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To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to launch a public consultation concerning the institutions proposed by the Stormont House Agreement to address the legacy issues of Northern Ireland's past.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to launch a public consultation concerning the institutions proposed by the Stormont House Agreement to address the legacy issues of Northern Ireland's past.
The Government is committed to the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement to introduce new legacy institutions that will be under legal obligations to be fair, balanced, transparent and proportionate and will be fully consistent with the rule of law. The Government believes that the Stormont House Agreement is the right way to address the past in Northern Ireland.
The Government is committed to consulting on the legacy proposals and it is the intention of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to bring forward a formal public consultation as soon as possible.
My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (James Brokenshire) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:
At the point when the Assembly dissolved in January, there had been no Budget set for the Northern Ireland Executive for the 2017-18 financial year. As a result, since the end...
My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (James Brokenshire) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:
At the point when the Assembly dissolved in January, there had been no Budget set for the Northern Ireland Executive for the 2017-18 financial year. As a result, since the end...
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons convicted of acts of Northern Ireland-related terrorism have been granted early release from prison since 10 April 1998.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons convicted of acts of Northern Ireland-related terrorism have been granted early release from prison since 10 April 1998.
Northern Ireland Office officials are currently undertaking a consolidation exercise to confirm the answer to these questions. I will write to my Noble Friend once this exercise has been completed.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many letters of comfort were issued to on-the-runs (1) in the five years before 10 April 1998, and (2) between that date and 12 April 2010.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many letters of comfort were issued to on-the-runs (1) in the five years before 10 April 1998, and (2) between that date and 12 April 2010.
It is assumed that by ‘letters of comfort’ my Noble Friend means those letters issued under the administrative scheme introduced by the previous Labour Government which were intended to inform individuals that, as at the date of the letter, the recipient was ‘not wanted’ for questioning or prosecution in Northern Ireland or the rest of the UK.
Prior to 10 April 1998, no such letters were issued. The first such letters were signed by Mr Jonathan Powell (the then Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff) and were sent to Sinn Féin on 15 June 2000. A total of 156 individual such letters were issued during the scheme, 144 were issued prior to 12 April 2010.
The following table provides more detail of all letters that were issued.
2000 | During the year: (a) 2 individuals received the above mentioned letters from Jonathan Powell, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff; (b) 0 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2001 | During the year: (a) 16 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office; (b) 0 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2002 | During the year: (a) 17 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office; (b) 19 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2003 | During the year: (a) 9 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office; (b) 23 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2004 | During the year: (a) 0 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office; (b) 0 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2005 | During the year: (a) 4 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (1 of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 17 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin for the first time that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland” (in the cases of 12 of those individuals it appears that Sinn Féin had already been notified of that fact at a meeting). A further 46 are similarly informed during the year and had been also advised as such at an earlier time by the Northern Ireland Office. |
2006 | During the year: (a) 8 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (2 of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 5 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2007 | During the year: (a) 58 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (35 of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 0 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2008 | During the year: (a) 6 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (2 of them were on the Irish Government List and 1 had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 1 individual informed in writing for the first time by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”; a further 7 individuals are similarly informed during the year and had also been advised as such at an earlier time by the Northern Ireland Office. |
2009 | During the year: (a) 21 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (2 of whom receive the same letter on two separate occasions, and 10 others of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 5 individuals informed by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2010 | During the year: (a) 11 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (4 of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 5 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin for the first time that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. A further 29 individuals are similarly informed during the year and had also been advised as such at an earlier time by the Northern Ireland Office. In addition, 4 individuals are informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin for the first time that they were “wanted for return to prison in Northern Ireland” but were “eligible to apply to the Sentence Review Commissioners for early release”. 2 of those 4 individuals had previously been informed that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2011 | During the year: (a) 1 individual received an above mentioned letter from the Northern Ireland Office (the individual had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 1 individual informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2012 | During the year: (a) 3 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (1 of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 0 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for acts of terrorism in Northern Ireland were made (1) in each of the five years prior to the making of the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998, and (2) in each year from the making of that Agreement until the...
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for acts of terrorism in Northern Ireland were made (1) in each of the five years prior to the making of the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998, and (2) in each year from the making of that Agreement until the...
Northern Ireland Office officials are currently undertaking a consolidation exercise to confirm the answer to these questions. I will write to my Noble Friend once this exercise has been completed.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the governing of Northern Ireland in the event of failure to reach an agreement in the present inter-party talks conducted by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the governing of Northern Ireland in the event of failure to reach an agreement in the present inter-party talks conducted by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
We remain focused on securing the resumption of devolved government in Northern Ireland. However in its absence it is ultimately for the UK Government to provide for political stability and good governance in Northern Ireland. If talks fail in their objectives and no agreement is reached following the Easter recess, we will have to consider a range of options. The Government has, however, been clear that when considering the options available, any form of joint authority would be incompatible with the consent principle committed to in the 1998 Belfast Agreement.
As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland made clear in his statement to the House of Commons on 28 March, at a minimum we would seek to bring forward legislation to set a regional rate to enable collection of the rates to go ahead, and to take steps to provide further assurance around the budget for Northern Ireland.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 27 March concerning the amnesty against prosecution for members of the IRA, whether the administrative scheme of comfort letters sent to on-the-runs has been terminated; and if so, when.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 27 March concerning the amnesty against prosecution for members of the IRA, whether the administrative scheme of comfort letters sent to on-the-runs has been terminated; and if so, when.
In March 2014, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland first announced that the administrative scheme established by the former Labour Government into the so-called ‘on the runs’ was at an end. This was repeated in a statement to the House of Commons following publication of a detailed report into the scheme by Lady Justice Hallett in July 2014 (HC Deb 17 July 2014 Col 1040). It was further confirmed in a statement to the Commons on 9 September (HC Deb 9 September 2014, columns 779-789). In her report, Lady Justice Hallett concluded that “The administrative scheme did not amount to an amnesty for terrorists…Suspected terrorists were not handed a ‘get out of jail free’ card”. This Government has always been clear. In May 2010, had we at any time been presented with a scheme that we thought amounted to an amnesty, immunity or exemption from prosecution, we would have stopped it immediately. As far as those who received letters are concerned, the Government made very clear in the statement on 9 September 2014 that “Those who received individual or composite letters, or any other form of indication, stating that they were “not wanted” and who derived comfort from that should cease to derive any such comfort. In short, the recipients should cease to place any reliance on those letters” (Col 779). This Government believes in the application of the rule of law without fear or favour - where there is evidence sufficient to warrant prosecution people will be prosecuted.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the conviction of Gareth Malachy Doris for fuel laundering offences, whether the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will revoke his licence in accordance with the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the conviction of Gareth Malachy Doris for fuel laundering offences, whether the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will revoke his licence in accordance with the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Protecting the safety and security of the people of Northern Ireland will always be our first priority.
Prisoners released under the terms of The Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 will have been released on either a Life or a Determinate licence, depending on the sentence handed down by the courts at the time of conviction. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland may suspend the licence of an individual released under the terms of this Act if he believes that the person concerned has broken or is likely to break a condition of the licence, providing the licence handed down by the courts has not expired. Individuals released by the courts on a Determinate licence would be eligible for a licence suspension until the date their licence expires and those released on a life licence will remain eligible for a licence suspension for the remainder of their lives.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 24 March (HL6168) concerning undertakings given to the government of the Republic of Ireland that direct-rule would not be imposed as part of the current discussions, whether they can confirm that no agreement on the imposition...
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 24 March (HL6168) concerning undertakings given to the government of the Republic of Ireland that direct-rule would not be imposed as part of the current discussions, whether they can confirm that no agreement on the imposition...
The UK Government is focused on securing the resumption of devolved government in Northern Ireland. We do not want to see a return to direct rule. If talks between the parties fail in their objectives, however, we will have to consider all options, as it is the UK Government which is ultimately responsible for political stability and good governance in Northern Ireland. We have made no agreements about the imposition of direct rule with the Irish Government.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 13 March (HL5767), what issues of human rights in the Irish Republic they have discussed with the government of the Republic of Ireland since 1998, and what was the outcome of those discussions.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 13 March (HL5767), what issues of human rights in the Irish Republic they have discussed with the government of the Republic of Ireland since 1998, and what was the outcome of those discussions.
The Government has regular meetings with Ministers from the Irish Government.
These discussions cover a wide range of issues which are relevant to the situation in Northern Ireland including on human rights.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the parity of esteem under the 1998 Belfast Agreement, whether any change of status for the Irish language would also be granted to the Ulster Scots language.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the parity of esteem under the 1998 Belfast Agreement, whether any change of status for the Irish language would also be granted to the Ulster Scots language.
Although the recent talks have not yet delivered a devolved power-sharing Executive in Northern Ireland, the Government’s priority is to see a functioning Executive in place at Stormont.
Under the devolution settlement, the majority of responsibility for language issues rests with the Northern Ireland Executive, including policy relating to the promotion of minority languages.
As the Government has previously made clear it is committed to affording due respect and parity of esteem to the cultural traditions in Northern Ireland.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to bring forward legislation to prevent a second Northern Ireland Assembly election this year if there is no agreement to form a new Executive.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to bring forward legislation to prevent a second Northern Ireland Assembly election this year if there is no agreement to form a new Executive.
The Government remains focused on re-establishing an inclusive, devolved government that the overwhelming majority of the people in Northern Ireland want to see. Progress has been made in recent discussions which provide a basis for further intensive discussions to resolve outstanding issues. If these further talks are successful, it would be the Government’s intention quickly to bring forward legislation after the Easter recess to allow an Executive to be formed and avoid a second Assembly election. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will be keeping the situation under close review.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the government of the Republic of Ireland ensures an equivalent level of protection for human rights in Ireland to that established in Northern Ireland by the Belfast Agreement 1998; and if not, what actions they...
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the government of the Republic of Ireland ensures an equivalent level of protection for human rights in Ireland to that established in Northern Ireland by the Belfast Agreement 1998; and if not, what actions they...
The Belfast Agreement commits the Irish Government to ensuring an equivalent level of protection for human rights in Ireland to that established in Northern Ireland by the Agreement.
As a result of this commitment, the Irish Government established the Irish Human Rights Commission, which in November 2014 merged with the Equality Authority to form the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, like the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, is a UN ‘A status’ accredited National Human Rights Institution, structured and operated in accordance with the Paris Principles.
The commitment to ensure an equivalent level of protection for human rights in Ireland to that established in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Irish Government.
My Lords, with permission I shall repeat a Statement made by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the other place. The Statement is as follows:
“Since the Northern Ireland Assembly election on 2 March, I have been engaged in intensive talks with the political parties...
My Lords, with permission I shall repeat a Statement made by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the other place. The Statement is as follows:
“Since the Northern Ireland Assembly election on 2 March, I have been engaged in intensive talks with the political parties...
First, I thank the noble Lord and the noble Baroness for their comments. I agree with many of the sentiments they expressed. I think that the whole House will agree that the people we should have in the forefront of our mind today are the people of Northern Ireland. In...
First, I thank the noble Lord and the noble Baroness for their comments. I agree with many of the sentiments they expressed. I think that the whole House will agree that the people we should have in the forefront of our mind today are the people of Northern Ireland. In...
Our focus is on this period ahead—the window of opportunity the Secretary of State talked about—and I do not want to speculate about alternatives. Clearly, if we do not get agreement within this limited period, we need to consider all the options. However, it is fair to say that nobody...
Our focus is on this period ahead—the window of opportunity the Secretary of State talked about—and I do not want to speculate about alternatives. Clearly, if we do not get agreement within this limited period, we need to consider all the options. However, it is fair to say that nobody...
There has been progress in the talks over the last period. Progress has been made on setting a budget, implementing a programme for government and improving transparency and accountability, and these have been part of the round-table talks that have been convened. But clearly, as we go forward, we need...
There has been progress in the talks over the last period. Progress has been made on setting a budget, implementing a programme for government and improving transparency and accountability, and these have been part of the round-table talks that have been convened. But clearly, as we go forward, we need...
I have been asked that question in this House before and I will give the same reply that I gave then. We are committed to the Belfast agreement and the principle of consent. Northern Ireland remains a full part of the UK and joint authority would be incompatible with that...
I have been asked that question in this House before and I will give the same reply that I gave then. We are committed to the Belfast agreement and the principle of consent. Northern Ireland remains a full part of the UK and joint authority would be incompatible with that...
The funding of these voluntary bodies and the public services is absolutely at the heart of why we need to make quick progress and why this process cannot go on indefinitely. Measures are in place that allow the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance to allocate cash, but political...
The funding of these voluntary bodies and the public services is absolutely at the heart of why we need to make quick progress and why this process cannot go on indefinitely. Measures are in place that allow the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance to allocate cash, but political...