Northern Ireland Assembly, 17 September 2012

366 contributions from 81 members. The official report.

Matter of the Day

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Mr Edwin Poots has been given leave to make a statement on the Spence family tragedy, which fulfils the criteria set out in Standing Order 24. I remind the House of the recent changes to the arrangements for speaking on matters of the day. Mr Poots and any other member who is called will have up to three minutes to speak on the subject. Members other than Mr Poots should indicate clearly that they wish to be called by rising in their place and should continue to do so as happens at Question Time. I know that Members from all sides of the House want to make a contribution this afternoon to mark the tragedy and send condolences to the Spence family. I ask Members, as far as possible, to be very brief, and we will try to allow as many Members as possible to make a contribution.

When we visited the home yesterday, the sense of shock in the entire community was palpable. Many people will have been at the wakes of those who have passed away in different circumstances. There can be a degree of conviviality at those wakes. However, this house was just very, very quiet, as a consequence of the death of the three men of the house. The Spence family have farmed in the area for five generations, and the community has come to know and love them. Two things will give them some crumbs of comfort. First, Emma, who was rescued by local farmers who were quickly on the scene and were then supported very ably by the Ambulance Service, the Fire Service and the Police Service, is home from hospital and will make a full recovery, certainly physically. Secondly, the Spences have a strong personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Noel, Graham and Nevin all sought Jesus Christ as their personal saviour. As a result, that family believes that it will be reunited. They have absolute confidence that they will be reunited in a place where there is no more pain, sorrow or tears.

Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I start by expressing my sympathy and that of Sinn Féin to the Spence family of Hillsborough. The tragic events of Saturday evening have shocked not just the farming community and the sporting community but the wider community base. People are genuinely shocked. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this very difficult time. One can only imagine the impact that this tragic loss of life is having on the family.

Farm safety is an issue that we all take very seriously. All opportunities need to be taken to raise awareness. Earlier this year, Minister Foster and I launched the farm safety partnership, which is an attempt to highlight the dangers and pick up on some of the facts that we are all aware of. Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations. People often work for long periods on their own. They can be out for hours on end, working with heavy machinery. It is a difficult occupation to be involved in. We need to continue to raise awareness and work to improve farm safety.

I do not know the Spence family personally, but, by all accounts, including that of Minister Poots, they were a loving, gentle and hard-working family with a deep sense of family loyalty and a great faith. As we extend our sympathies, prayers and thoughts to the entire family at this very difficult time, we hope that they will find some solace or strength in the widespread public sympathies that have been offered.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

There are times when it is difficult to know what to say. There are circumstances that are so tragic that you have to ask yourself whether there is anything that can be said that will actually help matters. I think that I speak for all here and all in the community when I talk about the profound sense of tragedy, loss and sheer disbelief at how things could happen in such a manner. Given how the story unfolded, people can only imagine the tragedy in the last few minutes, how it must have felt and what people tried to do.

The nature of Northern Ireland is that we all know people. Members of my family spoke to Nevin at the rugby just the day before. My nieces talked to the family when they were coming back from Portugal. As Minister Poots said, they are a wonderful family and very well connected with the community and their church. You have to wonder how we can help and support the rest of the family. It is important to say, although I did not know all of the family, that it is a family tragedy. Not only was it Noel, Nevin and Graham, but all of the other people associated with it. In the wee small hours and the coming days, weeks and months, we will all do what we can to help the family and the surrounding community.

I conclude my remarks by offering, on behalf of the party, our absolute sympathy and condolences to the family. We really have to find a way of preventing such tragedies, which happen occasionally and repeatedly.

Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

I too offer my heartfelt sympathy and that of the SDLP to the surviving members of the Spence family. Mrs Spence Snr, her two daughters and Graham's wife and children are in the thoughts and prayers of our entire community. My condolences also go out to the wider family circle, the neighbours and the wider farming community in the area where they lived.

Slurry tanks are dangerous, and, unfortunately, familiarity can often lead to unguardedness when it comes to safety. An unguarded moment can lead to a terrible tragedy, as we had in this case on Saturday evening.

The Spence tragedy has become international news because of the affection in which Nevin Spence was held in a much wider field. Nevin was not just an outstanding rugby player; he was an exceptional human being. My two children met him on many occasions, and they spent Sunday grief-stricken. That is how far his reach went. My sympathy goes out to Ballynahinch Rugby Football Club, with which he was associated, to Ulster and to the Irish rugby fraternity and to rugby players and supporters across Ireland and far beyond whose lives have been touched by this outstanding young man.

It is a tragedy for all of us, but it is a particular tragedy for those they have left behind: the mother, the sisters, the wife and the young family. I hope the prayers and sympathy of the whole community will continue to be with them in the coming days.

Trevor Lunn (Alliance, Lagan Valley)

On behalf of my party and as a Lagan Valley MLA, I offer our sympathy, prayers and condolences to the remaining members of the Spence family. An unimaginable tragedy has happened. I understand from news media and from Minister Poots and others that the family has a strong faith. They will need that faith in the days to come, and I hope that it sustains them.

I was in church yesterday — Mr Givan was there also — and by coincidence the minister was the chaplain to Ulster Rugby, Andrew Thompson. I watched and listened to him struggling with words yesterday. He had been speaking to Nevin just the day before. I give thanks that Emma has been spared, and I hope that the family can somehow come to terms with this. I wish them well. It is hard to comprehend what has happened.

Alastair Ross (DUP, East Antrim)

It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of the grief that the Spence family are going through following the tragic deaths of Noel, Graham and Nevin on Saturday evening. The tribute from my colleague Edwin Poots was moving, and I am sure that everyone in the House will want to associate themselves with his words.

I met Nevin a few times, most recently as Chairman of the all-party group on rugby. On behalf of all of the members of that all-party group, I pass on our sincere condolences to the Spence family and indeed all those associated with Ulster Rugby, whom we have worked very closely with over the past number of months. Nevin was admired not just for his performances in an Ulster shirt but, as other Members have said, for the way he conducted himself off the pitch. The tributes that have come in from right across the world, not just from the rugby community but from the whole sporting community, are testament to the high regard in which he was held. I have no doubt that the entire rugby community — indeed, the sporting community, not just throughout Northern Ireland and Ireland but much wider than that — along with the farming community and the church community in Northern Ireland will come together to remember Noel, Graham and Nevin and give whatever support they can to the family as they go through this most difficult of times.

Joe Byrne (Social Democratic and Labour Party, West Tyrone)

As the agriculture spokesperson for the SDLP, I also extend sympathy to the family on the tragedy and, indeed, to the wider farming community. I also want to mention a young man who was killed in Fermanagh last week, Brian óg Maguire. Again, he was a great sporting individual, and, again, his family are suffering pain and loss. At this time, it is very important that we empathise with and support the families, who are suffering such tragedy.

Cathal Ó hOisín (Sinn Féin, East Londonderry)

I also offer my sympathy to the Spence family. As a rugby fan, I know that the wider rugby community will be very affected by this. Nevin played 42 times for Ulster, and we were always very hopeful of his talent and ability. I also pay tribute to Brian óg Maguire, and I offer our sympathy to his parents, Brian and Eileen; his sisters, Roisin and Eimear; and his girlfriend, Maeve. Last week, young Brian took Lisnaskea Emmetts to their first senior final in 15 years. He was captain of the all-Ireland intermediate winning team last year. He represented Ireland at international rules, and he also played soccer with Lisnaskea Rovers. I offer my sympathy to his comrades in St Comhghall's High School and St Mary's University College. Go ndéana Dia trócaire ar a anam uasal. May the Lord have mercy on his soul.

Paul Givan (DUP, Lagan Valley)

Yesterday, I was able to spend some time at the family home. The brokenness of that home is so clear, yet the dignity and the Christian spirit are so evident. I know that, as everyone across Northern Ireland is supporting the family, we are praying for that family. It puts into context the things that you worry about in life. You really get a clear perspective of what really matters, the brevity of life, how important your family and your friends are and, of course, your faith. I am so pleased that we have a hope that the members of the Spence family who have been lost are united in heaven and that their family will join them again. We mourn with them now, but let us all pray that God will comfort them in that knowledge and surety that, again, they will be able to meet together.

Jo-Anne Dobson (UUP, Upper Bann)

The entire farming community in Northern Ireland is in such a deep state of shock and sadness. For one member of a family to be lost in such circumstances is devastating, but three men dying like this cannot be adequately put into words. My thoughts turn especially to the women: Mrs Spence, her daughters, Laura and Emma, and Graham's wife and their two children. They will be trying so hard to come to terms with their loss. Farming families rely on tight bonds of love, and we hear in an act of true love that, when they got into difficulties, they were trying desperately to help one another. Farmers are a tight-knit community, and, from the many phone calls that I have received over the weekend, I know that farmers like myself are all grieving too. As a member of a farming family, I cannot help but think that it could so easily have been my own family, friends or neighbours where this tragedy occurred. I am sure that farmers across Northern Ireland will be having the same thoughts this morning. My thoughts and prayers are with the Spence family and the wider family circle.

Jonathan Craig (DUP, Lagan Valley)

I join with my condolences to the Spence family. Edwin and I were at the same fundraising event when the tragic news came through. In many respects, it is a double tragedy for Edwin and me, in that these are lifelong friends. They are people we have known from our youth. I knew Noel's wife very well. Along with my aunt, we ran a small Bible club locally for children. I can recall teaching both Nevin and Graham in that club, so this tragedy has really struck home very close. All the major family connections in that area are absolutely devastated by what has happened. The entire male population of the family has been wiped out.

It was one of the largest farming families in our local community, and the tragedy has just absolutely devastated the communities in Annahilt and Drumlough, which, as has been said, are very close-knit. I praise my neighbours, who helped the family on the night and helped prevent further tragedy, and I give much praise to the local farming community, who have rallied around to help and are helping the family even as we speak to run the farm at a time when the family circle has no one left to run it. Much praise to all those who have done that.

I will never forget yesterday going into that home. Essie embraced me, and the pair of us wept because words failed us both. What does anyone say to someone in those circumstances? I hope and pray that lessons will be learned from all of this that will stop further tragedies for other families. The one thing that I am absolutely certain of is the faith that that family has. That faith is based in Christ and Christ alone, and he is the one who will carry the rest of the family through this situation.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

If we in this House are all touched and shaken by this triple tragedy, as we clearly are, we can only imagine the depth of devastation in the Spence family as two generations of a farming family were wiped out in an instant, as one gave their life seeking to help the other. As Mr Poots said, there was a prestigious rugby talent in young Nevin, but the place in a rugby team will be filled; the places in this home will be vacant and empty. Therefore, I join in the condolences to the two widows and mothers, the fatherless children, the sisters and the wider family in expressing the heartfelt feelings that we all have about this tragedy. Human sympathy and support have their limitations, but I believe that this family, from its faith, will derive the knowledge and experience that the God of all comfort will be with them. That is the prayer of us all.

Steven Agnew (Green, North Down)

I offer my condolences to the Spence family on behalf of the Green Party at this very difficult time. Life is too short, and these lives were cut short much too soon. Each of us in the Chamber will have different experiences of the loss of loved ones, and we can only speculate and empathise with the emotions of the family and friends of Noel, Graham and Nevin. The one positive is that Emma is doing well, and I hope that the family, particularly Emma, will receive all the support possible from the community. I am sure that that will be the case. I share in offering condolences with the rest of the House.

Maurice (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I rise to speak simply because Mrs Spence is a native of Dungannon. The family home was at the hamlet of Bush, which lies midway between Dungannon and Coalisland. I extend my sincere sympathy and heartfelt grief at this time to the family. She was a member of a highly respected family, and her brother had great expertise in another sporting world and still lives in Dungannon. I would like to be associated with all the remarks that have been made here this afternoon.

Assembly Business

Committee Membership

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

As with similar motions, this will be treated as a business motion. Therefore, there will be no debate.

Resolved:

That Ms Michaela Boyle be appointed as a member of the Audit Committee. — [Ms Ruane.]

Ministerial Statements

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Before I make my statement to the House, as the Minister responsible for the Health and Safety Executive, I give my deep condolences to the Spence family on this horrific tragedy. The executive will complete a thorough and professional investigation as quickly as possible and will bring its findings to me. I felt it appropriate to let the House know that that is the case.

Mr Speaker, with your permission I wish to make a statement. Last Thursday, Northern Ireland was shocked by the announcement that one of our major engineering employers, Caterpillar, intends to implement a redundancy programme that will see up to 760 people lose their job. Those redundancies will be completed by the end of 2012 and felt by the employees and their families across all four of the company’s Northern Ireland facilities at Larne, Belfast, Springvale and Monkstown. As I said last week, on one of the worst news days for our economy in many years, this is a devastating blow for the employees, their families and their communities. They are at the forefront of my thoughts at this time.

Caterpillar has made it very clear that its decision is no reflection on the skills, productivity or flexibility of its workforce, and I am somewhat encouraged that, for the employees ultimately affected, the company is striving to reduce some of the impact by offering an enhanced voluntary redundancy package. It will also help to redeploy displaced workers by providing training on new skill sets, partnering with potential Northern Ireland employers to host job fairs and hiring a placement service. For its part, Invest Northern Ireland has already been in discussion with senior executives of Caterpillar to develop a joint approach to assisting the employees as far as possible. It will work with colleagues from across government, particularly those in the Department for Employment and Learning, which will offer a redundancy advice service and work in partnership with the Social Security Agency, further education colleges, HMRC and other agencies to provide information and professional advice about the options and support available.

In addition, I am able to announce a very positive and welcome development. Members will be aware that, for over a year, Invest Northern Ireland has not been in a position to deliver a full business support programme to individuals interested in starting their own business because of a legal challenge launched following the original procurement exercise. As a consequence, a further tender competition was held, the outcome of which is being advised to the tenderers today. As with all such procurement exercises, a 10-day period will follow before the contract becomes operational and the successful tenderer can begin to deliver the contract. That means that, after over a year of being unable to provide a full support service to individuals who are interested in starting their own business, Invest NI will shortly be in a position to reintroduce a new business start programme.

Last week’s news follows on from the announcement, earlier in the summer, that, for cost-competitive reasons, the company was releasing 160 agency staff as a result of its decision to move production of its 400 Series smaller generator sets aimed at the retail market.

At that time, it also announced the launch of a global strategic review of Caterpillar’s electric power division that aims to improve the company’s longer-term competitiveness. It is the outworkings of that that we are now beginning to see and feel here in Northern Ireland.

Ongoing uncertainty in the euro zone has led to a drop in demand in the market. Although there is growth in Asian markets, new low-cost competitors have located in those markets, making the manufacture in western Europe of small generators very challenging. The reality is that the types of products that are being lost are relatively cheap retail generator sets for domestic and light commercial use that people buy on price. In Europe, demand has decreased substantially, and, in Asia, they are being duplicated in China at a much lower cost point. As a result, the company’s global strategic review concluded that to maintain the overall competitiveness of the Caterpillar group it is necessary to manufacture smaller products closer to the marketplace where it can achieve the required economies of scale. It is those macroeconomic factors that led to the decisions announced last week.

Major multinational companies are constantly assessing and adjusting their business models to ensure that they remain competitive and efficient. On many occasions in recent years, Northern Ireland has been a beneficiary of such decisions, by attracting new inward investors of the calibre of NYSE Euronext, CME, Citi, and Allen and Overy. Unfortunately, as we saw last week, sometimes we are not so fortunate. When the company announced 160 job losses in July and a global review, we feared that further bad news would follow.

We are fully aware of the challenges of the global economy and the continual shift of low-cost manufacturing eastwards. Over the years, we have seen it in textiles, shipbuilding, aerospace and other manufacturing sectors. Therefore, we were shocked by the numbers, if not by the trend. We know that a long-term sustainable economy cannot be based on low-cost functions, but we were completely shocked by the magnitude of last week’s announcement, which came to light only a few days before the public announcement.

As soon as I was made aware, I immediately contacted Bill Rohner, vice-president of Caterpillar’s electric power division, and made contact with Doug Oberhelman, Caterpillar’s chairman and CEO, expressing my grave concern at the number of potential job losses and seeking the opportunity to meet him and his team to discuss the decision in more detail. Mr Rohner told me that it was a difficult decision, taken in the face of increasingly competitive global economic pressures. I sought assurances from him that the company is still committed to Northern Ireland, and he assured me that that is the case and that it intends to maintain a presence in Northern Ireland — an assurance that I have also received in writing from Doug Oberhelman.

I was already scheduled to travel to the United States next week, along with the chief executive of Invest Northern Ireland, to support Invest Northern Ireland’s ongoing work to attract high-quality inward investment and build trade opportunities for our local exporters. I will be meeting Bill Rohner during that visit to get a better understanding of the potential future impact and to see whether there are opportunities for us to mitigate the outworkings of this recent announcement.

Despite last week’s news, we must not lose sight of the fact that, even once this very painful process has been completed, Caterpillar will remain a significant part of the Northern Ireland economy. Since acquiring FG Wilson in 1999, Caterpillar has invested £43 million on research and development activities, £129 million of capital expenditure and paid £30 million in corporation tax. In growing its business over the past 12 years, it has also paid around £700 million in wages and salaries, which has also had a substantial impact on the wider economy as that money has been spent.

In support, Invest Northern Ireland has provided £25 million of assistance, most of it in the early years as the company grew its workforce significantly. The support provided in more recent years has included £2 million for skills development, £2 million in research and development and the development of an engineering centre of excellence to help move up the value chain and help us attract those new functions.

In recent years, Invest Northern Ireland has worked closely with Caterpillar management to build its capability to focus on higher added-value activities and identify and exploit new business opportunities. The company will continue to manufacture higher-value, larger gen sets in Northern Ireland — products that can continue to be manufactured on a competitive basis locally. We have also been successful in attracting various elements of the company’s support functions to Northern Ireland, thanks to the skills of our workforce. As a result, we now have over 200 people employed supporting Caterpillar’s IT and finance functions.

The company has confirmed to us that, if, as a consequence of last week’s announcement, it has any financial liability to Invest NI, it will honour that liability. I will use our meeting next week to try to identify whether there may be opportunities to grow those Caterpillar operations further and, indeed, to see whether there may be other functions in the group’s operations that could be competitively serviced from a Northern Ireland base.

If last week’s terrible news tells us anything, it is that the strategy, which we, through the Executive, set and endorsed in the Chamber to rebalance, rebuild and grow our economy, is the right one. Now, perhaps more than ever, we need to collectively focus on increasing the size, competitiveness and value of our economy by embedding innovation, growing our local companies to scale, increasing our export base and attracting high-quality inward investment.

As I mentioned, no modern economy can compete on price alone; that is a race to the bottom. However, we can compete and succeed on quality, and we are doing so successfully. As our traditional sectors have faced the challenge of low-cost competition, we have done two things. First, we have worked with many of our manufacturing companies to help them to move up the value chain by embracing innovation in its widest sense. We have also helped them to not only invest in research and development but enhance the skills of their workforce, apply new processes and technologies and break in to new markets. That approach has yielded substantial results, most notably in our aerospace sector, where Bombardier has played a tremendously important role in developing the overall capability of the sector. However, there are plenty of other examples of success, such as Wrightbus, which, from its Ballymena headquarters, is successfully exporting its StreetCar product to Las Vegas and Hong Kong.

Secondly, we have replaced many of our traditional sectors with new ones, which are growing. Our financial services sector employs 26,500 people in over 1,200 companies; our business services sector employs over 15,000; and our growing technology and creative industries sector employs 15,000.

Last year alone, the average salaries of jobs from new inward investment increased by some 31% on the previous year. That illustrates the absolute quality of jobs that we are attracting from companies such as CVS Caremark, Axiom, Cowen Group and Intune Network, many of which have average salaries that are well in excess of £40,000. Those are exactly the types of projects and jobs that we need to continue to focus on attracting to Northern Ireland.

We have an enviable reputation in areas of advanced manufacturing through companies such as Andor Technology and Schrader Electronics, and we are global players in advanced composites engineering. There are also major opportunities to grow emerging sectors such as legal services, e-health and renewables. Many global names now have a presence in Northern Ireland, and, following the recent arrival of Chicago Mercantile Exchange to join NYSE Euronext, Belfast is the only European city, apart from London, to have two major stock exchanges.

Since April this year, Invest NI has made over 1,800 offers of support worth over £36 million and has a healthy level of potential projects in hand, which, if they all come to fruition, could see almost a £500 million investment in our economy and the creation of some 2,700 jobs from foreign investors and locally owned companies. That means that we are well on track to deliver against the 25,000 jobs in the Programme for Government.

However, although we are supporting the creation of new, good jobs, in some sectors, such as retail and construction, jobs continue to be cut more quickly. We continue to encourage our local businesses to literally push their boundaries by exploring new export markets, and we now have a market presence in 27 countries across the world to help them to identify and exploit opportunities. However, we recognise that some of those jobs will be put in place over a period of years, and we continue to encourage businesses to make use of the jobs fund, which was specifically designed to enable businesses to create jobs quickly. It too is delivering, having created 1,600 jobs over the past 18 months, a number that is expected to rise to 2,400 by the end of the financial year.

We are also widening our support to enable many more businesses. Through the Boosting Business campaign, over 10,000 enquiries have been made to Invest NI’s business support team, and 1,500 new projects are in the pipeline, over 80% of which have come from companies that, historically, would not have been engaged with Invest Northern Ireland.

To support economic development, we will unashamedly use every tool that we can and we will continue to press for the devolution of corporation tax. My Executive colleagues and I are pushing to get a conclusion to the corporation tax discussions this autumn. That work now requires a political decision to be taken at Westminster. Whilst it would not solve all our economic challenges, it would, in my view, be a significant game changer. We estimate that it would enable us to double the number of jobs we secure from inward investment, resulting in 50,000 new jobs by 2031. Equally importantly, it would enable many more of our local businesses to release funds to fuel their future growth.

Last Thursday, a meeting was held for Executive Ministers who hold portfolios that directly relate to the economy. At the meeting, we discussed what more we can do to support our local economy at this difficult time. Areas that we discussed included: looking at how Invest NI could provide additional finance for working capital in businesses; how the planning system could help boost the economy; how we could provide additional funding for roads maintenance; how we can assist our towns and cities by lessening the impact of car parking charges; and looking at our rating policies. Work is now going on across all Departments, and we will have a further meeting of the Executive on economic matters in late October.

Members can all agree that last Thursday was a dark day in the history of our economy. While our immediate priority is, rightly, to focus on the needs of the individuals, I hope that we can all also agree that, collectively, we need to focus on continuing to build the high value economy that will deliver sustainable, quality employment opportunities.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht an ráitis sin. I thank the Minister for her statement. Before I respond to it, I, too, wish to be associated with the comments of the House in expressing sympathy with the Spence family. It was an awful tragedy that shocked everybody who lives in rural areas. There is a great sense of loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.

In regard to the Minister's statement, last Thursday, as we sat at the ETI Committee, we heard the news of this sudden body blow to the entire community, as we saw hundreds of jobs disappearing at the whim of an international pen. The Assembly has a collective responsibility to do what we can to help people through these very difficult and traumatic times. The Minister is attending the ETI Committee meeting on Thursday, and it would be helpful if she could go into the sequence of events in some more detail. However, as I mentioned earlier, it is for us all to work together to help and to see people through these difficult times. It was drawn to my attention this morning that a European globalisation adjustment fund exists. If there have been a minimum of 500 redundancies, an application can be made through a member state for people to get job search assistance, careers advice, training and retraining, a job search allowance and a mobility allowance. That helps not only those who work in the company but their suppliers. Given the magnitude of this particular layoff, I think that it would be a very useful route to at least explore. I look forward to hearing from the Minister.

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

It was remiss of me not to congratulate the new Chairman of the ETI Committee at Question Time last Monday and to thank the outgoing Chairman for the work that he carried out with the Committee. We had a good, if, at times, robust relationship, and I am sure that that will continue.

The Chairman mentioned a number of issues. First, in relation to the sequence of events leading up to last week's announcement, as I have indicated, in July, we were made aware that some agency jobs were being moved out of Caterpillar. Indeed, they were going to look at it from a global point of view and to have a company come in and look at Caterpillar in relation to its competitiveness. If the Member has the press release from the company, he will note that, in the headline, it talks about long-term competitiveness, moving forward. That is where it is looking at this from. Therefore, in July, we were aware that that work was taking place. However, as I said in my statement, we knew where the trend was in relation to small generator sets, but we were not aware of the scale of the reduction until early last week. I immediately contacted the vice-president, Bill Rohner, who has direct responsibility for the electric power division, and I also made contact with the CEO and chairman of the company. I actually asked the chief executive to wait until I had the opportunity to speak directly to him before he made the announcement in order to see whether there was anything further we could do. However, he decided to go ahead with the announcement. That does not take away from the fact that I will meet Bill Rohner early next week to explore all the avenues and to see what we can do at all the plants owned by Caterpillar in Northern Ireland.

I am very interested to hear what the Member has to say in relation to the globalisation reduction fund. I will explore that immediately, if Invest NI has not already looked into it.

The Member makes a very good point in relation to the supply chain to FG Wilson. I understand that the supply chain to FG Wilson is large but perhaps not as large as the one to some of the aerospace companies. However, suppliers are dotted right across Northern Ireland, not least in my constituency. In relation to that reduction, it is important that we work not just with Caterpillar but with all the supply chain companies to help them through these difficulties.

Francie Molloy (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

I remind Members that, although the Chairman is given a certain amount of latitude, that is not extended to others.

Alastair Ross (DUP, East Antrim)

FG Wilson is obviously part of the fabric of east Antrim, with plants in Larne and Monkstown, and the impact has been severe since the announcement on Thursday. Obviously, there are short-term and longer-term challenges. Many of the short-term challenges, in respect of training and support for those who have lost their jobs, will perhaps be addressed in the next statement from the Minister for Employment and Learning. In respect of FG Wilson's longer-term sustainability, will the Minister tell the House what support Invest NI can give to help the company maintain its global competitiveness in the future? From her conversations with Caterpillar, can she give an assurance that it is still intending to commit to Northern Ireland in the future, particularly in the manufacturing of higher-end, more expensive generator units?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I thank the Member for his question. Back in July when the initial job losses were announced, I said that we needed to look to higher-value jobs and, indeed, manufacturing, and that has been shown to be the case. Invest Northern Ireland will work with the company to search out other work that Caterpillar is carrying out across its global sites in order to see whether we can assist with that in Northern Ireland. As I said, we have been able to do that with some very large companies that operate on a global basis. I think that there are opportunities for us to do the same with Caterpillar and to bring some work to Northern Ireland, in particular the sort of high value-added work that, we believe, we can do very well.

Over the past number of years, we have been working with Caterpillar to encourage it to do more research and development at its sites here. Indeed, as I said in my statement, it availed itself of £2 million of assistance from Invest Northern Ireland to carry out some research and development at the Larne site. We will look for more of those opportunities in the coming weeks.

As I indicated, I wrote to the CEO and chairman of Caterpillar. In his letter to me, dated 11 September, he said:

"Please be aware that our current plan is to continue to manufacture large gen sets from Northern Ireland and are actively looking for other work we can bring to our Northern Ireland facilities."

I take that as an opportunity, and I intend to follow it up next week. There is certainly recognition of the skills and ability of the local workforce at FG Wilson, and I very much hope that we can bring further work to the company, be it in Larne, Monkstown or, indeed, Springvale in Belfast.

Oliver McMullan (Sinn Féin, East Antrim)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for her statement. Minister, I was heartened by what you said. You did say:

"growing our local companies to scale".

Does the Minister agree with me — indeed, from your statement today, I take this to be the case — that now is the time to robustly embark on a programme of enhancing what is already there to promote SMEs in rural areas? Quite a lot of the workers at FG Wilson come from rural areas. While in those areas we have small and medium-sized enterprises —

Francie Molloy (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

Can we have a question, please?

Oliver McMullan (Sinn Féin, East Antrim)

— that continue to grow, they do need more help. Invest NI has got some programmes there, but we need more funding and help. Minister, would you agree that now is the time to embark on that programme?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Last year, 70% of Invest Northern Ireland's money went towards helping indigenous companies. There is a fallacy going around that Invest NI helps only foreign direct investment. That is not true at all. If you look at the money and the way it was spent last year, you will see that 70% of its budget went towards helping indigenous companies. I am very encouraged by that, but we can do more in relation to access to finance. We have talked on many occasions about the role of the banks in helping the economy to grow in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, that role does not appear to be forthcoming. Therefore, Invest Northern Ireland set up the growth loan fund, a £50 million fund that could be accessed by companies that were not able to get money from banks but had growth plans. I am very pleased to say that there have been a huge number of enquiries to the fund, resulting in 28 business plans at present. Do not forget that the fund has been open for only a short period, and five of those loans have been approved for companies right across Northern Ireland. I am looking to see whether I can make an additional bid to the Finance Minister for more money to go into the fund because the single issue I am always faced with when I talk to companies is working capital and the fact that the banks are bearing down heavily on companies. I take Mr McMullan's point about helping indigenous companies. That is exactly what we are doing.

Sandra Overend (UUP, Mid Ulster)

I and my Ulster Unionist Party colleagues are, obviously, shocked at the scale of the job losses at FG Wilson and are concerned about not only those families that have now lost the major breadwinner but how this will impact on the Northern Ireland economy.

I refer the Minister to page 3 of her statement and the announcement in early July of the 160 jobs losses. Since the announcement last week, Alastair Hamilton said that the company was contacted and there were meetings at ministerial level with Caterpillar and FG Wilson, yet the Minister herself said that there was none. I would like clarification on what the Minister or her ministerial colleagues did between July and the time of these announcements on jobs. What specific contact was made between July and now?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I am glad the Ulster Unionist Party is now addressing the issue at hand instead of putting out unbelievable press statements, as it did on Thursday. They were mawkish and grotesque, frankly, when we should have been concentrating on the families. Indeed, her party colleague was sitting beside me at the Executive table looking for solutions to the difficulties that were in front of us and which continue to be in front of us, but the party was more interested in putting out statements that were, frankly, beneath contempt.

I have to say that that does not surprise me, because, since the Member became the economic spokesperson for the Ulster Unionist Party, we have had many statements from her, none of them strategic. It has been hugely disappointing how the Ulster Unionist Party has addressed the issue before us. All other parties have managed to come to the table and try to address the issues that are in front of us.

However, I will address the issue that the Member has now brought before the House. It is the case that in July we were told that there was a trend developing. Invest Northern Ireland had many interventions with the company to see what could be done, but we were not aware of the outcome of its global investigations until early last week, when the company made contact with Invest Northern Ireland. I immediately contacted Bill Rohner, the vice-president, and the chairman and CEO. I spoke to the vice-president after he made the initial announcements in July, and we did everything we could, but the fact is that we are dealing with a global management of a global firm. In many cases we are going to have to lift our game in respect of manufacturing excellence.

It is disappointing that the small gen sets will now be made in China, but, unfortunately, that is not surprising. FG Wilson and Caterpillar were bringing in products from China, fitting them into the small gen sets and sending those sets back to Asia. Unfortunately, that is not a sustainable way to do business. We now have to find higher value pieces of work that we can bring to Northern Ireland so that we can continue to grow our manufacturing industry.

Stewart Dickson (Alliance, East Antrim)

Minister, thank you for your statement. As an East Antrim MLA, I make no apology for concentrating my questions on what will actually happen to the people in Larne, Monkstown, and in the constituency of East Antrim, who will lose their jobs. I appreciate that you have a wider remit in respect of these matters.

I attended the meeting of Larne Borough Council and Larne Enterprise Development Company (LEDCOM) on Friday morning, at which your ministerial colleague Sammy Wilson was also present. It was a highly constructive meeting, and the company has agreed to participate in similar meetings in the future. Minister, what specific efforts do you intend to make, along with the MLAs from East Antrim, to help to deliver jobs for the people of East Antrim, from Larne right through to Monkstown?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

As the Member rightly acknowledged, I am not just the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment for East Antrim but have to perform that task for the whole of Northern Ireland. I am sure that he recognises that.

I very much welcome the task force that has been set up by the council in conjunction with the other elected representatives. The company and Invest Northern Ireland will also participate in that. Representatives from different regions often come to me and ask me about directing companies specifically to their regions. I have to say to the Member that the skills that are available in East Antrim will, in and of themselves, be attractive to companies that are looking for those sorts of skills. They should continue to build up the excellence of those skills. That will draw companies to them.

David Hilditch (DUP, East Antrim)

I thank the Minister for her statement. I probably should declare an interest, as one of my sons is an employee of the company. Indeed, he is there only because he lost his apprenticeship when another small business went down the tubes.

Hopefully things can stabilise, but it is clear that the emerging situation has far-reaching implications for my constituency. My question is similar to Mr Dickson's. Minister, what can be done, in conjunction with the local economic development units in Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey, to deal with the impact of these job losses?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I thank the Member. I recognise that this is very much a human story. Sometimes, when we talk about figures and statistics in the House, we forget that. Indeed, I attended a funeral on Sunday, and I was approached by a member of staff from FG Wilson who wanted to talk to me about the implications of the job losses.

As I said in my previous answer, all the agencies in east Antrim need to work together. I know that my ministerial colleague will have a lot to say about the work that DEL will do in the site in east Antrim. Indeed, I understand that DEL has had a presence in the plant since the announcement was made in July. It is about working in partnership with DEL and its redundancy service; the Social Security Agency, further education colleges, HMRC and, importantly, the company. As I understand it, the company very much wants to work with us as we move forward. I think that that is a very helpful way to move the whole debate forward.

Phil Flanagan (Sinn Féin, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for her statement. I note that, in her response to Mrs Overend, the Minister took a bit of a swipe at the UUP and its approach to the issue. I am a wee bit disappointed that she missed taking a swipe at it on its plan B. The UUP put out several press statements on its plan B, but there were no plans or suggestions in those statements. Maybe she is waiting for the party leader to get up to address that one.

Returning to the issue, the Minister and the broader Executive have responded very proactively to the crisis, and rightly so. Will the Minister clarify whether a similar process is put in train every time there is a significant announcement of impending or planned job losses? About a fortnight before the announcement at FG Wilson, there was an announcement that —

Francie Molloy (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

Could we have a question please?

Phil Flanagan (Sinn Féin, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

— 390 jobs were to go in Target Express —

Francie Molloy (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

Sorry, we need a question on the statement.

Phil Flanagan (Sinn Féin, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

— with 150 jobs going in Lisnaskea, Newry, Derry, Nutts Corner and Cookstown. What action did the Minister take to address those job losses?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

There are about three questions there. It is vital to remember that the Ulster Unionist plan B is a simple plan; that is the key. As for coming together at a time of job losses, we were, in fact, coming together to address the unemployment statistics, which had been published the previous day. Those unemployment statistics, which, for the first time, had risen above the UK average, contained some telling issues. Sometimes, it is easy to look at the headlines, but we need to look beyond them. Some 8,000 people have come off the economically inactive register and onto the unemployment register or into a job. We need to find out which is the case. Have they come off one register and gone onto another, or are they finding employment? For the first time since the second quarter of 2008, the number of jobs created has increased, which was a significant issue that we needed to address. It was helpful that Executive colleagues, at the request of the First Minister, all came together, because, as the Member will acknowledge, the economy is much more than DETI; it is about construction jobs, town centre retail jobs and car-parking and rating issues. For me, it was a very helpful discussion, which, as I said, we will continue at the end of October.

The Member and his colleague have raised the issue of Target Express on a number of occasions. I want to clarify something in relation to Target Express: I have not been asked by the company to intervene with the Revenue Commissioners in the Republic of Ireland. Neither Mr Lynch nor Mr Flanagan has requested that I do so. They have asked me questions about the matter, but they have not asked me to intervene. I cannot intervene in particular companies whenever I feel that I should do so. I have to be asked to intervene, and, indeed, I have intervened. Mr McElduff asked me to intervene on two occasions, and I have done so. If there is a particular issue that they wish me to intervene on with the Revenue Commissioners, I will do so, but I cannot do that of my own volition.

Francie Molloy (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

I remind Members that questions should be brief and must relate to the ministerial statement.

Paul Girvan (DUP, South Antrim)

I appreciate that those words are probably said to keep me in line. What are the long-term prospects for FG Wilson, on the understanding that China is a very — I will use the term — unregulated area? As far as patents are concerned, it seems simply to fly in the face of everything. I am worried that that line of the business will disappear and that ultimately the rest of the business could also go away on the basis of what has happened with the small gen sets.

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I understand the Member's concern, which I know is genuinely held. Indeed, a number of people have raised that concern with me. All I can say to the Member is that the main market for small gen sets is Asia. The euro zone market for small gen sets has all but collapsed. The company was finding it more and more difficult to be competitive in Asia because those small gen sets were being made by its competitors. As I said, small gen sets are sold on price, so it really is a race to the bottom. As I mentioned, the CEO and the chairman have indicated that the company will continue to make large generator sets in Northern Ireland and that it is actively looking for other work to bring to our Northern Ireland facilities.

It is up to Invest Northern Ireland, the company and me to take a strategic look at the entire Caterpillar global entity, as it were, to see what opportunities there are for Northern Ireland to follow up on. That is what I have been told. The company has stated in writing that it will be in Northern Ireland for the future. From our perspective, that is important. FG Wilson is an indigenous firm. It was set up in 1966 by Fred Wilson, an uncle of one of my ministerial colleagues. He had a real drive for manufacturing in Northern Ireland, and I want to see the company survive and thrive again. When FG Wilson was taken over by Caterpillar, about 1,800 people were working at the plant. When the redundancies are taken out, that will go down to 1,500. We want to build up the firm again in conjunction with the company, and I am very hopeful that we will do so.

Mike Nesbitt (UUP, Strangford)

I acknowledge the Minister's reference to the human impact, which, as she knows, will continue to ripple through supply chains and traders. What is her early assessment of the impact of the multiplier effect? In fact, what multiplier will the Executive use?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Invest Northern Ireland is working with the company and hopes to establish a database of FG Wilson's suppliers. Some of those suppliers will be industrial manufacturing suppliers to the company, and it is those that we are most concerned about. We will work with the suppliers to see what we can do to assist them to build up their work again.

Alban Maginness (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast North)

I thank the Minister for her statement. Will she give an overall assessment of our economy in the wake of FG Wilson's announcement? The substance of the announcement reflected the fact that this very large multinational company is capable of moving capital and its workplaces across the globe. If it can happen to FG Wilson, it can happen to any firm in Northern Ireland. We are most vulnerable. What is your assessment of the current position?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I take from his question that the Member is asking about the impact on the manufacturing sector in particular. At the lower skill end, we should be very aware that we are competing on a global scale, particularly with global companies. That having been said, there have been some manufacturing successes recently, including B/E Aerospace in Kilkeel, which continues to invest in research and development. The theme is investment in research and development. B/E Aerospace employs 650 workers in Kilkeel. Bombardier continues to grow. It has over 5,300 staff and is creating a centre of excellence for what it is doing on Queen's Island. As the Member is aware, Wrightbus continues to work very hard: over 30% of London buses are now manufactured in Ballymena, and it recently secured a £41 million contract to supply 550 double-decker buses to Singapore. In advanced manufacturing, one in five of our computer devices contains a part that has been manufactured in Northern Ireland at Seagate in Londonderry, and, at the other end of the scale, some 40% of the world's mobile stone-crushing and gravel equipment is manufactured in the mid-Ulster area.

There is still a core manufacturing ethos in Northern Ireland. I very much hope that we will have some better news in the manufacturing sector in the near future, and, when that comes, I hope that it will provide opportunities for some of those who have sadly been made redundant.

Gordon Dunne (DUP, North Down)

I thank the Minister for her statement today and the actions that she has taken to date to address the issue. Will she advise us what Invest NI is doing to ensure future support for other existing manufacturing businesses so that they can remain competitive in the world markets?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

That relates to the previous question. We must encourage our manufacturing companies to move higher up the value chain so that they can be competitive in higher-value manufacturing. That is certainly the case for Wrightbus, Bombardier and Seagate. There are opportunities for innovation and research and development even in the area of mobile screening and crushing. Invest Northern Ireland will seek out such opportunities with those firms, as well as working with them to see whether they can help them through the jobs fund, through the Boosting Business campaign or through the growth loan fund, which, as I said, is proving very popular with a lot of companies.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

I thank the Minister for her statement. As she indicated, Fred Wilson was the founder of the company, and he was an uncle of mine. One thing that Fred always ensured was that quality was instilled in manufacturing. Will the Minister give us some assurance that the company will maintain that quality? I have some concern that the smaller gen sets that are to be made in China will not match the quality that has been set in Northern Ireland and will consequently damage the company's reputation. Will she also indicate what other job prospects are in the engineering sector in Northern Ireland, so that the 760 staff might find work?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I thank the Member for his question. I indicated that he has a very personal interest in this firm. I share his concerns about quality, and we have made that point to the firm. I have seen the FG Wilson name on generators across the world, and we want to protect the firm's reputation for quality. That is something that I will raise again with Bill Rohner. When I meet him early next week, I will say to him that we are concerned about quality. We want the FG Wilson sticker to denote quality right across the world, and we want to ensure that that is the case.

I hope that there will be further announcements later this week and into next week about job opportunities for those who are to be made redundant. My ministerial colleague will say more about skills and how he intends to work in the coming days with people in the Larne area and, indeed, in west Belfast and Monkstown.

Trevor Lunn (Alliance, Lagan Valley)

I thank the Minister for her statement. There are always positives in such statements. The Minister, rightly, referred to the fact that this business was originally set up in 1966 by Fred Wilson, a long-term resident of, I may say, Lisburn. It was largely based on his inventive genius; everything stemmed from him. So, it is an indigenous business. I am pleased to see in the statement the introduction of a new business start programme after a year's delay, which, I take it, will replace the Go For It programme. Will the Minister give us either an idea of the scale of that programme or any figures for it?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I do not have the figures in front of me. The Member will know that I am delighted that it is coming to the end of that process. Of course, we have to allow the settle-down period, in case — heaven forbid — there is another challenge to the procurement. I hope not. I hope that we can get back to offering that full service to start-up companies, because I know that that is something that people have long been waiting for.

Roy Beggs (UUP, East Antrim)

On top of the previous announcement, the loss of 760 jobs will have a devastating effect on the workers, their families, the local community, suppliers and the retail sector, unless we can encourage fresh job opportunities in Larne, Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey. The chief executive of Invest NI recently indicated that he had thousands of jobs in his pipeline and he was confident that they would be delivered. Is the Minister satisfied that there are adequate opportunities and space for new investment in east Antrim? Will she ensure that such companies are made aware of the skills that are available?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

As I indicated, one of the strengths of the workforce in the east Antrim area is the skills that it can offer to anybody who is looking at opportunities. Certainly, when there is a skills surplus, we always like to draw it to the attention of people who are looking for opportunities. That is exactly what we will do. We are pleased to see that the foreign direct investment pipeline has opened up a little more recently. It closed down at the beginning of the year, but it has opened a bit more now, and we are confident that we will be bringing more jobs announcements before the end of this financial year.

Dolores Kelly (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Upper Bann)

The Minister referred in her statement to trends and broadened the debate over and above the manufacturing industry. I know that the Executive are committed to growing the agrifood sector, for example, in tourism. Will the Minister indicate whether the new agrifood strategy board has a budget with which to work? What are her hopes for job creation by Christmas, particularly in the agrifood sector?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

I thank the Member for her question. She has, rightly, pointed out the excellence of our agrifood sector. The agrifood board has not yet reported or given its initial findings to either the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development or me. Of course, we have been very clear with the board that we want this to succeed, because it is an industry that continues to give us growth figures year on year and we want to help it, particularly in new and emerging markets and, dare I say it, in places such as China, which we have been talking about a lot today. We will support them in any way that we can, and, if that means more money, we will push for more money for the agrifood sector. Obviously, I will have to compete with other colleagues for that, but I very much believe in the agrifood sector.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

In what might be a surprise to the people of Larne, the Minister tells us that her strategy is working. The reality is that, five years into the DUP/Sinn Féin coalition, unemployment has spiralled by 150%, from 26,000 people to over 60,000. Meanwhile, the Executive have been thrashing about, talking a good talk but still presiding over economic decline with no policy, it seems, other than perhaps attacking and reducing the amount of money available in the block grant —

Francie Molloy (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

Can we have a question, please?

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

— through chasing the rainbow of corporation tax powers. Is it not time that the Executive fronted up and admitted their failings?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Is it not time that the Member looked beyond his constituency and realised that we are in the middle of a global recession? Maybe he does not realise that; maybe it has not hit his local newspaper.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

Excuses.

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

"Excuses", he says. This is the man who did not even want us to have devolution. This is the man who did not want us to be here. If the Member believes that we would be better off with direct rule, that is a matter for him. Devolution has delivered more jobs for this part of the United Kingdom, and, if he does not believe that, let him look at the facts. He is a great believer in the facts, but it is about time he started to look at them.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

Unemployment is a fact.

Francie Molloy (Sinn Féin, Mid Ulster)

Order. It has been a long time since I had to remind Members not to make remarks from a sedentary position.

Steven Agnew (Green, North Down)

The Minister made reference to 1,800 offers of support, worth some £36 million, from Invest NI. In the past, many of these offers of support have not been taken up due to companies' inability to gain match financing. Will the Minister assure us that we will not see further Invest NI money handed back to the Executive because of the inability to find match funding for projects, or has she reason to believe that we should be more confident?

Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone)

Unfortunately, I cannot find match finance for companies, although I have been trying to assist with access to finance through the growth loan fund. We are in the middle of a global recession. We are taking all the applications that we can. Of course, Mr Allister is completely against us having the lever of corporation tax powers. As I indicated in my answer, £30 million of corporation tax was paid by this company and, if we had corporation tax powers, that would have allowed for reinvestment by that company, making it more competitive. Mr Allister sticks his head in the sand and does not accept that.

In relation to Mr Agnew's point, we will continue to work closely alongside companies to look for answers to all the difficulties that they face. The Boosting Business project has been going well for companies, as has been universally recognised. Of course, had Mr Allister had his way, we would not have had any of that at all.

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make a statement on the actions that I and my Department are taking in relation to the job losses at FG Wilson. First, I join my colleague the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in expressing my sympathy for and solidarity with the workers who face redundancy and, indeed, others who will be affected by the economic impact of this development. I and my officials have been proactive in determining what steps we can take to assist with redundancies, to provide upskilling and to identify alternative employment.

Under employment law, redundancies of this scale do not come into effect for 90 days. My officials have been engaging with FG Wilson in relation to redundancies since the earlier announcement was made in June. FG Wilson management has expressed a clear commitment to working with the Department and other agencies to assist employees. Tomorrow, my officials are meeting with FG Wilson to plan further for the delivery of advice clinics. In offering the redundancy advice service, my officials will work in partnership with the Social Security Agency, further education colleges, HMRC and other relevant agencies. This free service is crucial in supporting employees to determine their next steps. I am keen to ensure that DEL services are offered to those affected across all three affected sites, and I will encourage those employees to avail themselves of the help and support available. I will ensure, with our partners in the redundancy advice service, that employees at each of the three sites, in Larne, Springvale and Monkstown, will be provided with information and professional advice about the options and support available to them, including benefits, employment, training and education opportunities, as well as careers and taxation advice.

The redundancy advice service will arrange a series of initial group sessions, followed by individual meetings with each of the employees affected. The initial group presentations will outline all services available to them, and the redundancy advisory service partners will have information stands and staff available during group and one-to-one sessions. More detailed and personalised one-to-one sessions will be available for all employees, either at follow-up sessions, held preferably at FG Wilson’s premises, or at an office of one of the redundancy advisory service partners.

The workers affected by the job losses have high technical skills, good employability skills and a wealth of experience. Some of the identified skill sets in the FG Wilson workforce include those of engineers, research and development specialists, managers, supervisors, administrators and manufacturing operatives. Evidence shows that, frequently, people with such a background can leave the unemployment register more rapidly than is average and, indeed, may never even join it. However, there can sometimes be a need to refresh skills or convert general skills to meet the new specific demands of alternative employers. Accordingly, my Department has already been in discussion with the further education sector — the Northern Regional College in particular — on the critical role that it can play in providing assistance to employees. The Northern Regional College is itself a centre of excellence in manufacturing and mechanical engineering. Based at the Farm Lodge campus, this centre of excellence has a long track record of developing and delivering courses to meet the needs of employers. Strategic partnerships have been developed with key employers, including Michelin, Toyota, Ryobi, Bosch, Wrightbus, Schlumberger and Langford Lodge, providing tailored training provision to meet particular business needs. Through the centre of excellence, the college can offer a range of manufacturing engineering courses at levels 3, 4 and 5 delivered by highly skilled lecturing staff. Testament to the training expertise of staff was the college winning the UTV Business Eye award for its partnership work with Ryobi Aluminium Casting, as well as the Apprentice of the Year Partnership award. Recently, the college worked with FG Wilson to provide a range of courses to its employees. The college's business support unit also has experience in supporting previous redundancies in its catchment area.

In light of the importance of the engineering industry to the Northern Ireland economy, the college, along with the Belfast Metropolitan College at Springvale, is offering to conduct a skills audit of individual members of FG Wilson staff to assess their current levels of skill, identify any skills gaps they may have and deliver training provision on a flexible basis to meet their needs and match them with potential job opportunities. This service will be supplemented by my careers advisers, who can also carry out a detailed skills assessment.

The challenge then becomes one of finding new jobs for such skilled workers. Therefore, it is timely that I am due to convene the first meeting of an advanced manufacturing and engineering services working group later this week. The creation of this body follows concerns raised by employers in the manufacturing and engineering sectors about a shortage of engineering skills. I asked the Northern Ireland Adviser on Employment and Skills, Bill McGinnis, to meet employers in the sector to help me to gain a more thorough understanding of their skills needs. At a stakeholder meeting on 25 June 2012, the adviser gave an overview of his findings. A short report outlining his findings, together with an analysis of the sector, is available on my Department’s website.

The working group includes business leaders from the sector, employer representative bodies, representatives from the colleges and universities and other Departments and agencies, including DETI, the Department of Education and Invest Northern Ireland. FG Wilson is represented on the working group as a nominee of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce. The aim of the working group will be to put in place an action plan to address the current and future skill needs of the sector. When I meet this group on Wednesday, we will consider the FG Wilson job losses and, especially, the fact that employees have the opportunity to have their skills assessed and to participate in a tailored programme of training to meet the needs of any employer. I fully intend to use this opportunity to talk to employers in the sector to see what more we can do collectively to help to redeploy these skilled and experienced people in the manufacturing sector to help meet existing skill needs.

In considering the redundancies at FG Wilson, some care needs to be taken against the temptation to make general assumptions based on some cases. Of course, given the very dynamic nature of the global economy and, in particular, the continued rise of other locations of economic activity, the nature of international competition will change and will have implications for local manufacturing. Northern Ireland should not and, indeed, cannot seek to compete on low cost of labour. We can only compete in the context of high-quality products produced by highly skilled workers and backed up by excellence in innovation, research and development.

In considering the job losses we need to set them in the proper context. The manufacturing sector remains critical to the Northern Ireland economy and will be pivotal in determining and improving our economic performance. Although locally there clearly has been a significant loss of manufacturing jobs over recent decades and a shift to the service sector — a shift shared with most western economies — Northern Ireland nevertheless retains a significant manufacturing presence. Estimates suggest that the sector accounts for 11% of total Northern Ireland jobs in 2012, with the main subsectors being food manufacturing, fabricated metal, transport equipment and rubber and plastic manufacturing. The importance of the manufacturing sector is also clear, in that it accounts for over 15% of Northern Ireland’s gross value added and generates sales of over £12 billion in markets outside the region. Running across this range of activities and products, we have a particular strength in engineering and advanced manufacturing and possess a range of world-class companies.

The Executive’s economic strategy reflects our shared objective of expanding the private sector in Northern Ireland and promoting export-driven growth. In addition, the strategy reflects the recommendations of MATRIX, the science and industry panel, and identifies advanced engineering as a clear potential growth area. My Department’s skills strategy, 'Success through Skills — Transforming Futures', sets out the likely skill requirements over the next decade. It includes a general emphasis on demand for higher-level skills and specifically for qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, more commonly known as STEM. Earlier this year, I announced that my Department’s employment and skills provision would be focused on a number of priority sectors. The advanced manufacturing and advanced engineering sectors are included in that list. That decision was informed not only by MATRIX but by the report of my adviser on employment and skills entitled ‘Identification of Priority Skill Areas for Northern Ireland’. The purpose of that report was to advise on the imbalances between skills demand and supply and the skill areas that should be prioritised to encourage more people to train and acquire the economically valuable skills needed to help develop the Northern Ireland economy. At present, our local universities are producing over 800 engineering graduates across all levels of study every year. Similarly, there are over 700 engineering apprentices in training. Moreover, I will announce shortly the creation of Northern Ireland’s first higher-level apprenticeships at level 4, starting with ICT and engineering. Therefore, investing in engineering skills remains of strategic importance to Northern Ireland in order to meet potential new growth opportunities.

A reduction in the rate of corporation tax here has been identified as a key economic tool for attracting and retaining investment in Northern Ireland. The Executive have committed, in the Programme for Government and in the economic strategy, to press for the devolution of corporation tax and to reduce its level. That resolve remains and, indeed, has been strengthened by recent developments.

Increased demand for higher level skills will continue to exist even without a reduced rate of corporation tax. However, an external report, which I commissioned this year, into the potential skills requirements arising from a lower level of corporation tax indicates that a reduction in the rate to 12·5% could create double the number of jobs that would otherwise be produced locally. That equates to 58,000 additional jobs by 2030.

The baseline scenario within the current corporation tax regime shows there will be an additional 57,000 jobs by 2030 compared to 2012. Therefore, including the 58,000 additional jobs from a lower tax regime could result in 115,000 net additional jobs overall. Of the 58,000 additional net jobs created as a result of a lower corporation tax rate, 2,000 are expected to be in the advanced manufacturing sector from across new FDI firms. There will also be multiplier effects for existing businesses in Northern Ireland. The research shows that our skills base, in particular in STEM subjects, will be critical in driving out the full benefits of a lower corporate tax regime.

Northern Ireland retains a strong footprint in manufacturing. Indeed, in advanced manufacturing and engineering, it has the potential to expand. Beyond the immediate management of the redundancy issues of those affected by the job losses at FG Wilson and indeed elsewhere, my priorities focus on offering reskilling opportunities in line with Northern Ireland’s economic strategy and emerging opportunities.

Basil McCrea (UUP, Lagan Valley)

Minister, once again that was a long and comprehensive statement. At the risk of getting your ire, I will say that sometimes we might say more by saying less. It takes a long time to deal with these issues. I have no doubt that the Committee will have a number of questions about your specific initiatives. First, at the Committee meeting last week, we talked to you about the 29 consecutive months in which Northern Ireland had the highest, or second highest, claimant levels. Will you tell us whether there are any other shocks in the system? Have you done a risk analysis of the vulnerable companies and the big employers in our society and economy? What steps are we taking to mitigate those risks?

Secondly, I am sure that the Minister agrees that manufacturing is still at the very core of Northern Ireland's economic prosperity and that it adds value and gives real jobs. What steps will he take to reassure the people of Northern Ireland that engineering and manufacturing are the future and that one disappointment does not mean that there are not really good opportunities?

Finally, the European Commission proposed a €7·4 million fund from the globalisation fund for former workers of the Vestas Group in Denmark who previously made wind turbines. That market has downturned and gone to China. It is not dissimilar to what has happened here. Has the Minister had any interaction with that fund? What can we do to make sure that the workers of FG Wilson get the best possible help and support to ensure that their absolutely wonderful skills are not left on the scrapheap?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I thank the Chair of the Committee for his questions. There are four different areas to respond to him on, the first of which is unemployment. There is no getting away from the fact that we have a serious problem with unemployment. It is a growing problem that has been with us over the past number of years. It is also a problem that we share with many other regions of the UK and, indeed, elsewhere in Europe. It is a complex, multifaceted and multidimensional issue. We need to look at the number of jobs that have been created and the fact that we are shifting people from economic inactivity into the labour market. We want them to move into jobs, of course, but the fact that we are tackling economic inactivity is a good thing in itself.

The Member also mentioned risk assessment, and I fully understand his point. DETI and Invest Northern Ireland would probably wish to take forward the issue, but it is important to stress that, regrettably, some companies in Northern Ireland will decrease in size and, sometimes, shed jobs as markets change and the relevance of products changes. Equally, new companies will come into existence and provide new sources of employment, and other companies will grow. We have to ensure that the latter outstrips the rate of decline of the former.

That brings me to the Member's other point about the importance of the manufacturing and advanced engineering sector. The reason that I made the statement in the manner that I did was that I did not want simply to refer to the immediate steps that we are taking on redundancy and support for upskilling and finding new opportunities. It is important that we stress the importance of the manufacturing sector to Northern Ireland and say that it is very much part of our futures.

The profile of manufacturing will change, of course, as the nature of global competition changes. Indeed, there may be areas of low-value-added manufacturing in which we will not be as competitive as we were. However, there are areas such as agrifoods, which has already been mentioned, and advanced engineering in which we have the potential to turn out world-class competitive products. It is important that we back up those sectors by investing in higher skills to meet employers' demands.

Finally, the Member refers to the European Union globalisation fund, which the ETI Minister has undertaken to explore. Certainly, she and I have open minds on the issue, although I suspect that the attitude of our parent member state is not overly accommodating about it. No doubt, we will report back to Members on those discussions.

Tom Buchanan (DUP, West Tyrone)

I thank the Minister for his statement. He said that his officials have been engaging with FG Wilson since June this year. Will he elaborate on the nature of those negotiations? In light of increasing levels of unemployment, which is of grave concern to all Members, will he assure the House that the services and initiatives to which he referred in his statement will be provided in a timely fashion so that the workers at FG Wilson benefit from them at this very trying time?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I am grateful for the Member's comments. I am happy to confirm that we will be proactive in providing services to any member of the FG Wilson workforce who faces redundancy. Individuals may not be fully aware as to which jobs will be going. We have had ongoing dialogue with FG Wilson over the past number of years. The reference to June concerns the work that we have done on the assistance by the redundancy advice service and to staff who were in the first tranche of redundancies. Before that, we had been in ongoing discussions with, and providing services to, FG Wilson on skills support and facilitating some upskilling. Indeed, the Northern Regional College has an established track record in that regard.

Oliver McMullan (Sinn Féin, East Antrim)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for his statement. I have read the statement, which has no reference to rural dwellers. That may not be an omission on his part, but the issue needs to be brought up because the redundancies affect not only urban areas but rural areas. All the problems that arise from people not being able to avail themselves of further education training are felt in rural areas. Will the Minister assure the House that the difficulties that rural dwellers face today on further education, and so on, will be borne in mind when his programme is rolled out?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I thank Mr McMullan for his comments. Certainly, we are always sensitive to the rural aspects of Northern Ireland. He referred to further education, and I recognise and welcome the flexibility of that system and its ability to respond to the direct and ongoing needs of business and workers who face challenges from retraining around their skills knowledge. There is a commitment from the Northern Regional College that if we put in place a number of conversion courses or, indeed, other types of training, they will be developed very flexibly. That is primarily geared at reflecting the fact that, over the next 90 days, the people who are affected by redundancy will still be in post. They will be holding down jobs, so we need to talk with FG Wilson about how we can ensure that business can continue while we invest in the future of the workers who are about to lose their job. I recognise that that flexibility also extends to people who have difficulty with transport. Ultimately, the bottom line is that we will try very hard to find alternative sources of employment, but those may not necessarily be in Larne, where people have had jobs in the past. There is a great strength in engineering across Northern Ireland, but opportunities may become available beyond the immediate travel-to-work areas. We need to factor that in, and I am sure that my colleagues from East Antrim will bend my ear on that in a few minutes' time.

Pat Ramsey (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle)

I welcome the Minister's statement. In these times, it is not an easy issue for any Minister to have to contend with. The Minister's statement is about reskilling and re-employment initiatives. As part of the personalised interviews with each individual member of staff, will the company audit the skills base of all the staff? Will the Minister assure the House that, as well as meeting members of the business community and employer bodies, he will meet other stakeholders, including training providers in the area to ensure that localised training programmes are necessary in this case?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I thank Mr Ramsey for his question, and I commit that we will work with an open mind with anyone who can provide a solution to the issue of retraining. Our priority is to try to channel it through the Northern Regional College. It is important that there be a single interface with the company, but, below that level, there may be a whole range of different avenues and options that we can explore. I am very keen that we devolve that to the individual level and that we look at each worker as a person, rather than simply as a number, and place people in very general approaches. We need to specialise and see where people's individual aptitudes are and what we can do to support each person individually.

Stewart Dickson (Alliance, East Antrim)

Thank you, Minister, for your statement. You will forgive me for asking questions on matters that directly affect constituents of mine in East Antrim, as I did of the previous Minister who spoke. Although I appreciate the work that your Department is doing to deliver redundancy advice and, indeed, provide training, can we be assured that that will also be delivered very locally, and be very focused locally? In addition to the employees who are unfortunately losing their jobs in FG Wilson, can you assure us that you will also be looking out for the knock-on effect on suppliers and traders — for example in the town of Larne — to ensure that they get similar support from your Department?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I thank Mr Dickson for his question. The preference is to deliver the advice service in-house for the workers who are affected by the redundancies. That means delivering it directly on the premises of FG Wilson. That works best for the company and best for the individuals who are affected, to minimise disruption and maximise the opportunities to consider alternative options. Of course, there are other strong engineering companies in east Antrim. Schrader and Ryobi are two that immediately spring to mind, and, no doubt, there are others as well. The issue will be one of what levels of vacancies exist elsewhere, what issues regarding shortages and mismatches exist, and to what extent we can match the skills sets of the people who are unfortunately leaving FG Wilson with those alternative companies.

It is also important to acknowledge the Member's other point. The focus on skills support does not apply only to workers from FG Wilson. My Department is available for any company in Northern Ireland to discuss their skills needs, and any company that needs to enquire about retraining of existing staff should contact the skills solutions service in DEL to discuss its individual company needs.

Alastair Ross (DUP, East Antrim)

In his statement, the Minister correctly said that many of the individuals who are leaving FG Wilson are skilled and experienced workers who could be an asset to other companies. He mentioned two other east Antrim companies, Schrader and Ryobi, in the previous answer. Could he indicate the level of interest that other Northern Ireland companies have shown in being willing to work with his Department to reskill some of the workers who are losing their jobs and in potentially providing employment for them?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I thank Mr Ross for his question. It probably takes me into the realms of the advanced manufacturing engineering services working group, which we are convening on Wednesday. Over the past number of months, a lot of Members have reflected, from their own constituencies, engineering companies that are seeking to grow and that have their own inherent strengths but that, at times, have expressed a mixture of concerns about skills and difficulties in attracting personnel. So, we are hoping to initiate a discussion on Wednesday — FG Wilson will hopefully be at the table — about companies' profiles and any vacancies and skills requirements that they have. We are also hoping to see how we commence the challenge of trying to match those workers who are, unfortunately, leaving FG Wilson, of seeing whether there are some immediate new opportunities available and, indeed, whether, with some additional training and conversion courses, further people could be placed.

Fra McCann (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I welcome the Minister's statement. These are very dark times, especially in my constituency of West Belfast, which already suffers from high unemployment. That not only affects those who are losing their jobs but, as someone said, the surrounding businesspeople will take a knock. The Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment spoke earlier about new employment opportunities that may come before the end of this financial year. Will the Minister tap into that and, with that knowledge, will the people who may lose their jobs in this situation be reskilled and trained to take up any opportunities that might come down the road?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I thank the Member for his comments, and we appreciate the impact on West Belfast. The Member will be pleased to know that Belfast Metropolitan College is willing to partner the Northern Regional College in the provision of upskilling, and that will hopefully be delivered at the Springvale campus in west Belfast.

I cannot comment directly on what may or may not be in the Invest Northern Ireland pipeline, but a lot of good work is going on behind the scenes. However, I will confirm that my Department works very closely with Invest Northern Ireland on the skill needs of companies that wish to either grow in Northern Ireland or to invest in Northern Ireland. We have a programme called Assured Skills, which is very much about us giving a quality assurance to an investor that the skill requirements are either in Northern Ireland at present or that, where we identify deficiencies, we will put in place tailored programmes to provide workers with the skill requirements that the investing companies require. That type of provision will often be delivered through the further education sector.

David McIlveen (DUP, North Antrim)

I thank the Minister for his statement. Minister, you will be aware that the public probably prefer to interface with their politic representatives through local constituency offices rather than through Parliament Buildings. With that in mind, will you be prepared to make staff from the redundancy advice service available to speak with staff in constituency offices to make sure that they are adequately prepared to give the advice that is needed?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I do not want to give an absolute definitive answer to that, because we have to take into account some of the resourcing considerations of that. However, if it is possible to do it, I will certainly ensure that it is done, because the commitment is to try to tailor and individualise service as best as possible. I see merits and value in the service being delivered in FG Wilson itself in the first instance. I think that that suits all the parties, but whether we are talking about the CAB or a local constituency office in individual cases, we will be happy to try to consider that one-to-one support, if that is the most effective way of addressing needs.

Roy Beggs (UUP, East Antrim)

Thank you for your statement, Minister. The scale of FG Wilson job losses has been unprecedented in recent years, and there will a knock-on effect on suppliers, the service sector and even retailing. Given that dramatic effect, will the Minister do everything to try to draw down from the globalisation fund, which would effectively double the funds available for training and assistance to encourage those people to be reskilled and re-employed? Will he speak to the Secretary of State to have that argued for in Cabinet so that the Government will support it at Westminster?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

There is no arguing with or getting away from the scale of the redundancies that have been announced. We are dealing with a very sobering reality, and no doubt it is felt most acutely in Larne, Monkstown and west Belfast. As has been said by the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, it is something that we are happy to consider and explore fully. That certainly means discussions with the UK Government, but I want to caution the House that, although we will give it consideration, that does not mean that there will be no unintended consequences. We want to be sure that it is something that we can deliver. I do not want to unnecessarily raise expectations that there is a magic pot of money out there from which we can draw down. The Member certainly has my commitment that we will give it full discussion and exploration.

Chris Lyttle (Alliance, Belfast East)

As a Member for a constituency that has also grappled with global change in manufacturing, I extend my thoughts to the workers affected by this brutal development. I also recognise the immediate support that has been offered to the workers. What action is the Minister taking to ensure that, on a long-term basis, people in Northern Ireland meet the skills demands of a modern manufacturing and engineering sector?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

Obviously, there is a much wider dimension beyond what we do to assist the workers directly affected by this. I and my ministerial colleague make the point that Northern Ireland can only compete internationally based on the quality of our products and, in particular, of our skilled workforce.

We have an economic strategy in place that has a very strong theme around skills. My Department has its own skills strategy and we have an employer engagement plan associated with it. We have a very clear plan to drive up skills across a very broad front. We will need to increase the higher-level skills — level 4 and above — from a baseline of 33% to around 52% by 2020. We have a very strong need to increase the number of people who are trained in the STEM subjects as well.

The projections show that Northern Ireland can create a lot more jobs over the coming decade, once we are through the current economic difficulties. However, the vast majority of those jobs will require higher-level skills, so there is an imperative that we act now to drive up skills in anticipation of the jobs that, I hope, will come in future years.

Sandra Overend (UUP, Mid Ulster)

I thank the Minister for his statement and for the ongoing work he and his officials have done. I have experienced that work in my constituency.

It is disappointing that the advanced manufacturing and engineering services working group will begin its first meeting with firefighting. I hope that the Minister will assure us that those businesses will be listened to, and that the working group will be more than just a talking shop. With that in mind, I ask the Minister to make the House aware of the outcome of that first meeting. Will he communicate with those affected at FG Wilson about any actions stemming from the working group that might help them?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I am happy to give Mrs Overend an assurance that the discussions of the working group will be transparent, and we will give ongoing reports of its activities. I do not accept her comments about firefighting. A strategic decision was taken to set up the working group. Indeed, we still have almost 90 days before the redundancies come into effect during which we can take immediate steps to address the situation.

These working groups are certainly not PR exercises or window dressing. The engineering working group follows a path tried and tested over the past year, during which we have set up two other industry-specific working groups on ICT and the agrifood industry. Two action plans for those respective sectors have already been agreed and published and are being actioned. I am keeping a close eye on the delivery of the various action points, and I am happy to answer to those in due course. I expect that the engineering working group will follow that tried and tested pattern and produce its own action plan in the very near future, hopefully within less than six months. Beyond what has happened with FG Wilson, we have an inherent strength in advanced engineering, and it is important that we capitalise on that and drive out any skills shortages and mismatches to ensure that we can fully capitalise on opportunities for Northern Ireland.

Danny Kinahan (UUP, South Antrim)

I also thank the Minister for his statement. Many of the employees of FG Wilson are in Ballyclare and Newtownabbey, in the South Antrim patch. One of the difficulties over employing is employability. Here we have a need. I wonder whether the Minister is looking at what extra skills are needed to make those same people employable worldwide. Are we listening to companies from outside as to what they need to do so that they can go away and use their skills worldwide and come back and, maybe, create more employment for us here?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I thank the Member for his question. Obviously, we recognise that this is not just an issue for east Antrim or west Belfast. Workers come from a whole range of constituencies. Indeed, market forces do not simply start and finish at the arbitrary boundaries of Assembly constituencies. I expect that the workers in FG Wilson will already have very strong employability skills, that is, the ability to actually work in a workplace. They will also have strong essential skills, and most of them will have very strong technical skills. The only real issue probably relates to what needs to be done to update, refresh and add on new technical skills to meet different specific needs that different businesses may have. I would like to think that we will be looking to find alternative employment within Northern Ireland. The days of the brain drain need to be over, and we have to reverse that. The challenge for the Executive is to ensure that we create new opportunities in Northern Ireland to place workers who have, unfortunately, lost their jobs.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

When in nominal opposition, the Minister, as Alliance spokesman, had this to say:

"The Executive needs to move away from its cheap populism and reinvest resources in the economy. Our Executive has not taken the bold initiatives that have characterised the fiscal stimuli in other jurisdictions."

and:

"The Executive has not taken the opportunity to re-balance and modernise the local economy."

Has anything changed since he became a gamekeeper, or are we still going backwards with the second-highest unemployment for 29 consecutive months for most of which he was the Minister?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I am pleased that the Member has the opportunity to do some frivolous research at a time when we need to focus on the task in hand. I am part of a collective Executive. I am satisfied that we have a robust Programme for Government that places the economy at its heart. I believe that we have a very good economic strategy that places skills as a clear theme within that. Unemployment in Northern Ireland has been rising over the past five years, which reflects the global economic downturn. What has happened in Northern Ireland, in terms of the broad change in employment figures, is no different to other regions of the UK, the Republic of Ireland, other parts of the European Union or North America. Within that, however, we will have our own particular aspects, and that is where the Executive can make a real difference. People should be in no doubt whatsoever: we, as an Executive, are committed to doing everything in our power. Let us bear in mind that we are a devolved region, which brings opportunities to do things that the UK Government would not do or would not care about doing. However, it also has its limitations, and corporation tax is one of those, but we will not be found wanting in using every lever and pressing every button at our disposal to address the economic situation in Northern Ireland.

Steven Agnew (Green, North Down)

The Minister made reference to some pretty impressive figures for job creation by 2020, were corporation tax to be reduced. I do not often agree with the Finance Minister, nor he with me, but in a previous discussion on the issue he made comments to the effect that 20-year economic modelling in the current economic circumstances, given the fluctuations in Europe and further afield, was unreliable at best. Does the Minister accept that the figures that he has presented today are, at best, "guessonomics" or, even, "wishonomics", and that they are certainly not sound economic projections?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I certainly agree with Mr Agnew that he is finding a range of strange company these days in some of the arguments that he is making. The report that I referenced sets out the job opportunities arising from a lower level of corporation tax through to 2030. It was produced by Oxford Economics, which is a well-renowned consultancy company. I have certainly no doubt about the reliability of the report that it has made. It is not something that was politically skewed or fixed in some way. We asked Oxford Economics to do a piece of work, and it came back with the results. The reason why we have to do those types of studies looking ahead to the number of jobs to be created is so that we can ensure that we properly plan for the future, because we are asking people to invest in particular subjects and to plan careers for the future. It is important, therefore, that we try to anticipate what aspects of the economy are likely to grow most rapidly and where those jobs are going to be created. That enables us to ensure that we match supply and demand and place the right emphasis on skills to meet the likely new companies and areas of investment. If we do not, we will have skills shortages, skills mismatches and inefficiency in our economy. I do not think that anyone wants that.

Sammy Douglas (DUP, Belfast East)

I thank the Minister for his statement, which, I am sure, he found quite difficult to make. Twelve years ago, I was a member of the Harland and Wolff task force. I have every sympathy with the people who lost their jobs and with their families. Looking back, I remember that we helped people with issues regarding redundancy, benefits and a whole range of things. One of the key issues at that time was that LEDU helped people who wanted to become self-employed or set up their own business. Do you have any plans to work with other agencies to ensure that we try to create a bit of enterprise for some of the most highly skilled workers in the United Kingdom?

Stephen Farry (Alliance, North Down)

I thank Mr Douglas for his comments. As the nature of manufacturing in Northern Ireland has changed, this, unfortunately, is a well-trodden path in some respects, and we have been down this road before. We will certainly look very closely to see if self-employment is an option for some people. That is why it is important that my Department and, in particular, the redundancy advisory service, partners other agencies in exploring self-employment options, and I include DETI very much in that regard. The points he makes will be encompassed within the service that we provide through the redundancy advisory service.

I am very keen to avoid a situation in which the people affected will have to go to a multitude of people to get advice. That makes things even more stressful for people who are already in an incredibly stressful situation. It would also mean that we would have a duplication in how government is responding, which would mean we are acting inefficiently. The more that we can channel people through a one-stop shop, the better we all will be.

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

I wish to make the following statement on the fourteenth North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) meeting in the health and food safety sectoral format, which was held in the NSMC joint secretariat offices in Armagh on Wednesday 18 July 2012. This has been the earliest opportunity to make the statement to the Assembly following the summer recess.

Minister Michelle O’Neill and I represented the Northern Ireland Executive at the meeting. The Irish Government were represented by Dr James Reilly TD, Minister for Health, and Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The meeting was chaired by Minister Reilly. The statement has been agreed with Minister O’Neill, and I am making it on behalf of both of us.

Ministers received a presentation from Cooperation and Working Together (CAWT). It was delivered by Tom Daly and Bernie McCrory, director general and chief officer of CAWT, respectively, and Mairead McAlinden, chief executive of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust. We noted the launch of the CAWT 2011 annual report and congratulated CAWT on its work over the past 20 years to improve the health and well-being of border populations. We also welcomed progress made in the implementation of the CAWT-managed €30 million EU INTERREG IVa Putting Patients, Clients and Families First project. More than 20,000 patients and clients have benefited from this project, which has resulted in improved patient welfare and the delivery of savings to the two Health Departments. The participation of CAWT in the Northern Periphery Programme was also welcomed.

In the health promotion field, Ministers noted the development of strategies in both jurisdictions on alcohol misuse. Those include ongoing collaboration on minimum unit price for alcohol and proposals for a North/South alcohol forum. We also noted the measures proposed in the new Northern Ireland ten-year tobacco strategy, which aims to reduce the availability and appeal of tobacco products to young people, and proposed legislation prohibiting smoking in cars where children are present is being developed in Ireland.

Ministers discussed the progress made by the special action group on obesity in Ireland, and we noted that the Caloriewise scheme, which aims to encourage consumers to make more informed choices when eating out or on the go, is being trialled by eight local businesses in Northern Ireland.

Ministers noted that the business planning process is well advanced for the establishment of a radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin and that construction remains on target to commence in 2013, with a view to the unit being operational by 2016. Officials are working together to finalise arrangements that will ensure effective delivery of the project.

We discussed progress on the implementation of the revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the Ireland-Northern Ireland-National Cancer Institute Cancer Consortium and noted that joint research projects undertaken through the previous MOU have indicated improved strategies for cancer prevention or treatment. Progress on the development of new collaborative health research projects through the US-Ireland research and development partnership was also noted.

In relation to suicide prevention, Ministers welcomed the publication of the refreshed Protect Life strategy in Northern Ireland and noted progress on the review of the Reach Out suicide prevention strategy in Ireland.

We also welcomed the commencement of the Men’s Health Forum pilot projects, one of which will focus on the Colin area in Belfast, which has previously suffered from high levels of young male suicide, and the second of which leverages social media to reach out to young men in Ireland.

Ministers noted that the registry of self-harm is now in place in all hospital trusts in Northern Ireland, which means that there is complete coverage across the island of Ireland. We endorsed revised all-island media guidelines, which seek to promote positive reporting of suicide, and welcomed the Please Talk campaign, which links students who are in distress with college supports, and which is operational in campuses in both jurisdictions.

Ministers noted and welcomed the proposed future work programme for the child protection steering group, which is to be taken forward through five specific work streams focusing on: knowledge exchange; quality and effectiveness; deaths of children in care; cultural competence in safeguarding; and specialist services.

Turning to the food safety sector, the Council received a presentation on the work of Safefood from the CEO, Martin Higgins. The report highlighted scientific and promotional activities, as well as the success of the Safefood obesity awareness campaign Stop the Spread, which won the gold award in the healthcare sector at the 2012 An Post Integrated Direct Marketing Awards. Ministers reviewed progress on the development of the Safefood business plan and budget 2012, and noted the Safefood 2011 annual report and accounts.

The publication of the Safefood report entitled 'Infectious Intestinal Diseases on the Island of Ireland 2000-2010' was welcomed, and Ministers acknowledged Safefood’s ongoing work on infectious intestinal diseases. They noted that the report and ongoing studies of trends advance the epidemiological understanding of food-borne diseases and help to underpin future prevention strategies for Safefood.

Sue Ramsey (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for his statement and welcome the update on the NSMC.

Minister, you mentioned that there was a presentation and update from CAWT. Will you tell us whether all-island paediatric cardiac care was discussed or mentioned at the meeting? Will you give us more information and detail on how the child protection steering group will tie in with the Safeguarding Board, which you are due to launch, I think, tomorrow or Wednesday?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

I had a separate meeting with Dr Reilly at which we discussed paediatric cardiac care. We are working closely together to try to achieve a positive outcome. The House knows — Members will have received a lot of letters about the issue from constituents — that there is a huge amount of anxiety that paediatric care may not be available to the public here without the need to fly to England. We certainly want to avoid that if at all possible. We need to achieve a number of things. A clear demonstration is needed that the results in the Republic of Ireland back up the work there. My suspicion is that the quality of care is good, but we do not have the evidence to support that. We are getting evidence that will support that, which will help us to move forward. I think that we are getting feedback on the outcome of operations that have taken place over the past three years. It would be very useful if we could come to an agreed outcome with the Republic of Ireland.

The child protection officials group will share information with the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI) on the work being undertaken in the new work programme and each of the five specific areas of focus. It will invite the SBNI to contribute directly to the work of the five subgroups as appropriate. It will also consider any representations and suggestions made by the SBNI with a view to improving practice in Northern Ireland and cross-border. The officials group also intends to host an all-Ireland conference with a focus on knowledge exchange in child protection between the two jurisdictions. The conference will afford the SBNI and the newly established child protection agency in the Republic of Ireland the opportunity to reach a wider audience of policymakers, practitioners and managers in child protection services and to develop working relationships with service delivery systems. I do not believe that any border or stretch of water should be a mechanism that allows paedophiles to engage in their activities without the rigours of the law being applied to them. It is incumbent on us to do everything that we can to ensure that paedophiles are brought to justice.

Jim Wells (DUP, South Down)

Minister, in a recent article in the media, the Chief Medical Officer highlighted the problems of alcohol and drug addiction and the huge burden that that places on our health service. I was interested to hear that he raised both issues during a recent meeting. What can be done to break the vicious cycle of addiction that has such a profound impact on those who are hooked and to address the burden that it places on the health service generally?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

Research shows that the misuse of alcohol in Northern Ireland costs up to £900 million every year, and around £250 million of those costs are borne by the health and social care sector. I do not think that it is reasonable that we should accept that. People are doing themselves an awful lot of harm, particularly through binge drinking, and steps need to be taken to discourage it. I welcome the fact that we are having discussions with our counterparts in the Republic of Ireland and, indeed, Scotland about the potential to raise the minimum price of alcohol. I also welcome the fact that in more recent days, David Cameron, who appeared at one stage to be totally opposed to minimum pricing, has done an about-turn and now appears to be quite supportive of the idea. Having a minimum price for alcohol across the British Isles is considerably easier to enforce than it would be if just Scotland or Northern Ireland were doing it.

It is also quite beneficial that Scotland is ahead of us on the issue, because all the judicial reviews out of which lawyers' and QCs' income can get fatter will be borne by Scotland rather than Northern Ireland. That makes a change, so I am glad that the fat cat lawyers in Scotland will be able to get their income. However, the fat cat lawyers in Northern Ireland will not be able to squeeze it out of us, because we will be able to take the evidence from Scotland.

Roy Beggs (UUP, East Antrim)

The paediatric cardiology proposals are an issue of great concern to many constituents. Many years ago, I had to spend a couple of nights in hospital to comfort a young son prior to an operation. Why was the North/South sectoral meeting on health not deemed to be an appropriate occasion at which to raise the subject and try to come up with a satisfactory solution, and why did the Minister adopt a different forum for doing so?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

The meeting took place on 18 July, and I think that the report was received in August, so that would be one reason. However, we were aware that work for the report was taking place, so that is why it was deemed important enough to have a conversation.

We cannot easily ignore a report from experts who say that what is currently available in Belfast is unsustainable. It would be foolhardy simply to say that we are going ahead and ignoring the report. At the same time, I think carefully about a mother who has just given birth by caesarian section to a baby who needs surgery immediately. That baby has to be flown to England to get that surgery, and the mother cannot be flown to England. Perhaps the baby loses its life while in England, and the mother is not there at that very important time.

Although the vast majority of children would receive the best possible care, at some point those things would happen, so we need to reflect on those things. This is a very important clinical decision but not a clinical decision alone. It is also about people's personal circumstances. Therefore, it is important for us to seek to ensure that we maximise the clinical excellence in the care that is provided and, hopefully, try to do that somewhere here on the island of Ireland, and preferably keep some sort of service in Belfast if that is at all possible. I do not know whether that is possible, but we need to test everything over the next number of months to see how we can maximise the service that is provided locally.

Conall McDevitt (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

I welcome the Minister's remarks on paediatric cardiac services. Given what we have learnt over the summer about the threat to paediatric cardiac services in our region, is it not time perhaps to think about scoping out with Dr James Reilly in the Republic those other areas of specialist medical services that could be sustainable on an all-island basis and that may well be under threat if we continue to look at them simply in a regional context?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

There are two issues. There will be services that are available only whenever you have a population threshold. If it suits us to do that with the Republic of Ireland, I am very happy to do that. If it suits us to do it with the north-west of England or with Scotland, I am happy to do that as well. We need to be outward-looking to ensure that we have the best possible healthcare.

We also have the regional issues, where, for example, the option for people in Donegal is to travel long distances, but perhaps we can provide them with a better service at Altnagelvin or, indeed, the new hospital at Enniskillen. The same may apply to counties such as Monaghan and Cavan, and so forth. Therefore, we need to have a conversation on what services we in Northern Ireland can provide to people from the Republic of Ireland, and vice versa. That is not a conversation that I will run away from. I do not believe that it is a political issue; I think that it is a health issue. It would be very sad, particularly for the people of Fermanagh, who have an excellent new hospital, to open a hospital of that quality but not ensure that its services can be sustained. So, by bringing more numbers and a wider population into a facility like that, we can ensure that the entire population of County Fermanagh and the south-west of Northern Ireland can have the best possible services locally and will not have to travel to Belfast, Altnagelvin or elsewhere as a result of services having been removed.

Kieran McCarthy (Alliance, Strangford)

I welcome the Minister's statement this afternoon. I also congratulate Cooperation and Working Together for its excellent work and leadership over some 20 years. In his statement, the Minister acknowledged that CAWT is undertaking a €30 million project that has helped some 20,000 patients. Given that that €30 million will undoubtedly run out, will the Minister tell the House whether he is aware of any further or follow-up investment being made available so that we can help many more patients across the island?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

We are identifying where other programme funds could come from for CAWT and its work. For example, CAWT was invited to become a partner of an INTERREG IVa health committee with partners in Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden and Canada. That project, which is called Recruit and Retain, will be managed by CAWT and will, for example, set out to find solutions to the persistent difficulties of recruiting and retaining high-quality public sector workers in remote areas of northern Europe. So, we need to look at how we can identify resources to do that.

We are also looking at making savings in both health Departments, and, in and of themselves, INTERREG IVa projects represent significant savings for the Departments and health agencies in each jurisdiction. To date, more than 21,000 patients and clients have received services that would otherwise have required funding from respective systems. In many cases, patients and clients were waiting for services for up to four years. For example, in the Cavan/Monaghan Hospital Group in the HSE, children were waiting for more than three years for audiology services. However, as a result of a CAWT project, no child or, indeed, adult will wait any longer than nine months for a first appointment, and, for urgent cases, no one will wait any longer than two weeks. The cumulative savings that are made at the end of that measure should equate to the cost of services or treatment for at least 30,000 patients. So, we need to be clever about how we do things and, where we can, we need to work together and identify savings. I think that it is incumbent on us to do that and to create savings that can be reinvested in the health and social care system.

Mickey Brady (Sinn Féin, Newry and Armagh)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for his statement. Minister, in your statement you referred to the Men's Health Forum and to a pilot project in the Colin area of west Belfast. Will you give us some more detail on what that project involves?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

Men's health has, of course, not been as well looked after as women's health, and we are in a situation where men live for considerably shorter periods than women. So, we want to encourage men to look after themselves better. Some people might suggest that that happens because men have tougher lives than the ladies, but I would not dare to make such a suggestion. I encourage men to take greater care of themselves and to ensure that they eat properly and do all those types of things.

There has been a trial in the Colin area, which has, obviously, experienced a cluster of suicides. The project there works with young men and incorporates support, mentoring, reflection and practical action. We have learned from that project, and I think that there is much that we can take from it when implementing and rolling out other programmes.

Pam Brown (DUP, South Antrim)

I thank the Minister for his statement. In light of the Minister's discussions regarding progress made by the Special Action Group on Obesity in Ireland, will the Minister tell us what has been done to tackle obesity?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

We do have a problem with obesity, because — I will repeat it again — 59% of us have been measured as overweight or obese, with 36% overweight and 23% obese. In relation to children aged two to 15, 27% were assessed as overweight or obese, with 19% overweight and 8% obese. That is obviously something that we need to work on. The Department has developed a framework for preventing and addressing overweight and obesity, 'A Fitter Future for All'. It was launched in March 2012 and implementation is now being taken forward by the Department of Health and the Public Health Agency. The framework recognises the complex nature of obesity and will address the issues through a co-ordinated, integrated, cross-departmental and cross-sectoral approach. It contains a range of outcomes designed to create an environment that will support and promote a physically active lifestyle and healthy diet, which will benefit long-term health.

One of the key challenges in overweight and obesity prevention is bringing about a behavioural change in individuals through all life course stages and settings, and the framework aims to empower the population to adopt a healthier lifestyle. My Department cannot do it on its own. We need the other Departments such as the Department of Education, and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure to work very closely together to develop, for example, the use of school sports fields at night by the public and to encourage more people to engage in sporting activities.

What I am encouraging the public to do, I also encourage Members of the Assembly to do, because I think that if we carried out a test on whether 59% of Members of the House were overweight or obese, it might reflect the situation with the public.

Michaela Boyle (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Minister, can you reassure the people of Derry, Strabane, Donegal and the wider area that the planned radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin is on target for 2013? At what stage is the delivery of the project?

Edwin Poots (DUP, Lagan Valley)

OK. The business planning process for the establishment of a radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin is well advanced. It has taken full account of the capacity needed to accommodate Donegal patients. Construction will commence in 2013 with an operational date in 2016, so we are still on time.

(Mr Speaker in the Chair)

Oral Answers to Questions

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

1. asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister whether they intend to re-establish the sexual orientation working group to discuss the development of the draft sexual orientation strategy. (AQO 2412/11-15)

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will ask junior Minister Jonathan Bell to answer this question.

Jonathan Bell (DUP, Strangford)

We have no plans to re-establish the sexual orientation working group. However, we will continue to liaise with the sector regarding the development of the sexual orientation strategy that we are committed to producing before the end of 2012.

Caitriona Ruane (Sinn Féin, South Down)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an fhreagra sin. I thank the junior Minister for his answer, but I would like to know whether he will confirm, as previously stated, that the sexual orientation strategy will be published by December 2012.

Jonathan Bell (DUP, Strangford)

We are working to ensure that the draft is put out for public consultation by the end of this year, which is a confirmation to have that draft ready and out for consultation by the end of 2012.

Tom Buchanan (DUP, West Tyrone)

Can the junior Minister confirm to the House that there are no plans to change the definition of marriage here in Northern Ireland?

Jonathan Bell (DUP, Strangford)

I can confirm that there are no plans to change the definition of marriage in Northern Ireland. To do so, as Members know, would require the agreement of the Executive, and parties on the Executive are hopelessly divided in reaching a position on that. The DUP is very clear that it sees gay marriage as an oxymoron; it sees marriage as being between a man and a woman. The Alliance Party and Sinn Féin are united in their support for gay marriage, and, if you want to hear both sides of the argument, you can ask Mike Nesbitt or Alasdair McDonnell, because, depending on which of their MLAs you speak to, one will agree and another will not.

Conall McDevitt (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

It is always illuminating to come here and listen to the Minister give his opinion of other parties' business. Can I ask him about his own business as a Minister, if that is in order, Mr Speaker? Does he believe that the delay that there has been in the production of a sexual orientation strategy is acceptable? Will he give a commitment to the House that it will absolutely, definitively be published by the end of this year?

Jonathan Bell (DUP, Strangford)

I note that the SDLP's Member for South Belfast did not tell us which SDLP side he was on. I suspect that his party remains hopelessly divided on the issue. I do not know whether he is a pro or an anti.

I have been clear, since the very first time that I spoke about the sexual orientation strategy from this Dispatch Box , that we would seek to have the draft strategy out for public consultation by the end of this year. That is the timeline we have set our officials, and that is the timeline we are working to.

Steven Agnew (Green, North Down)

Will the issue of homophobic bullying in schools be tackled in the sexual orientation strategy, as well as the issue of teachers expressing their personal opinion on sexual orientation?

Jonathan Bell (DUP, Strangford)

I do not want to give the strategy out before it has been drafted, but let me be absolutely clear in respect of any form of bullying, whether it is on the basis of someone's sexual orientation, the colour of their skin, their ethnic minority status or their gender — all of that bullying — that we do not need to wait for a strategy for it: it is unacceptable, it is unlawful, and it should not be tolerated by any party in the House.

Maeve McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, Foyle)

2. asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on the work of the joint ministerial working group on corporation tax. (AQO 2413/11-15)

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

A reduction in the rate of corporation tax would provide a major stimulus to the local economy. One of the key commitments in our Programme for Government is to press for the devolution of corporation tax-setting powers and to reduce its level. The joint ministerial working group examining the issues involved in devolving responsibility for the rate of corporation tax to the Executive has met on three occasions, most recently on 25 June. Although some good progress has been made, a number of critical issues remain outstanding. In particular, we are concerned that the approach being proposed by the Treasury would result in the cost of a rate reduction being prohibitively expensive. Cost is a very important issue, and this needs to be affordable if it is to work.

We still need to agree some issues in respect of the proposed approach to the block grant adjustment. The working group will meet again in London on 18 October, with a view to resolving the outstanding issues. The United Kingdom Government will then decide on whether the Executive should be offered the opportunity to take responsibility for corporation tax setting.

Maeve McLaughlin (Sinn Féin, Foyle)

Go raibh maith agat. Will the Minister outline what mitigating measures could be taken to offset the cost of a reduced rate of corporation tax?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

I assume that the question relates to mitigating the impact on the block grant, and, of course, several steps can be taken. You can determine the level to which you reduce corporation tax: 12·5% is, I believe, equivalent to the rate in the Republic of Ireland, but it does not have to be the level that we move to. Subject to European law, you can look at what services you can align with a lower level of corporation tax, or, indeed, you can determine at what level you have a lower rate of corporation tax. So, you could have several levels of corporation tax. There is a series of steps that you can take. The cleanest and by far the best way is to have, as soon as is possible, a lower level of corporation tax that makes us competitive. Most of our competition is not with the rest of the United Kingdom but with the rest of this island.

Sammy Douglas (DUP, Belfast East)

The Finance Minister indicated that the cost to the block grant of devolving corporation tax could be as much as £700 million. Does the First Minister agree with me that any devolution of corporation tax should be agreed at a price that we can afford?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

I certainly agree. In indicating that the cost could be as much as £700 million, the Finance Minister was, I think, indicating that it is important that the mechanism that is used to determine future corporation tax levels from Northern Ireland is affordable. At the moment, the Treasury's favoured option would ratchet up the level over time. So, it could be £700 million in 15 years' time. Obviously, you want to have a system that does not mean we have to double our level of corporation tax vis-à-vis the rest of the United Kingdom in order to have the benefits arising from it. It is important that it is affordable. It is also important that the level of corporation tax taken from the block grant does not impinge on our ability to provide front line services. So, it is important that it is at a level that is affordable, but I still believe that it is the one key element of rebalancing our economy that is, as yet, untried. Certainly, the Government, who have indicated that they are committed to rebalancing the economy, have suggested no other alternative.

Sandra Overend (UUP, Mid Ulster)

I thank the First Minister for his answers, and I welcome the ongoing negotiations, which are vital to the Northern Ireland economy. As part of those negotiations, have the Executive looked at the option of devolving corporation tax for the small profits rate, or are they sticking to one plan and one plan only for the overall corporation tax? I agree that that is the best option, but do we need to look at a plan B?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

First, I am not exactly sure that I would use the term "negotiation" when dealing with the Treasury. We have a working group that is looking at what legislative changes would be required and how it would be done in Northern Ireland were the matter to be devolved. Those are fairly technical issues, and I do not see there being a difficulty with either of those matters. The one area that is outstanding is the impact on the block grant. In answering the initial question, I indicated that there are several ways that you can look at reducing the impact on the block grant, one of which is to look at differential levels of corporation tax for various levels of profit. Those are decisions that the Executive will not and cannot take until they see the proposal from the United Kingdom Government and the impact it will have on the block grant. It is something that we can look at, but it would not be our first option.

Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast South)

I thank the First Minister for his answers so far. What is his assessment of whether the newly appointed Secretary of State has the same enthusiasm for the reduction in corporation tax as the outgoing Secretary of State? In your opinion, will she increase or decrease the momentum that has been built up behind the demand for the reduction in corporation tax?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

I very much welcome the meeting that I had with the new Secretary of State and her commitment to following on with the role of recognising that the ability of the devolved Administration to set levels of corporation tax was a positive step. She recognises that there are outstanding matters that have to be resolved. As for a comparison, the outgoing Secretary of State was able to demonstrate his commitment over a long time and in many different ways, whereas the present Secretary of State has not had the opportunity to do so. I suppose that, when we have our next ministerial meeting, we will find out for certain which corner the new Secretary of State is fighting in, whether she is with the Treasury or the Northern Ireland Executive.

William Humphrey (DUP, Belfast North)

3. asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for their assessment of the importance of mutual respect and tolerance in resolving the issue of disputed parades and counterprotests. (AQO 2414/11-15)

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

4. asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for their assessment of the impact on community relations as a result of the republican parade and paramilitary displays in Dungiven on 5 August 2012. (AQO 2415/11-15)

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 3 and 4 together.

We are convinced that the principles of mutual respect and tolerance are key to resolving the issue of disputed parades and counterparades. The presumption of both the right to assembly and the right to express cultural identity is at the heart of the proposals agreed at Hillsborough on parades and protests. However, that was within the context that such demonstrations of cultural identity should be carried out responsibly. Likewise, the principle of tolerance is at the centre of both the proposed parades and protest legislation and the good relations strategy that we will publish shortly.

In relation to measuring community relations impacts, there is no robust or accurate way for the Department to assess this in the time frame outlined in the question. However, we are all well aware of the potential detrimental impact of certain events or activities within the community, especially if those include activities that glorify terrorism.

William Humphrey (DUP, Belfast North)

I thank the First Minister for his answer. Over the summer, I had the privilege — if that is what it was — to visit the Parades Commission four times. Clearly, the commission's determinations demonstrate that it is discredited, out of touch and part of the problem, not the solution. Does the First Minister agree that there is real anger in the unionist community about the way in which the loyal orders are treated and the way in which the republican community is treated, for example at Whitewell in north Belfast and Dungiven in County Londonderry?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

It is worth saying that I have heard complaints about the Parades Commission from all sections of our community. Clearly, people have been unhappy with decisions that have been taken. At the same time, we recognise that there is a need for a mechanism to deal with parades, particularly where there is some dispute about them. The deputy First Minister and I and our colleagues put forward proposals arising from the Hillsborough Castle discussions. Those proposals are still on the shelf. If any organisation or individual wishes to put forward an alternative proposal or wishes to see whether agreement could be reached on some amendment to those proposals, we would very much welcome that. However, we are committed to lifting that issue off the shelf to see whether we can get community agreement. It is essential that we get a way forward that has support across the community.

Coming from the unionist community, I accept that there is a strong feeling that there is some inequality in the way in which parades are dealt with, not just by the Parades Commission. The Member mentioned Dungiven. I was appalled to learn that the police had reached an agreement with the people who organised the event that the police would stay out of Dungiven. The police should not abdicate responsibility for any area in Northern Ireland. I hope that colleagues on the Policing Board will take that matter up with the Chief Constable.

Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice, North Antrim)

Is the First Minister so beholden to Sinn Féin that he cannot, today in the House, condemn his deputy for fronting the terror-fest in Dungiven, where terrorism was glorified by individuals dressed as IRA terrorists and sporting what were said to be Armalites and republican bands stopped to play rebel music outside a Church of Ireland place of worship? Will the First Minister now condemn his deputy for fronting such an occasion?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

I have already said that respect and tolerance are the whole basis on which we will successfully take forward the parades issue. On the Sinn Féin website, I noticed a broadcast of the events at Dungiven lasting, I think, about 17 minutes. I cannot see that it can be wrong for music to be played outside a Catholic church and right for music to be played outside a Protestant church. The organisers of that parade must recognise that their impact on community relations is not only directly in that area but on wider community relations throughout Northern Ireland.

Chris Lyttle (Alliance, Belfast East)

That shelf of shelved strategies and documents must be getting pretty heavy these days.

Regardless of one's personal view on the Parades Commission, will the First Minister make it clear that it is incumbent on every member of a democratic society to respect the rule of law?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

It is a bit rich for somebody who walked away from taking decisions on matters to lecture anybody on decisions that are on a shelf.

All of us in the House should believe that respect for the law must be upheld and encourage everybody else to do so.

Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin, Belfast South)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Will the First Minister confirm that, as far as he and the deputy First Minister are concerned, dialogue that seeks to ensure local solutions is an essential requirement when dealing with contentious parades?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

I think that everybody knows that the proposals arising from Hillsborough, which the deputy First Minister and I put forward, indicated the benefit that could be derived from reaching agreements through dialogue. However, at the same time, we put in place mechanisms by which, when it was not possible to have such dialogue, disputes could be resolved. Obviously, if it is possible to have dialogue at a local level and the dispute can be resolved at that level, that is best. If not, we clearly need a mechanism for taking a decision, and that also requires us, unlike the Parades Commission, to have a forum in which people can state their case, know what others are saying to the commission and be able to counter anything that they believe to be inaccurate.

Robin Swann (UUP, North Antrim)

I want to clarify something with the First Minister. The original agreement after Hillsborough was between the DUP and Sinn Féin. The First Minister talked about dialogue. Has been any dialogue between either the DUP or Sinn Féin and the groups who objected to that original agreement on whether they could produce an alternative?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

I am not sure to whom the Member refers when he talks about the groups who disagreed. The main group that disagreed was Grand Lodge. Of course, the Orange had a representative on the working group and was aware of and, indeed, had agreed to the move that we were making. So the proposal would not have surprised any of the leadership of the Orange Institution. If Grand Lodge found it unacceptable, I would very much welcome conversations with its representatives about how the proposal could be improved or about another proposal capable of getting support across the community. Equally, we are open to hearing the views of political parties in the Assembly, and, shortly, the deputy First Minister and I will outline a mechanism by which this can be done.

David McClarty (Independent, East Londonderry)

Do the First Minister and deputy First Minister have any plans to liaise with the organisers of all disputed parades, whether republican or loyalist, to sort out future issues?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

The deputy First Minister and I released a statement in which we indicated that we were looking at three particular aspects arising from the difficulties in north Belfast. One was to encourage an end to the immediate violence that had occurred; the second was to attempt to encourage a resolution on the parade at the end of this month; and a third was to look at long-term proposals to deal with parades more generally. We have already committed ourselves to doing that, so we will not restrict those who should want to contribute to it. All those who have an interest — all stakeholders — will be able to make a contribution. It is hoped thatif we can get all-party support for proposals, that will strengthen the proposals considerably. We will look at that aspect.

Alban Maginness (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Belfast North)

Given the forthcoming Ulster covenant parade on 29 September, is it not incumbent on all political leaders and parties, the loyal orders and those in the community to support the rule of law? That includes the Executive, particularly the Minister for Social Development. Does the First Minister agree that that is the very least that one should expect from a Minister?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

I am always pleased that all my party's Ministers fully support the rule of law. I always find it interesting to hear the SDLP condemn those who are not prepared to attack civil disobedience, considering that the SDLP was formed out of and advocated civil disobedience. Now, it has become holier than thou and points the finger in every other direction. That party should remember that, when it points the finger at the Social Development Minister, there are three fingers pointing back at it.

Dominic Bradley (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Newry and Armagh)

5. asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for their assessment of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission document 'Is that right?'. (AQO 2416/11-15)

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission published a document titled 'Is that right? Fact and Fiction on a Bill of Rights' on 6 September 2012. We understand that its purpose is to stimulate discussion on a bill of rights. As Members will be aware, responsibility for a bill of rights lies with the United Kingdom Government.

Dominic Bradley (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Newry and Armagh)

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCéad-Aire as ucht a fhreagra, ach tá ceist bheag agam air go fóill.

What steps are the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister taking to ensure that a bill of rights is placed firmly back on the agenda here?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

The role of determining whether there should be a bill of rights of course lies with the United Kingdom Government. Our responsibility is to ensure that the bill of rights requirements of the Act of Parliament and the European convention are upheld by all Departments. We will continue to do that. The Member will be aware that perhaps every party in the Chamber holds different views on the worthiness of a bill of rights. In many ways, the previous Human Rights Commission damaged the cause of a Northern Ireland bill of rights by extending and expanding it in the way that it did. Many of us, even on this side of the House, could have contemplated a bill of rights at a high level. However, when we started to get down into social and economic policy, it became much more problematical.

Peter Weir (DUP, North Down)

What responsibility does a public body such as the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission have to bring forward a balanced document to inform a debate on human rights, rather than one that simply promotes a particular agenda?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

If you look at the document provided by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, you will see that it does not pretend to be a balanced document. It is certainly not a balanced document. To some extent, I think that the present commission is attempting to reframe the argument because of the damage caused by the previous commission. However, the document does not give a balanced view for and against a bill of rights. It puts up straw men so that it can knock down a number of the arguments that have been made. If the Human Rights Commission strongly believes that there should be a bill of rights, there is no reason why it cannot express that view, but it certainly should not be taken by anybody as a balanced, impartial or independent view of the subject.

Megan Fearon (Sinn Féin, Newry and Armagh)

Go raibh maith agat. Given that OFMDFM has the lead responsibility for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, will the First Minister assure the Assembly that the Programme for Government commitment to extend age discrimination legislation will also apply to children and young people?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

No matter what element of the policy the office has, any human rights requirement is a matter that Ministers will have to take into account when they deal with policy matters, whether they relate to children, disabled people or older people.

Kieran McCarthy (Alliance, Strangford)

Has the First Minister or his Department had any conversations with the UK Government and, in particular, their representative here, the Secretary of State, on this very important issue?

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

I certainly discussed it with the previous Secretary of State. I have had only one meeting with the new Secretary of State, so it has not been discussed as yet with her. There have been a number of letters, pieces of correspondence and discussion with the United Kingdom Government on the issue more generally. It was the Secretary of State's clear view — I think that this was shared by the Cabinet — that they were cold on the idea of a UK bill of rights and would not move on a Northern Ireland bill of rights unless this Assembly asked them to.

Rosaleen McCorley (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Ceist uimhir a sé, le do thoil.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Can the Member translate?

Rosaleen McCorley (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Question 6, please.

Rosaleen McCorley (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

6. asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on the historical institutional abuse inquiry. (AQO 2417/11-15)

Peter Robinson (DUP, Belfast East)

Oh, right. With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will ask junior Minister Jonathan Bell to answer this question.

Jonathan Bell (DUP, Strangford)

I am pleased to say that, since the House was last updated, significant progress has been made towards the inquiry's establishment. The inquiry's chairman, Sir Anthony Hart, and his team have been fully engaged in preparatory work to develop the structures and protocols under which the inquiry will operate. We are now very close to the point where the inquiry will launch its registration scheme. That will allow those who suffered in institutions as children to register to have their experiences heard by the acknowledgement forum. We are reaching an important milestone in the inquiry's life, and I know that it will also be a significant moment for victims and survivors. The Inquiry into Historical Institutional Abuse Bill continues its legislative passage and is currently under the scrutiny of the OFMDFM Committee. We are totally committed to providing all the support that the Committee needs so that we can move forward without further delay. Through conversations with victims and survivors, I understand that, for many, the inquiry will be the culmination of a lifetime's struggle. I take this opportunity to say that their interests remain our top priority.

Rosaleen McCorley (Sinn Féin, Belfast West)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle, agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a fhreagra go dtí seo. I thank the junior Minister for his answers up to now. Will he confirm that, in establishing the inquiry into historical institutional abuse, there is no intention to consider or treat those who were victims of abuse that occurred outside the terms of the inquiry as in any way second-class, as some may fear?

Jonathan Bell (DUP, Strangford)

No. There is absolutely no intention to do that, nor would I allow it to happen. Every working day, for 21 years of my life, I worked in social services with victims of child sexual abuse. Sadly, I had to deal with hundreds of children and adults. Let us be very clear: there is a clear protocol, and criminal investigations and criminal compensation payments will continue. This is not an either/or.

The inquiry was established specifically because there were many people who could not go home to a mum or a dad, a stepmum or a stepdad or other caregiver where abuse occurred.

I acknowledge that abuse often occurred in the home. However, people in residential and state care could not go outside the environment where the abuse occurred; they had no one to go to. That is the specific reason why the historical institutional abuse inquiry is dealing directly with those people. There is no intention to make any differentiation. The legal and criminal procedures go on regardless. We are looking at those who were in residential care because, quite frankly, those boys and girls had nowhere else to go.

Declan McAleer (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

1. asked the Minister for Regional Development, given the announcement on the relocation of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development headquarters, whether the option of providing a railway halt or station at Ballykelly will be examined. (AQO 2427/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

At the outset, I join ministerial colleagues and Members in extending my profound sympathy to the Spence family on the tragic loss of Noel, Graham and Nevin. I trust that the family circle and wider friends will all know God's blessing as they try to come to terms with their enormous loss.

My Department has not received any approaches from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) for a new rail link to its proposed new headquarters at Ballykelly. For such an option to be considered, a business case would be required to test its commercial viability and funding would need to be found. In the current Budget, no funding is available for my Department for a station or halt at the Ballykelly site.

Declan McAleer (Sinn Féin, West Tyrone)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Does the Minister agree that a relatively minor adjustment of the plans to insert passing loops could be made to accommodate such a halt?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

As I said in my original answer, my Department was not consulted in relation to the announcement made by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. No preliminary work has been carried out. Of course we would look at any such proposal. However, I must reiterate that there is no funding in my current budget for a station or halt at the Ballykelly site.

David McClarty (Independent, East Londonderry)

Will the Minister to give us an update on the ongoing work on the line between Coleraine and Londonderry?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

The Member will know that I secured the necessary funding and the approval of the Assembly and Executive to bring forward the renewals work on the Coleraine to Londonderry railway track. The project started on time in July 2012, and it will be completed in three phases. The first phase is the relaying of the ends of the section of the line and the completion of essential bridge work during the closure of the line between July 2012 and April 2013. While the line is closed, other essential track safety improvements work covering the middle section of the line will also be completed. Phase 1 of the work will cost around £27 million. The contracts have been agreed and have commenced. Work is ongoing.

The second phase, to be completed during 2015, involves resignalling works and the construction of a new passing loop. The cost of this phase is estimated at around £20 million. In order to proceed with the work, an economic appraisement was approved by the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP). The third phase will be the full relay of the line. That will not be completed until 2021, and, as such, the necessary Budget cover has still to be secured. Work is ongoing and progressing. I am optimistic that the line will reopen in April 2013, as scheduled.

George Robinson (DUP, East Londonderry)

I believe that the Minister is aware of the interest of my colleague Gregory Campbell and myself in the upgrade of the Coleraine to Londonderry line as a whole. Given the very welcome news of the relocation of DARD's headquarters to Ballykelly, which we both lobbied for, does the Minister agree that a halt would benefit the new potential workforce and the wider local community? It would be beneficial if some money could be found and a request from the DARD Minister were forthcoming.

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question and his interest in this particular issue. I have clearly outlined that both me and my Department were unsighted by Minister O'Neill's announcement of the relocation of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. We have not had any conversations or correspondence, to the best of our knowledge, on the issue. If such a request is made, of course we will seek to co-operate.

John Dallat (Social Democratic and Labour Party, East Londonderry)

I can assure the Minister that a letter on the subject is winding its way to him. Does he agree that the investment that he found for the work that is taking place on the railway — for which I thank him very much; it is great that a Newry man put the money into the north-west — coupled with the announcement from the Department of Agriculture, makes it imperative that we do not miss yet another opportunity to build rail travel into the way we move about?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful for the Member's supplementary question and the compliment that he bestowed upon me.

Of course, if a request is made by Minister O'Neill to explore the possibilities, what I am clearly saying is that within my current budget, there is no provision. Also, we were unsighted when this announcement was made. I have no doubt that the Member, along with other constituency representatives, will continue to press the case for upgraded and improved rail facilities to that area.

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

The next question is question 2. Dolores Kelly is not in her place. From now on, Members who put down questions to Ministers but are not here to listen to the answers will be named in the Chamber.

Gordon Dunne (DUP, North Down)

3. asked the Minister for Regional Development what long-term proposals are being developed to improve road safety and traffic flows on the Belfast to Bangor A2 dual carriageway. (AQO 2429/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his question. In respect of question 2, I had stacks of answers ready, which were really good. You are missing a treat. [Laughter.] The A2 Belfast to Bangor road is part of the strategic road network and carries approximately 45,000 vehicles a day. The Member will be aware that Roads Service's longer-term plans include proposals to widen the busiest section of that route — the Sydenham bypass — to three lanes in each direction to improve capacity and reduce delays at peak times. The progression of that scheme will be subject to satisfactory completion of the statutory processes and the availability of funding, which in turn will be dependent on the outcome of the investment strategy for Northern Ireland, which is under consideration, and future Budget settlements.

About one quarter of the route, between Holywood and Ballyrobert, is single four-lane carriageway. Roads Service also has long-term plans to improve a number of the junctions along that section to improve road safety.

Gordon Dunne (DUP, North Down)

I thank the Minister for his answer. Is he aware that, due to road safety implications at at least two of the junctions, namely Carney Hill and Larch Hill, which fall between Ballyrobert and Holywood, planning applications for newbuild homes have been refused due to the dangerous junctions with the A2 dual carriageway?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. As to whether Roads Service has any proposals to improve the Carney Hill junction, I can indicate that Roads Service has identified a potential improvement at the Carney Hill junction to provide a right-turn pocket from the Belfast direction to reduce the risk of rear-end shunts. However, that scheme is a lower priority compared with other improvements along that route and is unlikely to proceed in the foreseeable future due to the limited availability of funding.

The Member also asked about Larch Hill and the junction there. I am aware that there are difficulties for motorists getting in and out of side roads such as Larch Hill along this busy route. It is not realistic or desirable for Roads Service to install traffic signals at every junction. However, the introduction of the speed-monitoring system by the PSNI in 2008 has helped to improve driver behaviour and reduce collisions along this route. Roads Service has provided appropriate warning signs and road markings at this junction, and adjustments were made to the signal timing at the nearby Seahill junction to improve gaps for vehicles exiting Larch Hill, but Roads Service currently has no plans to make improvements to this junction.

Leslie Cree (UUP, North Down)

On the issue of improving traffic flows, can the Minister detail whether he will review the Roads Service proposals for Craigantlet crossroads and bring forward a scheme that avoids the Craigantlet cottages?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question and, indeed, his interest and that of other Members and public representatives generally on the issue of Craigantlet crossroads. The Member will know that I am well aware of the concerns of local residents about the junction improvement proposals at Craigantlet. I met community representatives recently on a number of occasions, and, indeed, I have been out on site, where he was present, to hear the concerns at first hand. The proposals are currently under consideration by the Planning Service, and we await its independent view on the acceptability of the scheme in overall planning terms. Nevertheless, on the point that he raised, I have asked officials to give serious consideration to alternative layouts that have been suggested by the local residents and which would have less impact on Craigantlet cottages. I will consider the outcome of this work before making any decision on the way forward.

Steven Agnew (Green, North Down)

Can the Minister give an assurance that the proposals for Craigantlet crossroads are not simply phase 1 of creating an alternative dual carriageway?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question. I am not sure whether he was available to attend the meeting that was held on site. It was a very useful discussion with residents and other local representatives. We do not want to solve one problem by creating another, so the Department will look at potential alternatives. Ultimately, I will seek to find a way forward.

Sandra Overend (UUP, Mid Ulster)

4. asked the Minister for Regional Development to provide an overview of Northern Ireland Water's programme for capital investment in water treatment in the Mid Ulster constituency. (AQO 2430/11-15)

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water that there has and will continue to be investment in water and sewerage across the Mid Ulster constituency. Investment already completed, planned and already delivered in the Mid Ulster area totals £62 million since 2010-11, projecting forward to the end of the current Programme for Government in 2014-15. Of this investment, £26 million was directed towards water treatment and water mains, and the remainder was invested in sewage collection and wastewater treatment.

Highlights of this investment include: the completion of the Castor Bay to Dungannon trunk main, which allowed the replacement of Altmore water treatment works and improved water quality; upgrades to the wastewater treatment works at Magherafelt, Maghera, Bush, Moygashel, Coalisland, Draperstown and Coagh; capacity increases at Carland service reservoir; upgrades to the sewerage network in Draperstown, including the upgrade of discharges to rivers and the reduction in flood risk of a number of properties; the delivery of water main upgrades across the Cookstown area; and the delivery of infrastructure to, and new connections within, developments in the constituency area.

Drinking water in the Mid Ulster constituency is supplied by three water treatment works, namely Lough Fea, Castor Bay and Moyola. Lough Fea is operated by Northern Ireland Water, while Castor Bay and Moyola are operated through a public-private partnership agreement with Dalriada Water. Northern Ireland Water is satisfied that all the works are operating effectively, and while they are subject to ongoing maintenance to sustain operational outputs, there are no current plans or need for significant capital investment at any of these works. Surely that answer is of enough merit to not require a supplementary question.

Sandra Overend (UUP, Mid Ulster)

I thank the Minister for such a lengthy answer that details his commitment to the Mid Ulster constituency, and I commend him for his efforts on that. Could he detail the overall projected capital investment in Northern Ireland over the next number of years? How will he ensure that it is most suitably targeted?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I thank the Member for her kind comments, and I will simply say that the total investment across Northern Ireland in the five-year period is projected to be £837 million. That capital investment is targeted to achieve the maximum possible benefit for the people of Northern Ireland through engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including the Department for Regional Development, the Utility Regulator, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and the Consumer Council of Northern Ireland.

Ian McCrea (DUP, Mid Ulster)

I, too, welcome the Minister's commitment to the Mid Ulster constituency through the provision of funding for capital projects. The Minister detailed a number of those, and I do not have any issue to bring to his attention. Given the good state of finances for Mid Ulster, will the Minister continue to push for funding for any request that comes forward?

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful to the Member for his detailed supplementary question. I am very happy to outline the progress that has been made. It shows ongoing commitment, not only on my part but on that of my Department, to continue to improve and upgrade the overall infrastructure. That is key not only in Mid Ulster but all over Northern Ireland, and I will continue to lobby and seek additional funds from Executive colleagues, particularly the Finance Minister, as we move forward because of the need to keep making progress with our water and sewerage infrastructure.

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire chomh maith as a chuid freagraí. I have a few specific questions. The Minister may not have the detail with him today, but I ask him to look at and advise on the investment potential to enhance the capacity of the sewage disposal works in Cookstown. Likewise, I noticed recently that there seems to have been a problem at Killymuck water mains scheme with the reduction of the number of —

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order. I believe that I know where the Member might be going. [Interruption.] Order. This is a specific question on Mid Ulster, and he maybe could in some way look at weaving Mid Ulster into Cookstown. Is that a possibility?

Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party, Mid Ulster)

I thought that I was giving a guided tour around it rightly, Mr Speaker. The specific question is about Killymuck Road, which is in the constituency, and a pattern seems to be emerging of reduction in the number of contractors working on the scheme, which significantly delayed the scheme by about six weeks.

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am happy to explore that in further detail, and I will write to the Member with a more detailed reply about Killymuck.

Anna Lo (Alliance, Belfast South)

Will the Minister outline which specific areas in Belfast have been identified for improvement in water and sewage systems after the recent flooding?

William Hay (Speaker, Foyle)

Order. Once again, the supplementary question is well outside the original question on the Order Paper. I will leave it up to the Minister. We need to be careful that supplementary questions in some way relate to the original question on the Order Paper. Members will know that I am reasonably flexible if Members can in some way weave their supplementary question into the original question.

Danny Kennedy (UUP, Newry and Armagh)

I am grateful for your guidance, Mr Speaker, and I am also grateful for the supplementary question. I know the interest that the Member has in her constituency. The officials in my Department, in conjunction with officials from NI Water, are exploring how best we can address some of the very serious issues that emerged over the summer period in the south Belfast area and in other parts of Northern Ireland, such as east Belfast and west Belfast, areas of east Antrim, Cushendall and, indeed, in Armagh city in my constituency. We are seeking to identify schemes and projects that can alleviate some of the conditions that were so unacceptable for people during the summer period.