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Mr Gordon Lyons: Assembly records
All of Mr Gordon Lyons’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not qualifying, uncertain or not yet analysed.
That is for the Deputy Speaker to decide. I have a number of queries for the Bill sponsor about definitions in the Bill. I want to know what he means by "coaching" and "instruction". There are a lot of definitions that I am unsure of. We have been told that we are not allowed to discuss wider gender identity, but a…
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I believe that you have received correspondence from the Economy Minister, who asserts that I placed inaccurate information on the Assembly record at my last Question Time by stating that I had not received a response from her regarding the draft Irish language strategy. The Minister…
Today, I wish to set out the range of actions that my Department is taking to support veterans and their families. I am committed to ensuring that veterans and the wider armed forces community receive the right support, delivered in the right way, that will best meet their needs. As Minister for Communities, I have…
On a point of order, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. During the debate, Mr Allen asked me about the time frame for this. I omitted to respond to that and want to place it on the record. Is it in order for me to inform the House that the legislative proposals that I anticipate will be brought forward will be published…
I really appreciate and welcome the Member's giving way, which is necessary in such debates. Does he accept and understand that, regardless of whether he thinks that a lot of good support is provided outside of the 28 days, changing the period would not actually change the duty?
I will begin by mentioning the Bill sponsor, who is the Chair of the Committee for Communities. I recognise that it is no easy thing to bring forward a piece of legislation, even one that is very short, and I understand that a lot of work goes into that. I also want to acknowledge that I believe that the Bill sponsor…
I can provide the Member with some information. I have received preliminary figures from the Housing Executive, but I hope that during — I accept that the Bill will pass Second Stage tonight — the Committee Stage, the Committee will bring the Housing Executive in so that it can give that information. There has been a…
On a point of order, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. For clarity, that is not what I said, or, if I did say that, it is not what I meant to say. I said that it was not the primary drag on us. Right now, the primary drag is the funding. If the funding were in place, we would still be able to meet our targets. If I were…
I appreciate the Member's giving way. Perhaps I can provide some clarity on the Housing Executive's estimates of the cost of the measure. They are estimates, but it is useful to know that it would cost £2·5 million. I concur with Mrs Cameron's comments: it should not be done in a piecemeal fashion. The measures are…
I am grateful that the Member gave way on that point. I have been working with urgency to resolve that as soon as possible. It has proven to be complex, but we are now in a position where we expect the solution imminently. That will mean that we can start acquisitions without further delay, even if there are…
I wish to make the following statement on the 45th summit of the British-Irish Council (BIC), which took place on 9 and 10 July 2026. The Minister for the Economy and I represented the Northern Ireland Executive. The summit was hosted by the Government of Guernsey. A full list of the principal delegates is attached to…
I am grateful to the Member for giving way. He made an exceptionally revealing comment. He said, "I can't see that happening". That is why we need to read the legislation, because we are changing the law. I encourage the Member to look at all the tests that need to be met. I can easily see a situation where a minister…
I appreciate the Member giving way. Why is it so difficult to bring this forward? I have engaged in good faith. I have had many meetings with officials on the issue, and I have engaged with people from the outside. This is such a difficult issue to put into legislation, because, once you get beyond all the clearly…
I think that we also need to have a proper understanding of what Second Stage is. Yes, it is about the general principles of the Bill, but it does not just mean that we are being asked whether we are all agreed that we should have a Bill to ban conversion practices, conversion therapy or whatever it may be. The…
I appreciate the Member giving way on that point because, for me, it is one of the single biggest issues in the Bill that is yet to be resolved. The Bill sponsor was very clear earlier: in his view, there must be "a formal course of therapy". That is not what is in the Bill. Maybe it was the Member's intention for the…
I am grateful to the Member for giving way. The point that the Member for North Antrim just made shows the merry-go-round that we are on today. The 10 people about whom we are talking do not represent the area of concern for us in how the legislation does what it should not intend to do. We want to make sure that, if…
I thank the Member for giving way. I believe that she is sincere in saying that that is what she believes the intent of the Bill to be. However, can she answer the questions that have been posed by Members on this side of the House about how those family conversations or pastoral conversations — things that are said…