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1. Mr. David Watts (St. Helens, North): What steps she is taking to promote trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. [64854]
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Adam Ingram): The Industrial Development Board and the Local Enterprise Development Unit organise and support company participation in trade exhibitions in Great Britain, meet-the-buyer events and other trade initiatives. The IDB, LEDU and the Northern Ireland growth challenge have been developing links between Northern Ireland suppliers and major Great Britain purchasers.
Mr. Watts: Does the Minister agree with me that such trading links help the peace process in Northern Ireland? Is he aware that my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs. Ellman) is leading a campaign to improve trade links between the north-west and Northern Ireland? Will his Department provide all possible help to ensure that those initiatives are successful?
Mr. Ingram: Obviously, I agree that any improvement in the economic landscape of Northern Ireland helps the peace process. My hon. Friend is also right about the development of links. As the new regional development agencies evolve in England, they will seek new trading partnerships, and Northern Ireland is an area in which they could enhance those relationships. Many opportunities exist, and undoubtedly Northern Ireland will look for increased trade with the north-west of England, and the north-west will seek increased trade with Northern Ireland.
Mr. Jeffrey Donaldson (Lagan Valley): The Minister will, I am sure, agree that the trading links between Northern Ireland and Great Britain are essential to the prosperity of our economy. Does he agree with me that the new British-Irish Council provides an ideal forum within which those trading links can be explored and developed, and that, for the future of Northern Ireland, the natural framework for trade is the British Isles as a whole? The British-Irish Council provides an opportunity to develop those links.
Mr. Ingram: The answer is yes. There will also be many other opportunities, as hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Watts) highlighted. We must look for every opportunity to improve trading links. I imagine that the new Assembly and the new Minister who will be appointed to deal with the development of the economy will take a progressive approach to this matter.
Mr. John Home Robertson (East Lothian): Will my right hon. Friend report on the progress of the electricity
interconnector between Scotland and Northern Ireland, which will enable people throughout the island of Ireland to take advantage of competitively priced electricity generated in my constituency? Does he agree that the best possible way of promoting trade and prosperity in and around Northern Ireland must be the continuing success of the peace process?
Mr. Ingram: My hon. Friend refers to the energy network, which is one of the important links between Great Britain and Northern Ireland--indeed, the whole island of Ireland. We were pleased that the two private companies, Northern Ireland Electricity and Scottish Power, came to an agreement on the interconnector. I am sure that, in the years ahead, it will improve the overall energy base in Northern Ireland. We are also trying to attract gas companies into the economy. More competition will eventually drive down prices.
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex): Does the Minister agree that the extremely valuable trade links would be improved if the wholly unacceptable policy of releasing terrorists--
Madam Speaker: Order. There are questions on that issue further down the Order Paper. This question is about trade links. Many Members want to put a question on this issue, so will the hon. Member confine his remarks to trade and wait until later to refer to decommissioning? I know what he is on about.
Does the Minister agree that the restoration of peace under proper circumstances is extremely important to the trading position and the links between Northern Ireland and the mainland? Will he assure me that he will bear in mind the fact that it is necessary to have a proper, orderly security situation in Ulster?
Mr. Ingram:
The answer is yes. We need both: peace and prosperity are inextricably linked. That is why the Good Friday agreement provides a framework for the creation of a peaceful environment in which new economic development can take place. That requires the two Governments and all parties to the agreement to honour the commitments in the agreement.
2. Mr. Ken Maginnis (Fermanagh and South Tyrone):
If she will make a statement on the definition of operational matters as it applies to the responsibilities of the Chief Constable and of the General Officer Commanding. [64855]
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Adam Ingram):
Under statutory arrangements for the tripartite governance of policing, the Chief Constable has responsibility for the "direction and control" of the police force. The Government fully recognise the importance of the operational independence of the police.
The armed forces in Northern Ireland provide military aid for the civil powers in support of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. As such, all operational military activity is provided to support the RUC.
Mr. Maginnis:
In so far as that is the case, will the Minister reassure me that decisions made by the Chief
Most of us accept the need for community policing. Any refusal to restore police stations in towns such as Ballygawley would be deeply resented.
Mr. Ingram:
The hon. Gentleman has asked a number of questions. Let me deal with what I consider to be the main thrust of his inquiries.
The Chief Constable, and the GOC who supports him, constitute between them one of the main providers of security advice for the Secretary of State. They operate--this is certainly true of the Chief Constable--entirely in relation to the entitlement to operational independence that I defined in my answer. There is a good working relationship: there is a good partnership between all involved in the delivery of security in Northern Ireland. That will continue.
The hon. Gentleman asked about the Ballygawley RUC station. Having visited Ballygawley last autumn, I understand the point that he is making; but the Chief Constable must decide on his priorities in terms of the building or rebuilding of stations. He has submitted his proposals on a prioritised basis, and the Secretary of State has accepted them. To that extent, his view has prevailed.
3. Mr. Andrew Dismore (Hendon):
If she will make a statement on developments in promoting the Irish language. [64856]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. John McFall):
In June last year, the Government announced their intention to sign the Council of Europe charter for regional or minority languages, and to specify Irish for the purposes of part III of the charter at an early date. In July, the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 was enacted, placing a statutory duty on the Department of Education in Northern Ireland to encourage and facilitate Irish-medium education. A new branch within the Northern Ireland civil service is being established to develop policy on linguistic diversity, including the Irish language. The agreement of 18 December 1998 determined that there should be a cross-border implementation body with responsibility for promoting the Irish language.
Mr. Dismore:
Will my hon. Friend tell us what progress has been made with the cross-border language implementation body? Will he confirm that he is considering not just the Irish but the Ulster-Scots? Perhaps he can also tell us whether Irish will be permitted to be used in the new Northern Ireland Assembly.
Mr. McFall:
In answer to the question about the cross-border body, I can say that the 18 December
Mr. Jonathan Sayeed (Mid-Bedfordshire):
Can the Minister say how much all that will cost the British taxpayer?
Mr. McFall:
What I can say is that it is money well spent. If the hon. Gentleman had been in Northern Ireland when the comprehensive spending review was announced, he would have noted that there were bumper solutions for education and health. Following many years of not receiving the help that they should have received for special problems, the people of Northern Ireland, like the Government, are celebrating.
Ms Margaret Moran (Luton, South):
I am sure that Labour Members recognise the commitment to encouraging the Irish language in Northern Ireland. May I ask the Minister to pass on our thanks to the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, who also recognises the Irish language, it being part of the curriculum on this side of the pond?
Does the Minister remember the reply to a question that I raised on 28 October about promotion of the Irish language in Derry, which referred to a grant of £120,000 to Meanscoil Dhoire, the Irish language school in Derry? Is he aware that only £60,000 of the grant has been made available to the school and that there are serious difficulties in promoting the Irish language in the city? Will he undertake to investigate, so that we truly promote the Irish language throughout the Province?
Mr. McFall:
I thank my hon. Friend for her positive comments on the Government's measures to assist Irish-medium education. She will know--it is of great interest to her--that 200 places have been funded in Irish-medium pre-school settings from September 1998 under a pre-school expansion programme.
My hon. Friend mentions Meanscoil Dhoire, the independent Irish-medium school in Derry. Unfortunately, it does not meet current viability thresholds, so cannot be grant-aided. However, negotiations are taking place--I have been involved in them personally--to establish the school as a grant-aided Irish-medium unit at a neighbouring school. In the meantime, as she says, it receives recurrent funding of £120,000 from the European Union peace package, but I will look into the specific point that she mentions about funding not being fully spent.
Mr. Roy Beggs (East Antrim):
Does the Minister agree that the promotion of Irish language study in Northern Ireland would be easier if it were not for the perception that the Irish language has been hijacked by extreme republican elements in Northern Ireland? Does he also agree that expertise and qualifications in subject areas that are sought by employers help to promote those subject areas? Where will young people with a qualification in Irish language have career prospects in Northern Ireland?
Mr. McFall:
Those are not exclusive. The Belfast agreement points not only to the Irish language, but to Ulster-Scots. Activities in relation to that have amounted to expenditure by the Government of £108,000. Only last week, I was in training centres and further education establishments in Springfield road and off Shankill road, where I took great delight in talking to people from a traditionally loyalist area, who told me that they were taking part in courses in Irish history. They had a proud tradition. They wanted to celebrate that proud tradition and, in doing so, they were emphasising the importance of two cultures getting along.
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