Declan O'Loan: There is a phrase about giving a person enough rope to hang themselves. I did not intervene earlier because I wanted to hear what the Minister would say. He has conveyed the tone of his speech at some length now. Although there is an amount of levity about what we say, I am shocked to listen to an Executive Minister speaking in the terms in which this Minister is speaking. He talks about a...
Declan O'Loan: The Equality Commission compiled the figures that we are debating. Does the Member agree that that body is the first and only employer in Northern Ireland to offer free and independent training to Protestant applicants to increase their likelihood of obtaining jobs with the commission, and that that is a very significant form of affirmative action? Does he not consider that the negativity of...
Declan O'Loan: I regard the motion as fundamentally misconceived. It is born of a fixation on the part of the proposer with the employment practice in one particular organisation. If he had been willing to look at the situation in the round, he would not have pursued the issue in the way that he has done with a series of questions.
Declan O'Loan: I am surprised to be asked to give way by the Minister at this point, but I will give way.
Declan O'Loan: I think that the Minister misunderstood me. I was referring to proposer’s clear fixation with one organisation in particular, and that is the one that is named in the motion. He is fundamentally wrong in his reckoning of that organisation and, particularly, of the whole of the public sector. I also criticise the co-signatory of the motion, Lord Morrow, for his statement in the public arena...
Declan O'Loan: I will proceed for the moment. I will specifically address the point in the motion about the Housing Executive. The motion asks: “the Minister of Finance and Personnel to take further measures to ensure that recruitment in the public sector is more broadly reflective of the working-age population.” As I said, the trends are absolutely moving in that direction. However, if the Member reads...
Declan O'Loan: I hope that the Member will concede that, when recruitment is limited, as it is at present, it takes some time to get the appropriate and necessary redress.
Declan O'Loan: I will not address the Member’s particular point, which was absurd. However, I will discuss his broader point. Is he saying, on behalf of his party, that he is opposed to the monitoring of employment in terms of Catholic and Protestant statistics? That is what he was saying.
Declan O'Loan: Will the Minister explain the rationale for an in-year reduction in the budget allocation to GPs? Does he believe that GPs can stand that budget reallocation without any reduction in front line service?
Declan O'Loan: I will speak only briefly about the issue. I support the remarks that have already been made and extend my sympathy to the families involved in the tragedy at Castlerock. I raised concerns about this important issue at a meeting of the Committee for Finance and Personnel two weeks ago and asked that the Committee ask the Department whether it had considered making provision for that in...
Declan O'Loan: The Minister confirmed that the construction sector has taken the brunt of the recession. Officials have told us that there could be a cut in capital spend next year of £500 million and more in future years. Does the Minister agree that that cut would be calamitous for the construction sector? Therefore, there is a real onus on the Executive to come up with the original thinking that he has...
Declan O'Loan: The purpose of PPS 5 is to ensure viable and sustainable town centres. The Minister has wider responsibilities beyond PPS 5 in that regard. Has he done any cross-departmental work to sustain our rural town centres, which find it very hard in these economic times?
Declan O'Loan: Will the Minister give way?
Declan O'Loan: I thank the Minister for developing the points in the way that he is doing. However, this is an important issue. The Committee recommends at recommendation 4: “that a regularised annual budgetary review process is established within this framework … to enable the Executive and Assembly to make interim reappraisals of departmental allocations against progress in delivering PfG priorities...
Declan O'Loan: I apologise at the outset for missing part of the Deputy Chairperson’s introduction to the debate. This would be a very important issue at any time, because the Budget is critical to any section of government that spends £10 billion annually on resource and £1·5 billion on capital or has been doing so. That has huge consequences for the well-being of society. We need to do that right...
Declan O'Loan: That is something that this party has asked for but which, in itself, is not without complications.
Declan O'Loan: At the outset, I apologise for the absence of my colleague Thomas Burns. He is a member of the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure and wanted to speak on the issue, but, for unavoidable reasons, he is unable to be here. When listening to the little interchange about the colour of the Minister’s tie, I think that I heard him say that he will give his full support to Down in the...
Declan O'Loan: As the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee, I thank the staff in the Assembly secretariat for their assistance. I particularly want to place on record my and the Committee’s appreciation of all the organisations that provided evidence to the Committee as part of the inquiry. A wealth of experience and expertise was generously provided to the Committee by community groups, sporting bodies,...
Declan O'Loan: As the Minister said, the economy is the first priority of the Executive. What happens in her Department is critical, and she has the support of this party as we enter into such debates. Given the budgetary reductions, does the Minister believe that she can protect the output of her Department? Does she see ways in which processes and programmes in Invest Northern Ireland could be altered to...
Declan O'Loan: I note that the Minister mentioned previous agreements, with reference to the Good Friday Agreement. There will be some wonderment about that. I noted his previous answers about potential cost savings through co-operation and sharing. Of course, I welcome that progress. Will he confirm that there will be no reduction in support from the First Minister and him for the work of the existing...