Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the purpose of the concept of parity of esteem as applied to Northern Ireland; and why those standards of esteem are not applied in the rest of the UK.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
‘Parity of esteem’ is expressed and defined in the 1998 Belfast Agreement in relation to people living in Northern Ireland. That Agreement was reached following talks between the then UK Labour Government, several of Northern Ireland’s political parties – including the Ulster Unionist Party, Sinn Fein and others – and the then Irish Government. This Government sees parity of esteem as treating everybody in Northern Ireland fairly, with equal respect, just as it is committed to treating people fairly and with equal respect wherever they live in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the concept of parity of esteem in the Belfast Agreement 1998 means that people living in Northern Ireland are subject to more parity of esteem than anywhere else in the UK; and if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
As I have explained in my previous replies to the noble Lord, the concept of ‘parity of esteem’ is expressed and defined in the 1998 Belfast Agreement in relation to people living in Northern Ireland. This Government sees parity of esteem as treating everybody in Northern Ireland fairly and with equal respect, just as it is committed to treating people fairly and with equal respect wherever they live in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether parity of esteem as established in the Belfast Agreement 1998 applies to (1) people temporarily residing in Northern Ireland, and if so for how long such people have to live there for parity of esteem to apply; and (2) people who live outside Northern Ireland but work in the province.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
As I have explained in my previous replies to the noble Lord, the concept of ‘parity of esteem’ is expressed and defined in the 1998 Belfast Agreement in relation to people living in Northern Ireland. This Government sees parity of esteem as treating everybody in Northern Ireland fairly and with equal respect, just as it is committed to treating people fairly and with equal respect wherever they live in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether parity of esteem as established in the Belfast Agreement 1998 applies to people who live in the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
As I have explained in my previous replies to the noble Lord, the concept of ‘parity of esteem’ is expressed and defined in the 1998 Belfast Agreement in relation to people living in Northern Ireland. This Government sees parity of esteem as treating everybody in Northern Ireland fairly and with equal respect, just as it is committed to treating people fairly and with equal respect wherever they live in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 18 April (HL7513), whether parity of esteem only applies to people who live in Northern Ireland or includes people who come from Northern Ireland and live elsewhere in the UK.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
In the Belfast Agreement the concept of ‘parity of esteem’ is expressed and defined in relation to people living in Northern Ireland. The Government is committed to treating people fairly and with equal respect wherever they live in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 24 March (HL7079), concerning "parity of esteem" as specified in the Belfast Agreement 1998, whether parity of esteem is applicable to all who live in the UK.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
In the Belfast Agreement, the concept of ‘parity of esteem’ is expressed and defined in relation to the people of different traditions in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define "parity of esteem" as specified in the Belfast Agreement 1998, and which is applicable to all who live in the UK.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
This Government sees parity of esteem as treating everybody in Northern Ireland fairly, with equal respect. For a One Nation Government that means governing in the interests of the whole community. As our Northern Ireland manifesto at the General Election stated: “We want to see a peaceful, stable and prosperous Northern Ireland where everybody can get on to the best of their ability – irrespective of their community background”. It went on to say that “Our aspiration is to build one, united Northern Ireland in which everybody has a stake in the future”.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 28 January (HL5591) concerning the Belfast Agreement 1998, why they have not answered the question, and whether the Belfast Agreement applies to members of the British Security Forces.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
My previous replies to the Noble Lord on questions about the application of the Belfast Agreement to specific groups explain that the Agreement, with its three-stranded approach, paved the way for power sharing in Northern Ireland and provides the basis for devolved government there. The three-stranded approach is:
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Dunlop on 23 February (HL5589 and HL5590) concerning the Belfast Agreement 1998, why they have not answered the question, and whether the Agreement applies to all residents of the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
My previous replies to the Noble Lord on questions about the application of the Belfast Agreement to specific groups explain that the Agreement, with its three-stranded approach, paved the way for power sharing in Northern Ireland and provides the basis for devolved government there. The three-stranded approach is:
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will establish an inquiry into the Omagh bombing of 1998 and the handling of the investigation into that bombing by the security forces.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
The Government’s position, as announced in September 2013, remains that following careful consideration and consultation there should be no public inquiry. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland concluded that a further inquiry or review would not deliver results going beyond what had already been uncovered by previous investigations and processes.