Tag: Lord Laird

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 19 October (HL2605) concerning the government of the Republic of Ireland and recent talks at Stormont, whether the government of the Republic of Ireland has been represented in any way at any discussions under section 1 of the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

Lord Dunlop

As noted in response to Written Question HL2605, a commitment always to uphold the three-stranded approach in cross-party talks was contained in the Government’s Northern Ireland manifesto at the General Election. The involvement of the Irish Government is in accordance with this established three-stranded approach to Northern Ireland affairs and the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in each year since 1995, how many passports have been issued by the appropriate office in Belfast.

Lord Bates

I refer to the attached table which provides by calendar year the volume of passport applications issued by the Belfast office from 2005 to 2014. Her Majesty’s Passport Office does not hold readily available data prior to 2005 and the cost of extracting this data would be disproportionate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the government of the Republic of Ireland has borrowed from Her Majesty’s Government, and what are the arrangements for repayment.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

I refer the noble Lord to the most recent statutory report which the Treasury provided to Parliament as required by Section 2 of the Loans to Ireland Act 2010. The last report was laid before Parliament on 15 October 2015 and is available in the Printed Paper Office

This report shows the outstanding loan principal is £3,226,960,000, with repayments due in tranches from 15 April 2019, until 26 March 2021.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any agreement with the provisional IRA in recent years, and if so, what was covered by that agreement.

Lord Dunlop

The Government has not made any agreement with the provisional IRA, or any other paramilitary organisation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will require the Northern Ireland Parades Commission to disclose to the Police Service of Northern Ireland all information about potential disturbances of the peace that have been notified to them in the process of developing determinations.

Lord Dunlop

As a public authority, the Parades Commission has general obligations under public law, which may in certain circumstances include an obligation to notify the Police Service of Northern Ireland about potential disturbances of the peace notified to them in the process of developing determinations. The discharge of these obligations is an operational matter for the Commission.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will require the Northern Ireland Parades Commission to publish information relating to each determination it makes, and if not, why not.

Lord Dunlop

The publication of information relating to determinations made by the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland is an operational matter for the Commission acting independently of Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take steps to ensure that all decisions about names of areas in Northern Ireland must be taken by mutual agreement of the two communities, as outlined in the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

Lord Dunlop

The Government remains fully committed to supporting the institutions and principles established under the Belfast Agreement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) whether United Kingdom law complies with the judgment concerning the retention of fingerprints and DNA samples in S and Marper v United Kingdom [2008] ECHR 1581; and (2) whether the proposed retention of biometric data in Northern Ireland in the form of a snapshot” to be used by the expected Historical Investigation Unit will be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and that judgment.”

Lord Dunlop

Following the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of S v Marper v United Kingdom [2008] ECHR 1581, the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 was passed to introduce a new legislative framework for the retention and destruction of biometric data (including fingerprints and DNA samples) taken under the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) legislation in England and Wales and for material taken under UK wide terrorism powers. The Government believes that the new framework strikes the right balance between the rights of individuals under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the public interest in the prevention, investigation and detection of crime. In Northern Ireland, broadly similar provisions have been taken forward by the devolved administration in the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2013. The relevant PACE (Northern Ireland) provisions, when brought into force, will ensure that the appropriate balance is also struck in respect of Northern Ireland.

The Historical Investigations Unit, when established, must have access to historic evidence to support the investigation of past crimes, including relevant fingerprint and DNA evidence. The Government is satisfied that the proposal for the Historical Investigations Unit to access relevant biometric data is proportionate and, pursuant to the provisions of the Northern Ireland (Stormont House Agreement) Bill, sufficient restrictions on the retention of, access to and use of the data will be put in place to ensure compatibility with Article 8 of the European Convention.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 18 September (HL2210), whether they can confirm that the government of the Republic of Ireland has not had representatives at any discussions other than those allowed by the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

Lord Dunlop

The involvement of the Irish Government in cross-party talks is in accordance with the established three-stranded approach to Northern Ireland affairs and the 1998 Belfast Agreement. A commitment always to uphold the three-stranded approach was also contained in the Government’s Northern Ireland manifesto at the General Election.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2014-06-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many suspects of terrorist-related offences have been given assurances by letter that they will not be subject to investigation.

Baroness Randerson

The administrative scheme relating to so-called “On the Runs” did not promise people that they would not be subject to investigation. Rather, the letters issued were only a statement of fact at a particular point in time that the individuals concerned were not sought for arrest.

As the Noble Lord may be aware the Report by Lady Justice Hallett into the “On the Runs” administrative scheme will be published by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 17 July 2014.