Contributions
194 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHealth and Social Care Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2022I realised after I said it that I had dropped a clanger, but the point I was trying to make, which I am sure the Minister will come to, is that they are not Ministers in the sense…05 Sept 2022HANSARDHealth and Social Care Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2022It will not be quite so short and uncontroversial next week—I suspect the Minister will have a few more hours on his feet than today—but on this one he is absolutely right. It is…05 Sept 2022HANSARDFlags (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022My Lords, I apologise for delaying the Committee for some minutes. I completely abandoned my toasted teacake to get here very quickly; I had mistaken the time. The Minister is…05 Sept 2022HANSARDHuman Rights Act 1998My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans and to take part in a debate so excellently opened by my noble friend Lady Whitaker.…14 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Operation KenovaI very much agree with my noble friend Lord Hain, about learning from the processes of Operation Kenova. Since, as the Minister knows, every victims’ group in Northern Ireland,…14 Jul 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]My Lords, I echo the view of the Minister in the sense that the debates have been very good, informative and useful. They have also been informed from the point of view of many…13 Jul 2022HANSARDSchools Bill [HL]My Lords, I rise to support the right reverend Prelate in everything he has said. He will recall that in Committee, I supported him in the change to the governance of academies in…12 Jul 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]My Lords, I can understand much of what the noble Lord, Lord Morrow, is saying. I entirely agree with the Bill where it says that the Irish language commissioner should have…06 Jul 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]My Lords, I must say that the final debate of this evening has been fascinating. There are times where I am glad I am not the Minister, and this is one of them. There are quite…06 Jul 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]My Lords, I have some sympathy with the amendment, or at least with what lies behind it. I do not see any point in pushing such an amendment to a vote, but it raises the issue. I…06 Jul 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]06 Jul 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]My Lords, I cannot say that the Report stage in front of us will excite people in the same way that other events might today, but it is still very important for the future…06 Jul 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]My Lords, I understand the points the Minister makes. He also makes the point that, eventually, as this Bill is embedded in Northern Ireland law over the years ahead, the Assembly…06 Jul 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]My Lords, I add my thoughts to those of the Minister regarding my noble friend Lady Ritchie, who is seriously disappointed that she could not attend this session. She is on the…22 Jun 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]Of course. No one said that any of this is easy; far from it. When he wound up, the Minister was very kind to say that he would look at all the different ideas that have emerged…22 Jun 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]Yes, I understand, and if I was the Secretary of State under those circumstances, I would not invoke special powers, which this Act would eventually do; I would get on a plane and…22 Jun 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]Well, there we are. My Lords, it is not easy. My heart tells me that the noble Lords, Lord Empey and Lord Dodds, and others are right that the devolution settlement should be…22 Jun 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]22 Jun 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]My Lords, briefly, I support the noble Lord, Lord Lexden, in his amendment. I am currently reading the biography of Castlereagh by Professor Bew—I also commend his biography of…22 Jun 2022HANSARDIdentity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill [HL]My Lords, we now come to quite a difficult part of the Bill, in my view. The Minister referred to the fact that he could not quite remember all the detail in New Decade, New…22 Jun 2022