European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Committee: 1st sitting: House of Commons
Monday 6th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

The latest figure I saw was about £10 billion, so significant funds from the EU pass through the UK Government and those funds could be either spent at the same level or increased should we wish to do so. I therefore do not see that the money side will destabilise the peace process. We have heard talk that the process is unhelpful for Northern Ireland, but it has moved on to a completely different position. The main thing to concentrate on in Northern Ireland is getting the economy moving, and that is where the real efforts should be. It is also worth thinking about the position of the Republic—

[Ms Ritchie]

Does the right hon. Gentleman understand or accept that direct negotiations would have taken place between EU officials, and the Northern Ireland Executive and the Ministers therein, rather than the Secretary of State or his deputy, because those EU matters were devolved matters?

[Mr Paterson]

Yes, I am perfectly happy to accept that. That was in the negotiation before I arrived. I worked closely with the former Member for St Helens South when he was Secretary of State and I was his shadow. As shadow, I spent a lot of time going to Dublin, talking to both parties, and to Washington, and that continued when I became Secretary of State. The point I am making is that in the time I have been around, the EU has not played a key negotiating role. Money has been going in that we can easily replicate and the peace process has moved on. I want to correct the narrative that the EU played a key role in the whole process.

Flooding

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Monday 6th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

My hon. Friend tempts me with his question, but I commend his plan to talk to his local council. The partnership mechanism that we have introduced has enabled several schemes that had previously stalled to get over the bar, so if there is a suitable scheme for his local rivers I strongly recommend that he work with his council to draw up a bid with the Environment Agency. Such a proposal will be assessed alongside all the other schemes.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. He referred to the fact that certain areas in Northern Ireland were flooded. As the representative of such a constituency, may I ask him to hold immediate discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport to ensure that any cuts to coastguard services will not have an impact on coastal communities in Northern Ireland that were greatly affected by coastal flooding and surges?

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising that important point. The Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond), is in the Chamber, and as the question is about a transport matter, it is probably more appropriate for the hon. Lady to write directly to him.

Bovine TB and Badger Control

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Tuesday 23rd October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am happy to reassure my hon. Friend that the number is tiny. I strongly commend, once again, the skill and tact of the police forces, which have maintained law and order in a dignified manner, under difficult conditions.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

As the Secretary of State knows, I represent a rural constituency in Northern Ireland. What discussions did he have with Ministers in the devolved Administrations yesterday in the margins of the EU Council of Ministers on agriculture matters? Will he confirm what tools are at the Government’s disposal to ensure that our farming industry is protected?

[Mr Paterson]

I am sorry to inform the hon. Lady that I did not get to Luxembourg yesterday because my flight was cancelled.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Wednesday 4th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

Nobody underestimates the terrible damage the troubles did to people physically and mentally, but it is worth reflecting on the fact that high rates of DLA are not unique to Northern Ireland; Merthyr Tydfil has a rate of 13%, which is very similar to that of Belfast. What I think is important is that for the first time each person will be treated as an individual, his circumstances will be taken into account and rehabilitation, re-education and training will be offered. That has not come about before.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

Given that many benefit claimants in Northern Ireland have their payments paid directly into Ulster bank and, because of the ongoing debacle caused by the IT problems, have therefore been unable to access their only source of income and their own money, what assurance can the Secretary of State give that he has had robust discussions with RBS, his colleagues in the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Northern Ireland Executive, to find a long-term solution to this agonising problem for many people, which has heaped on them misery upon misery?

[Mr Paterson]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to raise the very real problems that people both in and out of work are suffering due to the IT breakdown. I raised the matter with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills yesterday. Sir Philip Hampton, the chairman of RBS, was in Northern Ireland on Monday and my right hon. Friend the Minister of State talked with him yesterday and is keeping in close touch. Ultimately, this is a problem for RBS to resolve internally, through Ulster bank, by getting the computer technology right, but the hon. Lady is right to raise the matter. This is causing horrendous problems not just for benefit claimants, but for those in regular employment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Wednesday 16th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

For those who are not enlightened, “SUFTUM” is “Stand up for the Ulster men”. We all heartily congratulate the team on having got to where they will be on Saturday, and we wish them all the best.

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to stress that flexibility means that the detailed welfare reform measures must be adapted to the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland. The most obvious one is that there is no council tax in Northern Ireland. I am working closely with the local Minister, and Lord Freud, who has been a frequent visitor and will be in Northern Ireland for two days at the end of the week.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

Is the Secretary of State aware that conservative estimates indicate that when welfare reform is implemented in Northern Ireland, it will remove about half a billion pounds from the pockets and purses of low-income households? Apart from the social consequences, will he give his assessment of the macro-economic effects of that significant cash withdrawal from the Northern Ireland economy?

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for the question, but I have to remind her that the hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson), the Northern Ireland Finance Minister, does not agree with her. He has said:

“The claim that welfare spend will fall in Northern Ireland and will lose £500 million is clearly not true. All that will happen is that welfare spending will still be increasing but at a slower rate than if no reform agenda is pursued.”

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Wednesday 30th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I admire the skill of that question, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on working for his constituents. I am glad to say that there is a sailing twice daily to Northern Ireland, and I hope the new link will boost trade between Northern Ireland and his constituents.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

Given the nature of our local economy, does the Secretary of State agree that the economic development of Northern Ireland will depend on stable industrial relations? Does he further agree that the Government must do more to deal with the genuine concerns of public sector workers with their pensions under siege, while those who have caused the economic crisis, particularly bankers, are getting away scot-free?

[Mr Paterson]

I thank the hon. Lady for that question. I do not entirely agree with her. The strikes today are most regrettable. They will not help a single business in Northern Ireland. They will not bring a single job to Northern Ireland. The Government are in talks with the unions and a very fair offer has been made, considering that the cost of public pensions increased by a third over the past 10 years to £32 billion. We are all in this together, and the unions should work with the Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Wednesday 19th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his question, and I pay tribute to him, as I did last week in the statement. I am sorry that we disagree on this. He committed to a public inquiry, but he then passed the Inquiries Act 2005, which was the stumbling block. We inherited a complete impasse; this was going nowhere. We think that by accepting the conclusion of the Stevens inquiry, which is possibly the largest police inquiry in British history, and by having the family to Downing street for a fulsome apology, we can now concentrate on what is really important, which I raised with the family when I first met them—namely, to get to the truth as fast possible. That is why we have gone down this route of appointing a well-respected international lawyer and giving him very wide powers to get to the truth by December next year.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his answer. However, given the political sensitivity surrounding legacy issues and the fact that the greatest legacy issue in Northern Ireland is the murder of Pat Finucane, will he reflect on the comments of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin and of members of the Finucane family, and realise that this could undermine the very architecture of the Good Friday agreement? Will he now redress the situation and ensure that there is an independent judicial inquiry into—

Pat Finucane

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Wednesday 12th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the Select Committee Chairman for his support for what we propose to do. Decisions on prosecutions are entirely in the hands of the local Director of Public Prosecutions, so if this review reveals information that justifies the DPP taking action, that is entirely down to him. As I am sure the Chairman knows, on seeing the Stevens papers the previous DPP found that not enough cases met the threshold requirements. I entirely endorse the Chairman’s comments on getting to the truth so that we can honour the vast majority of those who worked in the security forces, bravely defending law and order and democracy. That is exactly what we want to do. There is no offence of collusion, so we need to get to the detail, and I am confident Sir Desmond will do so.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. He said: “The public now need to know the extent and nature of that collusion” and the “task now is to uncover the details of this murder.” How can that possibly be achieved when Sir Desmond cannot compel witnesses to give evidence to his inquiry—which is not really an inquiry? That has created grave disappointment in Northern Ireland. I ask the Secretary of State to review yesterday’s decision and to establish an independent public inquiry that will empower witnesses to give evidence about the true nature and extent of collusion.

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question. However, the simple answer to it is no; we are cracking on. We think we have found a solution to the conundrum that was not resolved by the last Government. They had the clear policy of holding a public inquiry, but that was not acceptable under the 2005 Act. We think that through our bold measure of a public and personal apology to the family and going ahead with a review of this huge archive—1 million pages, 9,000-plus witness statements, 16,000 exhibits—we will get to the truth. We strongly believe that this is the right course of action, and that we can then move on from this impasse, which we must do because the situation has been festering.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Wednesday 6th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

The IICD made it clear why it did not publish an inventory. We would like to be in the position to publish this data, as the then Member for Liverpool, Wavertree, Jane Kennedy, was back in 2003-04, but the success of the IICD has been its independence, and it is for it to decide—it is entirely within its remit—where it puts this information. It is now in the hands of the US Secretary of State and cannot be divulged without the prior agreement of the Irish and British Governments.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

I acknowledge the information that the Secretary of State has just given us about dissident activity, the report published by the Independent Monitoring Commission last Monday and the fact that the level of dissident activity is now higher than when it published its first report in 2004. The report stated that loyalist groups were finding it difficult to contemplate going out of business. In that context, does he agree that whatever we do to bring the paramilitary activity to a peaceful conclusion, it will not be achieved by throwing money at gang leaders, as has been suggested in east Belfast over the past few weeks?

[Mr Paterson]

I just quoted from the IMC report showing that these problems will not be resolved by one simple solution. They have to be resolved on the ground by working with local people at the closest level. That means down to community groups and local politicians. It is not for us to lay down the law from Westminster. That is now in local hands.

Rosemary Nelson Inquiry Report

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Monday 23rd May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the question, but we have jurisdiction in Northern Ireland and not in southern Ireland.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for an advance copy of his report. Having known Rosemary Nelson when we were both students at Queen’s university, Belfast in the mid-1970s, I find this report very disturbing indeed. In particular, it states that

“we cannot exclude the possibility of a rogue member or members of the RUC or the Army in some way assisting the murderers to target Rosemary Nelson”.

Does the Secretary of State not agree that that is tantamount to collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and members of the then security services? Will he provide an assurance to Members of this House and to Rosemary’s family that all efforts will be made to pursue those who were responsible for this terrible murder, and that they will be held accountable in the due process of the law as quickly and expeditiously as possible?

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question, but I must repeat what the report said. This 500-page report took six years and cost £46.5 million, and was conducted by three eminent panellists. They conclude:

“There is no evidence of any act by or within any of the state agencies we have examined (the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Northern Ireland Office, the Army or the Security Service) which directly facilitated Rosemary Nelson’s murder”.

The report makes no recommendations such as the hon. Lady suggests.

Murder of PC Ronan Kerr

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Monday 4th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am happy to confirm to my hon. Friend that we now have a police service that is well manned with personnel from right across the community, with strong local support, and one that is endorsed by all the main political parties. That is a major force for good.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. As the only leader of a Northern Ireland party who is a Member of this House, I wish to add the voice of the Social Democratic and Labour party to those who have condemned this murder, and who are determined that its perpetrators are brought to justice. I was happy yesterday to speak to Mrs Nuala Kerr, and to her two sons and daughter, to convey those sympathies on behalf of the wider community and my party.

Such killing was always wrong. It was wrong even when there was some political support for such violence. While we grieve for Constable Kerr and remember Constable Carroll, let us include in our prayers all those who have died throughout Northern Ireland.

Given the level of infiltration of the dissident groups by the security services, will the Secretary of State give a firm assurance that the PSNI will receive every scrap of information and intelligence that is held by the security services that could be relevant to its investigation of this appalling murder of Constable Ronan Kerr? May I join other hon. Members in urging all members of the wider community in Northern Ireland who have information to pass it on to the PSNI in order to assist with the inquiry?

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. We must have much shorter questions, although I understand their importance.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Wednesday 23rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question—given that I converted him to the Conservative party in my kitchen. The Azores judgment will conform to our plans, which will be laid out in the consultation tomorrow. We agree that the powers should be devolved to an Assembly that has entire control over its own area and that there should be no countervailing intervention from central Government.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his interest in the subject. Will the Government now consider the devolution of further tax-raising or tax-varying powers to the Northern Ireland Executive? Does he agree that the more economic levers the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland community have available to them, the more the economy will be helped to develop in a better way?

[Mr Paterson]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. We have no plans to devolve further powers, and I would stress to her and her colleagues that we are talking about a consultation. It is not in the bag. We have lengthy discussions with other colleagues and the Treasury, and it would help if she could galvanise a campaign across Northern Ireland to work with us.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Wednesday 9th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

My hon. Friend will know that no visit has formally been confirmed, although everyone in the House would welcome one. I should like to confirm that we have the closest possible collaboration with the Garda Siochana out in Dublin. A couple of weeks ago I met the new commissioner, Martin Callinan, and I am delighted to say that he is absolutely as robust and as determined to face down those terrorists as his predecessor, Fachtna Murphy.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

Given the continuing perceived threat from dissident activity, the disruption to normal human and economic activity two weeks ago in Belfast, and the calculating callousness of leaving a booby-trap device on a child’s bicycle, will the Secretary of State now take action to ensure that intelligence is transferred from MI5 to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which has all the accountability mechanisms in place?

[Mr Paterson]

I agree with the hon. Lady about the disgusting nature of those terrorists: booby-trapping a child’s bicycle is absolutely revolting. I know that her strong belief is that the regime should be changed, but at this moment it would be crazy to move the furniture around. Let me make it very clear that Lord Carlile, who conducted an independent review of the matter, said that MI5 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland are working very closely together, and that we could not do more work, or do it more energetically, to deal with what is a very difficult threat. I am afraid that we just have to disagree on this matter, but I do agree that we have to do everything that we can to bear down—

Billy Wright Inquiry

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Tuesday 14th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very good point—that it is most regrettable that a large number of documents were destroyed. It is wrong, and the report goes into some detail to show that a large amount of documentation was destroyed or lost. The report goes on to say, however, that nothing was found to suggest anything “sinister” in the document destruction. We should not forget that this was an inquiry into whether there was collusion. Did the British state do something deliberate or not do something by omission that led to the murder of Billy Wright? Having looked at more than 30,000 pages and after 152 days of hearings, the inquiry’s conclusion was that there was no collusion. We have to take the report as it has been presented to us.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. As my hon. Friend the Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) has said, none of us should forget the pain and suffering of many people at the hands of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland over the past 35 years. We must never forget the actions, either direct or indirect, of the late Mr Wright, which resulted in the loss of life in the general Portadown-Craigavon area, or his actions in relation to the whole Drumcree crisis. We must also not forget the pain and suffering of his father and his family, because those events resulted in his death, which should never have happened.

Will the Secretary of State outline the advice and recommendations that he will give Minister Ford when he meets him next week, with due reference to a possible commission to produce a root-and-branch review, and to the systemic failure of the management of the Northern Ireland Prison Service? There was no conjunction between policy and operation. Will the right hon. Gentleman also tell us what efforts he will make to assuage the fears of Mrs Finucane and her family, and the Ballymurphy families, who are also suffering at this time and who are seeking truth and justice in relation to the deaths and murders of their loved ones?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Owen Paterson and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

Wednesday 30th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. I totally appreciate the severity of the pressures, particularly on older people, who are having trouble paying nursing home fees and so on. I would love to set a timetable, but I cannot do so. All I can say is that this Government take this issue seriously, we will get a grip on it, we have reconvened the working group and I will chair it. I very much hope that we will arrive at a solution.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his answer. Given the extent of central Government support for failed financial institutions and the severe budgetary pressures faced by the Northern Ireland Executive, does he accept that it is imperative that the Treasury endeavours to alleviate the financial burdens faced by savers in the PMS? Will he take those views on board when he begins to chair this group shortly? If the Northern Ireland Executive find resources for this organisation, will the Treasury match those several-fold?