My Lords, this has been a short debate but, as always, instructive and thought-provoking. I am reminded that 21 years ago to the very day, 19 unforgettable words were stated:
“I am pleased to announce that the two Governments and the political leaders of Northern Ireland have reached agreement”.
I would love to be standing here before you to say that very thing, but I cannot.
I believe there is support for the extension: that it is seen as the least worst option of the three on the table. I think that around this House there is general acceptance that those five months may yet afford an opportunity for the parties to come together and for an Executive to be struck. I think it is accepted that that is the least worst option before us.
A number of other points were raised today, and let me address them as best I can. Noble Lords will recall that, in the past, my noble friend Lord Cormack and others spoke of bringing together the Assembly in some capacity and said that that could well have an influence on events. I also recall that the noble Lord, Lord Murphy, has said more than once that, truthfully, had there been an Executive and a fully functioning Assembly, there would have been a change in the weather over Brexit. I agree: I think that is correct.
I said at our last gathering that we should find a way to discuss the notion of an Assembly in that capacity, and I will make sure that we continue that idea: that we find time to see how we can advance that and bring something comparable to discuss. I think there is merit in that. As is rightly pointed out, we see in Northern Ireland the least democratic part of the United Kingdom.
As to the question of a facilitator, the words I cited at the outset from George Mitchell are a reminder of what someone can do when they are able to bring the parties together. The role of a facilitator is under active consideration, and I believe that we will move forward on it in the coming weeks and months of the five-month extension.
Noble Lords are correct to point out that it is very difficult for the Government to appear entirely neutral when so many noises off suggest otherwise. Perception can in many cases be more challenging than the reality. We need to find a way to explore that to bring to bear an opportunity of trust restoration which can, one would hope, bring about the breakthrough that we all need.
In Northern Ireland, there are plenty of individuals at whom one could point fingers and say, “If only you had done more”. I suspect that everyone could do that, pointing in very different directions. The challenge before us today is: what can we do now to move things forward? Five months is a very short time. Five months would be a challenge at the best of times. Five months today, with all that is going on around us, not just in Northern Ireland but beyond, is a reminder of the challenges we face.
As we look at those challenges, we recognise what five months means. It is only a few weeks until we begin the marching season. We have the local government elections in Northern Ireland, which will place stresses on the body politic. We have Brexit, ever present, looming over us. Each of those challenges us to bring about the very thing that we all so clearly wish for—that all parties seem to wish for, yet cannot find the magic moment to come together to break through the wall that has separated them. That is a frustration.
A number of noble Lords made points about the Assembly. I will do all I can to see how we can move that matter forward. I believe that the time for a facilitator is fast approaching, and that we need to figure out how to make it so.
The noble Lord, Lord Dubs, asked about unaccompanied asylum-seekers. I do not have the information to hand but, if he will allow me, I suggest that we sit down together and discuss that point when I have more information to hand. That would be useful and I would be happy to share the results with noble Lords after our meeting.
In listening to the debate, I am conscious of how many times I have stood here, trying my best to explain what appears to be inexplicable. None the less, we have to recognise that we are where we are.
4.45 pm
On the RHI, I had hoped that by now we would have had a written report for this House, setting out the conditions outlined at the previous meeting. However, noble Lords will recall that its drafting rests with civil servants in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, I cannot instruct them to do so against a timetable but I assure noble Lords that it will come and that, when it does, I will ensure that it is laid before the House so that noble Lords can see exactly what it looks like.
It is not a pleasure to do this. I would dearly love there to be an Executive in Northern Ireland, now more than ever. The opportunity presented by the next five months needs to be grasped because if it slips through not our fingers but the fingers of those in Northern Ireland, we will end up, in short order, with direct rule. That is not the answer to Northern Ireland’s problems. We need to ensure that the people of Northern Ireland grasp the opportunity afforded to them to
create an Assembly that works—and, noting the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Morrow, a sustainable Executive. If we can achieve that, we will have done a great deal.
I know that my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland comes in for a degree of criticism in this Chamber and elsewhere, but I assure noble Lords that she remains committed to the task before her. It is a challenging task that is exacerbated by Brexit, as noble Lords who sit here and who have experience of that same suite of challenges will recognise. There is no point pretending otherwise. If Brexit could be resolved, we would make progress but, in truth, if the Northern Ireland question could be resolved, we could make progress on Brexit. Perhaps it is the other way round.
I am afraid that I can give noble Lords no more to lift their spirits in this regard, but I hope that the five months secured today can be used to deliver the very thing that we want and that the people of Northern Ireland are crying out for: the return of sustainable, decent government to deliver on the issues that are piling up in Northern Ireland and that need to be resolved.