Dave Petrie: We will be supporting the motion. The fact that many women in Scotland are still facing the horror of domestic abuse is an incredible statistic with Dickensian parallels. Throughout my investigations into this matter, I was appalled by some of the facts and figures that I came across, such as the fact that one in every five women experiences domestic abuse at some point in her life, which is...
Dave Petrie: Does the First Minister agree that in the Highlands and Islands, in particular, inadequate relocation packages and lack of affordable housing are major barriers to the recruitment and retention of social workers?
Dave Petrie: A much forgotten point, to which Bill Aitken did not refer but would have had every right to do so, is that the previous Conservative Government presided over the greatest redistribution of wealth in modern history—[ Interruption. ] Excuse me, I have only four minutes. That redistribution, towards the poorest in our society, was due to our extremely popular right-to-buy policy. Our further...
Dave Petrie: Sorry, I do not have much time.
Dave Petrie: Regrettably, the Executive has not managed the transfer adequately. By providing insufficient money for the new GHA, the Executive has created suspicion and doubt about the whole process. That is unfortunate, but I point out that vast improvements have been made for those who need them most, which would not otherwise have taken place. I also point out that the scaremongering and negative...
Dave Petrie: On road improvements, can the minister offer some comfort to the frustrated residents of the west Highlands and Islands and confirm that the proposed upgrading of the hazardous Pulpit rock section of the A82 from Tarbet to Crianlarich will be treated with the utmost urgency and will be completed within the next two years at the very latest? I know that the minister is familiar with the route.
Dave Petrie: What advice would the minister offer such councils regarding the servicing of their debt and the carrying out of essential repairs within reasonable rent limits?
Dave Petrie: I thank the minister for providing an early copy of her statement and I express our sympathies to everyone who has been affected by the severe weather. Does the minister agree that regular maintenance of carriageway drainage—including offlets, ditches and culverts—is of paramount importance if we want to mitigate flooding risks? One has only to witness the general neglect of such roadside...
Dave Petrie: Does the minister agree that such initiatives should be given much wider publicity and should be extended to incoming flights, to encourage much-needed growth in tourism in such remote areas?
Dave Petrie: To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of a report to Highlands and Islands Enterprise stating that an extra £1.3 million was generated for the Islay economy through the initiative to increase the number of ferry crossings during the summer, whether it has any plans to extend the initiative to cover the full duration of the Caledonian MacBrayne summer timetable. (S2O-10719)
Dave Petrie: Does the minister agree that the trial clearly illustrates the major benefits to the island economies of an increase in ferry crossings? Bearing that in mind, will he consider similar trials for other crossings, such as those in the Western Isles?
Dave Petrie: Will the member take an intervention?
Dave Petrie: In 1983, I ran the London marathon to raise funds for a phonic ear for a totally deaf child who is now training to be a primary teacher. Twenty years on, when I trained as a mathematics teacher, I had a profoundly deaf student in my class. I am now in the privileged position of serving on the excellent cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on deafness, of which Cathie Craigie is...
Dave Petrie: I thank the minister for providing me with a belated copy of this thorough report. I am pleased to see that it shows that a majority of tenants or former tenants view the right-to-buy policy positively, regardless of whether they have taken advantage of it. I am also pleased that the findings demonstrate clearly that a flagship Conservative policy has done more to transfer a greater amount of...
Dave Petrie: I am pleased that through the discussion on the bill the Scottish Parliament has finally shown its teeth. A bill that was so badly drawn and mishandled by the Executive has, in effect, been torn apart by the members of the Environment and Rural Development Committee, which has caused the Executive—as my good friend Ted Brocklebank mentioned earlier—to embark on one of the most...
Dave Petrie: I am sorry. I have an awful lot to get through. The bill's proposals for a new system—and its ignoring of systems that are in place—do nothing to address the need to monitor the crofting system. There is such derisory regulation of crofting tenure that proposals would be ignored and we would have no way of ensuring that improvements were made. Those criticisms are not just my own. A...
Dave Petrie: I am sorry, but I am out of time. The Executive rewrote and rejigged the bill in a reactive way, thereby producing a bill that has more holes than a wedge of Dutch cheese. The bill has no vision or support and would deliver no improvement. I will not support it and I implore members not to support it.
Dave Petrie: I congratulate Maureen Macmillan on securing this most worthwhile debate. Annabel Goldie and I look forward to heading up to her part of the world at the weekend. I am delighted to be given the opportunity to speak on such a worthy cause. The city of Elgin follows the fine tradition of many of our Scottish cities by being small in scale but perfectly formed. It is the main centre in Moray but...
Dave Petrie: Although the minister's news is welcome, can he comment on the overall shortage of dentists and orthodontists throughout the Highlands and Islands and outline the action that he proposes to take to alleviate the critical situation?
Dave Petrie: I agree with the argument that has been made about sports facilities. Does the minister agree that far more emphasis on extracurricular and core-curricular sport in schools is crucial to improving sporting attainment?
