Speeches by Robinson.

“You have accepted our request for an open-book process. Will that open-book process conclude within the next two weeks?”

“That is the disingenuous part of it, Secretary of State. You have just facilitated a £400 million reserve claim. The idea that there is cash swashing around is not true, but you have also accepted—”

“With truly awful consequences for community services as a direct result of choices made by you and your Government.”

“Good morning to you all. Secretary of State, there is a north Belfast MLA in the room who will be quite pleased to hear the comments about a north Belfast business centre. Aside from that, is it not completely disingenuous to recognise that the Northern Ireland Executive has an overspend beyond £400 million this year, …”

“As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), I will return to the issue of scope, but I appreciate the hon. Member’s point. I lament the fact that someone who has been campaigning on this issue for six years, personally and with colleagues, has lost three comrades in the process who were never t…”

“I want to come on to the scope of this in a moment, but I do not disagree with the points that my hon. Friend has made. As I mentioned earlier, I had a brief conversation with Mr Milroy this afternoon. From the way in which he engaged with me and the way in which he outlined his experience in this regard, I recognised …”

“I think the time is coming, though we might not hear it this evening, for the Ministry of Defence to engage in the reality of what has been asserted in the courts. The Ministry of Defence is going to have to accept that, at a time when I, my colleagues and others throughout this Chamber are raising issues around suppor…”

“Madam Deputy Speaker, through you, may I thank Mr Speaker for selecting this topic for our Adjournment debate? I am very grateful to the Minister for Veterans and People, who is in her place. It is the first time that we have been able to engage in this way since she has been in her role, so I look forward to that exch…”

“One constraint, as the Minister knows because I raised it at the last Northern Ireland questions, is the potential requirement, as a result of EU legislative change, of an additional 60,000 GP appointments for antimicrobial-resistant drugs. That would decimate the delivery of health services in Northern Ireland. I ask …”

“I thank the Minister, the Secretary of State and his officials for their constructive engagement in preparation for a reserve claim for the Executive. Through that work, I know that the figure has doubled and rightly so. May I also highlight the Northern Ireland Audit Office’s report on the frailty within our Northern …”

“The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister will know that there are too many Members on both sides of this House who enjoy situations like this, and it belies the seriousness of the situation. Does he recognise that an integrity and ethics adviser would not be able to solve the appointment of somebody removed from Gover…”

“That is DBT in Northern Ireland, rather than structural engagement with the rest of the United Kingdom.”

“Good morning and thank you for joining us, Colin. You mentioned engagement with the Department for the Economy and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the Republic of Ireland, but you also mentioned east-west trade, and I think it is important to recognise that Northern Ireland’s largest market is Gre…”

“If you have the practical examples of business engagement frustrations and so on, and the independent monitoring panel have the evidential data to back up those practical examples, first, do you at this stage assess that there is an appetite or desire from both of your organisations to collaborate on requests to Govern…”

“You mentioned data earlier. You have Intertrade UK, and there is also an independent monitoring panel, and they are very data-driven. They engage with HMRC. They are looking at goods flows, GVA, spends and all the rest. Have you engaged with them as a board? Do Intertrade UK and the IMP meet?”

“With the budget in place, what does success look like at the end of the year ahead?”

“You have mentioned the budget allocation of £2.25 million. Presumably that is for the forthcoming financial year, so you have plans before the Secretary of State and are asking his approval for your budget. Will that involve much more sustained and strategic engagement with GB businesses? Often, what we have found is n…”

“Good morning, Baroness Foster. It is lovely to have you here, and thank you for the work you are doing. You mentioned infrastructure. You mentioned Belfast City airport in my constituency and its masterplan for post-retirement—it seems—in 2040, and the ports. Have you identified specific areas of infrastructure that yo…”

“That is DBT in Northern Ireland, rather than structural engagement with the rest of the United Kingdom.”

“Good morning and thank you for joining us, Colin. You mentioned engagement with the Department for the Economy and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the Republic of Ireland, but you also mentioned east-west trade, and I think it is important to recognise that Northern Ireland’s largest market is Gre…”