Northern Ireland (Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan) Bill

The clue is in the word “appropriate”. We want to set up the commission and make sure that it car...

It might assist the Minister if he took the Bill off the Dispatch Box and looked at the clause th...

rose—

I will give way to the hon. Member for South Antrim (Danny Kinahan).

On the same point, the definition of “appropriate” should be expanded. It should be appropriate t...

Before I move on, I refer hon. Members again to the word “appropriate”. The winding up of the com...

Will the Minister give way?

I want to move on. We have fought a bit, and I know that hon. Members are keen to get on to the n...

It is quite clear that neither the Government nor other parties support amendment 1, so it would ...

Obviously, my hon. Friends and I believe that amendment 7 takes forward the terms of the agreemen...

I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause ...

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Amendment 8, in clause 7, page 4,...

I will speak to clauses 6, 7 and 8 and the related schedules, which extend the time available for...

May I ask the Minister a slightly complicated drafting question? I cannot see how the pledge and ...

I think the best solution is for me to write to my hon. Friend on that technical question. I do n...

It is good to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward, while we discuss this important Bill, an...

Does the hon. Lady accept that the only sanction in the Bill is that those who do not give the un...

That is absolutely correct. The glaring omission—I am repeating myself, but it is worth repetitio...

Does the hon. Lady accept that there could be general frustration, because the Bill requires MLAs...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about that. In introducing this group, the Minister referr...

I support the hon. Lady’s amendment and her thought process on this matter. Does she agree that i...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that. One has to ask why any references to sanctions were...

Lisa Dorrian disappeared from Ballyhalbert in my constituency. Searches took place in Comber, als...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that intervention, as he is right in everything he has sa...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

Is the Minister about to concede? That is excellent and I will give way.

I wouldn’t hold your breath. I hear what the hon. Lady is saying, and I am not going to refer to ...

May I just ask the Minister to pick up the Bill and turn to page 5? As I have mentioned, the Bill...

Does the hon. Lady accept that the Bill states not only that Standing Orders “shall” do some thin...

I am grateful for that helpful intervention, as ever, from the hon. Gentleman. I am sure the Mini...

A number of Members, including the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon), who raises this issu...

We support amendment 6, which was tabled by the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon). There i...

As my hon. Friend the Member for South Down (Ms Ritchie) said, the SDLP has tabled several amendm...

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that, where Standing Orders set standards, the Assembly commission...

Yes, I fully accept that, and the clause says that Standing Orders will lay down provision on how...

I will try to be as quick as possible because we are trying to get through a lot. As a party, we ...

I will make a couple of brief remarks. I think the whole Committee wholeheartedly supports any ef...

First, we accept that if a pledge is made, there must be some way of measuring whether or not it ...

I entirely agree. Where someone says or does something that clearly contravenes the undertakings ...

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that if that were the case, the Assembly Commissioner, or whoever ...

I am sure that that could be said, but I am not sure whether that is set out in the amendments. W...

It all started so well when we started to debate this group. The Minister’s initial moves on time...

I assume from what the hon. Gentleman is saying that we can rely on Labour’s support for the amen...

Labour Members will not be voting with the Government. We will be abstaining on this question, in...

I have to register my deep disappointment in Her Majesty’s official Opposition; I had expected be...

I accept the lash that the hon. Lady applies, and to a certain extent I deserve it. However, the ...

I shall be short, sharp and to the point. I have listened to the contributions today, and feel th...

I beg to move amendment 18, in clause 9, page 5, line 42, at end insert—

‘( ) Statements la...

With this it will be convenient to discuss clause stand part.

Before I call Mr Durkan, I sh...

The Government have included clause 9 in the Bill in the name of transparency. I am certainly all...

Clause 9 delivers the commitment, set out in the “Fresh Start” agreement, that the Government wou...

I am not persuaded by any of the Minister’s arguments in respect of the quality of the amendment,...

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Amendment 2, in clause 11, page 6...

The next group covers general provisions and new clauses. Clause 10 provides for the parliamentar...

Will that cover men and women in the uniform of the Ulster Defence Regiment?

The aftercare service is available to former members of both the Royal Irish Regiment and the UDR...

I am pleased that Combat Stress has been allocated money, but many other organisations in Norther...

People can access a range of veterans organisations, including regimental associations and the Ro...

I hear what the Minister says about the definition of a victim being a matter for the Northern Ir...

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that it is totally wrong to equate the two. I believe that the re...

I beg to differ with the Minister about this. Many victims and survivors who were affected by the...

I hear what the right hon. Gentleman says, and I do not disagree with a large part of it, but the...

I will speak very briefly. Not for the first time, the right hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr Don...

I know that we are tight for time, but I really want to push our new clauses. The main reason why...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

I thank all right hon. and hon. Me...

We welcome the passage of the Bill. We are a signatory, as it were, to the Stormont agreement. We...

Does my right hon. Friend believe that the injustice was further compounded earlier this week, wh...

My hon. Friend makes a valid point. The other day I was in the lift with Lord Tebbit and I asked ...

I share the right hon. Gentleman’s frustration. That is why, when I was appointed, instead of wai...

I entirely accept what the Minister has said. I have nothing but admiration for his efforts to en...

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. It might help the House to know that, because of the time...

The Back-Bench motion will not be moved. That is noted.

4.3 pm

Following the right hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr Donaldson), I want to make it clear that my ...

I will be very brief, but I want to get one message across that I think we all forget: the people...

I rise to speak on Third Reading of a Bill that basically addressed the independent reporting com...

Is the hon. Lady saying that we should not invoke national security to protect informers, agents ...

What we are saying, or what I am saying, is that there should be full disclosure of information t...

It is good to be able to make a contribution on Third Reading. I should like to start by paying t...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for being so generous about my record in Northern Ireland. I want to b...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that contribution. The Lord’s hand was protecting him, as I am sur...

I am sure my hon. Friend will agree that when people at home in Northern Ireland have received th...

I thank my hon. Friend and colleague for those comments.

In the past few years, the Norther...

As we move from afternoon to dusk, there is a tendency to allow an elegiac mood to suffuse the Ho...

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says about the assertion of the right hon. Member for Lagan Valley...

We have heard advice on the Floor of the House from the Prime Minister’s mother, and we have now ...