Mervyn Storey: I commend the RUC, and I trust and pray that its vilification will come to an end.
Mervyn Storey: Will the Minister assure me on the use of the phrase "collusive behaviour" — a phrase which has no legal basis but continues to be used? Unless there is evidence, we cannot continue to besmirch the memory of the RUC, which served the people of Northern Ireland faithfully and was not a terrorist organisation.
Mervyn Storey: It ill becomes the party opposite to be crying about bringing people to justice for murder given that they supported murder in Northern Ireland for 40 years.
Mervyn Storey: Listen to the Speaker.
Mervyn Storey: Oh, settle.
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Member for giving way. I have listened to his arguments about the science. Obviously, the Member is more interested in the optic, given that he rode his bicycle to the COP in Glasgow. I suspect, however, that he used his car to come here today. Political opportunism will not save farms in North Antrim. When will the Member opposite and his party show that they genuinely support...
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Minister and the director general for the time that they took to discuss the report this morning and for the reassurances that were given. I also thank the Chief Inspector for the time that she took yesterday to brief the Committee on the report. I welcome the Minister's comments that recognise the significant transformation that has taken place in our prisons since 2011. I place...
Mervyn Storey: T5. Mr Storey asked the Minister of Health, in the light of the huge commitment from our community pharmacists, when he will make the medicines advice service a non-commissioned service and end the current situation whereby new patients cannot be brought into the service, given that, at a recent meeting of the all-party working group on community pharmacy, it was commented that platitudes...
Mervyn Storey: Given that this issue was particularly relevant during the pandemic, COVID moneys were made available. The Minister referred to a "funding envelope". He has received money. When will he use it to deliver that service?
Mervyn Storey: 4. Mr Storey asked the Minister of Health how he intends to deliver the proposal in Professor Bengoa's report, ‘Systems, Not Structures — Changing Health and Social Care’, to reduce the number of acute hospitals. (AQO 3038/17-22)
Mervyn Storey: Anyone who listened to the Minister's response will have heard that, yet again, it was littered with ambiguity and uncertainty. On one hand, the Minister says that there will be no closures, while, on the other hand, he refers to the impact on acute hospital provision. Can he give a clear assurance in the House that the future of the Causeway Hospital, which has done a huge job during the...
Mervyn Storey: T2. Mr Storey asked the Minister of Finance, who will be aware that, in August 2021, the Central Procurement Directorate (CPD), for which he is responsible, issued a procurement advisory note (PAN) following challenges to some 248 contracts, to give an assurance that those contracts that have been adversely financially impacted on, particularly relating to schools in his constituency of North...
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Minister for that commitment. Will the Minister look at the financial transactions capital that has been set in reserve? Is it possible to use that money to help to try to ensure that those contracts that were let and agreed but which there is now a difficulty with will be able to proceed?
Mervyn Storey: Will the Minister give way?
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Minister for giving way. To give perhaps some comfort to the Member, the issue was raised with us. The Council of District Judges (Magistrates' Courts) in Northern Ireland noted that clause 10 of the Bill: "is silent in respect of appeals". The Department acknowledged that an appeal provision was not in the Bill but advised, and this is at paragraph 225 of the Committee's report:...
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Member for giving way, for the work that she did on domestic abuse in her time on the Justice Committee and for the comments that she has made about the current Committee. We are talking about this Bill and the issue in relation to training. In correspondence to us this week, the Minister has already mentioned the pause in the numbers going into Garnerville. We have a real...
Mervyn Storey: 2. Mr Storey asked the Minister of Education for an update on new capital builds for post-primary schools in North Antrim. (AQO 3008/17-22)
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Minister for her answer and for the time that she took to visit some of the schools mentioned. She will be aware of the concerns in relation to the happenings around Ballycastle High School and Cross and Passion College and in relation to Dunclug. Will the Minister give an assurance that those projects will proceed, that the challenges that we face will be overcome and that those...
Mervyn Storey: Before addressing the amendments, with your indulgence, Mr Deputy Speaker, I wish to make some general remarks about the Bill in my capacity as Chair of the Justice Committee. The Committee supports the Bill, including the creation of a specific stalking offence that recognises the experience of victims; an offence of threatening and abusive behaviour; and the provision of stalking protection...
Mervyn Storey: Although the bids for the PSNI have been fully met in the in-year pressures for the PSNI, obviously they have arisen as a result of the associated costs in regard to the protocol and EU exit. The Committee has been advised that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury wants to make a decision on all NI protocol costs together. Given how many times the Finance Minister's statements are replete with...