Contributions
439 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBusiness CommunityThe numbers speak for themselves: over 900 international companies have already invested in Northern Ireland, supported by Government investments such as the ones I have mentioned…06 Mar 2019HANSARDBusiness CommunityWithout wanting to prejudge this afternoon’s debate—as my hon. Friend the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Chairman has said, we will be going through this in a lot more…06 Mar 2019HANSARDBusiness CommunitySomething that Britain and the UK have cottoned on to later than many other parts of the world is the notion of local food and its marketability, along with our ability to forge a…06 Mar 2019HANSARDBusiness CommunityThe Secretary of State and I have frequent discussions and meetings with Northern Ireland businesses; in the last few weeks I have met Newry chamber of commerce and trade, Thales,…06 Mar 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland Assembly: Re-establishmentWe debated this point at some length in the Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) Bill yesterday, and the frustration from all sides at the lack of a…06 Mar 2019HANSARDBusiness CommunityI think a number of people will have raised their eyebrows at such politically charged comments from a civil servant. The point I would make is simply this: we have a meaningful…06 Mar 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland Assembly: Re-establishmentWe elect the politicians we deserve. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that there are periodic calls for a greater variety of representation and range of representation in…06 Mar 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland Assembly: Re-establishmentI will quote the Labour party spokesman, who said yesterday that the existence of preconditions or red lines was frequently a facet of talks processes. The point is to get a…06 Mar 2019HANSARD Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) BillIt was certainly not my intention to cause the hon. Lady to draw breath. The point I was trying to make is that direct rule is potentially extremely dangerous and can lead to a…05 Mar 2019HANSARD Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) BillI strongly agree and I think there has been pretty much unanimous agreement across the House during this debate about that point.05 Mar 2019HANSARD Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) BillThe right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. There is a significant transformation going on, and a significant amount of funds is going in to let that transformation happen, but…05 Mar 2019HANSARD Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) BillI do take that on board, especially because I think that the hon. Gentleman was one of the last Ministers who had to deal with the issue of direct rule.05 Mar 2019HANSARD Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) BillLet me pick up from where my opposite number, the hon. Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth), left off and say that I am pleased to hear—from, I think, everyone—that there is…05 Mar 2019HANSARD Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) BillIndeed. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) had a long list of local projects that are not happening and that he thinks could and should happen were there to be proper…05 Mar 2019HANSARD Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) BillSo I am giving the hon. Gentleman responsibilities that he never had to bear. Let me also mention to him that a Command Paper is currently available in the Library which gives a…05 Mar 2019HANSARD Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) BillI shall respond swiftly, as I do not want to hold up the rest of the process. The hon. Lady is right to say that she asked that specific question. Let me make two comments in…05 Mar 2019HANSARD Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) BillA number of Members have said today that they would regard it as a last resort. I agree because we have to be incredibly careful about what we wish for here. We have to be…05 Mar 2019HANSARDDraft Local Elections (Northern Ireland) (Election Expenses) Order 2019This is, I hope, a fairly straightforward measure, in that it is already in place for a great number of other elections in the United Kingdom. It is in place for parliamentary…26 Feb 2019HANSARDDraft Local Elections (Northern Ireland) (Election Expenses) Order 2019I am delighted that there is cross-party consensus on this matter. I echo the hon. Lady in saying that there are many devolved matters that we all want to see dealt with by a…26 Feb 2019HANSARDDraft Local Elections (Northern Ireland) (Election Expenses) Order 2019I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Local Elections (Northern Ireland) (Election Expenses) Order 2019. It is good to have you in charge of us on this bright…26 Feb 2019