Speeches by Hanna.

“You are right, and I think colleagues will come back to that. That is my point. There was a lot of talk about getting this right a year ago, but it feels like we are maybe back into some of the old habits. Clearly, judging by your submission, you are disappointed in the lack of ambition in this first budget. Do you thi…”

“Do you think we are setting our expectations a wee bit low after two years of negotiations? After 10 months back, we are just getting a draft programme for government and a draft budget. Do you think we are setting our expectations a bit low if we are celebrating just getting drafts?”

“We have touched on it, but once more for the tape, what progress has the Joint Exchequer Committee made on the final fiscal framework, and what should it contain?”

“Do you get a sense that there is much going on? Again, there is a lot of chat.”

“Stephen, in its response your unit made a number of recommendations about ways to make things more sustainable—things like preventative DEL spending. Do you think that with the figures on the table and sufficient joined-up thinking and vision, it is possible for the Executive to deliver decent public services and a bal…”

“The trajectory is not bad.”

“Do you think that is possible given the increased budget settlement for next year, even though some of it is short-term and there is huge need. Do you think it is possible with effective decision making, addressing silos and so on, as we have discussed? As somebody in your profession, do you think it is legitimate to a…”

“Dorinnia, Stephen referenced potential shortfalls this year. Do you think the Executive are on track to deliver a balanced budget in the coming financial year?”

“Do you think Ordnance Survey map charges and increases and so on show the vision that the Executive need to transform public services?”

“Of course. And would you characterise that plan as ambitious?”

“So it does tick that box. Obviously, this time last year there was a lot of discussion, understandably, about the deficit, what the Treasury was offering and the need to revenue raise—”

“Sir Robert, what is your assessment of the effectiveness of the Executive’s budget sustainability plan? Do you think that it is sufficiently ambitious? I know the revenue-raising targets were stretched over a couple of years. Were there measures that you would have anticipated seeing that are not in there?”

“Last week, my neighbours Omar and Delal Al Shaqaqi, who serve south Belfast as a doctor and a classroom assistant, received the news they have been dreading. Delal’s mother and brother were among 23 Gazans killed in their tent by an Israeli airstrike in the so-called humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi, and other family mem…”

“In the Republic, they have the active farmer designation. Are there other examples elsewhere in Europe that may be applied to help ensure that we are supporting farmers and the aim of food security, but not facilitating those who are using this as a way to avoid tax?”

“Finally from me, I appreciate that this has come quite suddenly, but are there more thoughtful uses of things such as APR that we could use? Is this creating a discussion for achieving other public policy objectives, maybe around sustainability, water protection and food security, and linking those taxes to some of the…”

“You are making a strong case that there will be a disproportionate impact on Irish farmers, and DAERA has said the same thing. Do you see a clear rationale for a specific Northern Ireland mitigation that would protect the principle that we are trying to achieve in terms of preventing big businesses using this as a work…”

“I will tell the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim that our constituents elect us not to mine grievances, or to use the protocol as a receptacle for every bit of frustration about progress and the modern world, but to solve the problems that are before them. That is all that is left for us to do, calmly as leader…”

“Will the Minister indulge me for a moment? Can we just kill off this canard about mutual enforcement? The Bill goes much further than suggesting mutual enforcement. It seeks to remove Northern Ireland from the European Court of Justice, and therefore from the single market. It is not just about in-market surveillance; …”

“Shame on you!”

“rose—”