Results 1-20 of 727 for speaker:Alasdair McDonnell

Northern Ireland Assembly: Social Development: Shared Future: Public Meetings (17 Nov 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: 2. asked the Minister for Social Development to provide an update on her recent public meetings on ‘A Shared Future’.       (AQO 392/10)

Northern Ireland Assembly: Social Development: Shared Future: Public Meetings (17 Nov 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: I thank the Minister for her answer. Can she suggest in what areas further progress can be made on the shared future agenda? For instance, are there any specific ideas to tackle the naked sectarianism that exists in some pockets of our communities?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Ministerial Statement: Institutional Format (17 Nov 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: On the issue of cross-border mobility, was there any mention of the INTERREG programme? I ask that with the east border region in mind. I have heard many complaints about issues being stalled for the past three or four years and that projects that should have been enacted are not moving forward. From what the deputy First Minister heard at the North/South Ministerial Council meeting, is he...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Regional Development: Belfast Rapid Transit System (16 Nov 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: 1. asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline any plans for the introduction of legislation for Belfast’s rapid transit system.         (AQO 376/10)

Northern Ireland Assembly: Regional Development: Belfast Rapid Transit System (16 Nov 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: When does the Minister envisage the process being completed? When will we see some results on the ground?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Finance and Personnel: Regional Economic Strategy (10 Nov 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will try to be succinct. Does the Minister agree that people are confused about the economic strategy? Although he is content that it is buried in the Programme for Government, nobody is quite sure what it is. Would it not be useful to extrapolate the situation and tell people specifically what it is? Does the Minister not feel that it would be useful to amalgamate...

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: Historical Inquiries (4 Nov 2009) has video

Alasdair McDonnell: Does the Secretary of State accept that there is still much work to be done before the needs of many of the innocent victims are met? A scurrilous rumour is going around that he intends to bin the report of the Consultative Group on the Past. Does he have any plans for making progress?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Employment And Learning: Further Education: Engineering (2 Nov 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: On a similar vein, will the Minister outline his assessment — [Interruption.]

Northern Ireland Assembly: Employment And Learning: Further Education: Engineering (2 Nov 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: I apologise for that, Mr Speaker. Will the Minister outline his and his Department’s assessment of the independent review of economic policy from the perspective of the further education sector, particularly on the question of innovation in firms and the delivery of skills to encourage inward investment?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Invest NI (20 Oct 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: I am grateful for the opportunity to speak. At the outset, I thank the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for requesting this important review, which was long overdue. I also thank Professor Richard Barnett for his analysis and for compiling the subsequent recommendations. Furthermore, I congratulate the Minister for her pragmatic and businesslike approach since taking up the...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Invest NI (20 Oct 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: There is much room for discussion on what is the best way to deliver such programmes.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Lisbon Treaty Referendum (20 Oct 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: I thank all the Members who have taken depart in the debate, because I think it is very useful. Although some are suggesting that it is merely about a referendum, I have not missed — I do not think anybody could miss — the anti-European undertone of most of those who are proposing that there should be a referendum. It is a referendum with a view to undermining our commitment to...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Lisbon Treaty Referendum (20 Oct 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: I thank my colleague for reminding me. Fishing is one of the issues that I was thinking of when I said that the SDLP had never been uncritical. Seas have been overfished and overworked, and the European Union has tried to curtail fishing, and sometimes to conserve fishing. Had it not been for some of the conservation — and I feel uncomfortable about it — many of the stocks of fish...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Lisbon Treaty Referendum (20 Oct 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: Maybe I will get to that in a second. Our suspicion of foreigners is unhealthy. It is wise to be sensible and cautious, but we can sometimes be too cautious. The Lisbon Treaty is an attempt to bring the institutions of Europe out of the 1970s, when they were set up to manage 15 states, and into the twenty-first century, when the European Union comprises 27 states. I warmly welcome a union of...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Lisbon Treaty Referendum (20 Oct 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: Globally and locally, we face unprecedented economic and social challenges. Member states cannot rise and overcome those challenges alone.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Lisbon Treaty Referendum (20 Oct 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: Will the Member give way?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Lisbon Treaty Referendum (20 Oct 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: Does the Member accept that, contrary to what he just said, the SDLP is not opposed to the treaty?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Adjournment: Tor Bank School and Lagan College, South Belfast (19 Oct 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: I thank my South Belfast colleague Anna Lo for bringing this important issue to the House. The delay in the extension and refurbishment of Lagan College and the development of permanent buildings there, as well as the slowness in providing the promised new school building at Tor Bank, is nothing short of a disgrace. I was involved in lobbying the previous Minister of Education, the present...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Regional Development: Regional Development Strategy (19 Oct 2009)

Alasdair McDonnell: I thank the Minister for his answers. Does he agree with me that regional development for border areas is a cross-border issue? Will he outline what in-depth discussions have taken place with the Irish Government about regional development in areas that overlap the border?

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Engagements (14 Oct 2009) has video

Alasdair McDonnell: The Prime Minister will recall that some months ago I raised serious concerns with him about banks now fleecing small businesses to recover the monies that they lost through foolish and reckless deals. Is he aware that things are getting worse in many cases? Indeed, the Halifax, which is part of the Lloyds group and was effectively nationalised, is one of the worst offenders. Credit has been...