Results 1-20 of 647 for speaker:Stephen Farry

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Rural Schools (17 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: I pay tribute to the Minister for her comments on shared education and integrated education, which were extremely positive and represented a realistic recognition of the opportunities in those areas. We can build on that platform. It is worth cross-referencing this debate with our earlier deliberations on public spending. There are pressures on the education system. We must recognise that the...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Rural Schools (17 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: First, the Member needs to withdraw the call of hypocrisy, if he wants to do so.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Rural Schools (17 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Member has accused me of being a hypocrite, which is unparliamentary language. Will you ask him to withdraw the comment?

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Rural Schools (17 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: I shall continue in the good traditions of British parliamentary democracy, which the Member does not abide by, and I will move on. I will address the comments that the Member made in the course of the debate. We have to be balanced and reflect the importance and cohesion of rural communities, and I take on board John O’Dowd’s comments in that regard. The motion faces up to the...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Block Grant (17 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: The consequence of doing that would not be a 10% cut but a 20% cut in every other aspect of government spending, including slashing any investment in improving our economy for the better.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Block Grant (17 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: It would be utterly counterproductive.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Block Grant (17 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: The Alliance Party is happy to support the motion. Like other parties, we have concerns about the amendment; we are all opposed to cuts in the Northern Ireland block grant. Stating our opposition does not mean that we are, necessarily, in denial of the realities of the challenge before us, but it is a fight worth fighting, and one that we cannot duck. It is worth reflecting that there is a...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Northern Ireland Block Grant (17 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: My party is quite happy to consider a range of options, which would include looking at taxation issues — absolutely. There is a balance to be struck, especially if the issue of cuts is considered. The Ulster Unionist Party is not even aware of the level of the block grant. On ‘Stormont Live’, Mr McNarry referred to a £4 billion block grant. It is actually twice that. I...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: I am grateful to the former Finance Minister for that correction, but that is another example in which we have a fail-safe. Hence, we need not panic. Our society is divided. There are contentious issues to handle, and we are taking steps forward gradually. It is important that Members see the Bill in the light that it enables us to get over the first major hurdle towards achieving something...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: A lot of parties have created a small industry in interpreting what the Alliance Party has said. However, let me be clear, on behalf of the Alliance Party, about what we have said: in the summer of 2008, the Alliance Party said no to a half-baked situation whereby a Minister could be appointed outside the Executive, in essence a puppet Minister, something about which so many people have...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: Confidence depends on the ability of any Minister, the Executive and the Assembly as a whole to demonstrate the benefits of devolution and how it can make a real difference to people’s lives. I shall conclude by reiterating the point that we have been stressing: it is critical that, in advance of devolution, as much discussion as possible takes place and as much agreement as possible is...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: Yes, the Forum. The first Assembly Executive between 1998 and 2003 had a 50:50 ratio of unionists and nationalists. Perhaps 99% of the population of Northern Ireland and most international commentators thought that that balance was written into the Good Friday Agreement.

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: Without going into too much detail of electoral systems, a list system was used whereby the seats were allocated on the basis of the d’Hondt formula. I am happy to explain it to the Member after the debate so that I do not detain everyone, but it is a matter of public record that that system was used for the 1996 Forum elections. The 50:50 split of the Executive between 1998 and 2003...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: I sense that we are almost being encouraged to panic at this stage. Many assumptions are being made about failure. The differences that Mr Durkan pointed out among parties reflect the SDLP’s agenda. Perhaps we should be blunt and frank about what is happening. From Sinn Féin’s perspective, there is clearly an agenda to take policing and justice out of the hands of the British...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: In relation to the Parades Commission, the SDLP stands prepared to pounce if Sinn Féin gives a chink of light and says anything other than —

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: I shall endeavour to return to the matter that is before us. I shall give an example of Mr Durkan’s point about the Bill and the amendments. It is a matter of record that the SDLP voted against the Second Stage of the Bill. For a party that nominally supports the devolution of policing and justice, that is completely illogical. The consistent thing to do would have been to support the...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: We are a considerable way through what has been a very long and unproductive debate. There have been close to six hours of discussion, and I hesitate to say that we are any further on. Frankly, we have heard approximately three hours of contributions from the SDLP, which has not made one iota of progress towards convincing anyone of the merits of its proposals. If anything, the party has...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: OK. I am grateful for the Deputy Speaker’s guidance. I am trying to make a point about how a cross-community vote, which is set out in clause 2, and which the amendment would remove, can play a positive role in providing cross-community legitimacy and making it parallel. The Alliance Party wanted that vote to ratify the entire Executive, and there is a precedent for that in the case of...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: It is also a reflection of the limited breadth of the Programme for Government, which allows Ministers to make solo runs in areas that are not covered by it. I take the Minister’s point and I will place it in that context. I want to make some points about whether d’Hondt is an inclusive system. First, d’Hondt is a very blunt form of proportionality. It carries the risk of...

Northern Ireland Assembly: Executive Committee Business: Consideration Stage (10 Nov 2009)

Stephen Farry: Will the Member give way?