Speeches by Robinson.

“Let me go back to what I was supposed to ask you, which is about national security arrangements. You did touch on, with David Smith there, your concerns as to how national security is assessed, measured and monitored. Do you want to just briefly give the Committee your evidence around what your concerns are?”

“That is okay on an individual basis, but it does not work when you are trying to bring folk along with you.”

“The best way to herd cats is to pick one at a time and stick them in a sack, rather than trying to keep herding them. We have had transition. You mentioned the republican group. I might disagree with you as to whether it has transitioned successfully. Red Hand is in a much different situation from the UVF, and the UDA …”

“Does it need to happen in tandem? Why is it that you cannot progress when progression can be made in individual circumstances, as has already happened with other groups?”

“Just on this, one of the frustrations that I have picked up from my conversations with folks who are keenly interested in transition is the lack of impetus and the timescale associated with the work that Mrs Ravensbergen has been given. Do you detect that? I know of a significant group who said that they wanted to go, …”

“Some of the perceptions do cloud people’s view as to whether it is an appropriate, safe or exciting prospect as a lifetime career. Some of the commentary around the recent recruitment drive talked about 27% of applicants coming from a Catholic community. Some of the negativity around that was driven by the fact that th…”

“Because of the nature of the process, you can apply. Getting out the other side is not aided if you have a lower level of education. Let me put it that way.”

“It is worth checking.”

“Just to be clear, it is not a slight on the University of Ulster, nor is there anything wrong with trying to professionalise or put academic rigour into training. Nursing is exactly the same. You did not require a degree. Now a degree comes at the end of the process. I suspect that there are very few recruits coming th…”

“It is a steep learning curve for some. Jonny, you are smiling at me, but what about cadets as a proposition that was there in Patten and could be a mechanism so that people could be engaged for recruitment? Then I want to move on to the 30%.”

“Do you not think that the pendulum has swung the other way? Recruitment to the RUC used to be very much within the working-class community. Now, because of University of Ulster requirements and the admission procedure, it is the preserve of higher levels of social status. Is that right?”

“I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. I thank the Secretary of State for his response, and for being in the Chamber this afternoon to discuss Operation Kenova. I know that since he was appointed, he has spent an inordinate amount of time on legacy, and I know he is committed to the princi…”

“(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the latest publication from Operation Kenova and the Government’s response to its findings.”

“I am grateful to the Minister for taking the intervention. Does she accept that the fundamental flaw in the Government’s approach is to accept the premise that the European Union controls what access there should be from one part of our United Kingdom to another and that we are accepting that there should be a chink in…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. He is right to invoke the issue of human health, because it was the European Union that went as far as to invoke article 16 to frustrate the supply of covid vaccines in Northern Ireland, before it realised that doing so was politically inappropriate. On this issue,…”

“I understand that the Government want to accelerate their plans to remove the two-child limit as soon as possible, and it may be too soon to get a legislative consent motion passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly. May I ask the Secretary of State to undertake to engage with the Social Security Minister? If there is po…”

“As my hon. Friend knows, we have campaigned on the removal of the two-child limit. We did not agree with the limit; we do not think it is right, and we think it is immoral for families to be placed in that position. We opposed it when it was introduced, and we oppose it today. When considering the cost of living, let u…”

“It is a pleasure to participate in this Budget debate. I am reminded that in 2005, whenever Tony Blair was seeking re-election for an historic third term as Prime Minister, he celebrated the fact that this country had enjoyed 40 quartiles of economic growth. If anyone cares to think about that, they have to realise tha…”

“I congratulate my friend the hon. Member for North Down (Alex Easton) on securing this important debate. It follows a series of interventions, most recently from my hon. Friend the Member for Upper Bann (Carla Lockhart) with the Prime Minister. Given the Hillsborough disaster and the change in the law to create a duty …”

“Over the past 18 months, the Prime Minister has shown himself to be influential and purposeful at significant times in this crisis, so I thank him for that. While events may be superseding the statement this afternoon, there are some principles that should not change. Aggression must not be rewarded. Violence should no…”