Northern Ireland (Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan) Act 2016 (Independent Reporting Commission) Regulations 2016 — House of Lords, 2016-11-07
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew Dunlop (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank noble Lords for their contributions to this short debate and for their support for these regulations. In particular, I welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Suttie, to her new role and echo her warm words for the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, who was part of the independent panel that made 43 recommendations on how we take dealing with paramilitary activity forward As I said earlier, this is another important step in the process of meeting the commitments entered into as part of the fresh start agreement. A number of points were raised during the debate, and I will try to address as many of them as I can now. If there are any points that I am unable to cover, I will, of course write to the noble Lords concerned First, on reporting, Regulation 3(1)(a) requires the Secretary of State to lay the reports of the commission before the House. If the noble Lord, Lord McAvoy, would like further detail on the process, I am, of course, happy to write to him On the cross-community nature of the commission, there will be four commissioners, one nominated by the UK Government, one nominated by the Irish Government and two appointed by the Executive who will be nominated jointly by the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister. That is to ensure collaboration and to provide cross-community credibility With regard to the appointment of a chairman of the commission, this is not required by the legislation or necessarily envisaged, but the IRC has the autonomy to appoint a chairperson if it so chooses. We hope that the commission will be in place in early 2017. We are aiming for January 2017 I can assure the noble Baroness that the Government will not allow the negotiations on exiting the EU in any way to compromise the Government’s determination to carry forward their commitments to Northern Ireland When we debated the primary legislation, my noble friend made the point about sanctions. It is open to the IRC to make recommendations to inform the Executive’s programme for government With regard to the Executive’s action plan, as has already been mentioned, the UK is providing £25 million to tackle paramilitary activity. The Government are working with the Executive to deliver a robust action plan. Before the UK Government can agree to release funds, we must see a prioritised and effective plan from the Executive, and we look forward to seeing more detailed plans from the Executive. It is essential that the Executive make urgent progress on this On the funding of the IRC, I note what the noble Lord, Lord Bew, said. It is important that the transparency of the Executive’s finances is underpinned by an independent fiscal council My noble friend Lord Lexden asked a number of questions. The IRC may contract such legal services as it considers necessary. That is obviously part of why the Government are providing £3 million funding for the commission We hope that the further regulations will be laid soon. I hope that I have covered most, if not all, of the points that have been raised In conclusion, the continuing activities of paramilitaries are a blight on communities across Northern Ireland. The Independent Reporting Commission will have an important role in helping to rid Northern Ireland society of these heinous activities. I am sure the whole House looks forward to the IRC starting its work early next year.