09/02/2016 Stormont Today


09/02/2016

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Two big pieces of legislation dominated proceedings in the chamber

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- the Budget Bill and the Employment Bill.

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Mervyn Storey brought his budget one step closer to becoming reality -

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and Stephen Farry made his position clear on zero hour contracts.

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Eye-watering sums of money are discussed in the chamber

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as the Finance Minister brings forward the Budget Bill...

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15 billion 770 million and of ?704,000 from the Northern Ireland

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2016, Consolidated fund 2016,

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A complete ban on zero hours contracts is ruled out

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And I'm joined with his thoughts on today's money matters

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It was the last business of the day, but perhaps the most important

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as the Finance Minister opened the debate on the second stage

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The legislation, which has already been granted accelerated passage

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to make sure it's completed before the end of this mandate,

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will cover the Executive's finances for the next twelve months...

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the purpose of the bill is to authorise the issue of 15 billion

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and 70 million and of ?704,000 from the Northern Ireland Consolidated

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fund in 2016, 2015, 2016. The amounts for each department are

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detailed this is ?359 million more than the authorised in the June

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estimate. This cash is drawn down on a daily basis as needed from the

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Northern Ireland Consolidated fund which is managed by my department on

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behalf of the executive. The bill also authorises the use of resources

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by departments and certain other around ?389 million more than

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authorised in the estimate. The bill also authorises 2017 vote for cash

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of resources of this is to allow the flow of cash and resources to flow

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into public services of 2017 until the main estimates are approved in

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June later this year. There amongst the business community and local

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economy for the executive to take hold of, further fiscal levers.

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Outlined is figures relating to the powers of revenues, in terms of

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spent. Across the water you had Smith, Kalman, silk so to the suite

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of fiscal levers that the Scottish and Welsh administrations have. We

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have not have that in Belfast. The life story of this budget was the

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disagreement over welfare. We think to in gauge with reasonable

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proposals, not all you would have agreed with, but the failure to even

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engage with those amendments, the rejection of the ideas of other

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parties during the talks process, then the presenting with about half

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an hour of parties like ours, the fresh then this budget that followed

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and it to the money going but there is a talk about mandates and the use

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wipes out and ignores the mandates of the other parties. In the budget

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report, we have a reference how they which comes from and I think I

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trotted this out about a month ago. Is 9.2 billion and I would think

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that taxes generated in Northern Ireland are less than that. I do not

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know whether it is their to ask the Minister how close that is to that.

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My own feeling is it is light years away from 9.2 billion. The Alliance

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that was the time when there was still an opportunity for an

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alternative to be agreed. Now that these democratic decisions have been

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taken for better or worse we have a duty to support the measures that

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have put in place the finance for our government departments and

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agencies. We recognise that 2016 and 2017 is transitional and it will be

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followed by a four year budget and I have some hope that when the

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rationalised apartments are in place and a new programme for government

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is agreed that we will see a regard for

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displaying at this regard for Judith Cochrane - and the economist

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John Simpson is with me now... There were some enormous numbers

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there from Mervyn Storey, it is a large sum. The difficulty is

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breaking down the prove. It is at a standstill budget, the first budget

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after the new government elected at Westminster and in real terms, after

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you allow for putting money across for welfare reform, it is a budget

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that is broadly speaking, do you think they have got the way in which

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it is to be they have kept on the mechanism from the previous year. It

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is there will be significant. The budget has been reduced not just in

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monetary terms but in real terms. We to the election. We will now watch

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and what they will promise after the election and one of the things I

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will be looking at, we know the amount they will have, the two

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parties have agreed they will live within the Westminster allocation of

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the Barnett Formula. You know what the ceiling is, now if you're

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proposing to change bending, you not only had to say what more you want

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to do, but you will have to say what you're going to take out a more you

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will make savings. That is the challenge. The legislation is last

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year we were talking about a fantasy budget and now about a compromise

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budget. The parties have said we have to get the show on the road, we

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need to get a fresh start, the show is now rolling through a process in

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which there will be many things that can go wrong. An interesting point

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you make, it is a budget for one year, Judith Cochrane referred to it

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as a transitional budget, it is not the way ideally you would plan the

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finances of the country. No, after the last British election we were

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told what our Barnett what are these parties

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going to suggest coming up to the election? You know what you have to

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live with them, that that is unlikely to I would like the economy

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but there to be high-profile but there

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Thanks John - we'll hear more from you later.

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Another big piece of legislation in the Assembly today

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was the Employment Bill and during the debate Stephen Farry

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told MLAs that a complete ban on zero hours contracts would lead

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to the loss of the thousands of jobs here.

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The bill covered a variety of aspects of employment law

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but the main arguments centred on the sometimes controversial

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The Employment Minister told the house that more professions

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than you might think work under similar circumstances...

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indeed there are some immediate risks that could arise from an

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outright ban. Once any measure became law employers would be faced

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with changing the nature of employment contracts, that may not

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be feasible in every situation particularly where flexibility is of

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a premium. Therefore there is a prospect of an outright ban leading

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to the loss of thousands of -- my understanding is that this could be

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construed as zero hours contracts. There are also over 10,000 names on

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the substitute teachers register who can be regarded as being on these

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contracts together with a number of contracts in further an outright ban

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of that was to be adopted would be to create chaos in both the health

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how can people get a mortgage on the zero hour contract? When the

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minister brought forward proposals on how to tackle this, one of the

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issues along that are in low paid jobs and their ability to access

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benefits and working tax credits and the ministers are us that there are

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department and the Department for social development were working on a

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joint approach to tackle out. No update on how the benefit system is

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going to be changed to meet the flexibility of employees who may be

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one week get 30 hours and for the next 34 weeks do not get any hours

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per because that is the case, they do not get benefits. We have a

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responsibility as a community to try and create appropriate implement

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opportunities and to have those presented in such a way that those

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young people are treated early and that they can at least, even if they

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are on a relatively low salary, that think what would happen if we

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could encourage They have no idea what their order

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sheet will be like months in advance. They very often take an

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order on Monday for that weekend, so they depend on a short term order

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book. Zero hours contracts allows them to take that work knowing they

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have a list of people who can come in at short notice and help them do

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that catering job. We all know what zero hours contracts looked like,

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but I don't think an outright ban is appropriate. It has allowed me to

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prioritise something that was more important in my life whilst being

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able to work and earn something to pay for any bills that I had.

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And the Sinn Fein amendments on zero hours contracts fell.

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There was no rest for Stephen Farry who also faced Question Time

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The Employment and Learning Minister was asked about student

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accommodation being built in Belfast city centre and,

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first of all, the expansion of the Magee campus

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The oversight and stewardship of the business case always going to be

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critically important in the uncertain context of moving from one

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department to a new department. Can the minister give the house

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assurance that the same team will be working on the business plan?

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Starting from the back, the same unit as transfers into the new

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department on this, there may be some change of personnel as is the

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case with every aspect of Government, but there will be no

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more or less continuity than anything else. I do take issue with

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the point around the false dawns. I haven't been involved in. Is around

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this. I support the expansion of Ulster University, it is clear that

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we do need to be producing more graduates, particularly those

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identified as needed by our economy. But we cannot expand the University

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of Ulster at ID unless more resources are allocated towards

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higher education. I welcome his continuing support for expansion of

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Maghee. We have already been down this road, and it was raised in what

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we produced in the summer of last year. It took quite some time before

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the revised business case came back to the department, so whether this

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is the final stage of the process that we are now in, or whether we

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have to go through another iteration depends upon the tick killer point

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around scrutiny, but the issue isn't one about the capacity of the

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Council of consultants or the university to produce a business

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case. The answer the of whether Maghee will expand is how it will be

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resourced by the executive, and they will have to be done in a way that

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is sustainable. In relation to student accommodation in Belfast

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University students, with the minister like to comment on what

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appears to be a frenzy of planning applications in relation to student

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accommodation, both in North Belfast and also in south Belfast? And the

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fact that it appears that the universities are simply allowing

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these applications to develop in a free market without any plan or

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control? In terms of accommodation, we are seeing different approaches

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depending on which of the universities we are talking about.

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Obviously Queens have moved ahead with their own projects in terms of

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their own managed accommodation, and Ulster University is adopting a

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situation where the private sector is responding. I wouldn't say it is

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fair to say that there is no control in that regard, but there is

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controlled by planning in terms of land use and the recommendation of

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individual applications, and Belfast City Council is the lead authority

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with the responsibility. The council goes through their own processes.

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Stephen Farry on the challenge of providing adequate student

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As we come towards the end of the mandate there are a lot

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of T's being crossed and I's being dotted.

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Today it was the turn of the Environment Minister,

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He brought the final stage of a bill to simplify environmental

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Aristotle is credited with saying that even when laws have been

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written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered. Currently

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Northern Ireland environmental regulators operate under some 230

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pieces of environmental legislation. This has produced a complex and

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unwieldy legislative landscape which is difficult for the regulated to

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understand, and for the regulators to enforce. This is clearly a system

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which should no longer remain unaltered. The environmental better

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regulation Bill aims to harmonise and simplify aspects of this body of

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environmental legislation. Better environmental legislation will mean

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a cleaner, safer environment for all. The committee recognises that

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as environmental legislation has developed, it has become complex

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with different rules and regimes, making it confusing for businesses.

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The committee is aware that the bill is one aspect of a wider regulatory

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transformation programme aimed at reducing the burden of regulation on

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business. Mr Speaker, the bill is in essence a Skeleton Bill, meaning

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that the real operation of the act would be made entirely by the

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regulations under it. 20 pollution incidents have occurred in five

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years, decimating fish stocks, and yet only half of these resulted in

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prosecution, and such incidents happen across Northern Ireland, with

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the Paul Cook continually going unpunished -- the culprits

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continually going unpunished. We would like to use additional

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resources to swiftly bring them to justice. It will be less burden to

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businesses, but it is key when we bring it forward before the

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regulations that we talk to businesses, engage them and through

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the scrutiny process bring forward some suggested amendments for

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consideration stage is brought forward by the Minister, and that is

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to be welcomed. The Department of the Environment will be subsumed and

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divided into three parts, but it will continue to exist, and in

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successive departments, and it is very important that we in dealing

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with the environment set the proper regulatory and legal basis for it to

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continue its good work. The Bill sounds well-meaning, but is

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undoubtedly liked an actual detail in terms of new policy direction.

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Having read the committee report, I realise that the Bill is what is

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considered enabling legislation, and I therefore wish the new department

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well in its efforts to reform and modernise our new regulatory

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framework. Alastair Patterson making his first

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contribution to a debate in the chamber - and here's a little

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more of his maiden speech... Representing Fermanagh and South

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Tyrone, an area of outstanding natural beauty, where tourism is

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extremely important, I pledge myself, Mr Speaker, to working with

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all members of this house to promote when and whatever we can Northern

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Ireland has to offer. Especially in this year of food and drink. I

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appeal to this house. We must ensure that we promote hospitality to all.

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I have to confess to having a vested interest in this area of hospitality

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as my wife, Olga, as chair of hospitality Ulster. Trust me, Mr

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Speaker, going home doesn't bring about quietness as I have often

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lobby Dominique Gisin the hospitality industry, and I will be

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pressing our health Minister on the need for more resources, in

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particular for the South West acute hospital, which sadly doesn't even

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have full-time doctor cover at weekends, which is extremely sad, it

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seems that you are not allowed to be sick at weekends. I wanted to be

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clear to all members of this house that I will extend the hand of

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friendship to all members to work for the benefit of all the people.

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Alastair Patterson, keen to forge friendships across the House.

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The Enterprise Minister was on his feet at Question Time

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The old faithfuls Corporation Tax and the EU referendum not

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surprisingly made an appearance, but Jonathan Bell also had

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to respond to a question from the Ulster Unionist,

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Ross Hussey, about recently published statistics

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We have experienced growth in three of the last four quarters, with an

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annual increase of 1.6%. Despite those positives, the figures for the

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latest quarter were negative, and these findings are disappointing. I

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think most economists that are advising me say don't get too

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fixated on just one single quarter's data. There are relatively small

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quarterly statistics and can be volatile. If you look at quarterly

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figures, I do see concerns. I take the advice to look at those but also

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to note the volatility, Inoha look at the annual change, services were

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1% at a manufacturing output were 2.9% up, and construction output

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were 3.7% up. This change in corporation tax is described as a

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game changer. Why did it not change the game in my constituency by the

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large companies who are leaving our shores at precisely the time when a

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reduction in corporation tax will come? I spent time with the Michelin

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management and I asked them if there was anything more the Government

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could have done, and they told me know. But what I can tell members is

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there is a huge interest in Northern Ireland. When companies come to me

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and say, we came for the costs, we stayed for your people. When other

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companies like City come to provide hundreds of jobs, they now provide

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somewhere in the region of 2000 jobs. When we see the large

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companies tripling their profits and talking about what they could do

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into the future, I think of we present that collective message of

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low-cost low tax and excellent work forced, we have a winning message

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that the economy of Northern Ireland. Perhaps you could outline

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for us and tell the House the representations that you have

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received from business and industry about their concern of the negative

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impact of an exit of the United Kingdom from the EU. I made a

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mistake last week and talked about the nature of the quest, and I

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should have said the nature of the terms, I will correct that record.

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Business has spoken to me, not exclusively with one voice. There

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are differing approaches that are being made. What I have tried to do

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is say to people that we have commissioned Oxford economics to try

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to provide the best information for people to examine against what may

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or may not come next week. First supplementary. Minister, with the

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first Minister leading towards out, is it likely that you will be the

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only enterprise minister in the United Kingdom who is an TEU, and

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will be leading the charge against business and industry in Northern

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Ireland? -- who will be Tabac to? I support the position that has been

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adopted 100%. What I have asked people to do is to look seriously at

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the information that we are commissioning from Oxford economics

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on the range of options, and to examine it against the terms that

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come through. Jonathan Bell suggesting it's better

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to wait and see when it comes for discussion in the chamber

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on an almost daily basis - with the House pretty divided -

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what way do you think any For the United Kingdom, I think

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there is a real doubt about which way the vote will go, but I will say

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it looks to me as if the Scots will vote quite clearly to stay within

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the European Union. If the English, and I use the word meaning England,

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if they vote to come out, that is the equivalent of saying they are

:26:58.:27:02.

allowing the United Kingdom to break up, because the Scots will then go

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for a new referendum, and I have no doubt they will win it. I was

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frightfully worried about the referendum. Never mind that. In

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terms of Northern Ireland, I am quite clear in my own mind the right

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answer for Northern Ireland is to stay within Europe and reform it

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from within. To step outside and try to reform from outside seems to me

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to be a waste of time. There are significant voices within the DUP

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which are very Euro-sceptic I think it is fair to say. They believe that

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Northern Ireland does not benefit from its membership of the EU. You

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don't see it that way? I don't agree with that conclusion. I think there

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is a debate about, if it is just in terms of loads of money, Northern

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Ireland does quite well. If it is about flows of money for the United

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Kingdom, the United Kingdom contributes to the prosperity of the

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rest of Europe, but it is not about money. It is about what we think is

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to be gained by operating on a corporate and cooperative European

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bases, on the short answer is there is more often something to be gained

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and lost, and unfortunately this debate about where we are in terms

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of European Union is now turning into something I am sorry to say is

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becoming emotional rather than rational. And a final word on

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corporation tax. Where Ari with that -- where are we with that? It is

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coming, but the one thing that can damage it is that it creates

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uncertainty. Will the American investors think of Northern Ireland

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in the same way if we are out of the European Union? No. Will they have a

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chance of going to the Republican said of coming to the North? Yes. It

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will be a fascinating debate. Thank you very much for having you on the

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programme. And that's it for tonight,

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but I'll be back with an extra edition of the programme tomorrow

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night at the slightly later time Until then, from everyone

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in the team - bye bye...

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