David Burnside: I hate to intervene in the nationalist/republican debate. [Laughter.] With the depth and extent of the equality and human-rights legislation that exists in Northern Ireland, is there no time in the future that the deputy First Minister envisages this Assembly evolving into the same formation of a Government and Executive as every other democratic country in the world, whether that be a...
David Burnside: I will be quicker with my question than the deputy First Minister was with his long-winded statement. The deputy First Minister made only one specific point in his three long-winded answers to the question and the supplementary questions. He referred to the Presbyterian Mutual Society. In their representations to the British Prime Minister, will he and the First Minister, if need be —
David Burnside: Will he ask the Prime Minister to nationalise the Presbyterian Mutual Society so that the interests of its customers can be looked after?
David Burnside: During the five months in which no official meetings of the Executive took place, how many meetings did the deputy First Minister have with the First Minister in order to discuss the transfer of policing and justice powers to the Assembly and the Executive? When did those meetings conclude with a sign from 10 Downing Street that policing and justice powers were to be transferred within a...
David Burnside: Does the deputy First Minister agree that although it is all very well having an investment strategy for Northern Ireland, the credit crisis has destroyed investment opportunities for firms and there is no cash available in the financial system? Will he provide evidence that he has made representations to Her Majesty’s Government, the Treasury and the National Economic Council, which was...
David Burnside: I will not ask my question in Gaelic today because I do not want to offend our friends from the Dáil. They are used to listening to the proceedings there — where English is normally spoken.
David Burnside: It concerns me that the Minister puts North/South dialogue at the top of her agenda. Is it not more important to put the priorities and needs of education in Northern Ireland at the top of her agenda? Why does she not examine the fact that Northern Ireland has state, voluntary, integrated and Irish-medium systems of education? If she compares North with South, and East with West, she will...
David Burnside: Regarding republicans coming from one stable — some parts are on ceasefire and other parts are planning to carry out violence and killings against the security forces, as demonstrated by recent events. As a Fermanagh man, does the Member agree that it seems that, as the DUP and Sinn Féin are coming close to doing a deal on transferring policing and justice, voting for the DUP in...
David Burnside: 6. asked the Minister for Social Development if funding allocated by her Department will be linked to adherence by voluntary and community organizations to her Department’s code of governance for the voluntary and community sector. (AQO 4210/08)
David Burnside: The Minister will agree that the vast majority of voluntary and community groups are doing a good job in difficult circumstances. She will also agree that many groups have been, and still are, fronts for former republican and loyalist terrorist organisations that are still heavily involved in criminality. Does she believe that her Department’s code of governance and standards on the funding...
David Burnside: 6. asked the Minister for Regional Development if he is making any bids for additional moneys from the Emerald Fund to construct motorway infrastructural links at key economic locations. (AQO 4199/08)
David Burnside: That is a very disappointing response. I am not clear how much money has been invested in the Emerald Fund, but the Minister could bid for some moneys as a way of dealing with his Department’s problems. He comes to the House time and time again and says that his budget allocation is not sufficient. For instance, we are way behind spending in comparable terms with England. Surely the...
David Burnside: I also congratulate the Minister on his promotion. Performance efficiency units sound very well, but we must judge them on how they deliver results. How much discretion does the Finance Minister have to, for example, send the performance efficiency unit into a chosen Department to evaluate, qualify and quantify the performance of its Minister, permanent civil servants and consultants? Could...
David Burnside: I welcome the work of the Ad Hoc Committee, as other Members have. I am pleased that the Parkhall post office in south Antrim has got a reprieve. That reprieve is due to the tremendous campaign from the local community and political representatives, and to the effective consultative programme that was carried out during the process. Sometimes, consultation is a waste of time — a con job....
David Burnside: Does the Minister remember the statement that his colleague Michelle Gildernew made on 3 May 2006, in which she blamed the appalling number of deaths on the rural road network directly on decades of underfunding from direct rule Ministers? Since he has taken over responsibility for the Department, he has spent only 18% a mile of the amount that is spent on road maintenance in England. Does...
David Burnside: Further to that, would the Minister look even more favourably at helping out the Brandywell stadium if Derry City were to join the IFA? I remember seeing Derry City playing to big crowds at the Brandywell, and at Coleraine, in the north-west derbies. Is that not the right direction for the future? Would the Department look favourably at funding the refurbishment of the Brandywell if, and...
David Burnside: I went to Coleraine Academical Institution — I would not dare to ask more than one question. Mr O’Loan mentioned credit problems, which is an understatement. Currently, when financing an investment, whether here or anywhere else, one must finance the equity and finance the debt. In the absence of the credit markets being open at the minute, will the Minister ask Invest NI to show some...
David Burnside: I support amendment No 1. The process that the Bill has gone through should be considered at best a major embarrassment to the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (OFMDFM). By initially fudging a decision on a single commissioner, that Department has stumbled from one mess-up to another. First, it pushed a crucial piece of legislation through the Assembly by accelerated...
David Burnside: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The amendments tabled for the first item of business — the Consideration Stage of the Commission for Victims and Survivors Bill — on behalf of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister are only in the name of the junior Minister Jeffrey Donaldson. Before embarking, will you clarify whether that is normal procedure? Are the amendments being...
David Burnside: 3. asked the Minister for Social Development to outline her strategies for reducing the number of families with children that claim at least one key benefit. (AQO 3245/08)