First Minister Arlene Foster, answers Members questions on 19 April 2021.
Read the Official Report (Hansard) – https://lk.nia.fyi/4A98
Each of the questions answered have been chaptered in the video to help you find them more easily.
Chapters / Questions
00:00 – Teachers: Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998
1. Mr Stewart asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister what consideration they have given to removing the exception of employment as a teacher in a school contained in the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998. (AQO 1877/17-22)
03:34 – FICT Report: Work Plan
2. Ms Bradshaw asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister when the detailed work plan, including resource and funding implications, of their Department’s response to the report of the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (FICT) will be completed. (AQO 1878/17-22)
08:46 – Communities in Transition: Extension
3. Mr McHugh asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister whether consideration has been given to extending the Communities in Transition project. (AQO 1879/17-22)
14:18 – Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland
4. Ms S Bradley asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline the work done by their Department to facilitate the implementation of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. (AQO 1880/17-22)
10. Mr Easton asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on the impact that the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is having on businesses in Northern Ireland. (AQO 1886/17-22)
23:55 – ‘Moving Forward: The Executive’s Pathway Out Of Restrictions’: Progress
5. Mrs Cameron asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on progress on ‘Moving Forward: The Executive’s Pathway Out Of Restrictions’. (AQO 1881/17-22)
11. Mr Boylan asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on ‘Moving Forward: The Executive’s Pathway Out Of Restrictions’. (AQO 1887/17-22)
Topical Questions
30:26 – NSMC Meetings: Failure to Nominate Attendees
T1. Ms McLaughlin asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister on what basis they failed to nominate a Minister to attend last week’s North/South sectoral meeting, given that section 52 of the Northern Ireland Act sets out the legal duty of Ministers to attend meetings of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) and where there is any doubt over which Minister should attend, it is up to the First Minister and deputy Minister to attend. (AQT 1191/17-22)
33:05 – Mental Health Crisis
T4. Mr Durkan asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister what plans the Executive have to address our mental health crisis, given that they will be well aware of the scale of the challenge that we face to address mental health issues here — we were in a bad place pre-pandemic; according to the experts, we are in even worse place now — and responsibility does not lie solely with the Minister of Health. (AQT 1194/17-22)
36:02 – Wedding Receptions
T5. Mrs Barton asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to clarify the position with wedding receptions, including music and dancing, given that there must be something in the air in Fermanagh, with her being contacted by a number of couples over the weekend in relation to the reopening of hotels. (AQT 1195/17-22)
38:06 – HIA Redress Board: Dissatisfaction
T6. Mr Clarke asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister whether talk of dissatisfaction with the Historical Institutional Abuse Redress Board has reached TEO, given that although it is welcome that there has been movement on the historical institutional abuse (HIA) issues, with the redress board having met, there seems to be dissatisfaction in some areas. (AQT 1196/17-22)
40:31 – HIA Redress Board: Payments
T9. Mr Sheehan asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for a progress report on payments that have been made by the HIA Redress Board. (AQT 1199/17-22)