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Tag: Nigel Dodds

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what contribution her Department made towards the cost of the staging of the Giro d’Italia in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Sport is a devolved matter therefore there is no provision for the Northern Ireland Office to contribute to the funding of the Grande Partenza of the Giro d’Italia.

    The Giro d’Italia is supported by Northern Ireland Tourist Board and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland.

    My officials have, at the request of the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, engaged with the Home Office and several of our Embassies over the past fortnight, to help facilitate the granting of visas to some of the elite riders and help deal with queries that they have raised.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the level of co-operation between the security forces in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    There continues to be very close contact between the PSNI and An Garda Siochana to tackle the threat faced from dissident republican activity on both sides of the border. Every opportunity will be taken to consider ways to improve cross border working relationships and deepen the collective understanding of the threat, building on the excellent co-operation that exists.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the cost is of the relocation of the London headquarters of her Department.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The cost of relocating my Department’s London office in 2013 was £1,156,236. The estimated savings as a result of the move are approximately £1m per year.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the implications for security in Northern Ireland of recent reports of the taping of telephone calls made to and from police stations in the Republic of Ireland; and whether she has made representations to the Irish government on that matter.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I meet regularly with members of the Irish Government including Justice Minister, Alan Shatter where we discuss a range of issues. This is a matter for the Irish Government, but I have received reassurance from Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore that these matters will not undermine the co-operation arrangements between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the names and causes of death of all UK service personnel who died in the course of or in connection with operations in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 2007.

    Mr Mark Francois

    A definitive central list of those Service personnel who lost their lives on operations in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 2007 has not been formally produced to date, though the respective regimental or service histories and records are available, together with Defence’s central data and the Armed Forces Memorial lists maintained by the tri-Service Joint Casualty and Compassionate Cell. The Department intends to produce a single centrally collated document in due course, however, which will be made available through gov.uk once complete.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate she has made of the cost of public enquiries relating to Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The costs for public inquires relating to Northern Ireland published by my Department since 1997 are as follows:

    The Bloody Sunday inquiry £191.5 million

    The Rosemary Nelson inquiry £46.5 million

    The Billy Wright inquiry £30.5 million

    In addition, the Robert Hamill Inquiry has been completed but the Report has not been published due to ongoing legal proceedings. The costs as of February 2011 stood at £33 million.

    No public inquiries have been established by the current government. In 2011 we set up a review into the murder of Patrick Finucane, which reported in 2012 at a cost of £1.1 million.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of sports-related tourism to the economy of Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Northern Ireland has organised a number of world class sporting events which bring huge benefits, for tourism and the economy (sometimes providing a return against investment of 5:1) as well as also encouraging people to participate in sport.

    The return of the Irish Open to Royal Portrush in 2012 for the first time since 1953 attracted some 130,000 spectators and was beamed into 350m households. Golf tourism is particularly valuable as it contributes more to the economy with the average spend per trip being £300-£450 compared to the other visitors to Northern Ireland who spend some £188 per trip. I look forward to Northern Ireland hosting the Irish Open again in 2015 at Royal County Down and 2017 at the Lough Erne Resort which was also the location for the 2013 G8 summit.

    The World Police and Fire Games in 2013 (the third biggest sporting event in the world) brought a direct economic boost of £7.34 million to the Northern Ireland economy. It has been reported that this figure could rise to £25m once longer-term benefits to the tourist industry resulting from return visits, the positive media coverage received for Northern Ireland internationally and future international events that will come as a result of the games, are included.

    I am advised for example, that one corporate sponsor of the WPFG decided to locate its international conference in Northern Ireland instead of another location in Europe directly as a result of the success of the Games.

    It is estimated that the Grande Partenza of the Giro d’Italia cycle race that commences in Belfast on 9 May (and featuring 200 riders from over 30 different countries and their technical teams and sponsors) will be seen by 775m people in 174 countries. The Giro d’Italia is expected to attract 140,000 visitors to Northern Ireland and generate £2.5m of economic activity and £10m worth of worldwide media publicity as it showcases the stunning scenery of Northern Ireland to the world.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will review the effect of the operation of Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on services available to assist victims in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Responsibility for victims in Northern Ireland was devolved in 2007. All public bodies in Northern Ireland have a duty to promote equality of opportunity, having regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is responsible for the enforcement of this duty.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent estimate she has made of foreign direct investment in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Northern Ireland remains one of the most successful regions in the UK for attracting foreign direct investment, attracting some 6% of inward FDI with around 3% of the UK population.

    The Northern Ireland Investment Conference, which the Prime Minister and I attended, held last year is continuing to bear fruit and I welcome the recent announcement that Convergys – with whose senior management the Prime Minister took time at the Conference to discuss the benefits of Northern Ireland as a cost-effective investment location – is setting up a customer service centre in Londonderry in collaboration with its client EE.

    This investment will bring 333 jobs to the city over the coming year and generate over £5million to the local economy annually.

    The recent announcements from Concentrix of its intention to reinvest in Northern Ireland and add a further 1,043 jobs to its existing work force of 800, and from EY (which also attended the Investment Conference) of a further investment leading to 486 more jobs, are welcome votes of confidence that Northern Ireland is an excellent place to invest and to grow a business.

    These two investments will inject some £38m in salaries into the Northern Ireland economy.

    It is particularly heartening that so many companies choose to reinvest after they have established a presence in Northern Ireland and seen for themselves the benefits it can offer as a cost competitive business environment together with its high quality and well educated workforce.

    The G8 Summit, which the PM brought to Co. Fermanagh in June 2013, also highlighted to the world the benefits of Northern Ireland as a place to visit and invest.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of policing of demonstrations and parades in London.

    Damian Green

    The policing of demonstrations and parades in London are an operational matter
    for the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police.