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11.16 pm
Rev. Ian Paisley (North Antrim): My speech will mirror that of the hon. Member for South Down(Mr. McGrady), because I have the same problems in my constituency. A letter from a constituent of mine in Ballymoney stated:
- "I write for an explanation on the different treatment of two very similar cases. Both parties reside in the Ballymoney area, the diagnosis for both cases a cartilage problem in the knee and the recommended treatment 'keyhole surgery'. The facts of the cases . . . are as follows:
- Case A:
- June 1994. Referred by GP to consultant in the Route Hospital, Ballymoney.
- September 1994. Attended the Outpatients Department of the Route Hospital, Ballymoney, and was referred to a consultant in the Musgrave Park Hospital.
- June 1995. Attended an Outpatients Clinic at Musgrave Park Hospital and was examined by a Mr. McCoy. Advised byMr. McCoy that there was a waiting list for this operation and it was not anticipated that the operation would be performed before December 1995.
- January 1996. A member of the clerical staff at the Ballymoney Health Centre (on the instructions of the GP) rang Musgrave Park Hospital and was informed that the operation would not be carried out 'until the beginning of the summer'."
That is, a wait of nearly two years. The letter continued:
That is, the same month. My constituent continues:
That speaks for itself, and backs up what the hon. Member for South Down said about a two-tier system.
Mr. Robert McCartney (North Down):
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, but his comparisons are not entirely apposite. The hon. Member for South Down(Mr. McGrady) was comparing the two-tier system of GPs who were fundholders and those who were not, while the hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley) is comparing national health patients with private patients who are paying for their own treatment. If I am wrong, perhaps the hon. Gentleman will clarify the issue.
Rev. Ian Paisley:
I accept that, but it is a two-tier system in both cases. For the sake of time, I shall not go into the minutiae of what the hon. and learned Gentleman said.
The Housing Executive budget has been cut by£10 million. That has deprived Northern Ireland of new build and refurbishment work. In North Antrim, more than 400 people were driven out of their Northern Ireland Housing Executive homes during the bad weather because of burst pipes. The NIHE refused to acknowledge any responsibility. Two years ago, it cut out the direct labour scheme. This winter, when problems arose, the tenants could not find workmen to do the job. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive told me that it could find only two plumbers to repair 400 houses.
Will the Minister make the Northern Ireland Housing Executive acknowledge its responsibility? Its refusal to spend money on the upkeep of the houses caused an emergency in the very cold weather. The pipes were not lagged, and no proper action had been taken to protect
them from the very cold weather. After some 40 years, why is no work being carried out on any of the houses on Greystone crescent?
I welcome the fact that the Government have decided to spend £2.7 million on the next phase of the A26. That money is being spent because the Prime Minister visited Ballymena and everyone got at him. He heard only about the A26. He heard it from me as the local Member; he heard it from the mayor, from the deputy mayor and from every alderman and every councillor. He heard it out in the streets and under the Christmas tree, so he had to do something.
The sad thing is that the third phase of the A26 has been postponed for 13 years. I do not know who will be the Prime Minister then. It may even be the Minister. Perhaps the A26 will be finished off at the end of the day, but until then, the new shopping and retail developments in Ballymena will be bypassed as people go to other parts of North Antrim because the road system is inadequate. The Government must complete the A26 scheme as soon as possible. I welcome the second phase, and I am glad of the money, but there must be a more reasonable date for the third phase than 13 years ahead.
I have dealt briefly with health matters, but I remind the Minister that a promise was made that a small injuries clinic would be erected in Ballymena. What progress has been made on that scheme?
How much financial assistance for local businesses has gone into Ballycastle, Ballymena and Ballymoney in the past 12 months? Would the Minister agree that it is difficult for small businesses to avail themselves of financial help from organisations such as the Local Enterprise Development Unit? I do not know whether my colleagues have trouble with LEDU, but I certainly do.
Hubert Brown-Kerr, a young man in my constituency, is a goer. He started the Sunstart Bakery; he got very little financial help--about £6,000. He is now the biggest exporter of bakery products to the United States of America. But LEDU held him up for months when he wanted to build a huge bakery in Ballymena, and offered him only small sums of money. What he needed was very large sums, to get the factory built.
I pay a warm tribute to Baroness Denton for the help she gave us in this case. She told LEDU to get on with helping this young man. I am glad to tell the House that the factory is to be erected. I went to see Brown-Kerr the other day, and he told me that he has had so many orders for his commodities that he has had to close his order books. He is the type of young man we need in Northern Ireland, and he is the sort of entrepreneur who should be encouraged. LEDU should take note that a man it despised and rejected has successfully promoted Northern Ireland's bakery products in the United States.
There has been talk tonight about the ACE scheme. Every Northern Ireland Member is greatly concerned about the cuts. I want to know what alternative provision the Minister intends for these areas, to reduce their unemployment rates. If ACE is removed, more people will be on the unemployment list. It is all very well announcing a cut, but what is the alternative?
We all talked to Baroness Denton today in the airport lounge, because our planes were delayed. In our private meeting, she told us about the £2 million. We do not despise that money, but it is nothing compared with the cuts that have been made.
Rev. Martin Smyth (Belfast, South):
Has the Minister had an opportunity to study my letter and come up with a suggested date for visiting Wellington college? It has been in existence for a long time, under its former guise of the Carolan and Annadale schools. They amalgamated as part of the reorganisation, but the promises made to them at the time have not been fulfilled.
The attitude here seems to be one of manana. For some years, the project was high up the list of priorities, but the Department demoted it. Now, with the move to become part of the new Balmoral high school in September, it looks as if the school is being asked to use the premises without even the modifications promised at an earlier stage.
When will the Minister be in a position to visit and see for himself that the school cannot actually provide the full scope of the curriculum in the rooms it has? There is an increase in the numbers going to the school. Outside the city, the nearest grammar school is Down high school on the southern side and the other schools, including the Methodist college, Victoria and others, are all over-subscribed.
It is not fair to absolve oneself of responsibility by saying that it is not the conditions of the classrooms that matter, but the quality of the teaching. The results show that the teachers are performing well, but the conditions are impinging on the future of those young people, and they do not have the same facilities as others.
I hope that the Minister will be able, in the near future, to pay that visit, which has been postponed at least twice. I recognise the pressures on the Minister's time, but I know that there has been a cry from the hearts of the staff and governors of Wellington college.
I now turn to vote 4, and the link between income support and housing benefits. I am concerned, and I have been for some time, about the pressures on the Housing Executive to increase rents. Has a study been done on the impact on the public purse of increasing Housing Executive rents by amounts well above the rate of inflation?
How many people are paying a full rent, and therefore, how much public money is being spent on housing benefit for those who cannot afford to pay those rents? Will we soon have the sort of situation that happened in London some years past, when the rises in the price of house building ultimately caused the collapse of housing prices? The private sector in Northern Ireland claims that it cannot afford to build houses of the quality that the Housing Executive is building for the price. Is a problem being stored up, and is public money being wasted because the Department and the Housing Executive keep putting up the rents of Housing Executive properties?
"Case B.
22 March 1995. Referred to consultant by GP.
28 March 1995. Attended clinic in Belfast and examined by consultant.
31 March 1995. Operation carried out in Musgrave Park Hospital."
"There would appear to be a startling anomaly in the treatment of the two cases. However, there are two facts previously omitted which clarify the situation.
1. Case A is a National Health patient.
2. Case B chose to go 'privately' and paid for the operation.
I have paid tax and Class I National Insurance Contributions for almost 25 years. Perhaps I am naive in believing that the contributions paid by me over the years entitle me to fair treatment . . .
It is an indisputable fact that there is a 'two-tier' health system. Those who are rich and pay receive virtually immediate attention whilst those who are poor wait and suffer. How many others have 'jumped the queue' since June 1995?"
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