BT/EE, which is reviewing its situation in Fermanagh and Enniskillen but without giving out enough information. I heard the Minister say earlier that even he cannot get some of the information that the employees would like. I accept that it is a private company, but I just wish that, at this stage, it would be more open and transparent with its loyal employees. They have been good to BT and EE over the years, and they now deserve the respect of at least being given the information.
There needs to be a balance here. We need to upskill young people and make sure that they are ready for the job opportunities that will be there. However, it is also about supporting employers, because, often, employers feel that they are in a position where employees are dictating to them. I have to tell Members the story of an employer who was chatting to me. Just by chance, he said to me that his eight or nine employees had told him that they were going down to a four-day week. They just told the employer. It did not matter what the employer thought or whether he thought that they should still work their five hours on a Friday. He was just told that, and he felt demoralised by it. He said that it seemed like the tail wagging the dog. He did not have a huge amount of pressure to exert on them, so he felt unable to say, "Well, look, you just can't do that", and he felt lonely and isolated.
]]>I will quote a short portion from an article in 'The BMJ':
"Holiday hunger is an under-researched phenomena; it is a contemporary term, but policy makers have been concerned about food insecurity during school holidays since the start of the 20th century. On 27 March 1914, for example, Bradford MP Fred Jowett proposed a bill to 'enable meals to be provided for underfed children during school holidays.' He became concerned about the problem after consulting with a school medical officer who observed a decrease in children’s weight during the school holidays."
Whilst we can rightly wonder at and appreciate the speed of modernisation, regrettably and bewilderingly, it is somewhat incomprehensible that, 110 years from the MP's proposed Bill, we are still debating holiday hunger in relation to children here in Northern Ireland.
The reality is that, when we do delve deeper into the issue, it is not just the child who could go hungry. We know from research and true testimony that, in some instances, parents and carers also skip meals to ensure that their child is fed. I want to pay tribute to all those in community initiatives and groups who not only provide activities and, often, educational events during holidays but offer healthy meals to children the length and breadth of Northern Ireland. We have heard some of these referred to already. However, in regard to tackling the stigma and protecting the dignity of parents in low-income households, it is absolutely on our shoulders, in this Assembly and Executive, to develop strategies and interventions that ensure that no family has to make a decision on whether to eat due to finance.
We have often heard the phrase "heat or eat". It is arguably worse that, in some instances, we have a parent or child who does not even have that choice. Skipping meals for growing children is not a decision that any parent should be faced with in 2024 in any part of the world, least of all here in Northern Ireland. In the longer term, I would love the education system to assess the full value of every child receiving at least one nutritious, balanced and tasty meal every day, not only ensuring that children have a full stomach but that they enjoy healthy, nutritious food and that we revisit and revalue the societal and psychological benefits of eating and sharing together.
I am also concerned that we have the potential for the situation to get worse. If local food production here in Northern Ireland is significantly reduced due to climate change legislation, we could be faced with importing quite a number of food products from other parts of the world that would not be of the same quality as food that we produce here in Northern Ireland and would be more expensive and add many more food miles to the situation. I ask that Members support the motion and the amendment.
]]>I ask that the landline providers, particularly BT, which, I assume, is the largest communications provider in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, review that situation, especially where those lifelines are required to support families and individuals who may not have support from the community or families in the wider context. I ask providers to ensure that, when there is a breakdown in the service, they repair those faults, view landlines as an essential service and treat them as such by repairing them as soon as is reasonably possible.
]]>We have heard a lot about choice. We have heard a lot about exclusivity and inclusivity and what is inclusive. The difficulty that I have is that it appears that some in the Chamber want to almost force people to go to a single sector. That is not what we are about in Northern Ireland. We want that choice, and the Minister has said that he is willing to provide that choice. We do not want to elevate one sector above all others, and that is important.
I can recall, when I was at school — you will appreciate that that was a while ago — there was one school in our area, Lack Primary School, that is now earmarked for closure. It was a proper integrated school. It was in the controlled sector, but pupils attended that school from across the community divide and the religious divide. In my view, at that time, that was a good example of an integrated school in the controlled sector, but the controlled sector always facilitated people from across the community. It is unfortunate that the controlled sector was not broadly the main sector that could accommodate, because, to me, that could facilitate people from all communities.
I apologise to Mr Mathison that I was not here for the opening of the debate. However, Mr Butler moved the amendment that, to me, provided some accuracy to the situation and referenced the recent legislation and the 2022 Act. He highlighted the Brookeborough shared education campus and the Strule campus, which are two important projects in rural areas. Brookeborough, in particular, was referenced by my constituency colleague, Mrs Erskine. It is vital and has been worked on for years. That project has the opportunity to make a real difference in that area for shared education and experiences of different traditions. Another school in the constituency seemed to fall through the web some time ago, and that was in Moy. Two schools were working very closely together, with just a hedge or a fence between them. They were able to work that relationship very well.
A number of Members highlighted the loss of the Fresh Start funding, including Mr Sheehan, Deirdre Hargey and others.
Diane Dodds quoted some of the legislation. It was helpful to highlight exactly what the legislation says and that one sector, integrated education, should not be put on a pedestal above others.
Cheryl Brownlee highlighted that, as I have said, many schools are actually integrated but may not have the title of "integrated" above the door or in the title.
Cara Hunter talked about the importance and fairness of supporting schools from all sectors and across the board.
I noted that Mr O'Toole, even as leader of the Opposition, tried to bring the debate back to what it was actually about, which was the loss of the Fresh Start funding.
I thought that Mr O'Toole, as leader of the Opposition, might have used the opportunity to talk about the difficulties in the Executive and what the Minister said about not supporting Ministers to get the funding for those capital projects, but he shied away from that somewhat and tried to bring the debate back to the re-establishment of the finance from the UK Government.
Mr Carroll's speech was interesting. At the start, he indicated that the integrated sector should be the one and only sector, but then he went on to talk about support for the Irish-medium sector. So, I am not sure whether he supports there being one sector — the integrated sector — or whether he also supports the Irish-medium sector but no others. I will bring matters to a conclusion at that.
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]]>I noticed that, in 2021, the fishing industry had an annual turnover of £135 million and supports 1,550 jobs. That should not be taken lightly in today's society. The industry is important and strategic to those areas. I have regularly visited the harbours in the three areas, although maybe not so much in the last couple of years. To say that they need investment is probably an understatement. I know, Mr Speaker, that, when you were Minister, you recognised that we cannot have an industry of that size without some central support. The industry itself puts in a huge amount of investment.
It is an industry that has been racked with uncertainty for generations. Certainly, over the last number of decades, uncertainty has been embedded in the industry. First, the EU quotas caused great difficulty for the fishing industry, because, every year, it had to go and look for its quota from the European Union, and it was not sure what quota it would get. Mr Speaker, I am sure that you remember that from your time as Minister. Then there was the uncertainty around which waters it could fish in. I know that sometimes fishermen were not allowed to fish in waters that they naturally thought the Northern Ireland fishing industry should have been able to fish in, and that caused a great deal of frustration. Also, we had the uncertainty around Brexit, the Northern Ireland protocol and the Windsor framework. The industry keeps facing those uncertainties. It cannot seem to get to a stable position, and that causes a huge amount of difficulty.
We cannot expect an industry of such economic importance to Northern Ireland to survive without central support. I appreciate that there was a commitment to support investment in those harbours to bring them up to a sustainable level. It would be good to hear from the Minister about whether that commitment will continue or whether they will have to start afresh. I certainly support the fishing industry and want to see it progress. We have a uniqueness because of our location. Those three great locations can provide support for the fishing industry and huge employment. I heard Members mention the particular difficulties for workers who come into Northern Ireland from other countries. I hope that that can be managed and progressed. I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say on that and what discussions he has had with the Home Office on ensuring that people can have jobs in Northern Ireland.
I and the Ulster Unionist Party support the motion and the amendment.
]]>Meeting special educational needs is complex and difficult, and, I have to say, it appears that parents almost give up on the situation at times. As someone who has been through the process, I understand those difficulties. I absolutely understand how you can sometimes feel that it is going nowhere. Sometimes the difficulty is the statement. I was interested to hear the Minister say that 63% of children with special educational needs do not have a statement. I was not aware of that figure, but, thinking it through, it seems reasonable that that is the case, simply because the resources are not there to address the difficulties.
I pay tribute to the education centres, mainstream schools and, indeed, special schools that have provided for young people with special needs. Under very challenging and difficult circumstances, many of them have carried out tremendous work. I put on record that it is not all negative and that there are positives. Sometimes it is easy to do nothing but criticise and say, "All this is wrong", but it is not. I have seen schools, teachers, classroom assistants and support workers go above and beyond what is reasonably required of them to make life better for those young people and give them the education experience that they would not normally have. It is important that we say that.
Mr Mathison opened the debate and outlined the need for change in the special educational needs process and for appropriate pay for non-teaching staff. Mr Butler said that priorities should focus on the most vulnerable young people, some of whom are missing out on important days and milestones in their education journey. That has happened throughout the process, but, again, the education centres that provide for young people with special educational needs try to resolve it and make it better for them.
Mr Sheehan, Mr Baker and Diane Dodds gave examples of important constituency issues. We all get those in our inboxes. Mr Brooks and Ms Mason made their maiden speeches, and I congratulate them on that. Maybe there is a difference between East Belfast and South Down, but the complexities in special educational needs are probably very similar. I understand the circumstances of Ms Mason's personal tragedy, and she has my sympathy.
Cara Hunter provided information on the vast range of complex issues that is involved and the limited resources that there are. I suppose that a lot of it comes down to limited resources. We do not have an open pot of money here, and it is for the Minister to try to juggle that pot to do what he can with the limited resources that he has.
Cheryl Brownlee spoke of her personal circumstances, which is never an easy process. Sian Mulholland emphasised the underinvestment in processes. Kellie Armstrong spoke about workforce and funding in her normal positive way, if I may say, and Mr Frew spoke about how society treats, or, rather, does not treat the most vulnerable. Daniel McCrossan, Justin McNulty and Gerry Carroll highlighted individual aspects.
I will round up by saying again that this is about a lack of resources. The processes have changed dramatically over the years. The Minister highlighted that the processes that we have were for something that was in place a number of years ago. However, I say to parents, in particular: please do not give up on your young people, because they are the future of our society.
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