Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon reported back to the assembly on a recent North South Ministerial Council meeting
Health Minister Robin Swann introduced the debate on the Covid regulations
Health Minister Robin Swann answered MLAs' questions
Sinn Féin MLAs brought a motion on north-south and east-west trade to the assembly
The Sinn Féin motion is carried by 49 votes to 39.
Speaker Maskey adjourns the assembly.
That's all from Stormont for today. We'll be back at 10:00 tomorrow with live coverage of the Economy Committee.
Do join us then. In the meantime, have a great evening.
Image source, NI AssemblyJohn O'Dowd winds for the Sinn Féin motion.
He says that "businesses now have certainty. They know the trading environment within which they are working. Brexit has happened despite our best efforts to make sure that it didn't happen".
"The Protocol is the lovechild of Brexit, For as long as Brexit exists the Protocol will exist," he adds.
The SDLP amendment is defeated on an oral vote.
Speaker Maskey calls a vote on the main motion but the is no clear result and the house divides.
The SDLP's Sinead McLaughlin wraps up her party's amendment, saying that it seeks to address inequality and to "create a fair and more regionally-balanced economy post Covid-19."
She asks members of the assembly to consider the bigger objective, being "a more successful economy, more jobs and higher wages. To consider whether the Protocol works and to make the North a better place."
She calls for a taskforce led by the joint first ministers, that brings together outside expertise. She says "Northern Ireland citizens expect our joint first ministers to show leadership and to be responsible to deliver a clear and coherent economic vision."
She concludes by saying she hopes that today's debate has persuaded DUP MLAs to go back to their de- facto position of supporting the Protocol.
Image source, NI AssemblyThe TUV's Jim Allister criticises Sinn Féin the SDLP and Alliance, the parties that are supporting to the motion or amendment.
"One of the abiding stains on their political record is that each of them repeatedly in this house demanded the rigorous implementation of the Protocol,"
Mr Allister says the this amounted to calling for "the strongest possible barriers between the rest of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland".
Andrew Muir says he does not like the Protocol but sees it as the "least bad option for Northern Ireland after the decision to pursue a hard Brexit."
The Alliance MLA welcomes the DUP's support for the veterinary agreement after Economy Minister Diane Dodds previously rejected it.
He says that he has heard that some of his constituents feel that Brexit undermines their identity, which is a sensitive issue in Northern Ireland.
On the plans of unionist political leaders to challenge the NI Protocol through judicial review, the Alliance MLA says that he expects to see this case dismissed.
And finally, he asks, "what do the DUP hope to achieve?"
Sinn Féin's Sinéad Ennis says she can remember when the parties opposed to Brexit were accused of promoting Project Fear and prophecies of doom regarding EU withdrawal.
"The Protocol is not perfect but unfortunately it is necessary. It avoids a hard border on this island, protects our peace agreement and our all-island economy," she says.
Image source, NI AssemblyHer party colleague, Nicola Brogan asks the members to think of the businesses of her rural constituents and of the agri-food sector in general.
"Over 400,000 pigs are moved from the south to the north for processing each year," she says.
Christopher Stalford, DUP MLA, is up next and starts by saying some members of the assembly are experiencing "political Stockholm syndrome".
He adds that he disagrees that the situation being experienced in trade is a result of Brexit and that it is a result of Brexit being denied fully to Northern Ireland.
Mr Stalford states that: "This Protocol is damaging and dangerous to business and when people talk about removing barriers, these are the barriers to trade that some of the parties opposite openly campaigned to put in place."
Image source, NI AssemblyStewart Dickson of Alliance says he's rising to support the motion and the amendment.
He says the party takes "a practical and pragmatic approach to dealing with these matters".
"We recognise that the Protocol is the inevitable result of the United Kingdom's pursuit of a very hard Brexit, a pursuit support wholeheartedly by the DUP," he adds.
Image source, NI AssemblyUlster Unionist leader Steve Aiken is unconvinced by the motion.
Expressing his party's opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol, he asks:
"How possibly by bringing across trees that are bare-rooted to Northern Ireland. How could that possibly be interfering with the European market?"
DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley is up next and says that Northern Ireland buys more goods from the UK than from the Republic of Ireland, the EU and the rest of the world combined.
He adds that "unionists remember full well what the Protocol means." He says that trade has been impacted by the Protocol and that it has been "damaging to Northern Ireland business."
Mr Buckley adds that the Protocol breaches the "constitutional and trading settlement of Northern Ireland."
Matthew O'Toole proposes an SDLP amendment:
Leave out all after ‘economic strategy’ and insert:
‘which recognises the opportunities created by the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland in giving businesses located in Northern Ireland open access to both the European Union single market and UK market, and also recognises the need to create a fairer and more regionally balanced economy as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic; and further calls on the Executive Office to provide clear vision and direction in pursuit of these objectives to our representative agencies, including Invest NI, InterTradeIreland, Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas, Northern Ireland Executive Office in Brussels, and the Northern Ireland Bureaux in the United States of America, Canada, and China.'
[Mr Matthew O’Toole][Ms Sinéad McLaughlin]
Image source, NI Assembly"We don't disagree with anything in the motion per se," says the South Belfast MLA.
He says Stormont is at "a crossroads", and that some people might compare it to "a badly acted soap opera constantly on the verge of collapse", but he would not.
Image source, NI AssemblySinn Féin MLA Caoimhe Archibald chairs the Economy Committee.
She says the north faces a new "trading reality" due to Brexit.
Ms Archibald states: "In 2018, NISRA stats showed that sales to Britain were worth £10.6bn, while total sales to the South and to the rest of the EU were worth £11.2bn."
She says more businesses trade north-south than to Britain and that has been increasing year on year. She says this is a positive trend and that we should continue to build on it with our special access to the single market.
Ms Archibald says that the "Protocol is here to stay." She says there is a need to see the mechanisms of the Protocol properly utilised.
She calls for an overarching economic strategy to give a clear vision, to support local businesses and to send out a message to say "we are open for business."
Image source, ReutersNext on the agenda is a motion brought by a group of Sinn Féin MLAs on North-South and East-West Trade:
Proposed:
That this Assembly acknowledges the importance of North-South and East-West trade to our local economy; notes that the EU-UK Joint Committee is working to reduce trade barriers, and to prevent the creation of new barriers so that businesses can trade freely within the legal framework agreed by the Westminster parliament and European Commission; further notes the new trading reality as a result of the end of the Brexit transition period; further acknowledges our continued access to the European single market with its 450 million consumers; and calls on the Executive to develop an overarching economic strategy, including the establishment of an Executive Sub-Committee on the Economy, to give a clear vision and direction to our representative agencies, including Invest NI, InterTradeIreland, Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas, Northern Ireland Executive Office in Brussels, and the Northern Ireland Bureaux in the United States of America, Canada, and China.
Dr Caoimhe ArchibaldMs Sinéad EnnisMs Nicola BroganMr John O'Dowd
The minister returns to the matter in hand, as he winds on the debate on the coronavirus regulations and responds to some of the comments made by members.
He says many have made proposals for "individual worthy relaxations such as plant nurseries, the opening of shops selling shoes, clothes shops".
But he says that although each of these proposals has its merits and may have only an incremental effect on virus transmission "if we open up all of these activities together the cumulative effect can be very serious".
Image source, NI AssemblyThe DUP's Paul Givan intervenes to ask about a seeming discrepancy between the views of the chief medical officers of Northern Ireland and England on the subject of schools reopening.
Mr Swann notes that the DUP party leader, Arlene Foster, speaking in her role as First Minister, has indicated that she wishes to have the subject of schools discussed at the next executive meeting.
"I don't discuss conversations that are going to happen at the executive prior to them happening in the executive," the minister says.
The three sets of regulations pass on oral votes.
Image source, NI AssemblyHealth Minister Swann is on his feet yet again,
He begins with an announcement:
"Three confirmed cases of the South African variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Northern Ireland. Our overall assessment of the wider risk to the community and to the public remains low at this time"
He says the PHA has instigated an incident management team and a range of swift public health interventions.
Sinn Féin chair of the Health Committee Colm Gildernew describes it as "a very worrying development".
TUV leader Jim Allister joins the debate about Coronavirus regulations and says that he is becoming increasingly concerned where the exit strategy is in respect of Covid.
Mr Allister says that the R number now is now no longer "the be all and end all" because it is significantly below level 1.
He adds that the increasing numbers of people getting the vaccination, especially the vulnerable members of society, is not reflected in the plans for easing lockdown.
Mr Allister says that the absence of school for children is detrimental to their wellbeing. He asks "where is the hope for our kids?"
The TUV leader says that there has been "a playing of politics" with our schools, and the "pawns throughout all of this has been the children and this has to stop."
He adds that since Prof Whitty has implied that it is becoming safer to send children back to school in England, Dr McBride should follow suit.
Image source, NI AssemblyWith Question Time out of the way, we're back to the debate on the Coronavirus Regulations that was paused before lunch.
Ulster Unionist Alan Chambers says his party supports the three "sensible" amendments before the house today.
He notes that "long Covid" will have an unknown impact on the NHS going forward.
He says the Education Minister, Peter Weir, should come to the assembly to explain "what it is he really wants" regarding the reopening of schools.
UUP MLA Mike Nesbitt takes to the floor and asks the health minister for an update on the consultation on NI's mental health strategy.
Mr Swann replies that the creation of a new mental health strategy that puts people at its centre was of paramount importance.
He adds that the department will be holding large events allowing individuals to meet with his officials to share their views on the new consultation.
DUP MLA George Robinson asks the minister about the progression of the vaccine roll out programme.
Mr Swann replies that as of yesterday, 499,206 jabs have been delivered in Northern Ireland, adding that 95% of over-eighties have now received their vaccination.
The minister says the vaccine programme will be open to all adults over the age of 50 by the 15th of April and to the rest of the population by the end of July.
Mr Swann says he hopes the additional vaccine centre at the SSE arena will become fully operation by the end of April.
The minister adds that the vaccine has been a ray of light in a period of "very dark days". But Mr Swann added that as we move into the wave of people getting their second dose of the vaccines, he cautions everyone to not take the rays of hope and extinguish them too quickly by rushing out too soon.
Image source, NI AssemblyLiz Kimmins of Sinn Féin says that the Human Rights Commission has been given leave for a judicial review of "his failure to commission and fund abortion services which have been legislated for".
She wants to know if Mr Swann "will move to remedy the situation".
The minister says the department does not dispute that women in Northern Ireland are legally entitled to abortion services.
"The legal advice received by department states that while the Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020 do not require my department to commission the relevant services registered medical professionals can now terminate pregnancies lawfully," he adds.
Mr Swann says that such terminations are to be carried out on on health and social care premises.
He says he is satisfied that he has executed his duty as health minister "by bringing this matter under the terms of the ministerial code to the executive to discuss and agree".