Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Swire Excerpts

Wednesday 15th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley) (DUP)]

4. What discussions he has had with the Irish Government on arrangements for the proposed visit by Her Majesty the Queen to the Irish Republic.

[The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr Hugo Swire)]

Responsibility for any visit by Her Majesty the Queen lies with my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, in consultation with Buckingham Palace. I know that the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, and the President, Mary McAleese, have expressed their support for a visit by Her Majesty and I very much hope that such a visit will be possible.

[Mr Donaldson]

In light of the debate that will take place in this House this afternoon and the valuable assistance that we are providing to the Republic of Ireland in its time of need, is it not past time that we had a visit by the sovereign to the Republic of Ireland? After all, the President of the Republic of Ireland has visited the United Kingdom on many occasions and I think it is time now for a degree of maturity and for this issue to be addressed.

[Mr Swire]

I completely agree with the right hon. Gentleman. There has been no formal invitation yet, but he is absolutely right to draw attention to the matter. The UK and Ireland have an entwined relationship: 870,000 Irish-born people live here in the UK and over 90,000 UK citizens live in Ireland, and I hope they will join us in hoping that this visit can go ahead.

[Mel Stride (Central Devon) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend have any concerns about security issues in respect of the Queen’s proposed visit to the Irish Republic?

[Mr Swire]

I do not think it would be very responsible of me to comment on that, save to say that we work extremely closely with the Garda, they work extremely closely with the PSNI and I have complete faith that they would be able to see that a visit of that sort went off without any trouble whatsoever.

[Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)]

5. What recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on future provision of prisons in Northern Ireland.

[The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr Hugo Swire)]

The provision of prisons is now entirely a matter for the devolved Administration. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s statement to the House of 4 November outlined the discussions he has had with Justice Minister David Ford on the recommendations in the Billy Wright inquiry report.

[Mr Hepburn]

Will the Government’s spending decisions have any impact on potential new capital projects such as Magilligan prison and the new police training college?

[Mr Swire]

The hon. Gentleman raises a good point. As we have said before in the House, we are committed to standing by the terms of the policing and justice financial settlement, which will enable the Executive to come to their own view about new capital expenditure, including on Magilligan prison, and we are closer to that with the announcement of the draft budget today, in respect of which we are very grateful to all the parties.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

In the last couple of days the Prison Service has received some adverse publicity from certain sections of the Northern Ireland media. The Prison Officers Association has stated that it accepts that some degree of change is needed. What discussions has the Minister had with the POA to bring the service forward and to get a balance, which is clearly what we need?

[Mr Swire]

I have, of course, followed those comments and seen the various interviews with the Justice Minister, David Ford. These are devolved matters: prisons are the responsibility of the Department of Justice. We follow these matters closely, but they are best left to those properly in charge of them.

[Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

6. What assessment his Department has made of assets held by the Republic of Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

[The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr Hugo Swire)]

We are not in a position to make a detailed assessment of these assets. The Northern Ireland Executive are in touch with the authorities in Dublin and NAMA’s Northern Ireland Advisory Committee, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State raised Northern Ireland interests in relation to NAMA with the Taoiseach on Monday.

[Mark Reckless]

Given the difficulty NAMA is having in managing these assets and the Republic’s already over-indebted situation, would it not make sense for us to take some of those assets off its hands, as consideration for financial support we may give?

[Mr Swire]

My hon. Friend will have an opportunity to make those and other points in the debate on the Loans to Ireland Bill—no doubt he will wish to take part in that. I think he should be proud of what we are doing, however. We are now part of the solution rather than the problem, and we believe it is right that we, as a country that has so much trade with the Republic of Ireland, should come to its support at this time, with no conditions.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

The Minister has indicated that the Northern Ireland Office is not in a position to make an assessment. Does he believe that the Treasury is in a position to make an assessment, and has it done so?

[Mr Swire]

That is a good question. My hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury has said that discussions continue with the Government in Dublin about NAMA and the way forward, so they are clearly in regular discussions. Again, no doubt my hon. Friend will inform the House about that in the debate this afternoon, and discuss it with those who wish to take part in that debate.

[Dr Alasdair McDonnell (Belfast South) (SDLP)]

7. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport and the Northern Ireland Executive on the development of an air transport strategy for Northern Ireland.

[The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr Hugo Swire)]

The Government fully recognise the importance to Northern Ireland of a suitable framework for air travel, particularly for the economy and export trade. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I will continue to engage with colleagues in Government and the Northern Ireland Executive as the new aviation policy framework is developed in the new year.

[Dr McDonnell]

I thank the Minister for his answer, and endorse the point he makes about an air transport strategy and framework being essential to our economic recovery, particularly in respect of tourism. [Interruption.] Can he assure me, however, that he will do all in his power to work with those responsible—both the Secretary of State for Transport and the Department for Regional Development in Northern Ireland—to ensure that we get a functioning strategy that provides air links to Europe, Canada and the United States? [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I wish to hear the Minister’s reply, and I am sure the House wants to hear it as well.

[Mr Swire]

I am most grateful to you, Mr Speaker.

The hon. Gentleman is right, and I know he represents his constituents well in these matters. A balance has to be struck between extending the amount of flights that are available and the environmental consequences of doing that. I should declare that I have had meetings with Flybe, which operates out of Belfast City, and is based in my constituency. It does an excellent job, and I know it is always looking for new routes. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: in order to grow tourism and exports, which we have to do to rebalance Northern Ireland’s economy, we have to make sure that we have transport links that are as good as any other part of the United Kingdom.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

8. What recent discussions he has had on the threat to security in Northern Ireland from residual terrorist groups.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

9. What recent assessment he has made of the effects on the Northern Ireland economy of recent financial developments in the Republic of Ireland.

[The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr Hugo Swire)]

We are concerned about the risk that the current economic difficulties in the Republic of Ireland might have on Northern Ireland. We will continue to work closely with the Northern Ireland Executive on these issues. The Financial Secretary and the Secretary of State met the First Minister and Deputy First Minister on 24 November to discuss these matters.

[Mr Hollobone]

What steps can my hon. Friend the Minister take to do his best to protect the Northern Ireland economy from the worst effects of the financial crisis in the south?

[Mr Swire]

As I said before, we should be proud of being part of the solution, rather than the problem, and it is right to stress the interdependence of the two economies. Ireland accounts for 5% of the UK’s total exports. We export more to Ireland than to Brazil, Russia, India and China together, and it is incredibly important—40% of Northern Ireland’s exports go there as well. So a healthy economy in Dublin is important to a healthy economy in Belfast.

[Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

10. What recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the provision of resources to the Police Service of Northern Ireland to address security threats from dissident activity.