Official Report (Hansard) Monday 27 April 2015 Volume 104, No 3 Session 2014-2015 Contents Assembly Business ………………………………………………………………………………………1 Public Petition: Sixmilewater — Reconsideration of Belmont Road Development ........................... 1 Exec utive Committee Business Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 .................................................... 2 Committee Business Ombudsman and Commissioner for Complaints (Amendment) Bill: First Stage .............................. 4 Northern Ireland Act 1998: Report on the Operation of the Provisions of Parts 3 and 4 ................. 4 Private Members' Business Marriage Equality ............................................................................................................................... 10 Oral Answers to Questions Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister ......................................................................... 23 Social Development ........................................................................................................................... 31 Private Members' Business Marriage Equality (Continued) ........................................................................................................... 40 Suggested amendments or corrections will be considered by the Editor. They should be sent to: The Editor of Debates, Room 248, Parliament Buildings, Belfast BT4 3XX. Tel: 028 9052 1135 · e-mail: [email protected] to arrive not later than two weeks after publication of this report. Assembly Members Agnew, Steven (North Down) McCallister, John (South Down) Allister, Jim (North Antrim) McCann, Fra (West Belfast) Anderson, Sydney (Upper Bann) McCann, Ms Jennifer (West Belfast) Attwood, Alex (West Belfast) McCarthy, Kieran (Strangford) Beggs, Roy (East Antrim) McCartney, Raymond (Foyle) Bell, Jonathan (Strangford) McCausland, Nelson (North Belfast) Boylan, Cathal (Newry and Armagh) McCorley, Ms Rosaleen (West Belfast) Boyle, Ms Michaela (West Tyrone) McCrea, Basil (Lagan Valley) Bradley, Dominic (Newry and Armagh) McCrea, Ian (Mid Ulster) Bradley, Ms Paula (North Belfast) McDonnell, Alasdair (South Belfast) Brady, Mickey (Newry and Armagh) McElduff, Barry (West Tyrone) Buchanan, Thomas (West Tyrone) McGahan, Ms Bronwyn (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) Byrne, Joe (West Tyrone) McGimpsey, Michael (South Belfast) Cameron, Mrs Pam (South Antrim) McGlone, Patsy (Mid Ulster) Campbell, Gregory (East Londonderry) McGuinness, Martin (Mid Ulster) Clarke, Trevor (South Antrim) McIlveen, David (North Antrim) Cochrane, Mrs Judith (East Belfast) McIlveen, Miss Michelle (Strangford) Copeland, Michael (East Belfast) McKay, Daithí (North Antrim) Craig, Jonathan (Lagan Valley) McKevitt, Mrs Karen (South Down) Cree, Leslie (North Down) McKinney, Fearghal (South Belfast) Dallat, John (East Londonderry) McLaughlin, Ms Maeve (Foyle) Dickson, Stewart (East Antrim) McLaughlin, Mitchel (Speaker) Dobson, Mrs Jo-Anne (Upper Bann) McMullan, Oliver (East Antrim) Douglas, Sammy (East Belfast) McNarry, David (Strangford) Dunne, Gordon (North Down) McQuillan, Adrian (East Londonderry) Durkan, Mark (Foyle) Maginness, Alban (North Belfast) Easton, Alex (North Down) Maskey, Alex (West Belfast) Eastwood, Colum (Foyle) Middleton, Gary (Foyle) Elliott, Tom (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) Milne, Ian (Mid Ulster) Farry, Stephen (North Down) Morrow, The Lord (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) Fearon, Ms Megan (Newry and Armagh) Moutray, Stephen (Upper Bann) Flanagan, Phil (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) Nesbitt, Mike (Strangford) Ford, David (South Antrim) Newton, Robin (East Belfast) Foster, Mrs Arlene (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) Ní Chuilín, Ms Carál (North Belfast) Frew, Paul (North Antrim) Ó hOisín, Cathal (East Londonderry) Gardiner, Samuel (Upper Bann) Ó Muilleoir, Máirtín (South Belfast) Girvan, Paul (South Antrim) O'Dowd, John (Upper Bann) Givan, Paul (Lagan Valley) O'Neill, Mrs Michelle (Mid Ulster) Hale, Mrs Brenda (Lagan Valley) Overend, Mrs Sandra (Mid Ulster) Hamilton, Simon (Strangford) Poots, Edwin (Lagan Valley) Hazzard, Chris (South Down) Ramsey, Pat (Foyle) Hilditch, David (East Antrim) Robinson, George (East Londonderry) Humphrey, William (North Belfast) Robinson, Peter (East Belfast) Hussey, Ross (West Tyrone) Rogers, Seán (South Down) Irwin, William (Newry and Armagh) Ross, Alastair (East Antrim) Kelly, Mrs Dolores (Upper Bann) Ruane, Ms Caitríona (South Down) Kelly, Gerry (North Belfast) Sheehan, Pat (West Belfast) Kennedy, Danny (Newry and Armagh) Spratt, Jimmy (South Belfast) Kinahan, Danny (South Antrim) Storey, Mervyn (North Antrim) Lo, Ms Anna (South Belfast) Sugden, Ms Claire (East Londonderry) Lunn, Trevor (Lagan Valley) Swann, Robin (North Antrim) Lynch, Seán (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) Weir, Peter (North Down) Lyttle, Chris (East Belfast) Wells, Jim (South Down) McAleer, Declan (West Tyrone) Wilson, Sammy (East Antrim) Northern Ireland Assembly Monday 27 April 2015 The Assembly met at 12.00 noon (Mr Speaker in the Chair). Members observed two minutes' silence. Assembly Business Public Petition: Sixmilewater — Reconsideration of Belmont Road Mr Dickson: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Development Can you advise the House who the Minister of Health is today, given the statement that the Mr Speaker: Mr Danny Kinahan has sought Minister's resignation will not take place until 11 leave to deliver a public petition in accordance May and that another Minister will take joint with Standing Order 22. The Member will have responsibility for some of the tasks? up to three minutes to speak. Mr Speaker: My office and I have received no Mr Kinahan: I am really pleased to present this notification, so, until I receive such notification, petition, which calls for the reconsideration of the Minister of Health is Mr Jim Wells. the proposed development of the Belmont Road on a site alongside the banks of the Sixmilewater river. The petition contains 1,047 signatures today and is, I am told, still live and now has 1,182 signatures. I thank Stevie Munn, a game angling consultant, and the Six Mile Water Trust and its colleagues, who pulled the petition together. They highlighted the key issues, and I have enjoyed working with them since I entered politics. Sadly, this matter has arisen at election time, and I hope that it can be resolved by all the politicians in the area working together into the future. The valley and the river are just on the outskirts of Antrim, and a wonderful council-planned mill race trail runs along the riverbanks and is incredibly popular with locals as an area of natural beauty, for angling, for countryside walks and for nature. It really should be protected and preserved. It should be part of a tourist trail and a tourism strategy — if we had one — in Northern Ireland that promotes our country sports and countryside. We should keep in mind that, in Ireland, angling alone contributes €755 million to the economy. We all know that the Sixmilewater has often been appallingly badly polluted, and, indeed, in 2008, there was great flooding after heavy rainfall. The blockages around the bridges and other pinch points led to appalling flooding in people's houses. We still have ongoing insurance problems. We should keep that in mind when we look at the petition and the plan. The present plan is to develop 400 houses beside the river, with a 10-metre buffer — that 1 Monday 27 April 2015 is all — with no recognition of the needs of the wildlife, including the otters, the dippers, the Executive Committee dollaghan and many others. That all needs to Business be studied properly and accurately in an environmental statement. That should be carried out so that we know all the issues. Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 The application was validated just after the new super-councils began, so it should be subject to Mr Storey (The Minister for Social the new local area plan when it is created and Development): I beg to move should take into account all the community's views before any decision is made. I hope that That the Social Security Benefits Up-rating the Minister will confirm that that is the case Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 be approved. and that previous area plans are now redundant. I also hope that DRD and DARD The uprating order is an annual order that sets will look into the issues that are relevant to out the rates of contributory and non- them. The development should either not contributory benefits, together with the various happen at all or should be completely allowances and premiums, that make up rethought. It is the test on the whole of our new income-related benefits. Generally, the annual planning system. Thank you. amounts from April each year are based on the increases in the general level of prices over the Mr Kinahan moved forward and laid the petition 12 months ending the previous September, on the Table. measured using the consumer prices index (CPI), which is the measure of price inflation the Mr Speaker: I will forward the petition to the Westminster Government consider most Minister of the Environment and send a copy to appropriate for this purpose. the Committee. At the end of September 2014, the CPI showed an increase of 1·2%. According to the latest data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), by February this year, that figure had fallen to zero and again remained at zero last month. There has been some debate in the past about whether the CPI or the retail prices index (RPI) should be used as the measure; some people