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Category: Northern Ireland

  • Caoimhe Archibald – 2022 Comments on Struggling Workers in Northern Ireland

    Caoimhe Archibald – 2022 Comments on Struggling Workers in Northern Ireland

    The comments made by Caoimhe Archibald, the Sinn Fein Economy spokesperson, on 11 May 2022.

    The DUP must immediately drop its boycott of the institutions and get back into the Executive so we are in a position to take decisions to support struggling workers and families.

    The National Institute of Economic and Social Research has stated that 43,000 households in the north face food and energy costs which are higher than their income.

    Sinn Féin has a plan to give every household in the north £230, that money can go straight into people’s pockets if we can form an Executive.

    Right now people across the north are worrying about how they will feed their families or heat their homes, addressing this must be the priority for an incoming Executive and attempts to delay or block the formation of an Executive are unforgivable.

    Sinn Féin and other parties were given a mandate to tackle the cost of living crisis and to put money into people’s pockets, this must be done without delay.

  • Colm Gildernew – 2022 Comments on the Needs of Cancer Patients in Northern Ireland

    Colm Gildernew – 2022 Comments on the Needs of Cancer Patients in Northern Ireland

    The comments made by Colm Gildernew, the Sinn Fein MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, on 10 May 2022.

    People on cancer waiting lists need an Executive back up and running now.

    Macmillan Cancer Support has said today that 82,000 people in the north are currently living with the disease and that these numbers are set to rise.

    They have called for urgent investment to tackle the crisis in cancer services as people waiting on critical interventions for cancer have no time for any more delay.

    The Executive should be restored immediately and the additional £1 billion for health proposed by Finance Minister Conor Murphy should be used to tackle the waiting lists and the crises in cancer and mental health services.

    We need to recruit more doctors and nurses and give the health minister the resources to do this now.

    This is about treating patients who are suffering and saving lives.

    It’s well past time for the DUP to end their boycott of the Executive and get back to work for people who need it most.

  • Brandon Lewis – 2022 Comments After Meeting Party Leaders in Northern Ireland

    Brandon Lewis – 2022 Comments After Meeting Party Leaders in Northern Ireland

    The comments made by Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 10 May 2022.

    Northern Ireland’s party leaders must come together to agree a way forward to deliver a stable and accountable devolved government.

    The UK Government’s overriding priority remains the preservation of peace and stability in Northern Ireland and the protection of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its strands. The current situation with the Protocol is fundamentally undermining the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and creating an unacceptable situation in Northern Ireland. We will continue to press the EU to agree the crucial changes that are urgently needed but will take nothing off the table in our pursuit of those solutions.

    As I conveyed to party leaders today, our collective focus must be on the restoration of the Stormont institutions so that those newly elected representatives can come together and deliver in the best interests of all the people of Northern Ireland.

    I will remain in close contact with the party leaders over the coming days.

  • Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on Election Results in Northern Ireland

    Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on Election Results in Northern Ireland

    The statement made by Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 7 May 2022.

    Congratulations to all those who have been elected to represent people across Northern Ireland.

    I encourage the parties to form an Executive as soon as possible. The people of Northern Ireland deserve a stable and accountable local government that delivers on the issues that matter most to them.

    The electorate delivered a number of messages on Thursday. They were clear that they want a fully functioning devolved government in Northern Ireland, they want the issues around the Protocol addressed, and that they want politics to work better.

    Over the coming days I will be meeting with all the party leaders and will urge them to restore the Stormont institutions at the earliest possible moment, starting with the nomination of an Assembly Speaker within 8 days.

    The Government remains committed to the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Parties and the Irish Government to deliver its vision for reconciliation, equality, respect for rights and parity of esteem.

    Together, we must move forward towards a brighter future – that means delivering for all the people of Northern Ireland.

  • Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on Abortion Services in Northern Ireland

    Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on Abortion Services in Northern Ireland

    The statement made by Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in the House of Commons on 24 March 2022.

    l am under a legal obligation by virtue of Section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 to ensure that the recommendations in paragraphs 85 and 86 of the 2018 Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women—“the CEDAW Report”—are implemented.

    Two years after the Abortion (Northern Ireland) 2020 Regulations established the framework for abortion services, women and girls, are still unable to access high-quality abortion and post-abortion care in Northern Ireland. This is unacceptable. Without access to services in Northern Ireland, women and girls are being placed at an increased risk of harm.

    It is increasingly clear that the Northern Ireland Department of Health is not going to ensure relevant healthcare services are available by the 31 March 2022 deadline that I set in my direction of July 2021. Recent events, such as the resignation of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister consequently leaving office have created a further obstacle to progress as the Executive Committee cannot meet to approve matters. This ongoing inaction leaves me no choice but to prepare work on further regulations to ensure services are commissioned.

    Therefore, I am committed to return to Parliament directly following the Assembly election in May and, if necessary, make regulations and directions that will:

    place a duty on the Department of Health to make abortion services available as soon as is reasonably practicable;

    remove the need for executive committee approval before services can be commissioned and funded. The regulations will do this by providing that directions under the Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2021, which require action to be taken to implement the recommendations of the CEDAW report, must be complied with irrespective of whether the matter has been discussed or agreed by the executive committee. This means that the Department of Health will have no further barriers to commission and fund services; and

    confer on me the power to do anything that a Northern Ireland Minister or department could do for the purpose of ensuring that the recommendations in paragraphs 85 and 86 of the CEDAW report are implemented.

    To provide additional oversight, I am immediately setting up a small team in the Northern Ireland Office with relevant experience in reproductive healthcare and financial monitoring to provide me with expert advice and to work alongside the Department of Health.

    If I assess the Department of Health is not complying with the duty I place on it, I am prepared to use my powers to intervene.

  • Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on Northern Ireland Terrorism Threat Level

    Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on Northern Ireland Terrorism Threat Level

    The statement made by Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in the House of Commons on 22 March 2022.

    MI5 has lowered the Northern Ireland-related terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland from “SEVERE” to “SUBSTANTIAL”.

    The decision to change the threat level is taken by MI5, independently of Ministers.

    This is a systematic, comprehensive and rigorous process, based on the very latest intelligence and analysis of factors which drive the threat.

    The fact that the threat level is being lowered from where it has been since September 2010 is a testament to the Government’s ongoing commitment to protecting the peace process and tackling Northern Ireland-related terrorism, as well as the tremendous efforts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and MI5 for their hard-won gains over the past decade that have helped to make Northern Ireland a safer place to live and work.

    Despite the change in the threat level, terrorism remains one of the most direct and immediate risks to our national security and to communities in Northern Ireland. There remains a small group of people determined to destabilise the political settlement in Northern Ireland through acts of terrorism.

    “SUBSTANTIAL” means that a terrorist attack is likely and might well occur without further warning.

    As ever, the public should remain vigilant and report any concerns they may have to the police.

    The Government, police and intelligence agencies will continue to work tirelessly to address the threat posed by terrorism in all its forms. The threat level will be kept under constant review.

  • Jeffrey Donaldson – 2022 Statement on Death of Christopher Stalford

    Jeffrey Donaldson – 2022 Statement on Death of Christopher Stalford

    The statement made by Jeffrey Donaldson, the Leader of the DUP, on 20 February 2022.

    I am deeply saddened to learn of Christopher’s sudden death. He was not just an elected representative or a colleague, he was a friend.

    On behalf of the Party, I express my sympathies to Laura and the wider Stalford family on the loss of a husband, father, son and brother.

    I talked at length with Christopher on Friday night. He was passionate about Northern Ireland and wanted the best for his constituents. I was never to know how precious that conversation was to be.

    Most telling of all in that conversation was his pride in Laura and their children. He talked about his eldest child transferring to big school and the discussions that were ongoing in the home.

    Christopher was born to be a public representative. From his teenage years he was a regular contributor to politics both in the print and broadcast media. He was elected as a Belfast City Councillor in 2005 to represent the Laganbank area and then from 2014 represented the Balmoral area. Christopher was elected the High Sheriff of Belfast in 2010 and Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast in 2013/14.

    In 2016, Christopher was elected to represent Belfast South in the Northern Ireland Assembly and from January 2020 served as the Principal Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

    Christopher believed in stretching himself to build a genuinely shared future. He was confident in his unionism and his identity and was always prepared to provide leadership to keep Northern Ireland moving in the right direction.

    The Stalford family will be in our prayers as they mourn Christopher’s passing.

  • Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on the Resignation of Paul Givan

    Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on the Resignation of Paul Givan

    The statement made by Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in the House of Commons on 4 February 2022.

    I wish to inform the House that Paul Givan has resigned as the First Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive. This decision is extremely disappointing and I want to make it clear that the Government want to see a return to ministerial roles immediately, to ensure the necessary delivery of public services for the citizens of Northern Ireland.

    The Government’s priority is for a strong, functioning Executive delivering a better, more prosperous, shared future for the people of Northern Ireland. We want to continue to build on the Belfast (Good Friday) agreement’s promise of a stable, co-operative power-sharing Executive, built on respectful relationships with a shared commitment to serve all the people of Northern Ireland.

    The last two years since the New Decade, New Approach agreement restored devolved Government in Northern Ireland have demonstrated the potential that can be unlocked when the political parties in Northern Ireland work together. We must not return to a state of political deadlock and inertia.

    The Government recognise the impact that the Ireland/Northern Ireland protocol is having on the ground, and we have been clear for some time that the protocol has been causing a serious unbalancing of the delicate and hard-won political stability in Northern Ireland. We remain fully committed to fixing the problems with the protocol and to protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) agreement in all its dimensions.

    I have spoken to Northern Ireland party leaders and the Irish Government, to encourage a return to stable devolved Government in Northern Ireland. The Government hope that Northern Ireland’s political leaders will quickly take the necessary steps to restore the stability in the devolved institutions that the people of Northern Ireland deserve. In addition, the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petition of Concern) Bill currently before Parliament will aid and underpin stability.

  • Johnny Mercer – 2022 Comments on Colum Eastwood

    Johnny Mercer – 2022 Comments on Colum Eastwood

    The comments made by Johnny Mercer, the Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View, in the House of Commons on 26 January 2022.

    On a point of order, Mr Speaker. During Northern Ireland Office questions, the hon. Member for Foyle (Colum Eastwood) made the extremely incendiary allegation that British troops went to his constituency in the ’70s with the express purpose of murdering the people who lived in Derry. We all have a responsibility in this place for the language we use. Legacy is extremely difficult to deal with. What guidance can you give me, Mr Speaker, so that when a Member repeatedly makes such claims—to generate whatever online presence he may have—that are clearly incendiary to people across the House and across the country, we can put a stop to that behaviour and behave in this place with the dignity that our offices demand?

  • Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on the Petition of Concern Mechanism for the Northern Ireland Assembly

    Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on the Petition of Concern Mechanism for the Northern Ireland Assembly

    The statement made by Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in the House of Commons on 20 January 2022.

    I am today laying before both Houses of Parliament the fourth report by the UK Government on the use of the petition of concern mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

    As part of the New Decade, New Approach deal upon which devolved Government was restored in Northern Ireland on 11 January 2020, the UK Government committed to undertaking such a report every six months.

    This report covers the period from 12 July 2021 to 11 January 2022 during which no petition of concern has been lodged against any motion in the Assembly.

    The fact that there have been no uses of petitions of concern since the restoration of the political institutions is a positive reflection of the conduct of business within the Assembly. However, I want to take this opportunity to reinforce the importance of a stable, mature, functioning Executive and Assembly that is focused on addressing the issues that really matter to daily lives.

    The UK Government are standing by their commitment to bring forward legislation that provides the necessary reforms to the petition of concern mechanism. The Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions Of Concern) Bill has completed report stage in the House of Lords. Once this legislation has completed its passage through Parliament and received Royal Assent, it is crucial that the Assembly reflects the detail of these reforms in its Standing Orders to ensure the full implementation of these aspects of the New Decade, New Approach deal.

    This is the final report of this Assembly mandate under the UK Government’s commitment to report on the use of the petition of concern. As there have been no uses of the petition of concern mechanism since the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly, we conclude that no further reform is necessary at this time.