Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Wednesday, 19 November 2008 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Political and Economic Developments

Question: May I place on the record my party’s welcome for yesterday’s news, which is as welcome as it is overdue? Despite the substantial progress that we have seen, however, policing in Northern Ireland is still not normal. As a consequence of the actions of a tiny number of dangerous individuals, police officers daily face a threat to their lives, merely because they are police officers. Will the Secretary of State therefore give an undertaking that, as well as devolving the powers relating to policing and criminal justice, we will devolve a budget that is sufficient to meet the very particular needs of Northern Ireland? [Interruption.]

Answer: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the question of the budget, let me say that last year my right hon. Friend the Chancellor made it possible for me to give the Police Service of Northern Ireland a budget that many other chief constables would envy. The hon. Gentleman will know that the crime figures for Northern Ireland—especially those for violent crime—are extremely low compared with other parts of the United Kingdom. On dissident activity, the threat posed to police officers in Northern Ireland is higher today than at any point in the past six years. The men and women of the PSNI do an exemplary job, and the Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde, has provided exemplary leadership for those men and women. We owe them a huge debt. I regret that now, in the last throes of this process, we will see a last throw from dissidents—a last attempt to undermine the work of the politicians in Northern Ireland. We stand absolutely resolute in our determination to ensure that those isolated criminals, who have no support in the community, do not succeed.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 483 c224
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Devolution Northern Ireland Administration of justice Politics and government
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk