Military Covenant

Ian Paisley Excerpts

Wednesday 21st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

This has been a wonderful debate. We have seen a very good response from across the Chamber, and it has provided people from every arc and part of this kingdom with an opportunity to come here and voice the issues that are of concern to them about veterans and their needs, and about how we, as a Parliament and as a nation, should treat them. It really has been a tribute to our armed service personnel. I hope I speak for everyone when I say that it is Parliament expressing the high esteem in which we hold our veterans and our armed service personnel.

Soldiers have been ambassadors for Northern Ireland. As one Member mentioned, when those soldiers who came from the mainland and served in Northern Ireland got to meet the ordinary folk—the people who supported them, the people who welcomed them, the people who knew that they were there to protect their life and their property—they became ambassadors for those people when they returned home to their families. Likewise, soldiers who have travelled from Northern Ireland, who have been recruited in Ulster and worked for the British Army overseas, have been ambassadors for our country, and have told great things about it. Of course, as my colleague and hon. Friend the Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) has just recited, many have paid the ultimate sacrifice for being the ambassadors of our nation. It is for that reason that we should do all that we can as a Parliament to help them, and to assist their families, and to ensure that the military covenant is honoured not just in spirit but in the letter of the law in every part of the United Kingdom, not just some parts of it.

When my colleague and right hon. Friend the Member for Lagan Valley (Mr Donaldson) opened the debate, he said how such service has affected not just people in the United Kingdom but people in the Republic of the Ireland. We welcome the efforts that were made by the then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, to establish a memorial garden to the fallen victims of world war one who had volunteered to fight for Crown and country and should have been honoured but were treated so disgracefully.

But what gets me is the fact that before this debate, we had a previous debate, with pious tones about leadership, about what we should do for our country, how we should stand up and be together; and as soon as the debate on the military covenant started, I was caught in the breeze as the three SDLP Members were hurtling out of the door so fast they nearly took the hinges off it. I think that is a disgrace. I think they should have been here, and they should have debated this issue and felt comfortable debating this issue. The fact that they made themselves absent makes it all the worse for them, because they have let down many people in Northern Ireland tonight, whom they should have been speaking for and should have been supporting.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Lagan Valley rightly indicated that section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 is a great impediment to many of the proposals that we seek to introduce, especially in housing. I would like it if, when a former soldier presents himself or herself to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, he or she would automatically get 200 or 300 points on the list; in other words, they could choose where to live. They will never be able to live in certain parts of Ulster, so they should have the advantage of being given extra points right away to be housed. They do not get that; we need that sorted out. I know that the Minister is listening to that, because we have spoken about it before, and it is crucial.

In addition, the children of a former soldier should be able to get into the right primary school, where the parents know they will be safe. If a person has a roof over their head, and feels that their children are safe and free from fear, that person will be a better person in society. We need to do all we can to bring that about.

I was delighted by the comments by the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois). We will give him room, between now and, I think, 12 December, when we meet the Prime Minister, to iron out some of the issues, because he is right: not everyone does support the agenda that we have set before the House tonight. Let us use the time, so that when we get to 12 December we have an agenda that is not only agreed but can be taken forward and implemented. I hope that we can do so.

The Minister mentioned the 170 Victoria Crosses awarded to Irishmen in the service of our country. One hailed from my constituency—Robert Quigg, from Bushmills. He was a brave and gallant man—a shepherd—who laid his life on the line during the battle of the Somme and rescued 16 people, I believe, from no man’s land close to enemy lines. What a gallant soldier and what an inspiration to local people in the community, where he is still hailed with wonder.

The hon. Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Tom Blenkinsop) talked about how the Green Howards are being disbanded. He is right to question and challenge that decision, as was the hon. Member for Newark (Patrick Mercer), who highlighted the difficulty for veterans in Northern Ireland who have to live next door to people who would previously have had them on their hit list. He is right to say that, very soon, a wave of such cases will come before us which we as a nation will have to deal with, and deal with appropriately.

The right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Mr Llwyd), with his lovely Welsh lilt, as usual entertained the House with everything from an apt reference to David Lloyd George’s speech after the war about the “broken men” to the project he is launching on banking services. I think that is a great idea, and we will watch with interest to see whether there are components that we can pick up and run with, not only in Ulster but in other places, I am sure. The military covenant should be something that emboldens people to be creative and to find opportunities to deliver other services.

I will leave the right hon. Gentleman to his dispute with the former Minister, but I think we all agree that we want more money in the system for our veterans. On that point, the Defence Minister reassured us in an intervention that the data protection and patient consent issue is now nearly sorted out. That is really good progress, because I know that that issue has caused some angst across the House.

I pay tribute to all the right hon. and hon. Members who took the time to come to this House this evening to speak about a subject of national importance, which we are proud to have put on the Order Paper so that our national Parliament could debate it. I congratulate the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Oliver Colvile), a colleague of mine on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, on his powerful speech. He has shown a keen interest in our servicemen in Northern Ireland.

I end by echoing the words of the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (Gemma Doyle), who from the Dispatch Box said that no part of the United Kingdom is untouched by the effects of this issue. She got it in one: no part of this kingdom is untouched, whether it be Ulster, Scotland, Wales or the mainland of England. We are not untouched and we must make sure that we respond with valour, with decency and with honour for those people we hold in such high esteem.