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Mr Paul Frew: Assembly records
All of Mr Paul Frew’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I thank the Member for his intervention, but his own Bill says: "a person provides or carries out conversion therapy", which is "coaching or instruction" in relation to another person. That is what his Bill states. If the wording were "coaching in a treatment centre" or "coaching in a therapeutic setting", that would…
I thank the Member for his intervention. I will certainly get onto the suppression piece, because it alarms me, too. We could walk through the Bill tonight and be given some assurances and safeguards by the Bill sponsor as we do so, but the fundamental shape of the Bill means that it is beyond rescue. I will get into…
I thank the Minister for his prior intervention, and I thank the Member for that point, because that is the nub of the debate on the Member's intent. He has gone a long way to clarify that with his intervention. He has been on his feet quite a bit today, but that was probably the most helpful intervention that he has…
Some Members in the House paint me in a very bad light. They are wrong in that regard. Before I forget, I will pay tribute to Maolíosa McHugh, with whom I served on the Finance Committee in the previous Assembly term. Do not get me wrong: we had many a row and rough spot, but he was always good-natured and well…
I wish Paul all the best in his political career here and his journey. I hope that he realised that, even though he tended to go into a wee bit of controversy, we on these Benches listened intently to what he had to say. I hope that he will understand and respect that and respect the etiquette in the House. I wish him…
I thank the Member for giving way. Add to that the very fact that the police will be forced to act and go into people's living rooms. That means that the process of a criminal conviction, or at least an investigation, will commence, and it will be to the detriment of the parent, teacher, pastor or preacher.
I thank the Member for giving way. I really appreciate it. What she has said is very clear, but what she told us at the start of her contribution was that, if we truly wanted to ban harmful practices, we should support the Bill to ban conversion therapy. The problem is that, in the Bill's definition, conversion…
The Member raises an important point. Does suppressing sexual orientation also refer to suppressing heterosexuality? If parents have someone at home who is heterosexual and has displayed that through his or her behaviour, and the parents suppress that, would they fall foul of the Bill?
Uncertain: weak signalGender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues
I thank the Member for giving way. Emma Sheerin raises a really important question about the Bill. It is so important that we have this debate so that her question is answered. The Bill claims that a person "carries out conversion therapy" if they give "instruction". That is exactly what a parent does day and daily.…
Uncertain: close callGender, sexuality, abortion and related social issuesCriteria met: Dog-whistle messaging.
The Member has provoked an important intervention. Is the proposer of the Bill saying that a medical practitioner or someone else who gives a child puberty blockers is contravening this new law and committing the new offences? That should work both ways, even if the victim consented to the therapy. Is the proposer of…
I thank the Member for giving way. It annoys me, at times, when Members talk about a Bill being badly drafted. The intervention that the Member just took from the Bill sponsor explains and illustrates perfectly that the instructions that were given to the Bill Office and the drafters were right. It is not the…
That point is important in showing that what Emma Sheerin said was totally wrong. This is not about homophobia or transgender identity. The reason why it is not about those two aspects is that the Bill uses the terminology "gender identity", not "transgender identity", which is completely different. That opens it up,…
I thank the Minister for her informative answers, which are extremely helpful. I now have a certain sympathy for the Prison Service. What measures or countermeasures have been put in place by the Prison Service and, indeed, the PSNI, given the direction of the court?
I thank the Member for giving way. Whilst the Bill sponsor stated that this was about coercion, in his earlier utterances, he said that it was about not just coercion but suppression. Clause 1 is all about suppression, not coercion: It states: "suppressing the sexual orientation or gender identity". Of course, that…
I thank the Member for giving way. I am sure that he noted my frustration when he gave way to the Minister but not me. The Member will know that I am steeped in the coercive control legislation and that I have fought, as he and his party have, against controlling and coercive behaviours. We have championed that…