All of Mr Matthew O'Toole’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I appreciate the Member's giving way. I am interested in some of what she says, to the extent that she was an MEP. Although I obviously do not, in large part, share her politics, she was a diligent MEP and did a lot of work and had a mandate. Does she agree with our call to return Northern Ireland's representation to…
On the subject of opportunities for Derry and the north-west region, will the Member acknowledge that some of the Members opposite talk about the fantasy idea of mutual enforcement? They may want to go back to a period when members of the Shared Prosperity Commission went to the north-west region. They — some of the…
I genuinely appreciate the deputy First Minister's giving way as a sign that she is willing to have a serious debate. Could she give me an example of any jurisdiction in the world that operates the kind of mutual enforcement that she would like to see on the island of Ireland?
I appreciate the deputy First Minister giving way. I and others have dealt with the point about cross-community voting. Will she acknowledge that, prior to the debate, we voted on carbon budgets, which most people would say are a pretty big deal? They are such a big deal that her party forced a Division and voted…
The protocol came into existence, in a sense, in October 2019. October 2019 feels like a lifetime ago, although, in fairness, everything that happened before Jonny Buckley's speech feels like a lifetime ago. Should Mr Buckley ever, for whatever reason, decide to leave politics — he is very young, and I hope that he…
Article 9 relates to energy and the operation of the single electricity market. Does the Ulster Unionist Party want us to leave the single electricity market? That seems to be what he is indicating.
The Member is right to say that the IFA and lots of other heavy agriculture producers, including beef producers, are very concerned about the Mercosur deal. I am not a fan of it myself, but is it not the case that the UK Government — certainly the previous UK Government — went hell for leather when it came to agreeing…
I am aware that the Member is now possibly filibustering and just reading out stuff that is in front of him in order to eat up time, but he may not be aware that some of the regulations that he just mentioned are critical to the functioning of the single electricity market. That is how electricity flows. That is why…
OK. I will have plenty of time later on to expound on the points in this wonderful paper. You mentioned railing against laws made in our sovereign Parliament. This is a law made in that — "our", as you want to call it — sovereign Parliament. The protocol exists and applies in law in Northern Ireland only because the…
His friend the Education Minister is chuntering from a sedentary position. Northern Ireland remains in the UK by dint of a simple majority, not a cross-community majority. Will he acknowledge that?
I am delighted that Mr Buckley has given way and given me the opportunity to challenge some of his assertions around cross-community voting and the context in which it is applied in the Assembly. He and his party appear to be saying that cross-community consent applies to all constitutional issues. Does he acknowledge…
First, Minister, you may want to speak to your private office, if you have no say over what goes in your diary. Secondly, I want to gently push back on what Mr Gaston said about "unionist businesses" on Sandy Row. People from all over the community have used the shops in Sandy Row in the past, and I hope that that…
I am going to speak relatively briefly about the regulations. Our representative on the AERA Committee, Patsy McGlone, is unwell, so is unable to be in the Chamber, and we send him our best wishes. The SDLP broadly welcomes the regulations that have been laid by the AERA Minister. It is important to note a couple of…
Minister, we, as the Opposition, have always encouraged you when it comes to ambition around rating policy. There is not that much clear ambition here. Some of the things that you are looking at are welcome, including vacant property relief. However, exactly how much money will be raised from the measures that you are…
No one disagrees with the assertion that Belfast is too car-centric, but the challenge that we face in the here and now is that, in the weeks before Christmas, the city has completely ground to a halt because of congestion. With respect, it simply is not good enough to tell people to look at alternative routes. What…
I am afraid, First Minister, that whether it is on Assembly reform, the reform of the Stormont veto, the legislative programme, the failure to present a draft Budget before Christmas, as the Finance Minister promised, or assorted matters on the Irish language, Casement and a number of other things, too many people…
I will stick with the theme of the legislative programme for 2024, which will not be delivered or even half delivered. The Minister said a moment ago that she cannot get into the detail of why individual Bills have not yet been introduced to the Assembly, but she was the person who launched the legislative programme…
Minister, you are keen to talk about Santa Claus's deliveries, but you have not been so keen to talk about delivery of the Executive's legislative programme. To be clear, you referred to it as the "programme for 2024-25": you did not call it that when it was published in a statement to the Assembly. It was the…
First Minister, in the Chamber in February, you said that the place in which to discuss Stormont reform, the removal of the veto and stopping collapse was at the Assembly and Executive Review Committee (AERC). Your counterpart, the deputy First Minister, said exactly the same thing. Why, then, did your parties join…