Clare Bailey: Will the Member give way?
Clare Bailey: I support the motion, but it is with regret. The motion would provide only for three- and four-year-olds. I have to agree with Employers For Childcare — it contacted us all, I think — when they point out that childcare is not an issue only for three- and four-year-olds. Parents struggle most when their children are in the 0 to two age bracket, especially when mums are trying to get back...
Clare Bailey: — by a highly qualified, well-paid workforce. Unpaid childcare alone here is worth nearly £350 billion to the UK economy each year — three times more than the total value of the financial services sector — yet it is not counted towards GDP.
Clare Bailey: I seek a call from the House —
Clare Bailey: — that we need to go much further than what the motion calls for if we are to get serious about childcare.
Clare Bailey: Will the Member give way?
Clare Bailey: I would be surprised if any one of us here has been able to give due time and attention to this report over the weekend as we have been dealing with the emerging COVID-19 pandemic and the fear, panic and uncertainty that is being created. The RHI scheme was a scandal that left us with no Executive for three and a half years and, in that void, brought so many of our vulnerable people to the...
Clare Bailey: I am mindful of the recent strike action that was taken by nurses to stress to us that they were working in unsafe conditions. Is the Minister content that we and our health service are capable of dealing with the fallout if Boris Johnson's Government's plan for herd immunity goes ahead?
Clare Bailey: T1. Ms Bailey asked the Minister for Infrastructure, given that, today in the South, transport unions were meeting with state-owned transport companies to discuss whether they can continue to operate and whether cash-handling on public transport needs to stop, have any such discussions taken place here with Translink. (AQT 241/17-22)
Clare Bailey: I thank the Minister for her answer. Has the Minister any concerns that our transport systems, particularly our cross-border transport systems, are acting in line with each other or are there any ongoing difficulties there?
Clare Bailey: I thank the Minister for being here today. Before I ask my question, I would like to point out that the £94 statutory sick pay rate will not cover the rent for the week of the majority of workers. I know that you are taking the long-term view and following the evidence, and that is good. A lot of the scientific evidence is trying to encourage us to practise social distancing. Particularly...
Clare Bailey: So, I am wondering is there any advice —
Clare Bailey: — that the Minister can give to businesses in the area to try to stop the emergency services being put under such pressure tomorrow.
Clare Bailey: Thank you, First Minister and deputy First Minister for your statement and for being here today. It has been widely acknowledged, as has already been mentioned, that the general public are reassured to see you stand so strongly, shoulder to shoulder, over the past few days and throughout this time. I commend you for working so well and for being so strong, particularly under such extreme...
Clare Bailey: I thank my South Belfast colleague Matthew O'Toole for giving up his seat to allow me into the Chamber. The Green Party has long campaigned for equal rights for women across Northern Ireland. We have been denied our rights as UK citizens for 50 years or more, and the Green Party welcomes the fact that access to reproductive healthcare is no longer a criminal matter. We do not think it should...
Clare Bailey: I join everybody who has spoken to offer my sincere sympathies to the families who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus and to the many more facing the devastating reality of what lies ahead with many more people set to lose their lives here. I know that everyone here will do all in our power to mitigate the number of deaths that we could see here. Brexit has changed the landscape for...
Clare Bailey: I welcome the announcement from the Minister. It will provide some relief to many of our councils, because, as we know, they are not legally protected from insolvency. While this financial assistance may stave off bankruptcy for a few months, can I ask the Minister, who has told us today that she is able to legislate within weeks if the will is there to do so, whether her Department is taking...
Clare Bailey: I am looking at the figures in the statement and those given by the Communities Minister previously and hoping that I have got my sums wrong. There is a £99 million scheme to cover a three-month rates holiday for all businesses, which means that it costs about £33 million per month. As we extend that by another month, I assume that that will cost an average of £33 million again. The...
Clare Bailey: I thank the Member for giving way. Does the Member agree that the economic crisis that has been brought about by the COVID-19 will be surpassed if we do not address the climate crisis that is creeping up on us as well? The economic upheaval, and the change to our systems, lifestyles and businesses, will be even more drastic than those we are currently experiencing due to COVID?
Clare Bailey: The Green Party welcomed the easing of lockdown measures. We are very thankful to the Executive for taking things slowly and doing them at our own pace in a way that is suitable for the people of Northern Ireland. However, we also feel that, for the most part, people at the minute are deciding for themselves that lockdown is over. We can see that on our streets and in our public spaces. As I...