Speeches by Robinson.

“The Minister will be enjoying his opportunity to travel across Northern Ireland and see some of the wonderful groups we have. He knows the strength of this United Kingdom, and he knows that increasing the bonds across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England is crucial. He should know that the last Government—supp…”

“In drawing upon the bonds of our country, the Minister will know while Northern Ireland has a greater than average growth rate compared with the rest of the United Kingdom, we still have a productivity gap. Behind that is the fact that our growth is masked by an over-reliance on our public sector. The Minister’s collea…”

“Where?”

“Good morning to you all. Mr Anderson, you mentioned there a company that had manufacturing facilities in both GB and Northern Ireland, and you said there were 40% higher costs.”

“Thank you. You left it hanging—you said one of them was 40% higher than the other, but it is important that we get which. I think I have visited the facility that you are talking about. Professor Bartholomew, what opportunities are there for high-growth sectors in Northern Ireland? You mentioned health from your own un…”

“In fairness to you, you have rightly outlined why issues around planning and waste water infrastructure are not out of scope when we are talking about potential for growth or barriers to growth. They are very much salient issues.”

“Mr Anderson, we know that the Northern Ireland economy’s growth has been slightly above average compared to the rest of the United Kingdom over the last number of years. We know from PwC’s report last year, in 2024, about the over-reliance on the public sector insulating the benefits of an economy that has very difficu…”

“Mr Hill, you mentioned AI and then you went into some quantum leap about quantum. A lot of phraseology gets used in these things and sometimes this is our opportunity to try to understand exactly what lies behind it. From the AI perspective, we were briefed as a Committee to indicate that there is about £188 million of…”

“It is fair to say that the bursting of the dotcom bubble did not end or stagnate the use of the internet, and nor should it on AI. Let us talk about Government’s opportunity to exploit potential growth sectors. What do you think Government should be focused on, whether regionally or nationally here, for developing grow…”

“It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Belfast South and Mid Down (Claire Hanna). We do work with each other on these issues, although we do not always agree. It is fair to say that our history is sorrowful. It is pitiful and painful, and grounded on a corruption of justice. While we listen to the politics and …”

“I think it is appropriate that the Secretary of State opened his speech in the way that he did, but he should recognise that when he gave dates for when the troubles started and concluded, he finished on 10 April 1998. He knows well that that means he did not include the largest atrocity of the troubles, which occurred…”

“To interrogate honourably, the BBC needs to have a level of integrity, yet it has diminished itself in ignoring a report for six months that looked not just at one “Panorama” programme but at a litany of failures. The BBC piously shows religious observance to the principles of integrity and impartiality, but when chall…”

“Good morning, everyone. Mr McVey, I think the Committee is pleased that you are in post, and that there is a victims commissioner, because on the occasions that we have met the victims commission, there was a vacancy. It is important at this time that victims have a voice and that you can give voice to their concerns. …”

“And how that may conflict with articles 2 and 3. What is your solution, legislative or otherwise, to those concerns?”

“Thank you. Ms Kilpatrick, in your evidence to us, you expressed concerns about the premise of non-repeated investigations.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“David, before we move on to another panel member, the one thing that applies solely to veterans is that if the Legacy Commission wishes to write to you, you will receive the letter from the MOD. You will get a letter that is going to land negatively, bringing you back to the past, bringing you back to things that you m…”

“If you are compiling more evidence—I think you said that you want to do something more detailed in the coming weeks, and that you are going to focus on it again—do you have suggestions for amendments to the Bill, or are you just making your concern known?”

“Sorry, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission does not take cases?”

“We also know that the Government said that the protections will not be limited to legislation. Do you have any hints of how they expect those protections to crystallise outside of the legislative framework? Do you believe there need to be amendments to cater particularly for veterans within the legislative framework?”