Clare Bailey: No chance, Mr Speaker; no chance. It will be the first number one that I get. [Laughter.]
Clare Bailey: T1. Ms Bailey asked the Minister for Infrastructure, albeit that she welcomed her announcement last week about the North/South interconnector, which is a good first step forward for our long underfunded energy infrastructure, whether she has had any discussions with her officials about resurrecting the Camlough hydro storage scheme. (AQT 391/17-22)
Clare Bailey: It would be good if the Minister could, because this is key. Consumers in Northern Ireland have been paying very high energy rates and I see this as one of the reasons, along with the lack of storage and infrastructure, why we need to get that balance. The scheme started 40 years ago and a lot of work was done, but it has stalled. In the current context, this a good opportunity not just to...
Clare Bailey: I support the motion. The willingness of the UK Government to unilaterally move to change the EU withdrawal agreement protocol — a protocol that they painstakingly devised, agreed and signed off with the EU — which would, as the current Secretary of State unequivocally stated to the House of Commons last week, break international law, should be roundly rejected by all in this House. The...
Clare Bailey: No, you have had plenty, thanks. Many others will also not be seen to be complicit in this either. Many resignations have already happened from people with more integrity and self-respect than this Tory Government. For example, Jonathan Jones, the Treasury Solicitor and permanent secretary of the Government's own legal department was the sixth senior Whitehall official to resign this year...
Clare Bailey: It is good to hear that the Minister has acknowledged that this is a long-term problem for the area. That problem is heightened by the added pressures and dangers from COVID. The Health Minister told the House earlier today that over 50 notices have been issued in the past few days in the Holylands area. That is good news. I certainly pity the fool who would go ahead with a house party in the...
Clare Bailey: I am sure that the Minister will agree with, probably, everyone in the House that housing-stress levels in Northern Ireland are unacceptable. However, given that that is the situation, and the financial hardship being levied with COVID — albeit, I am mindful of the fact that, among the measures put in place in response to COVID was a mortgage holiday for many — can the Minister assure us...
Clare Bailey: T6. Ms Bailey asked the Minister for Communities, in reference to earlier questions and answers about HMOs, to clarify whether there are legal limits to HMO density in a particular area, including wards or district electoral areas (DEA). (AQT 436/17-22)
Clare Bailey: I thank the Minister for that answer. Are you aware if there are legal limits? Is there an upper limit to what can be passed in terms of the number of HMOs in an area? If you are unsure, if you could look into it and let me know because I am struggling to find out.
Clare Bailey: I cannot support the LCM because the Bill repeals the main retained EU law relating to free movement and brings EEA nationals and their family members under UK immigration controls — controls by which, as has been pointed out, the UK Government have deliberately created a hostile environment. It is another reason why Brexit is not good for Northern Ireland. Let us not forget that we meet...
Clare Bailey: The Green Party welcomes the Bill as framework legislation that presents us with a tangible opportunity to do things differently in fishery management at the very time when our seas are under more pressure than at any other time in human history. I thank the Minister for his notification of the UK Government's proposed amendments to the Bill, and I look forward to DAERA being able to work...
Clare Bailey: Certainly.
Clare Bailey: I am very concerned about the moves from the UK Government. For a way forward on an all-island basis, we need to be pushing, with the North/South Ministerial Council, the common frameworks across the island to build better relationships. That is something that can be done quickly, and should be done immediately. The Member raises many issues. Thank you. If we are to have a fishing industry in...
Clare Bailey: I thank the Minister for giving way. Are we getting a guarantee from him that he will set the legislation to ensure that overfishing does not happen in our waters in the future and that quotas will be set by scientific evidence?
Clare Bailey: 3. Ms Bailey asked the Minister of Health why routine testing of community-based care workers providing daily care to the elderly is not taking place in the same way as is required for residential care home workers. (AQO 805/17-22)
Clare Bailey: Thank you, Minister. I am in contact with one of my constituents whose mother receives domiciliary care and who has now tested positive for COVID-19 and is in acute care. We have heard, informally, that up to three domiciliary carers who have attended that client have tested positive. To date, there has been no formal contact from the care companies involved or from the track and trace...
Clare Bailey: T3. Ms Bailey asked the Minister of Health what advice he would give to women in his constituency to assist them in accessing medical abortion services given that, as she noticed with some bemusement, his Department issued a statement last week that warned women not to take abortion pills at home and that, although early medical abortion pathways were put in place by trusts in April 2020 to...
Clare Bailey: The abortion regulations were laid before Parliament and came into force in March. They provide, as the Minister said, the new legal basis for medical professionals in Northern Ireland to terminate pregnancies lawfully. Will the Minister tell the House the other lawful medical services for which his Department has refused to provide funding or resource?
Clare Bailey: T4. Ms Bailey asked the Minister of Justice to outline the membership of the antisocial behaviour delivery group that is led by her Department. (AQT 494/17-22)
Clare Bailey: Will the Minister let us know how many times the group has met to date and whether the strategy will be published so that we can see it in the form of a report?