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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

My Lords, I appreciate that generous contribution by the noble Lord. On the issue of electricity, of course I agree with north-south co-operation, and I do so on many aspects; for example, the environment and animal health. There must be north-south co-operation on all those issues. But when it comes to energy and electricity we do not want a Sinn Fein/ourselves alone isolated Irish—Northern Irish, southern Irish—arrangement. The energy arrangements must be wider; they must be integrated into the British Isles and in fact they must be integrated into a wider Europe. So let us not just talk about north-south energy arrangements but about wider energy arrangements. The noble Lord, Lord Laird, has once again, unfortunately, raised some limited Belfast opposition to the proposed stadium at the Maze. Once again, I place on record that the proposed stadium at the Maze is supported by the Ulster branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union, by the Irish Football Association, and by the GAA. To get all three to agree to it is a great achievement. I fear that the rearguard opposition organised by some people on Belfast City Council may result in Northern Ireland losing the funding for a new stadium. We need a good stadium in Northern Ireland.