Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
Maybe the Member should listen more closely. Not only did I give him compliments, but my colleague explained what the Bill does not set out to do. As he quite rightly said, there are people out there who do care deeply about the flag and who do give it dignity and respect. As the Member also said, he does not speak…
I apologise for not having heard the Member's initial compliment. I certainly did not hear it in the second bit of his contribution. I ask him to forgive me for not listening to his entire contribution because I was explaining to Mrs Dodds some of the inconsistencies in the language used. I cannot speak for all of…
I thank the Member for his point, but I am still not convinced by the argument that he puts forward. However, at the same time, I always want to encourage dialogue. I look forward to dialogue with the Member, be that in the corridor, the Chamber or in the Committee room. Every party here has complained at various…
I thank the Member for giving way. I look forward to working with him on the Committee. I suppose that the Member's question about the intention of the Bill is directed towards me as I asked why there was a need for the legislation. I posed that question because there is existing legislation. The Member will accept…
I welcome the new Chair of the Infrastructure Committee. I hope that he got the memos from the previous Chair about the collegiate nature of that Committee. I am sure that he will put that into action. I also thank Ms Bradshaw for bringing the Bill forward, and for the work that has gone on. The Chair was not in post…
Let me be absolutely clear from the outset that the flying of flags is a legitimate expression of cultural identity, national identity and community tradition. The DUP will always defend that right. Let me be equally clear that there should be no place in Northern Ireland — none whatever — for the flag or emblem of a…
FlaggedDecided on a second assessment.Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorialsCriteria met: Cultural grievance politics.
I am not trying to be antagonistic. There is complete condemnation of the Billy Wright flags. I condemn them. They should be taken down. No victim or anyone else should have to walk beneath the flag of a convicted terrorist. Does the Member agree, however, that all flags and emblems with references to IRA terrorists…
A chairde , over the summer period and, indeed, over previous summers, we saw the erection of emblems of a racist, sectarian and hate-filled, criminal nature in Moygashel in my constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone. We have also seen the targeting of Killyman GAA club, with a threatening and sinister poster…
I thank the Member for giving way. He may come on to this, or maybe he is concluding his remarks, but does he have any opinion at all on the subjective nature of some of the words contained in the Bill, particularly in clause 1, and how that may lead to an inconsistency from the Department when determining whether to…
I thank the Member for letting me in. He will have seen from the Positive Peace report that came out last week that there has been a significant reduction in paramilitary organisation. A lot of that is down to the work of the Justice Department with its partners. What my Bill is trying to address is one element of…
I will give a bit of clarity, in case you are saying, "A plague o' both your houses". I clearly set out the fact that Sinn Féin supported progressing the FICT proposals to a working group. One party blocked that. Sinn Féin also supports the Bill's moving to the next stage. It is important to point that out.
OK, you will come to that. I look forward to hearing that, because I want a solution, as do my constituents. I say this from the perspective of genuinely wanting people to —. If we have a new Ireland, there will still be Union flags flying in the North. If we stay in the UK, which is the preference of the Members…
I gave way to Mr Burrows. He has made his point, but he is not offering a solution as to how we make those flags come down. He is simply saying that —.
The UDA flags outside the police station are a perfect example. It was the security reviewer of police powers who spotted them and said to the PSNI, "How come they are outside your police station?". The PSNI said, "We do not have the power to deal with it", so the Government gave it the power, but it is still not…
The UDA flags are an absolute disgrace. That massacre, like every massacre in Northern Ireland, was absolutely unjustified and unjustifiable. Is there not a danger, however, if we pass the Bill, of creating unreasonable expectations among the public that the flags will come down? The PSNI, with all its might, is not…
There clearly are examples of that happening, but it is also clear that that is entirely inconsistent and not universal. If those who oppose the Second Reading of the Bill believe that that kind of voluntary and entirely, as it were, laissez-faire approach to regulating such matters is the way to go, perhaps they…
I thank the Member for giving way. We can probably find common ground in the lack of consistency from Departments and the PSNI in dealing with the issue. That is an issue of enforcement rather than the legislation, as I have mentioned. On his previous point — I respect that it is his experience — that it is the…