Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 09 Nov 2022
Northern Ireland Elections
"I apologise to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and to the Secretary of State for missing the start of his statement. I promise him that when I have the sort of influence that he ascribes to me he will certainly know about it.
I cannot believe that an agreement that involves …..."Alistair Carmichael - View Speech
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Written Question
Thursday 16th June 2022
Asked by:
Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question
to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his Department's policy is on (a) what, (b) how and (c) for how long biometric data that is relevant to (i) ongoing and (ii) concluded Northern Ireland legacy cases is stored.
Answered by Conor Burns
The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill contains provisions which will ensure that biometrics are available for use in future investigations by the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) into Troubles-related deaths or serious injuries.
These biometrics will only be retained for a finite period to allow the investigations to be completed, and must be destroyed by no later than the end of a reasonable period after the conclusion of the work of the ICRIR.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 24 May 2022
Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill
"In all candour, I do not envy the Secretary of State’s task. He describes it as painful, difficult and sensitive. All those words are absolutely correct, but this is not the first time we have been in this situation. Since the days of John Major and Tony Blair, the only …..."Alistair Carmichael - View Speech
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Written Question
Monday 25th October 2021
Asked by:
Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question
to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to improve his Department's response times to correspondence from members of the public.
Answered by Conor Burns
The Government recognises the importance of responding to members of the public in an effective and timely manner, and the Cabinet Office published an updated Guide to Handling Correspondence for government departments and agencies in July 2021.
The guidance reasserts the standards for handling correspondence, including a 20 working day deadline for departments to respond to members of the public, criteria outlining when a response to a member of the public is required, and when a piece of correspondence from a member of the public should be transferred to another department. Following publication of the updated guidance, all departments have been reminded that they must follow the processes outlined in the guidance.
The Northern Ireland Office receives a significant amount of correspondence across the Department’s wide and varied portfolio. The Department has a robust process in place to manage and respond to queries in line with our obligations.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 14 Jul 2021
Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past
"The Secretary of State’s statement today is a quite remarkable achievement. I have followed Northern Ireland politics all my adult life and I can think of very few occasions when Secretaries of State in this place have been able to unite all five parties in Northern Ireland, but he today …..."Alistair Carmichael - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 22 Jun 2021
Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Bill
"It is a genuine pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for North Down (Stephen Farry) and indeed, before him, the hon. Member for Foyle (Colum Eastwood). It is at moments when the House has to debate matters relating to Northern Ireland and to Northern Ireland alone that the …..."Alistair Carmichael - View Speech
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Written Question
Wednesday 16th June 2021
Asked by:
Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question
to the Northern Ireland Office:
What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential contribution to easing trade flows between Northern Ireland and Great Britain of the UK securing veterinary and phytosanitary agreements with the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The UK is working hard and in good faith to ensure the Protocol operates in a sustainable way that works for the people of Northern Ireland. We have proposed an ambitious veterinary agreement, based on our respective high standards, to reduce checks and controls. We need the EU to meaningfully engage with these proposals to ease burdens in Northern Ireland and provide a sustainable basis for the Protocol.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 13 Apr 2021
Northern Ireland
"For years, the Government have been warned that peace in Northern Ireland was a delicate and fragile thing that was not to be taken for granted. The fact that we have reached this point illustrates sadly only too well the recklessness of the Prime Minister in particular with regard to …..."Alistair Carmichael - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 10 Mar 2021
Northern Ireland Protocol
"I have to say that it is far from clear to me exactly what the Government are trying to achieve in relation to the Northern Ireland protocol at the moment, but whatever it is, I have to think that it can only have been damaged by what we saw happen …..."Alistair Carmichael - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 30 Nov 2020
Patrick Finucane: Supreme Court Judgment
"If I can accentuate the positive, I welcome the fact that the Secretary of State says that the question of a future public inquiry is not yet off the table. However, I have to tell him that his reliance on police and ombudsman inquiries as a justification would have a …..."Alistair Carmichael - View Speech
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