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NORTHERN IRELAND

Irish Culture

6. David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the amount of public money spent by his Department since 1998 on the promotion of (a) Irish culture and language and (b) Ulster Scots culture and language. [174926]

Angela Smith: Under the arrangements for North South Bodies the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure is providing £1,277,000 to the Ulster Scots Agency and £3,224,000 to the Irish Language Agency. This does not include additional funding provided from the Department's mainstream programme to projects which may have an Irish or Ulster Scots cultural or language dimension.
 
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Organised Crime

7. Mr. Savidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to tackle organised crime in Northern Ireland. [174927]

14. Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on measures to combat organised crime in Northern Ireland. [174935]

Mr. Pearson: The Organised Crime Task Force continues to set the strategic direction for a multi agency approach to tackling organised crime in Northern Ireland. The 4th annual Threat Assessment and Strategy which was published by the Task Force on 11 May describes in detail both the extent of the problem, the successes that the law enforcement agencies have had against organised criminals, and the objectives of the Task Force.

I pay tribute to the PSNI, HM Customs and Excise and the Assets Recovery Agency for their on-going commitment and effectiveness.

People Trafficking

8. Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many representations he has received since January 2002 concerning the trafficking of people in Northern Ireland. [174928]

Mr. Pearson: I am aware that the hon. Gentleman has shown an interest in this matter. The UK Immigration Service continues to liaise closely with the PSNI and the authorities in the Republic of Ireland with a view to apprehending offenders and prosecuting those who facilitate the entry of immigration offenders.

Prisoners (Early Release)

9. Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had recently with the Irish Government on the provisions of the Belfast agreement on the early release of prisoners. [174929]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I have not discussed the issue in recent weeks with the Irish Government.

Racism

10. Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to tackle racism in Northern Ireland. [174930]

Mr. Spellar: The Government have frequently put on record their abhorrence of all forms of intolerance and racism.

We have published draft legislation to give courts stronger sentencing powers for "hate crimes". Enforcement action by the PSNI will be the key to tackling racism alongside our Community Safety Strategy and measures being taken through education, housing, health and social policy.

Peace Process

11. Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the peace process. [174931]

 
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Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Bracknell (Mr. Mackay).

Good Friday Agreement

12. Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on changes in the Northern Ireland economy since the Good Friday Agreement. [174932]

Mr. Gardiner: Official statistics show that since 1998, when the Good Friday Agreement was signed, the Northern Ireland Economy has performed remarkably well. Employment is at record levels, increasing by 61,540 jobs since March 1998 and the current unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent. is 2.8 percentage points below the EU 15 average. Since 1998 growth in Gross Value Added of 19.1 per cent. makes Northern Ireland one of the fastest growing UK regions.

While these headline figures are encouraging, manufacturing employment has declined and the levels of economic inactivity remains high relative to other UK regions.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with political parties in Northern Ireland on restoring the Good Friday Agreement institutions. [174933]

Mr. Paul Murphy: Discussions with the parties took place on 27 April and 4 May as part of the Review of the Belfast Agreement. There is now a break in formal Review talks for the period of the European election campaign, although informal contacts continue with the parties. Formal Review activity will recommence after 10 June, and we hope to engage soon after in a period of intensive dialogue.

Sinn Fein

13. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what further action he intends to take against Sinn Féin in the light of the Independent Monitoring Commission's finding that Sinn Fein has responsibility for paramilitary violence. [174934]

Mr. Paul Murphy: We have already taken steps to implement the IMC recommendation in respect of both Sinn Féin and the PUP by suspending their entitlement to block financial assistance for a period of 12 months. Clearly we will wish to see significant progress by the time of the next IMC report in October. If there is not, we shall need to consider what steps might then be appropriate.

Average Earnings

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average earnings in Northern Ireland are; and if he will make a statement. [175639]

Mr. Gardiner: Average gross weekly earnings of all full-time adult employees in Northern Ireland was £404.50 at April 2003.
 
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Beef

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of beef sold in Northern Ireland in 2003 was (a) locally produced and (b) imported from Great Britain. [175916]

Mr. Pearson: Trade in beef is governed by EU single market principles. Statistical information is therefore not available to distinguish beef sales in NI between locally produced and imported beef. Discussions with the industry, however, have indicated that the majority of such sales would be from locally produced animals, with only a small amount relating to GB imports or imports directly from Third countries.

Cancer Treatment

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) average waiting time and (b) longest time an individual has been waiting for   a mammogram is at each of the Province's cancer units. [175167]

Angela Smith: This information is not collected centrally.

Dentistry

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many dentists commenced practice in the province in each year since 1990; how many were full-time in each case; and if he will make a statement. [175221]

Angela Smith: The information requested is not readily available for historic dental practitioner registrations prior to October 2002 when the dental list database was replaced. For the 2003 calendar year the figure was 58. There is no split available by full-time and part-time for dental practitioners. The figure includes new fully qualified dentists, dentists who have moved/returned to the province from Great Britain/Republic of Ireland and dentists who have returned to work after a career break. The figure excludes assistants who are employed directly by a dentist and work under the dentists' contract.

During a year there are also 24 Vocational Dental Practitioners who serve a year working with an established dental practitioner prior to starting working under their own contract within Northern Ireland.

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