Mr.
Carmichael: May I take it that it is implicit in what the
Minister has said to the Committee that part of the instruction that
goes to General de Chastelain is that we require acts within the time
scale and that we seek an assessment of the likelihood of the
completion of the process in the event that it were to be allowed to
run beyond the October
deadline?
Paul
Goggins: The hon. Gentleman puts that well. Meaningful
progress—what is being reported to us now—means words. We
want significant progress, which means actions. If significant progress
has been made,
we will be looking to General de Chastelain for some indication of what
further progress might be made in the remainder of the period. That
information would be of interest to members of the Committee and others
who are interested in the
issue. Finally,
I hope, as do we all, that the message from today is loud and clear.
Loyalist paramilitaries need to take this last chance to use the
additional route of decommissioning weapons to remove them from the
community. It will be a welcome step if they do; if they do not, we
will come back and set a fresh date for the ending of the amnesty. If
they do not, the loyalist paramilitaries themselves will bring an end
to the amnesty period because they will be showing that they do not
wish to use the opportunities that the order
provides. Parliament
needs to make its view clear. It needs formally to end the amnesty, but
loyalist paramilitaries themselves will take responsibility for ending
it by not
using it. That is why it is so important today that the message is
clear: there can be no further delay—they must act, and act
now. The
Chairman: Before I put the question, I must tell the
Committee that I have had whispered in my ear the answer to the
question on what the rules say about what one can table, and when and
how one can table it. If hon. Members would like that information after
the sitting has finished, they should have a word with the Clerk, who
will give them the facts to save having to look them up
later. Question
put and agreed
to. Resolved, That
the Committee has considered the draft Northern Ireland Arms
Decommissioning Act 1997 (Amnesty Period) Order
2009.
10.18
am Committee
rose.
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