Patsy McGlone: It is pretty widely accepted that the definition of “affordable housing” not only embraces privately owned or privately rented property but social housing. That is accepted widely, including by Sir John Semple.
Patsy McGlone: I beg to move That this Assembly expresses serious concerns about the affordable housing crisis; notes the deliberations by the committee chaired by Sir John Semple; and demands that any new Executive make affordable housing an urgent Government priority. Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leat as ucht an seans a thabhairt domh labhairt ar an ábhar seo, nó is...
Patsy McGlone: It should be noted, a LeasCheann Comhairle, that 80% to 90% of individuals diagnosed with ASD will develop mental-health problems. Only 5% of people with ASD are in employment or higher education. As a former Minister for Employment and Learning, Carmel has experience in that field and knows that, set in the context of Government initiatives intended to encourage people into the workplace,...
Patsy McGlone: Go raibh míle maith agat. As someone who lives in and represents a rural area, I can state that the role of post offices has been articulated amply here today. In isolated communities, local post offices provide older people, disabled people and those on low incomes who cannot afford extra travel costs with access to their attendance allowances, disability living allowances, income support...
Patsy McGlone: As Mr Hussey said, post offices generate business for other businesses. Many post offices are located in small rural shops. Indeed, many of those are under threat from multinational retailers. Card accounts were introduced to allow people to withdraw their tax credits, benefits and pensions in post offices. The withdrawal of that system, seemingly at the whim of the Department for Work and...
Patsy McGlone: I beg to move the following amendment: Leave out “Northern Ireland” and insert “Cookstown, Desertcreat site”. A LeasCheann Comhairle, I appreciate that that specific detail in regard to location is the only difference between the amendment and the substantive motion. Mr Campbell has clarified his position on that point, and I thank him for doing so. For that reason, I submit the...
Patsy McGlone: Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I declare membership of Cookstown District Council. After much alleged deliberation, the Govern-ment and their review of public administration team came up with seven so-called super-councils. Some people call them super-councils, and they can also be called sub-regional councils, but they can never be called local councils. In fact, they cannot be...
Patsy McGlone: Will the Member give way?
Patsy McGlone: I heard Mr McCrea calling for a reality check on law and order. I strongly wish to place on record that I resent sanctimonious lectures directed at my party from the DUP — the red beret revolutionaries; the mountain-top mutineers; those who have marched on the streets with paramilitaries. No more lectures. Those in glass houses should not throw stones.
Patsy McGlone: Yes, there is also the Billy Wright issue. To move to the issue that I was going to address —
Patsy McGlone: I have the Floor, I presume. I turn to a material issue that is of more concern in my constituency. I wish to address the confusion that has arisen due to Minister Paul Goggins’s comments yesterday on the location of the new police college. The decision on that location came about after a detailed and objective analysis of a number of locations. The site at Desertcreat in Cookstown emerged...
Patsy McGlone: The Government should press ahead, accept the views that have been expressed today, and proceed with what has already been accepted, planned and agreed by the Policing Board. Those views should be communicated to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) forthwith.
Patsy McGlone: I have finished, but OK.
Patsy McGlone: A Cheann Comhairle. A fortnight ago, this Assembly rightly debated Draft Planning Policy Statement 14. On that occasion there was much consensus in the Assembly that it would be bad for rural society and bad for rural economies. Based on analysis that I presented to the Assembly, it is predicted that such an ill-advised policy will have very negative effects on the local economy with...
Patsy McGlone: I also represent a largely rural area. Forgive me for saying that Mr Wells’s experience may be peculiar to his area, but it is not my experience. People who contact me about sites are from the land; they want to live where generations before them have lived. The Member is saying that the exception should form the rule; those are the exceptions in my area.
Patsy McGlone: The price of sites has been grossly inflated as a direct consequence of Lord Rooker signing Draft PPS 14.
Patsy McGlone: Will the Member give way?
Patsy McGlone: I beg to move That this Assembly condemns the unilateral method by which the document ‘Draft Planning Policy Statement 14, Sustainable Development in the Countryside’ was introduced and calls on the Secretary of State to cease implementation of PPS 14 pending a comprehensive review of rural planning policy to develop a balanced policy for the sustainability of rural society and the...
