Clare Bailey: Will the Minister give way?
Clare Bailey: I thank the Member for giving way. It is interesting that you focus on that and it was good to hear the Minister point out that the time frame was unachievable. He went on to explain that, when we set deadlines, come up with strategies and put them out, we actually exceed the targets that are set in them.
Clare Bailey: Mr Speaker, it is great to see you back in the Chair. I do not know why anybody is even surprised by Boris Johnson coming out and saying what he has. This is not the first time that he has made the threat to break the protocol. The protocol is a legally binding international agreement and one that he has continued to threaten to break, but what surprises me more than Boris's threats today is...
Clare Bailey: The Minister will be aware from his own departmental figures that, in most areas of special conservation in Northern Ireland, we have unacceptable breaches of ammonia levels; in some of those areas, it is up to 300%. Will the Minister give us some detail of what he will do to address this critical issue?
Clare Bailey: Given that five women whom we know of so far have been murdered in their own home in Northern Ireland during the lockdown, does the Minister think that any further measures can be put in place by her Department to support the increasing need for emergency refuge space?
Clare Bailey: It has been brought to my attention that appellants for PIP and ESA are being sent multiple letters when they appeal to suggest to them that they should apply for a paper-based appeal, but those letters do not inform them that they have thirty times less chance of success with the paper-based appeal. Is the Minister aware of that practice?
Clare Bailey: The Green Party supports the amendment to the motion. We do so because we believe that housing is a right, not a luxury; nor is it a commodity to be bought and sold or traded for financial gain. Unfortunately, that is what it has become, leading to inflated prices, inflated land values and inflated profits in the private housing sector. We are not in the same situation as our neighbours in...
Clare Bailey: I thank the Member for his contribution. It is something that I will be —.
Clare Bailey: Thank you. I will address exactly that point in a second. We need to create liveable, breathable urban spaces with good housing; green spaces; no congestion; access to health centres, schools and parks; and a butcher, baker and candlestick maker all within your living space. We do not need to give away grants to create more private rental accommodation to make any of that happen.
Clare Bailey: Yes, go ahead.
Clare Bailey: I thank the Member for his contribution. I assure you that it is not idealistic; it is experience that I speak from. I speak from experience as a mother who was forced out of private rental due to high rents and who lived in a hostel for many months before being offered social housing. That is where my ideals come from. It is not enough for landlords to make lots available. Perhaps, we should...
Clare Bailey: Let us redesign our planning system and make it fit for purpose today, and let us focus on creating a happier and healthier Northern Ireland for all.
Clare Bailey: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Question 8.
Clare Bailey: I am the fourth South Belfast MLA to speak. It is great to see all my South Belfast colleagues here today, and, obviously, I am proud to take the shout-out for my constituency being the most diverse across the land. I know for a fact — well, I would be pretty confident, — that Deirdre Hargey, the fifth MLA for the area, would be here today if her health allowed. I am also part of the...
Clare Bailey: Yes, sure.
Clare Bailey: That comes back to a strategy only being as good as the political will to implement it. There is still lots to do. The subgroup has been established and meets regularly on a quarterly basis. It is sad that it was probably not even consulted before this motion was tabled. However, I believe that commissioning a new strategy could be quite a regressive move and would delay us tackling the...
Clare Bailey: Yes. We have much to do and a lot to get done, but let us not rely on asking already under-resourced and under-pressure organisations to do that work for us. Let us today pledge to review and implement the strategy and to resource the next five years to make the world an easier place for our new communities.
Clare Bailey: With the environmental impact of the new interconnector, the expense of construction and the recent drop in supply demand by up to 290 megawatts — SONI predicted that that will be the case until about 2029 — is the interconnector still our best option, or could public funds be better spent on greener generation schemes, such as the Camlough hydro-electric pump scheme?
Clare Bailey: T1. Ms Bailey asked the Minister of Health whether the Holylands working group has visited the area or, indeed, whether the group plans, at any stage, to be on the ground to see at first-hand the dire state of the area and the multi-systemic problems that need to be addressed therein. (AQT 381/17-22)
Clare Bailey: I asked that, Minister, because you mentioned that parties in the Holylands have been happening for as long as the expansion of HMOs in the area has been happening. I see that as a very simplistic statement to make, and I stress to the Minister that government and the statutory agencies have taken a hands-off approach in the area for decades on the issues of regeneration. Can we take any hope...