Speeches by Wilson.

“Anyone who witnessed the disgusting images of young, middle-class, educated morons chanting “Death to the IDF” at the weekend can only be alarmed that we have stooped to this level in our society. Even worse, the state broadcaster broadcast those images across the nation. I welcome what the Secretary of State said, and…”

“Many on the DUP Benches want to support the Government in achieving the objective of getting people back to work, and being fair to those who cannot work, but does the Secretary of State realise how difficult her actions make it for us to give support? Last week the Deputy Prime Minister stood at the Dispatch Box and s…”

“I have a follow-up question. The argument seems to be whether we take a precautionary approach or whether we go for specific chemicals where there has been proven harm. You said that there is so much we do not know about these chemicals, that there are studies that show there could be risks, and also studies that would…”

“In terms of common consumer products, are there any that you can identify that use PFAS and there is no alternative?”

“Before we move to the questions, I wanted to ask this. Mr Hirlam and Mr Spence, in developing the new products that you are talking about, are we likely to find in the future that, because you have had to change the nature of the product, there might be equally damaging components in the new products that have not been…”

“Obviously, there are still companies that use materials with PFAS in them. Why do they continue to do so? Is there a cost element? What is the difference between producing the kinds of goods that you produce and the PFAS packaging that is used in other products?”

“Because of the costs involved?”

“Dr Rajapakse, you gave us a couple of examples of the products that your company is engaged in and why it is essential to use PFAS in them, because there are no alternatives. We have heard about products such as school uniforms and packaging where there are alternatives, but to what extent are there goods, technologies…”

“Mr Spence and Mr Hirlam, do you have any comments on the recommendation or the suggestions made to us today that we should really take the precautionary approach and say, “Let's ban PFAS” because of either the already identified dangers and risks that it presents or the possible risks that it presents?”

“At Johnson Matthey, how do you manage the life cycle of these chemicals from their original use to their eventual disposal?”

“Obviously, there are still companies that use materials with PFAS in them. Why do they continue to do so? Is there a cost element? What is the difference between producing the kinds of goods that you produce and the PFAS packaging that is used in other products?”

“Because of the costs involved?”

“In terms of common consumer products, are there any that you can identify that use PFAS and there is no alternative?”

“Dr Rajapakse, you gave us a couple of examples of the products that your company is engaged in and why it is essential to use PFAS in them, because there are no alternatives. We have heard about products such as school uniforms and packaging where there are alternatives, but to what extent are there goods, technologies…”

“Before we move to the questions, I wanted to ask this. Mr Hirlam and Mr Spence, in developing the new products that you are talking about, are we likely to find in the future that, because you have had to change the nature of the product, there might be equally damaging components in the new products that have not been…”

“Once again, Dr Rajapakse, you touched on some of the qualities of PFAS that made it essential to products. Could you elaborate on the logistical and technical constraints that there would be if you did not have these products available to you?”

“Mr Spence and Mr Hirlam, do you have any comments on the recommendation or the suggestions made to us today that we should really take the precautionary approach and say, “Let's ban PFAS” because of either the already identified dangers and risks that it presents or the possible risks that it presents?”

“Today, and in some of the other evidence we received, we were told that the precautionary approach should be used, and even where, perhaps, we still need to do some investigation into the impacts of PFAS, the Committee should recommend a precautionary approach. If that were our recommendation, and if that were the poli…”

“At Johnson Matthey, how do you manage the life cycle of these chemicals from their original use to their eventual disposal?”

“Once again, Dr Rajapakse, you touched on some of the qualities of PFAS that made it essential to products. Could you elaborate on the logistical and technical constraints that there would be if you did not have these products available to you?”