Edwin Poots: In his response to a previous question, the Minister talked about equality and treated with disdain those who asked questions about fair treatment. It is clear from the figures he has given that schools in the Unionist community that are within the North Eastern Education and Library Board and South Eastern Education and Library Board areas are being discriminated against. In Downshire, which...
Edwin Poots: 6. asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (a) the current waiting period for patients requiring treatment for fractures; and (b) how this compares with previous years. (AQO 981/01)
Edwin Poots: I hear what the Minister is saying, but what is happening on the ground is different. I have heard about people having to wait more than a week to have fractures repaired. We have also heard the Minister complaining today about not having enough resources. People who have to wait for up to two weeks to get fractures repaired are using much needed resources, and that creates a situation in...
Edwin Poots: 11. asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how he ensures that additional funding for allocated Departments provides value for money. (AQO 984/01)
Edwin Poots: How does that analysis work for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety? Despite a 37% increase in that Department’s spending in the lifetime of this Assembly, waiting lists are higher than ever. How can the Minister account for the £110,000 that was spent on translation services as good value for money, given the current state of the Health Service?
Edwin Poots: Nobody should have a problem with supporting the motion. If the Minister were not doing what it says in the motion she would have no position to fill. The agriculture industry needs significant support and some rational and innovative thinking to get out of its current situation. It is regrettable that those issues arise time and again, and many of the same issues are repeated because of the...
Edwin Poots: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Last Thursday, it was announced that Her Majesty would confer city status on two of the Province’s towns, Newry and Lisburn. Is it in order for the Assembly to congratulate those towns? As a representative of what is now Ulster’s second city, I feel it would be appropriate for us to do so.
Edwin Poots: The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development handed back money allocated to brucellosis compensation. That is astonishing given the rise in brucellosis and the Department’s inability, in some cases, to deal with it because of an apparent lack of money. The Minister said that he was concerned about Departments handing money back. His former Department, the Department for Education and...
Edwin Poots: Is it not amazing that Mr Trimble, the First Minister, has stated today that the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister has not put in a response to the review? He then says that the matter will have to be dealt with. If the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister cannot agree a response, there is little hope for an agreed response in Northern Ireland. Surely their...
Edwin Poots: 2. asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what progress has been made on the private finance initiative scheme to provide a new library in Lisburn. (AQO 1051/01)
Edwin Poots: I welcome the news that companies have been shortlisted. When will work commence on site? When will a library that is fit for Ulster’s second city replace facilities that are fit only for a village?
Edwin Poots: 13. asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what resources are being dedicated to the eradication of brucellosis. (AQO 1049/01)
Edwin Poots: Is it not the case that brucellosis was virtually eradicated in Northern Ireland until an import of infected cattle from Cork, which contributed to the current outbreak? Will the Minister confirm that only six staff from the Ards veterinary office, which covers the Lagan Valley area where there is a particularly bad outbreak, are currently working on brucellosis? Many of those staff are still...
Edwin Poots: I beg to move That this Assembly notes the recommendations outlined in the report of the Committee of the Centre on its Inquiry into the ‘Approach of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Devolved Government on European Union Issues’ (02/01/R) and calls on the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to implement the relevant recommendations.
Edwin Poots: I beg to move the following amendment: In line 1 delete "notes" and insert "accepts". After consideration at its meeting of 20 March 2002, the Committee of the Centre agreed to an amendment to its original motion to ask the Assembly to accept rather than note its report and recommendations. We believe that the change gives more weight to our recommendations and is a truer reflection of the...
Edwin Poots: 4. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment how he assists local companies that engage in outward investment. (AQO 1067/01)
Edwin Poots: Do the Minister and his Department recognise that, when businesses express a wish to develop overseas as well as at home, it is an indication of a vibrant economy? Does he recognise that businesses do not necessarily require financial assistance, but back-up assistance to develop international links in order to improve their chances of bringing further investment and profitability to Northern...
Edwin Poots: 16. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what is the religious breakdown of students on university campuses. (AQO 1072/01)
Edwin Poots: I have not really got an answer. I understand that tables are available, and I have seen a reply from the University of Ulster’s Magee campus. The religious breakdown in that university shows that a very small proportion of the students are from the Protestant community. There is a chill factor in universities for Protestant students, and I want to know what the Minister intends to do to...
Edwin Poots: 4. asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the extent of waiting lists for homes in Lagan Valley by each local Housing Executive area. (AQO 1075/01)