20100205 SDLP 2 Conall McDevitt MLA from Mr Ulster on Vimeo.

I will be tabling a question tomorrow asking for full details of the investigation she has announced. Will report back on that one whenever I get an answer.

You can see our exchange at 31:40.

Ten days ago I warned the Minister that many schools were downloading workpages from the ‘Sparklebox’ teaching resources website.

I informed the Minister by means of a priority question that the person who owns this site, Samuel/Daniel/David King/Kinge (he has changed his name by deed-poll) was found guilty and imprisoned last week for making and possessing indecent images of children and babies. Last week I was informed that the Minister instructed that access through the C2K education portal has been blocked. I look forward to hearing her confirm that tomorrow in the Assembly.

This matter was brought to my intention by concerned parents in my constituency eleven days ago. It is essential that this site be blocked on the C2K system which all schools us. I also call on the authorities to monitor the site and want to warn parents about it.

Everyone should be aware of what has happened in this case and what lessons might be learned about internet safety.

Here is the question I tabled on Thursday 28^th January for priority two day answer. It was due for answer on Tuesday last but the Minister will instead come to the Assembly to make a statement on the matter.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
ON TUESDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2010

Questions To The Minister of Education

4. Mr C McDevitt ( South Belfast )

To ask the Minister of Education if she is aware that the owner and operator of the educational resource website ‘Sparklebox’ was found guilty of downloading abusive images of children; and if so, what steps she is taking to ensure that material from the ‘Sparklebox’ website is not used by schools.

(AQW 4381/10)

It was Mary Robinson who brought the poet’s phrase into Irish politics. She lit a torch that has since been carried by Mary Harney, President McAleese, Dawn Purvis and today Margaret Ritchie. Women of Ireland and leaders of people.  They embody our modern island.

Margaret Ritchie has excelled around the Executive table. She may be out numbered and often outvoted by Sinn Fein and the DUP but never out maneuvered.  The SDLP membership recognised this today and voted for a new ’shared future’ politics.  They endorsed a programme for renewal in policy and personality terms. 

Here is Sinead O’Connor’s version of the Sean O’Riada classic.

The history of this island is littered with occasions when the poor, the weak or the young have been used as political pawns.

For centuries our young men were sent to fight other people’s wars.

Throughout the troubles selfish ideologues sacrificed an entire generation’s hopes on the bomb fire of their political vanity. We know this.

The SDLP was there supporting teachers, youth workers and councillors in communities across the north who offered young people an alternative to the false promise of IRA or UDA martyrdom.

This party of teachers gave hope and educated the generation who are now building the new North. Working people with dreams passed down from the classroom and parents who held the line when the streets were calling.

Despite the current economic gloom, we have never had more opportunity then we do today. Yet for the past thousand days a minister has ignored the opportunity for a better future for our children opting instead to use them as canon fodder in a failed ideological battle which she is incapable of winning.

The proclamation of independence demanded that we cherish all of the children equally. That we put them first and let politics serve them not rule them.

It is an indictment of this Minister delegates that tens of thousands of children will receive the results of a private test tomorrow.

Over 100,000 parents and countless teachers are living under a cloud of uncertainty, unable to answers their sons and daughters questions and unable to take the important decisions which will play such an important role in shaping their future.

There is no debate about the fact that the 11 plus is not working. There is no credible voice on any side saying the solution is to keep it.

Four years ago a British Labour Minister, filling in while the DUP and Sinn Fein took their time getting their act together got the parties, all the parties, to agree to a set of principles. The 11plus would go, there would be a structured discussion about how and if children were selected and when.

Within a week of arriving in office Caitriona Ruane dismissed the Angela Smyth initiative and set us all back to square one.

Her performance since then has led many to do their own thing. The issue has also become a sectarian football, feeding the worst prejudices of both the DUP and Sinn Fein.

Delegates, you know things are bad when the Belfast Telegraph has to step in to do the minister’s jobs. I know you will join my in saluting the leadership, Dominic Bradley has shown on this issue. Unlike the Minister he is building new relationships and standing shoulder to shoulder for a better future even if our minister cannot.

We should support him and use the floor of the assembly and the committee room in Stormont to promote a child centred debate which leaves tired old ideology at the door and brings only a shared desire to build a system we can all be proud of, and which cherishes and grows the abilities of all our children.

Ms Ruane is loosing in office. She is trampling all over the very principles of republicanism. Her face is synonymous with failure, in government and in the class room.

It is time for her to go in the interests of children and in the interests of the Executive.

Let a republican who believes in and is willing to be guided by the cherished principles of equality and justice to the job.

Conference.

 I don’t want to be an MLA for the second nationalist party. I want to be an MLA for a renewed SDLP that will speak for the majority who want a new North. For the many who know that we are not as divided as our politics suggests.

 This is the type of politics that made the SDLP great. Working hard, reaching out to communities and breaking new ground to evidence that we can be a party for everyone.

 We know it is time to renew. To bring forward a new generation, energetic on the ground, in touch with workers and families and dedicated to making this region work.

 Friends, people want politics to change and they want our party to change too.

They know the DUP – SF coalition isn’t working. Thousands are loosing their jobs and good companies are being put to the wall.

 My generation never had the chance of a job for life and many of us have started our own businesses. We need MLAs who know this and are willing to support inward investments and business start ups in a real way, harnessing the talent and the energy of this region.

 Those of you who marched with the civil rights movement know power-sharing is based on equality and respect. Well today, equality means a Bill of Rights and respect means strong polices to tackle racism and sectarianism. I want honour your legacy and be a loud and confident advocate for both taking on the DUP in a way SF MLAs have failed to.

Truth is the current coalition is built on inequality.

That a nationalist will never be able to hold the justice Ministry because SF negotiated away their right to do so is not just a denial of the SDLP’s mandate, it is an act of outstanding political and social discrimination, the epitome on inequality.

This inequality is also evident on the streets. It fuels the prejudice that boiled over last summer in naked racism. It’s in the flags that are flown every year on our roads. It was on the streets of Belfast this Christmas and in the internet hate groups.

It’s in the gerrymandering of the constituency boundaries and the privatisation of education.

I will challenge hate and prejudice on our street, speaking up for shared communities and demanding that dialogue take place before tensions rise. I want to now why we still spend £1.5 billion a year servicing sectarianism. That’s ten thousand pounds out of all our pockets to accommodate the bigotry the DUP and Sinn Fein so rely on.

When Sammy Wilson comes looking for water rates or tries to sack healthcare workers we will be on the doorsteps reminding voters that he should be tackling the cost of bigotry not hitting on pensioners and the young.

The North is changing.

Our hand in friendship will always be there to those who want to change too. Opposing those who want to undermine power-sharing does not mean we should not work with parties which support it. 

It’s time to offer the electorate an alternative to the DUP-SF coalition.

Cooperating in the interests of this region is not a denial of identity; it is an expression of confidence and ambition for the North and this island. It’s real patriotism, not partitionism. 

Our mission is not to destroy the North but to make it strong. We are the party of the North. The party that knows we can all be proudly northern and proudly Irish. A stronger north will mean a strong Ireland and a weak north a failed one.

But to do this we must change and we must renew. We must prove to ourselves and to the people that we can build new coalitions.

Today is our opportunity to show that we have a future. We can challenge unionism to come to the table and talk about the issues that matter. Their future is not in Hatfield House talking to English Tories it is her in Ireland talking about how we can make this region and this island work.

If a united Ireland is our tomorrow then a new North must be our today.

Let us support the platform for change and start a new conversation which brings ordinary people into politics again.

That’s what the civil rights movement did and so the time has come for a new generation to pick up the torch which John Hume lit and assert that this region is our future and that we will work that common ground to make it a success.

To bury the politics of the past.

To speak directly to those who are young in age and spirit and tell them that a new Northern Ireland built on equality and respect is possible.

That politics is not about the faith you follow or the passport you carry but the better life you want and the ambitions you hold.

Today we proclaim that this is a party with a future.

For the many not the vested interests of the few.

For a strong North and a strong Ireland.

For a new politics and a new SDLP.

Everyone will welcome news that we finally have got a date for the devolution of policing and justice. It’s taken way too long but at least these powers are now being returned to Irish hands.

At the heart of the deal however is an act of political discrimination. That a nationalist will never be able to hold the justice ministry because Sinn Fein negotiated away their right to do so is a total contradiction of the commitment made in today’s agreement to promote ‘greater inclusiveness’ in the executive.

The provisions on parading are also worrying. Sinn Fein have singed up to a process which can only have one outcome and that is the abolishment of the Parades Commission. This is a major u-turn for the party and a victory for the DUP. It raises many questions about the party’s real commitment to equality and will cause huge concern in the nationalist community.

Perhaps the most worrying thing about the paper published today in Hillsborough is the total absence of any reference to the big issues which the Executive has failed on despite both parties talking at length over the past three weeks about the need to also resolve big issues on bread and butter issues at the heart of the current coalition.

There is not a line about education, the economy, a shared future or health. Not a word about an Irish Language Act or many of the other outstanding matters from St Andrews. Instead three working groups have been proposed.

 Will they succeed?

Maybe but given the exclusionary record of  Sinn Fein and the DUP to date it is likely they will push the tricky issues further down the line rather then resolve them to everyone’s satisfaction.

There is nothing in today’s agreement which will make parents feel optimistic that a resolution to the 11plus is near. Not a thing for working families facing redundancy to take hope from. Not a line about the need to tackle the sectarianism or racism.

The SDLP will be testing the DUP and Sinn Fein to deliver on the promise of this agreement; to live up to their duty in government and demonstrate that this is more then just a touch of the band-aids to it.

Mike Foster MP

The All Party Group does not enjoy the same status as a statutory committee and so does not receive any finance from the Northern Ireland Assembly as it remains within the jurisdiction of the British Government.

The group, under Carmel Hanna’s leadership, met with their counterparts in the South including Overseas Development Minister Peter Power TD to discuss ways in which they could contribute to Irish Aid’s efforts in assisting with international development.

We have many people from this region involved in overseas aid work though our numerous charities, the British and Irish Governments. I believe the time has come to look at how we can make a contribution of our own. To allow this region to take its place amongst other regions around the world and formally recognise the many thousands of our people who play such a big part in overseas development.

THE DESTRUCTIVE and dirty side of party, and inter-party, politics is being played out in Northern Ireland while the people want progress. People on the ground are being short-changed and the peace process they endorsed is under threat. DUP and Sinn Féin politicians have been diverted by disagreements over dates for the transfer of justice and policing powers and changes to the Parades Commission, as the economic situation worsens. For the first time, the confidence of the electorate, North and South, in the political dispensation endorsed in the historic Belfast Agreement, is waning. We are on the cusp of a moment of development or betrayal.

Some DUP politicians are prisoners of the past and deeply resent the realities of powersharing. The fact that Sinn Féin is involved makes it particularly problematic. It was with great reluctance they allowed Ian Paisley make the original deal, involving the two Governments and Sinn Féin, more than three years ago. Now that the issue of justice and policing has been reopened, they are seeking to mollify extremist supporters by demanding changes to the Parades Commission that fall outside of the St Andrews Agreement. It is a recipe for disaster.

Negotiations between the DUP and Sinn Féin have dragged on for weeks, first with the assistance of Brian Cowen and Gordon Brown, then with the involvement of Micheál Martin and Shaun Woodward. Progress has been painfully slow.

But the public was told at regular intervals that important advances were being made. Agreement in principle was apparently finally reached last Saturday between the parties. The Taoiseach and prime minister made arrangements to travel to Belfast.

Then 14 DUP politicians voted “No” in a secret ballot. Should such an important matter be decided in this way? Rejection had the capacity to bring down the Executive and cause Assembly elections.

Surely voters have a right to know where their elected representatives stand on such crucial matters? Rejection also amounted to a vote of “no confidence” in the leadership of Peter Robinson, even though prominent dissidents insisted otherwise. Sinn Féin has studiously avoided commenting on Mr Robinson’s mounting difficulties. It may hope that relations within the Executive will improve once the devolutionary process has been completed.

If that is to happen, both Sinn Féin and the DUP will have to make space for other political parties, so that a powersharing Executive comes to mean exactly what it says.

In recent days, the public mood has alternated between anger, disillusionment and apathy as a minority of politicians refurbished tribal trenches and concentrated on matters that divided them.

Public confidence in the political process has been damaged. It may reawaken destructive tendencies.

Mr Robinson has resumed the role of First Minister. What the silent majority in Northern Ireland want to hear is that there is a Northern Executive, governing the affairs of Northern Ireland, in the peoples’ interest.

Almost every day, one woman aged between 20 and 29 is diagnosed with skin cancer somewhere in these islands. In this age group there are now twice as many cases of melanoma as there are breast cancer.

There is a consultation on at the moment about the regulation of sunbeds in Northern Ireland. Whilst many of its provisions such as a ban on under 18s using these machines are welcome, it does not go far enough and could lead to an underground sunbed industry targeting minors.

The demand for an instant tan has also led to the marketing of super-powerful sunbeds, with four in five breaking safety standards.

The extra-strong sun lamps emit between two and three times as much harmful UV light as those used just ten years ago – raising the risk of skin cancer by the same amount, research shows. There has also been a major increase in the number of under 40’s getting skin cancers and this is worrying because the chances of dying from cancer goes up by 75% if you have contracted a skin cancer in your youth. There is evidence that children as young as 11 are using sunbeds in a quest to gain a tan like that of their favourite celebrities.

Rates of skin cancer have more than tripled in the last decade, with over 230 people in Northern Ireland diagnosed each year.

Sunbeds are now responsible for cancer deaths in this region with studies showing that using sunbeds as a teenager dramatically increases the risk of skin cancer.

UV radiation has now been categorised as a class one carcinogenic just like tobacco or asbestos. Sunbeds are UVR emitters, exposing Irish people to similar levels of radiation to the height of a summer’s day in the Mediterranean. We are not sallow skinned in this part of the world. The overwhelming majority of us are skin type 1 or 2. That’s why we freckle and get moles. People from the south of Spain are type 3 or 4. The bottom line is that our skin just cannot cope with this level of radiation without damaging itself.  This is why they are so dangerous and need tight regulation.

The North has shown leadership on sunbed regulation. All our local authorities have banned sunbeds from their facilities and the department is now proposing to licence the tanning salon business and ban use by under 18s.

The regulations, however, do not however extend to the private sale of sunbeds. This will create a major gap in the law allowing anyone to buy a sunbed and have ot in their home without having to take out a licence or be trained in any way. It could also lead to an underground industry targeting minors who will now be banned from shops and salons with sunbeds.

The SDLP will be arguing for strong regulation of the sunbed industry and we will also be calling for the licensing of all private sales. This is essential if we are to prevent the industry going underground.