Alan Chambers MLA, who was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in May, delivered his Maiden Speech in the Assembly Chamber on Tuesday 7 June 2016.
Mr Chambers said:
“Mr Deputy Speaker, it is a privilege and an honour to have this opportunity today to make my first contribution to the proceedings of the House. I hope that it will be the first of many opportunities.
“I am extremely grateful to the people of North Down, who voted for me to represent them in the Assembly. I pledge to represent all the citizens of North Down with the vigour and commitment that they would expect from me. I was born and reared just a short distance from this iconic building, in the shadows of the gantries of the Harland and Wolff shipyard. Indeed, my father worked there for some time, along with thousands of others, building some of the finest ships in the world. I am proud of my east Belfast early-year roots. In 1973, however, I moved to Bangor, and, having lived there since then, my family and I are very proud to call North Down our home. I have been a local government representative in North Down for nearly 25 years, and I am very proud of some of our achievements in local government over that period. I know that there are others currently serving in the Chamber who will share that pride in things such as the Aurora leisure centre, the restoration of the Walled Garden in Bangor and the public realm work that has been carried out, including the upgrading of play parks, community halls and, indeed, our new community hub, which is due to open soon on Hamilton Road in Bangor, and the leisure facilities in Holywood.
“North Down has the reputation of being the gold coast, but it also has areas of deprivation. One of my challenges will be to try to make North Down a gold coast for every one of its residents. The redevelopment of Queen's Parade will need all the support and encouragement that the Assembly can offer. Hopefully our new Education Minister will be able to find the money to finally enable urgent rebuilds of a number of school campuses that are not entirely fit for purpose. I know that Minister Weir has been heavily involved over the years in lobbying with the rest of us to make the dream come true for Priory Integrated College in Holywood, St Columbanus' College in Bangor, and Bangor Central Integrated Primary School. Perhaps Invest Northern Ireland will look beyond the gold coast reputation and send some much-needed manufacturing jobs in our direction.
“It would be remiss of me not to mention the contribution to North Down and this House made by our former MLA, Mr Leslie Cree MBE. I wish Leslie, now retired from public life, and his family every happiness for the future. Knowing Leslie, I will not be surprised if he finds some voluntary public service work to keep himself busy.
“In Bangor, we are very fortunate to have a first-class further education facility, the South Eastern Regional College (SERC), which is managed and staffed by a highly motivated group of tutors. This college has risen to the challenge in the past of tailoring courses to suit upcoming opportunities like those presented when the Aurora leisure complex was opened. Going forward, we cannot afford to starve places of further education like SERC of funding if we expect them to step up and provide the training required to fill future skill set requirements. Lack of funding in this area will be an impediment to the growth of our economy. We must be prepared in this House to speculate to accumulate for our people.
“Workplace apprenticeships are also vital to prepare our workforce for future opportunities. Everything must be done to give employers incentives to provide and facilitate apprenticeships. We must also look hard at our infrastructure. Our road and rail network requires detailed planning and financial resources. Our broadband network, which we have talked about, has many black spots in Bangor. There are some huge challenges to be confronted in an economic strategy, and my party has no hesitation in supporting the motion and the amendment. I am disappointed that an Opposition motion to create a manufacturing strategy was rejected by the House yesterday, as I think it would have complemented this motion.
“Over recent days, I have heard much comment from Executive spokespeople about the complaining and whingeing coming from those in opposition. Today, the word "disrespect" was even mentioned.
“I get the feeling that there is such an obsession with opposition that we are actually seeing the birth of an opposition to the Opposition. We need to be aware that every healthy democracy has an opposition to scrutinise and critique the performance of government. My party will not be found wanting in pursuit of our opposition duties. However, in conclusion, what we will not be doing is apologising for carrying out our duties as part of an official opposition.”