Northern Ireland Economy

Debate between Lady Hermon and David Simpson

Wednesday 11th May 2016 Westminster Hall

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the Northern Ireland economy.

It is good to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr McCabe. This is a timely debate, with Northern Ireland having just had elections to the Assembly, and it would be remiss of me not to mention—or, as my hon. Friend the Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) said, to gloat about—the success our party has had. May I pass on my congratulations to Mrs Arlene Foster, our party leader? I hope by tomorrow she will be the new First Minister for the next five years in Northern Ireland. That is the last bit of party politics I will bring into the debate, in case you chastise me, Mr McCabe, or I get some dirty looks from the Social Democratic and Labour party.

This will be a pleasant, humorous and serious debate and none of us will mention Brexit and all such things. Arlene Foster has gained huge respect across the whole of Northern Ireland, with more than 200,000 people having voted for her leadership and for our party. We look forward to the next five years. Two weeks have been allowed for us to get a programme for government in place, but hopefully it will not take that long and we will get up for business and deliver for the people of Northern Ireland. I pay tribute to my many colleagues who did not stand for re-election but contributed to the Assembly for many years and worked for the people of Northern Ireland.

[Lady Hermon (North Down) (Ind)]

The hon. Gentleman is very kind to allow me to intervene so early. As he has mentioned the programme for government and his party leader, may I urge all of those who will be designated as Ministers that they must give top priority to funding for our schools right across Northern Ireland? A number of constituents have raised with me what is something of a funding crisis in schools, so I would like him to assure us that that will be given priority.

[David Simpson]

I will give the hon. Lady the best assurances that I can. I am not a Member of the Assembly, but that message has been made clear and she has put that on the record, so it will be taken back. She is right that education is an important aspect for the future generations in Northern Ireland.

We are all well aware of the difficult times that Northern Ireland has faced. We are the smallest of the four regions and, as I have already alluded to, we are still suffering from the results of the troubles, which have been a debilitating factor in the economy’s growth. That has made inward investment slightly more difficult and for the local business sector—small, medium and large businesses—sustainability has continued to be an uphill struggle. My speech contains good news for Northern Ireland, but it will also be realistic about lessons we have to learn, what we can do better and how the Assembly can move forward in the future.

At the outset, I want to praise all the companies who provide employment in Northern Ireland. I recognise the determination and energy they put in every day, along with their workforces. Their resolve has sent unemployment rates in Northern Ireland to an all-time low. When the economic crisis hit the whole of the United Kingdom, in my constituency we were at 8.5% unemployment, but as of last week that figure has come down to 4.1%. Even at the best of times the figures never fell below that, so we are encouraged by that. I have no doubt that the selfless work and processes established by companies right across Northern Ireland will continue for many years to come.

--- Later in debate ---

[David Simpson]

He is in his early 20s, and is a constituent of the hon. Lady, and he is the world champion plumber. He went through all the heats, he went to Brazil, he won the heats in Brazil, and he is now the world champion plumber. That is some achievement for a young lad from Katesbridge in—I emphasise this again—the hon. Lady’s constituency. For a young man like that who has come in and developed a skill, the world is his oyster. He can do whatever he likes and demand his price. That is what we want to see: more young people getting into those skills, including the basic skills. It has to be realised that, while parents want all their children to be Einsteins, brain surgeons, dentists, GPs and so on, that is not going to happen, but there is still a lot of money to be earned with those skills, which we lost during the economic crisis.

Lastly, I want to focus on the agri-food sector. I have come from the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs just now, and we had a very interesting debate. This sector plays a significant role in the Northern Ireland economy. It contributes £1 billion of added value per annum and has demonstrated a strong track record of export growth, employing over 100,000 people, but the outlook for our farming community remains grim. Dairy farmers have witnessed their incomes fall by over a third in the past year. The realisation is that they are producing milk well below the cost of production. Something more needs to be done to help them. They cannot continue on this ongoing basis of haemorrhaging money and cash flow.

My party wants the industry to bring forward supply contracts that minimise price fluctuations and seize a greater share of their profits along the entire food chain. Six years ago in Northern Ireland, we were doing approximately £60 million of food exports. This year, the figure will be £95.5 million. That is a clear testimony to the quality of our food and drink, which is an essential part of our tourism industry. Our industry target is £1 billion by 2020 and we are already well on our way to achieving that.

[Lady Hermon]

Can the hon. Gentleman confirm that the executive of the Ulster Farmers Union is in favour of remaining in the EU?

Cancer Drugs

Debate between Lady Hermon and David Simpson

Tuesday 20th October 2015 Westminster Hall

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing this debate. On a more humorous note, I heard him mention that he has never missed a debate that the Minister has participated in; I think we could safely say that he has not missed any debates in the past five or 10 years. He is a champion in his own constituency when it comes to cancer research and pushing for cancer drugs, and I congratulate him publicly today on his work and his effort.

I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate. In recent days, our newspapers, TV screens and social media have been flooded with reports about cuts to cancer treatments. One of the latest reports I read indicated that 5,500 patients could miss out under the Government’s plan to reduce the availability of cancer drugs.

Today, cancer is a word that has become all too familiar in our households. As we come together to debate the availability of drugs, some 2 million people are battling cancer. They are husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons or daughters. The impact of cancer is much greater and much more widespread than it might appear if we consider only those who are statistically labelled.

Recently I had the opportunity to visit the state-of-the-art facilities at the Queen’s University Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology in Belfast. It is making fantastic headway in understanding cancer: how it is formed; how it develops; and ultimately how we can slow down its growth, and eradicate faulty genes and molecules in tumours. The centre was recently awarded almost £4 million to continue its work in research and in developing cancer treatments.

I am proud that Almac, a pharmaceutical company that is a world leader in cancer drug discovery, has its headquarters in my constituency of Upper Bann. Its founder, the late Sir Allen McClay, was so dedicated to improving patient care that he donated much of his wealth to the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology. However, while all this work is going on and new drugs and treatments are being identified, we consistently hear reports that there are plans to remove life-prolonging drugs for various cancers, including breast cancer, prostate cancer and bowel cancer, to name just a few.

[Lady Hermon]

One of the greatest concerns is about the cost of these drugs. The hon. Gentleman said that one of the famous manufacturers of cancer drugs is based in his constituency. How often does he have the opportunity to meet people from that company? Would it be helpful for a cross-party delegation to meet the senior management of that company, to persuade them to reduce the cost of their drugs? I am sure that they could; where there is a will, a way will be found.

[David Simpson]

I welcome that intervention—the hon. Lady makes a very good point. If Sir Allen were alive today and witnessing the cuts in the availability of these life-prolonging drugs, which were once in the headlines as good news stories, he would come out with his old statement: “Bang your heads together and get a resolution to this.” It is a good idea to have such a delegation. I meet Almac staff on a regular basis. Almac is a pioneer in this sector; it is working with Government very closely; and I understand that the pricing of its drugs is not ridiculous.

However, I will make a parallel point. Well over a year and two months ago—perhaps more—it was announced at the Budget that the Health Minister would introduce funding so that a vaccine for meningitis B could be given to children. It took a year and two months—perhaps even more time—for that policy to be implemented, because the pharmaceutical companies were holding out for more money than the Government could afford to pay. They were asking ridiculous prices, because they had the sole remedy for a complaint, so could exploit that situation.

The message needs to go out to some of the pharmaceutical companies that we are dealing with life here. And as one hon. Member said earlier, even if there are only two or three months of life left, people want to hold on to that life as long as they possibly can, because where there is life there is hope, and hope is what people want to hold on to.

A number of weeks ago in this House, I attended an awareness day for secondary breast cancer, and I was shocked to learn that the Government do not keep data on people who are living with this incurable disease, which is remarkable. In the other House, Baroness Morgan of Drefelin has highlighted the issue: because the Government, the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry have again failed to agree realistic prices for new drugs, some women will die sooner than they should.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United Kingdom. Experts say that around two thirds of those who seek NHS treatment for advanced bowel cancer treatment are likely to face an earlier death under the plans to scale back spending. That is wrong. Like many Members, I regularly meet—possibly on a weekly basis—constituents who are battling cancer or who have just been diagnosed with cancer. I recently met a family who told me of their agonising fate as their father had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Like many families, they have carried out their own extensive research and confirmed with their oncologist that there are drugs out there that could prolong his life. Millions of pounds have been spent on developing these drugs, which could perhaps either save people’s lives or prolong them. However, that family were told, “Sorry, but we can’t give it to him, because it’s just too expensive.”

Where do we draw the line when it comes to someone’s life and life expectancy, and the family who are left behind? I realise that the Government have very hard decisions to make. I appreciate that, but anyone in Westminster Hall today who has either suffered from cancer or known a family member or a loved one suffer from cancer would go to the ends of the earth to try to help them and to resolve this issue, because life is precious. As I say, the Government have hard decisions to make, but I do not think that anyone here today would or should put a price tag on a loved one’s life.

More needs to be done. Families living with cancer need all the help they can get, through the Government, through counselling, through drugs or through whatever help they can find. I trust that the Government will consider that when it comes to the funding of these drugs.

High Court Judgment (John Downey)

Debate between Lady Hermon and David Simpson

Thursday 27th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

It is good to follow the hon. Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart). I agree with everything he has said, and it was said with great passion.

The day that the Downey case fell in the courts in the Old Bailey was a very sad day indeed for British justice. Not only was a terrorist released on to the streets again, but the families who had lost loved ones were left with no recourse, because the Government have said there is no course of appeal, and the old wounds were all opened up again.

The exposure of the on-the-runs—or OTRs—administrative scheme and royal prerogatives was a stab in the heart of our British values of justice. The entire scheme was based upon a lie. Its creators claim that the early release scheme in the 1998 Good Friday agreement created an anomaly for those who were on the run. It did no such thing.

There were many fundamental problems with the Belfast agreement, and that is why the Democratic Unionist party rejected it and negotiated the new St Andrews agreement. However, it did have a clear mechanism for dealing with pre-1998 offences. A person could be brought before the court, receive a fair trial and if convicted, serve time in jail. The sentence would have been a mere two years, thanks to the likes of the Ulster Unionist party and the Progressive Unionist party, who signed the 1998 pact, but victims would at least have had their day in court and an opportunity for justice to be done.

This conspiracy drew in a range of our institutions by acts of commission and omission. Parliament was bypassed and misled. The legislation for OTRs at that stage was withdrawn because it was unwanted, both by Parliament and by the public. It was rejected because it was repugnant, but at least it offered some level of oversight and licensing to prevent reoffending. The scheme that the Government and the Northern Ireland Office came up with did none of that. Their contempt for Parliament included deliberately misleading it, and all the political parties except Sinn Fein, on how they were dealing with the OTRs.

[Lady Hermon]

Will the hon. Gentleman take this opportunity to confirm that although all the parties objected to the obnoxious Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill, the Government in power at the time would have pushed it through this House had it not been for Sinn Fein belatedly registering its opposition to it? It was dropped because of Sinn Fein’s opposition, not the overwhelming opposition of the general public, RUC widows and others.

[David Simpson]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right.

No unionist would be surprised by the role the Northern Ireland Office at the time had in the design and implementation of the scheme. At the time, its pandering to republicanism and its contempt for Unionism and its representatives were a permanent feature of direct rule. However, it drew the Police Service of Northern Ireland into its dirty deals as well. In a question to the assistant chief constable—I believe it was Assistant Chief Constable Harris—my colleague on the Policing Board, Mr Thomas Buchanan, asked about the OTRs. The PSNI’s response was this:

“At this moment in time, there are no on the runs we are aware of residing in Northern Ireland, and if there was information to suggest there were individuals who are wanted for crime living within this jurisdiction, then we would be very anxious to learn of that.”

That was in 2010. That gave the impression that there was a desire to catch criminals, but the scheme was doing exactly the opposite.

[David Simpson]

Yes, I certainly will. It was an absolute fantasy, as the evidence that has come from Policing Board representatives over the past few weeks confirms.

At the same time the OTR scheme was running, the PSNI established the Historical Enquiries Team. It was supposed to be a systematic approach to give every victim the opportunity for justice. The OTR scheme now draws a long shadow over all the HET’s work. Some will conclude that as one section of the PSNI tried to put people before a court, another was helping them to avoid it.

I will not speak for long, because I know that many other Members wish to speak.

[Lady Hermon]

Will the hon. Gentleman allow me to intervene?

[David Simpson]

I apologise to the hon. Lady, but I want to move on and so will not give way, because many Members wish to speak.

The constituency I represent, as those who know Northern Ireland will understand, has a big contingent of security force personnel, both past and present. I know from my discussions with those individuals and organisations that they are totally disgusted by this scheme. Their attitude is that it took courage to put on the uniform of the Crown forces to defend the people and Northern Ireland, and if someone in their organisations stepped out of line, the full rigour of the law was brought upon them, and rightly so, they emphasised. But there are people who have been on the run and who went away on their holidays, and they were on the run because they were conscious of what they had done, and they got letters to give them reprieve. There is one law for one organisation and one law for another. It is despicable. It has opened a can of worms.

My last point is about the royal prerogatives. It would be interesting to discover who has received the royal prerogatives. Has Mr McGuinness? Has Mr Adams? Has Mr Kelly? I will go further. As the House knows, and as I have mentioned before, a number of members of my family were assassinated by the IRA. Have some of the people who carried out those murders received the royal prerogatives? It is disgusting. It is wrong. The victims out there are suffering. We promised them justice, but a lot of them will never see it. I am glad that both inquiries have now opened. We look forward to the Select Committee inquiry, which will go into every nook and cranny. We will, at some stage, discover who initiated this and when. We will discover who allowed this to happen.