Contributions
920 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNorthern Ireland (Ministerial Appointment Functions) Regulations 2019My Lords, as with other debates on Northern Ireland, this is one of two halves. I will focus on the first half, which concerns the instrument itself and some elements of it, and…18 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland (Ministerial Appointment Functions) Regulations 2019My Lords, this Government are committed to the Belfast agreement. At the heart of that agreement is devolved power-sharing executive government. Restoring the Executive remains…18 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland (Ministerial Appointment Functions) Regulations 2019That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 9 January be approved.18 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: DevolutionI assure the noble Lord that we are not held captive by any party in Northern Ireland.14 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: DevolutionI say that because we cannot be; this is too important. We are now at a critical stage of making sure that we are able to bring the parties back together. As I said in answer to…14 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: DevolutionThe noble Lord is correct: it is very hard to climb a mountain in one step, we need to begin in the foothills. He brings up the issues of agriculture, food and electricity and I…14 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: DevolutionMy Lords, with the leave of the House, I will repeat in the form of a Statement the Answer given by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to an…14 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: DevolutionI thank the noble Lord for his thoughtful contributions. There is a lot on in that week of 26 March and I am fully aware of how important it will be that we make progress before…14 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: DevolutionWe are not travelling fast down a road toward direct rule, but it remains one of the options if we are unable to deliver what we believe is the most important outcome: a…14 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: DevolutionMy noble friend is asking questions that are getting much more specific, which I welcome. On his first point, regarding the Assembly, we are now seeking to pull all aspects of the…14 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: DevolutionThe noble Lord brings valuable experience to the discussion: I have welcomed many contributions from him in the past. I assure him that my right honourable friend the Secretary of…14 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: DevolutionThe noble Lord makes valid points, as would be expected from someone of his experience. He is correct to use the word “catastrophe” in his description of the situation in Northern…14 Feb 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Devolved GovernmentThe time of active consideration is drawing to a close. We now need to move forward on this matter. A facilitator will be an aspect we need to take forward. We are now talking…24 Jan 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Devolved GovernmentAs the House has heard already, the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, made it very clear that we will not extend this particular process at all. That is not the intention of the…24 Jan 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Devolved GovernmentI assure the noble Lord that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland does indeed have her skates on, but unfortunately not everyone else is wearing their skates and willing to…24 Jan 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Devolved GovernmentMy Lords, restoring the Executive remains the Secretary of State’s top priority. As she has set out, there is a need to rebuild political dialogue between parties and she is…24 Jan 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Devolved GovernmentThe noble Lord has made that point as indeed have many others on that Bench. We are actively considering a facilitator to bring about greater communication between the parties,…24 Jan 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Devolved GovernmentThere were three questions inside that. The first is an assessment of where Sinn Féin rests at the moment. There needs to be greater action from all the parties to bring about the…24 Jan 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Devolved GovernmentMy noble friend will recall that, when we last discussed this, one aspect of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act was to give stronger guidance…24 Jan 2019HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Devolved GovernmentThe noble Lord is correct: nothing is off the table. Unfortunately, we cannot take direct rule off the table, much as I would like to do so. It has to be there because, if we…24 Jan 2019