Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, I noticed that in the initial stages of contact between parents and the CSA, parents were given a special number to telephone for advice. They tried many times to make contact. I do not know whether the line was out of action or whether it was deliberately blocked—I am not passing judgment on that; I say that only because that is the type of trap that the new body should avoid. I...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, how is it possible for the Treasury to justify payments to a body that is so utterly incompetent in every part of the kingdom?
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, I am a little concerned about Article 4 of the order on the power of the department to charge for the exercise of functions. Living, as I do, in a rural area, I urge caution in any acceptance or extension of such powers. Perhaps the Minister will heed his own instincts and go for caution in any extension of such powers. We already have some examples of threats to farmers who are...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, perhaps I may comment briefly by way of a question. Why on earth are we who represent Northern Ireland both in this House and in the other place lectured continually along the lines of, "For goodness sake, all you parties in Northern Ireland should agree and then Her Majesty's Government can take notice and act thereon"? Here, we have a situation in which all the parties in Northern...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, in view of the fact that the Minister has not mentioned the origin of this controversy, does she not feel that Britain is in a very strong position in this matter, given that St Patrick was born an Englishman and not an Irishman?
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, I should like briefly to support what has been said already. I do so as president of a Royal British Legion branch who very often accompanies my welfare officers. It is quite staggering at ground level when you meet these pathetic cases time after time without any real opportunity to put them right. Therefore, I plead with the Minister to listen very sympathetically to what is said...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, I shall be very brief. I wish to express my concern over some of the limitations in the scope of the amendment, particularly in regard to public funds. The House will not be surprised if I refer to the situation as it will affect Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is excluded from the British Horseracing Board's Owners Premium Scheme because of an utterly outdated agreement made...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, there should not be any doubt about the attitude of the elected Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly. It has always been a tradition that those matters that affected the entire community right across the religious divide would be dealt with by its own elected Assembly. It is true that the Assembly looks to be some way off. That should not in any way give us the opportunity in...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, could not have selected a more relevant timing and subject for this debate His family background and ministerial experience combine to equip the noble Lord with sound judgment and understanding of what will work and what will fail. That is a very important qualification. Sound judgment is essential at this crucial stage in our part...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, it may horrify your Lordships to know that the magic words "Hillsborough" and "Weston Park" could in any way justify the change in legislation brought forward by the Government. I shall take Weston Park first. We were told in this building—many noble Lords will remember the occasion—that these very serious changes were authorised at Weston Park. A Minister of the Crown was...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, how on earth can we have what has been described as a more acceptable judiciary—if we get devolution—if we are to revert to the position stated in the Bill that the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister, working together, shall appoint Her Majesty's judges, and the same First Minister and Deputy First Minister shall dismiss Her Majesty's judges, if they feel so inclined?...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, I too am very grateful to the Minister. If I appear to be slightly critical—not of her but of the legislation—the purpose is to allow her to provide reassurance and explanation, because there is a degree of confusion on the ground. It may be that there is some compelling reason for Parliament giving retrospective approval to many of these instruments. I concede that the practice...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, like most old hands, the noble Lord, Lord Fitt, and I might be tempted to say that this high-wire act, like many before it, is in very real danger of collapsing after five years. However, I want to be positive. I do not expect a reply today, because the Minister has not had notice of the question. Will Her Majesty's Government consider a plan for administrative devolution designed...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, given the importance of these decisions, particularly in regard to the dates of the election—which, after all, I need not remind your Lordships were decided by this House—would it not have been prudent to have invited all the political parties in Northern Ireland to join in, and not just two of them, given that one of the partners in the discussion is a sovereign independent nation?
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: I shall try to set an example in brevity. I cannot help feeling—and regretting—that Her Majesty's Government have strayed such a long way from the view of a distinguished Labour Prime Minister, the late Harold Wilson, who declared that the governance of Northern Ireland was a matter for the Parliament of the United Kingdom alone.
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, I fully support both amendments, particularly the one providing for the application to Northern Ireland. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Fitt. The representations made to him are common to all noble Lords, as the noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, said, and they have all homed in on one specific problem. It is clear from our correspondents that, whether or not they regard the common law...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, would it not be a good idea—and prudent—to remind the Irish Government of the disastrous intervention of a previous Irish Government who wrecked the Sunningdale agreement and destroyed the possibility of stable devolution in Northern Ireland for all time?
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, I shall be brief. I begin my remarks with a profound apology for missing two opening speeches. I was working diligently upstairs in the House and did not notice the change of business on the television screen. Today the Prime Minister had hoped to unveil a new initiative on Northern Ireland; but, regrettably, that hope has been dashed by the intransigence of what one might term the...
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, what action will be taken following this morning's BBC disclosure of what it described as a confidential document restricted to senior officers only?
Lord Molyneaux of Killead: My Lords, I hesitate to encroach into what is purely a Welsh matter, but my point relates to that made by the noble Baroness. With an Assembly with a fixed term, if it should be necessary to vary the date of polling day, could that be achieved by order or would a Bill—primary legislation—be necessary?
