During topical
questions to the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister,
Brenda Hale asked deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness what help he could
offer to the families of the Disappeared
in their quest to have their bodies returned for a family burial. Mr McGuinness
emphasised that his “full sympathy and compassion are with all those families”
saying that “what happened to those families was totally and absolutely wrong”.
The deputy First Minister then reiterated his appeal for anyone with
information to come forward.
Moving on to
the scheduled
list of oral questions the deputy First Minister provided Leslie Cree with
an update on the economic
pact (a pact signed with the UK Government in July 2013 which includes
commitments such as tax relief, visa waivers and banking-related incentives).
As a result of the pact Northern Ireland will continue to have assisted area
status until 2017 having been due to lose it in 2014. Since the pact was agreed
the Executive and UK Government “continue to make progress towards the
commitments made” including undertaking analysis to inform the possibility of
establishing enterprise
zones, determining how to make access to finance easier for local
businesses and concentrating on the devolution of corporation tax powers within
the agreed timescale. Mr McGuinness also moved to allay any fears that
delays in finding suitable sites for shared housing and education may
jeopardise the £100m secured in the pact for this purpose, saying that he is
satisfied with the current work of the Ministers involved pointing to the Lisanelly
project as a sign of progress.
Junior
Minister Jennifer McCann then provided the House with an update on the urban
village regeneration projects when questioned by Jimmy Spratt. The project is
part of OFMdFM’s ‘Together:
Building a United Community’ Strategy. Four villages in areas of
deprivation will be targeted for regeneration. Consideration is currently being
given to the location of the projects and there will be an announcement “in due
course”.
Also
discussed during Question Time was the Play
and Leisure Policy, the recruitment of recently graduated teachers as part
of the Delivering
Social Change Signature Programme and the success of the Executive’s office
in Brussels.
