Order Paper

1.   Prayers

2.   Members’ Statements

3.   Question Time

3.1     Economy

3.2     Assembly Commission

4.   Private Members’ Business

Motion: Redevelopment of Craigavon Area Hospital

Proposed:

That this Assembly stresses the importance of sustained capital investment in Northern Ireland’s hospital network; notes, in this regard, the growing need to address inequalities in the allocation of funding for projects between Health and Social Care Trust areas; expresses particular concern that the redevelopment of Craigavon Area Hospital has not yet commenced despite a masterplan being completed in 2016; recalls the Southern Health and Social Care Trust’s Covid-19 Serious Adverse Incident Report, published in 2023, which found that ageing equipment, lack of clinical accommodation, including insufficient beds, theatre, day surgery and endoscopy space, as well as limited toilets and shower facilities, were leading to an increased risk of infection transmission; believes this situation is unsustainable; welcomes engagement between representatives of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust and the Department of Health on plans to advance fresh plans for the redevelopment of Craigavon Area Hospital site; and calls on the Minister of Health to approve, and provide finance for, the Trust’s programme business case for the project in the next financial year.

Mrs Diane Dodds
Mr Alan Robinson

Motion: Social Security Reform and Economic Inactivity

Proposed:

That this Assembly opposes the approach of the UK Government to reforming disability benefits; believes that withdrawing or cutting social security support for those most in need risks exacerbating poverty and increasing pressure on other public services; agrees that there are other, more progressive, ways to generate additional money for government, including tax increases for the super-wealthy; calls on the UK Government to reconsider the punitive elements of its proposals and ensure fairness and dignity for those requiring welfare support; and further calls on the Minister for Communities to work with the UK Government on the establishment of a UK-wide commission to develop holistic, cross-departmental proposals for addressing economic inactivity among those with long-term illnesses and disabilities.

Ms Sian Mulholland
Ms Kellie Armstrong
Mr David Honeyford
Mrs Michelle Guy

5.   Adjournment

• Lack of Investment in the Road Network in North Down

Mr Peter Martin