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Derry MLAs clash as they back calls for greater regional balance
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00:00I rise today to speak in the interests of fairness and opportunity for people
00:06across Northern Ireland. Because fairness, that basic promise that everyone should
00:12have a fair crack of the whip, a fair shot in life, is at the core of this
00:17motion and at the heart of regional balance. Yet the reality of our economy
00:23today is that wealth is dictated more by postcode than by merit or talent. Let's
00:33begin with the facts. People in Derry face a gap of around 10% in employment and
00:39economic activity compared with other areas across the north. Average wages are
00:46almost 30% lower than in Belfast. Poverty in our North West communities is
00:55double the rate of some other parts of Northern Ireland. The rate of drug deaths
00:59in the most deprived areas of the Western Trust is almost two and a half times the
01:05Trust average. And from 2019 to 2021 people in the most deprived areas of Derry and
01:12Western Ireland were likely to die seven years earlier than the Northern Ireland
01:17average. A gap that has actually widened since 2015. It's a problem felt passionately
01:24by many people west of the ban who are locked out of opportunity including by
01:31embarrassingly poor transport links. In 2012 we had a regional development strategy
01:37that emphasised the importance of modern infrastructure. Thirteen years later, look
01:43where we are. The European Commission's Regional Competitiveness Index ranked the
01:48north and west of Ireland 218th out of 234 EU regions for infrastructure. We failed to
01:58move the needle and the people west of the ban are still paying the price. Not least through
02:05the failure to deliver the A5, a project vital not just for the North West but for
02:10Managh and for Tyrone too. Its completion would open up access to jobs to trade and
02:15investment right across this region. The failure to deliver it isn't just
02:21incompetent, it's a betrayal of the families that have lost their loved ones on
02:25that road and its regional imbalance writ large. Modern roads aren't just tarmac, they're the
02:34arteries of economic growth but regional imbalance doesn't stop at the ban. Of the ten most deprived
02:42wards in Northern Ireland, some of them are in my colleague in the Economy Committee, Phil
02:49Britt's constituency in North Belfast and in West Belfast. People right across this chamber can
02:58attest to the impact that that has on their constituencies every single day. This isn't a question of
03:06West versus East, it is about fairness and building a Northern Ireland that works for everyone. A report by
03:13the International Longevity Centre UK recently measured local authorities by inequalities in health, wealth and
03:20opportunity. Derry ranked third worst in the UK, 357th out of 359. And when we talk about deprivation
03:32we also must talk about air quality. Poor air quality is serious, yet often overlooked indicator of
03:40poverty and health inequality. It is of little surprise then that FOI is above the Northern Ireland
03:50average for respiratory conditions such as asthma and COPD. These facts tell the real story of Northern Ireland
03:58today, a story that sits totally at odds with what we hear from ministers in this chamber. Regional balance isn't
04:06about putting one area against another, what is good for the West should be good for Northern Ireland
04:12as a whole. That is the challenge and that is our responsibility as legislators. Yet despite the rhetoric,
04:20regional balance remains a claim only on paper, just warm words. For too long it has been used to
04:26pacify the long standing demands of people denied the university that they were promised, the investment
04:32that was plagued and economic justice that they deserve. We welcome the recent progress in relation to
04:42Magee and our numbers are now standing at around 6,000 higher education students in Derry. But put this
04:49against 46,000 students in Belfast, it's not balanced. The resignation of Ciaran Kennedy from the board of
04:58Invest NI was a stark warning and a damning indictment of the executive's failure to deliver for regional
05:05economists, especially in the North West. Ciaran is a respected voice who understands what is at stake.
05:13His decision speaks volumes about the lack of urgency and cultural change at the heart of Invest NI.
05:20It was interesting to read just about an hour ago that Invest NI have just advertised a new role for the
05:33head of regional business in Derry. What a coincidence. And when we see decisions like the football fund,
05:42which left clubs like Derry City Football and Co Rain out in the cold, it's clear that regional balance
05:50still isn't embedded across departments. So what needs to change? We need an economic strategy that drives
05:57growth in every part of the region, recognising the comparative disadvantages of each area and ensuring
06:02that no community is left behind. We need a skills policy that links education with opportunity, one that
06:08seizes the jobs of the future, from green energy to AI. We need to see progress on the sub-regional economic
06:14plan and a whole government approach to make it work. That's why our motion calls on the Minister to
06:20ensure every department plays its part. And it's why I have brought forward the regional balance bill,
06:26a bill proposal which has now been formally submitted to the Speaker's office. I look forward to engaging with
06:35the Speaker and hope it will be granted approval to progress with the drafters. It is in the interest of
06:43every Minister in this chamber that this legislation goes forward. Because poverty doesn't care about borders
06:52or council areas, we should all want a society where our chances of a good education, access to healthcare
06:59and a prosperous future for your children are not decided by your postcode. Speaker, the First Minister
07:07recently told us that the North West is thriving. I'll never stop speaking up for the North West. I'm
07:13probably like a broken record at this stage. But I'll also never stop being honest. Walk around the
07:20streets of Derry and ask people if they think our city is thriving. Ask them if they feel the difference of
07:26government in their wage packets or in their daily lives. Thriving is not the word you will hear.
07:33One year ago, the Subregional Economic Plan declared new strategic approach to economic policy that
07:39places regional balance at its heart. One year later, people are still waiting to see the difference,
07:46to feel the difference, to even understand what is the purpose of this body. That needs to change. And with the
07:55change, and with a different approach, one grounded in fairness, evidence and ambition, it can change.
08:02Mr Speaker, I put the motion to the floor.
08:06Thank you. I call Padraig Largi.
08:10Go raibh maigit.
08:12Go raibh maigit.
08:13Go raibh maigit.
08:14Go raibh maigit.
08:15Regional balance underpins Sinn Féin's economic strategy. A commitment to making the North work
08:22for all of its people. And the basis of our economic strategy is to make the economy work
08:28for ordinary people, not just for ordinary people to work to boost the economy. And it's
08:34only when our economy is delivering real change at a grassroots level that this becomes a reality.
08:41That's why Minister Archibald's Good Job Bill and a myriad of other progressive legislation advance this agenda.
08:49The key reason why Sinn Féin took up the economic portfolio last year was to address and improve regional balance.
08:56That's why we made regional balance a key pillar of the Department's economic strategy.
09:02That's why it underpins the other three priorities. And that's why we insisted that regional balance be a shared executive priority.
09:11In delivering regional balance, people want to hear what has been achieved.
09:16They want to hear tangible outcomes. And today, I want to outline what Sinn Féin have already done.
09:23So let's talk about Derry. Let's talk about the A6, a transformative project for regional balance,
09:29delivered by Sinn Féin infrastructure minister Chris Hazard. Let's talk about the decentralisation of the civil service
09:36under finance ministers John O'Dowd and Connor Murphy, which has brought jobs into the heart of many of our communities.
09:43Let's talk about the transformation of Magee, a policy which other parties have talked about,
09:49but which Sinn Féin ministers Connor Murphy and Kiva Archibald have delivered.
09:54Let's talk about Ebrington, about Meaning Square, about the Northwest Cancer Centre, about the city of Derry Airport,
10:00about a plethora of new schools. Let's talk Derry Up. Everyone here knows that Derry and other regions,
10:08particularly those west of the Ban, have experienced chronic underinvestment under decades of the Unionist Party.
10:15And my grandparents and their generation who came out on our streets as part of the civil rights movement,
10:21they marched with a vision, not just to talk about the problems, but to talk about the solutions.
10:28They created the framework where I can stand here in this chamber today as an equal to everyone else here.
10:34Where my generation no longer have to experience the neglect and the lack of opportunity which their generation faced.
10:43So the campaign that they talked about and that they marched for was about talking Derry up.
10:48It was about selling Derry's story and it was about selling that to people across Ireland and across the world.
10:55Derry's story is changing and regional balance is changing under Sinn Féin's leadership.
11:01That leadership is focused on delivery. It's focused on opportunity and it's focused on building a positive future for all.
11:09But it's also an opportunity and a vision for everyone else in this chamber to get behind that.
11:15For everyone in this chamber to work together to build that.
11:19Because this isn't a partisan issue. It's about fairness and it's about ambition for our whole economy.
11:25And when we work together, when we push in the same direction, we can achieve real change.
11:32But this takes everyone working together.
11:34It takes collective leadership from the North West and particularly from our political representatives.
11:40The people of Derry and of the entire North deserve that.
11:44They deserve a society where investment reaches every corner and where no young person feels that they need to leave Derry to succeed.
11:53And the same goes for young people in Donegal.
11:56Because regional balance can never be addressed while our country is partitioned and while Derry is cut off from its natural hinterland in Donegal.
12:05Of course there are challenges. And no one here is denying that.
12:08But when we hear all about the challenges and not about the opportunities, then businesses and those hoping to invest in Derry will naturally switch off.
12:18When they don't see a collective political will, that is extremely problematic for investment.
12:23The collective leadership coming from Derry businesses, coming from the Chamber of Commerce, but most importantly from the people of Derry, is that we have a collective cause and that we must roll in the same direction.
12:36I agree that we should be encouraging regional balance across all our departments.
12:41But that is what we are already doing.
12:43We are consistently asking questions around why Elton McGelvin does not have an adequately sized, adequately resourced emergency department.
12:51Around funding for mental health groups and for charities.
12:54Around championing organisations and leaders in the North West holding ministers to account.
13:00But we are so much stronger when we do that together.
13:03Go ahead, Margaret.
13:04I will call Gary Middleton.
13:06Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.
13:09The DUP wants all of Northern Ireland to succeed.
13:13We want every part of our country, from East to West, to thrive within the Kingdom.
13:18Addressing challenges within particular communities, regional imbalance, is a commitment that we made in NDNA and a commitment we remain in support of.
13:28Of course, Mr Deputy Speaker, the focus to date has been on the FOIL constituency, but I recognise regional imbalance goes well beyond just the FOIL constituency.
13:38And my colleague, Morris Bradley, will speak to that fact.
13:42But, Mr Deputy Speaker, I do want to touch on a number of points within the motion, and I hope to address them the best I can.
13:48First is in relation to the resignation from a member of the Invest NI Board.
13:54Ciaran Kennedy was an appointment that was made by the then DUP Minister, Diane Dodds.
14:00It was argued at the time that he was a champion for the North West, and that he had a track record of growing a local company into a huge success.
14:08Of course, we wish Mr Kennedy well and thank him for his time on the Board.
14:12But we do recognise that the Board is much bigger than one individual, and we need to work with those Board members who continue to do the good work to get on with that work.
14:22And we shouldn't be using the resignation of a Board member for our own political purposes.
14:28The motion states that recent executive decisions appear to have paid little regard to the need for regional balance, and a specific mention was made of the Football Fund.
14:38Of course, Mr Deputy Speaker, I'm on record in relation to the disappointment for clubs and against the Chute Football Club in the North West.
14:45But, of course, the Fund wasn't based on geography, it was based on other criteria.
14:51So, rather than being a politician who simply moans and complains about it, I am a politician who sought meetings with the Minister and with officials and with the Council to try and bring about a resolution and further investment for the North West.
15:04But, Mr Deputy Speaker, it does appear increasingly over the past number of months that the SDLP are allergic to positivity.
15:13Mr Deputy Speaker, DUP Ministers and the Executive have been delivering for the North West, and it is clear that business representatives and those involved in leadership recognise that.
15:24Let's just take some time to look at the delivery over the past 12 months.
15:29The DNA Maritime Museum, a £15 million investment supported by DUP Ministers.
15:35The launch, of course, was attended by the SDLP and welcomed by the SDLP, but no recognition here today.
15:41The North West Regeneration Fund, a £10 million fund announced by the DUP Minister Gordon Lyons, delivering on key projects such as Austin's within the city centre.
15:51Again, welcomed by the SDLP, but no delivery other than that from our party.
15:56270 new jobs in London Derry through the Department for Communities.
16:01Again, a DUP Minister delivering for our constituency.
16:05Significant public realms work.
16:07Again, brought forward by DAFC.
16:09Thousands of pounds of investment in London Derry City Centre.
16:13Again, welcomed by the SDLP, but no credit given to the DUP Minister.
16:17Millions of pounds spent through the Urban Villages Department.
16:21An initiative brought forward by now Deputy First Minister, Emma Littlepin Gilley, when she was in the Executive Office.
16:29£300 million in City Deal funding for London Derry and Straban.
16:34Again, delivered through DUP MPs.
16:37£20 million in towns funding for London Derry and for Colerain.
16:42Again, delivered through DUP MPs.
16:46Speaker, I believe that the SDLP are playing politics for politics sake.
16:51Their negativity is not reflecting the work taken to address regional imbalance.
16:55In fact, Mr Deputy Speaker, in areas where the SDLP do have power, such as in the Council, they have failed.
17:03Their MP has disappeared.
17:05He has failed.
17:06When opportunities come forward from the defence sector, they oppose them.
17:10This is a party who has lost its way and lost credibility on these issues.
17:15Mr Speaker, I support the Minister for the Economy in bringing forward the sub-regional plan.
17:22We do need to see progress on that, and we will be holding her to account in that respect.
17:27But to play politics with it is downright shameful.
17:30I think nobody is buying into it.
17:32Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.
17:33This motion goes to the heart of something that we in the North West have been saying for years, and many of you have been hearing for years,
17:42that regional imbalance is not an accident.
17:46It has been baked into decision-making at every level of government for a long, long time, and it is going to be hard to unpick that.
17:57Regional balance is not a slogan.
17:59It is a formula for fairness, equal opportunity, and a stronger, more prosperous Northern Ireland, and a stronger, more prosperous Ireland.
18:11The point was made, and I had been going to make it anyway.
18:14The partition hasn't worked for Derry, nor has it worked for Donegal.
18:21The North West isn't thriving, contrary to the First Minister's belief, and neither are most council areas outside of Belfast.
18:31That mindset, so detached from reality, demonstrates just how Belfast-centric politics here has become, and how out of touch many of our political representatives have become.
18:49It is not just Derry tomorrow. The opposition will be calling for support for the apple-growing industry in Armagh.
19:00Derry is, though, we are told, the second city, and we do continue to receive second-class treatment.
19:09So, no, I don't think there is anywhere where that imbalance has been more pronounced or more painfully felt.
19:18We aren't alone in it, as I said, and it is brilliant to hear so many different voices and so many different accents around the Chamber speak in support of the motion today.
19:29And it is clear that Belfast work hasn't worked for anywhere else or anyone else.
19:36Last week, I spoke about how the North West has been left behind.
19:41Flagship arts organisations like Echo Echo and the Waterside Theatre closed, and about 80% of arts funding concentrated in Belfast.
19:52And there are places that get a rower deal than Derry in that regard, with some council areas receiving less than 1% of overall arts funding.
20:04Yet, the Communities Minister and the Executive have done nothing to address that.
20:09The Crisis Intervention Service in Derry was left to collapse, despite one of the highest suicide rates on these islands.
20:18When BT jobs were stripped away from Derry, the lucky workers were told to move to Belfast, following which thousands of more jobs have subsequently been announced there.
20:31That's not balance. That's the opposite.
20:35I feel I'm maybe playing into the image that Gary Middleton tried to portray of the SDLP, and he says that we seem to have become allergic to positivity.
20:45I think there might be a fear, given what else Guy Middleton had said, that the DUP and he might be becoming allergic to reality.
20:54Of course, we welcome any and every investment into Derry and the North West.
21:01But he cited the example there of how many? 270 jobs from Department for Communities.
21:06I was firmly under the impression that that was from DWP, not DFC.
21:13The £15 million for the DNA Museum, which will be a brilliant asset to the tourism product in Derry and the whole North and North West.
21:23But all that money didn't come from an Executive Department.
21:28This is the kind of gaslighting that goes on. People aren't stupid. They see through it.
21:34We're also accused by Guy Middleton of playing politics. Being accused of playing politics by the DUP is like being lectured on workplace safety by Homer Simpson.
21:48I struggled with a comparison there. I had to think of someone who I wouldn't offend by comparing them to the DUP.
21:55The resignation of Kieran Kennedy from the Invest NI Board isn't an isolated act, but it's a symptom of a wider and deeper malaise in government.
22:05The Department for the Economy's own data admits that. We've heard the numbers cited by a number of contributors today.
22:12Labour productivity in Belfast is 31 per cent higher than Derry and Strauban.
22:18Median wages are 44 per cent higher in Belfast than in Ards and North Down.
22:27The Northern Ireland Football Fund debacle laid this bare.
22:31Clubs like Derry City, like Institute and Coleraine were promised funding, were played for fools and got zero.
22:41That decision was political. The decision was political. It wasn't independent and it mocked any claim of regional balance.
22:51Don't forget, the first thing that the Minister did with regard to that fund was change its name from the sub-regional stadia fund.
23:00Representatives from all parties have expressed criticism and concern. Even the First Minister and the Economy Minister herself called for full scrutiny and transparency in the press.
23:14But when push comes to shove, no member from any of the executive parties have supported our bid to ensure that full scrutiny and transparency does take place.
23:26They've just shrugged their shoulders and circled the wagons.
23:30People aren't stupid. As I've said, they see through this ruling by fooling.
23:36I appreciate members Morris, Bradley and Guy Millen. They both say they're working with the Minister and respective clubs to sort this out, but we won't hold our breath.
23:47The Rate Support Grant, meant to, invented to actually support poorer councils, has been slashed by 75 per cent since 2008.
23:57Rate payers in struggling councils now pay far more for basic services while wealthy areas are cushioned.
24:04Those with less, get less. Derry and Straban recently ranked 357th out of 359 UK councils for quality of life.
24:14A fact ignored when Ministers boast that we are thriving.
24:19But regional balance isn't just about money, it's about mindset.
24:25The A6 hasn't been finished. The A5 hasn't started.
24:31We can't tell people to leave the car at home when one in five rural bus services are cancelled and rail investment bypasses the North West.
24:42We still haven't received from DFI an explanation for the blatant timetable discrimination that we see every Sunday, especially.
24:52Never mind a relatively small investment to put it right.
24:56Over 100 areas face waste water constraints and 55 projects have been lost because of it.
25:02We are also worst in the West for health outcomes, lowest psychiatrist numbers, longest waits for surgery, autism assessments and mental health support.
25:13The Western Trust, the people who live in that area and the people who work for the Trust are being failed by an outdated capitation formula that doesn't recognise social need.
25:28One in four children here live in poverty. Homelessness has doubled in a decade.
25:35We welcome progress on Magee, but where is the Fountain not just to enable that expansion, but to facilitate it causing less friction in neighbouring residential communities.
25:46We need everyone to buy in, yes, but we also need every department to pay in.
25:53But we in the opposition aren't just cursing the darkness. We are trying to provide light.
25:58My colleague Ms McLaughlin has outlined again the SDLP's intention to enshrine in law an end to the outside of Belfast being an afterthought through her Private Members Bill.
26:11Mr DeLargie spoke of the need for everyone to work together to ensure regional balance, and we do, and we will need all parties to do that.
26:20But we can't just merely encourage every department to ensure regional balance. We are going to have to force them to through law.
26:28Mr Deputy Speaker, this motion is about more than economics. It is about equality.
26:33We call on the Minister for Economy to compel every department to deliver real, measurable regional balance.
26:40Our message is simple. We don't want pity. We don't want platitudes. We want parity.
26:47Bermagov.
26:48Bermagov.
26:50I'm 15.
26:51Beautiful.
26:52I'm hooked.
26:53Here you go.
26:54Good.
26:55They need the number.
26:57Go.
26:59The blue button.
27:00You must send me the arrow.
27:02Go.
27:04Go.
27:05Go.
27:06Yeah, I don't want the luckily.
27:08Wait until you pause.
27:10Oh.
27:11You'll see on this.
27:12Go.
27:13From there.
27:14Now tell me tonight.
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