I will try to be as quick as possible because we are trying to get through a lot. As a party, we fully support trying to move the Stormont House agreement forward and we support the principles in the Bill, and we totally abhor the paramilitaries, so we know where we are trying to go; but although we want to get there as quickly as possible, we have rushed this too quickly. We have two major problems that run through the amendment. The one that we have discussed at great length is the lack of sanctions, and the other is the lack of a definition of “paramilitaries”.
To answer the question that the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Nigel Mills) asked about other paramilitaries worldwide, when we go to the Falls Road, look at a wall there and see Basque and Colombian terrorists, Palestinians and others all being feted, we realise that this is larger than the sovereignty of this Parliament, and that this Parliament needs to use its sovereignty to do its best. We need to look at those matters.
2.45 pm
On sanctions, we fully support the very good amendment tabled by the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon). We really do need sanctions, and that is absolutely the right way to deal with the issue. I have notes—I will not go into them—on some five breaches by Ministers in Stormont and another four by MLAs breaking the regulations. Although they were deemed to be breaches, there were no sanctions. We need sanctions in place in time. Therefore, if we pass the Bill today, how do we get the Standing Orders written in time,
so that someone taking the pledge knows what the Standing Orders say? We need to be very quick; otherwise, this seems slightly pointless.
We sympathise with most of the amendments on paramilitaries. We would like to see those amendments made, because there are other tensions, most of which I went through when I spoke on Second Reading, about how to define a paramilitary. We want our MLAs to be able to work and have influence on paramilitaries, without being seen as supporting them or being challenged from either side. Of course, within that are the flag issues and all sorts of other things, so I am very concerned about where we are going on that.
I shall move on to an amendment that no one seems to have spoken about: the Government amendment that will get the Speaker to carry on in position. I find that slightly rich. We have a system where the Father of the House is normally the person who carries out that role and can do it perfectly well. The Government are arguing that we are sovereign but we must not impose things on the Assembly, but they are doing exactly that in trying to put the Speaker in charge. I would like to know more about why we are going down that route.
We want to see the Bill work. We want to see things get better in Northern Ireland, and I think that hon. Members have probably heard enough from me.