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Northern Ireland Bill (Allocation of Time)

I have tabled three amendments, and I wish to amplify them. I still hope that I will be able to hear from my hon. Friend the Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson); to the extent that I contributed to the squeezing out, I apologise to him and his constituents. This clause stand part debate allows us to paint a wide canvas in our debate anyway. I perhaps unintentionally caused some levity when I referred to the Justice Minister going down the steps of Stormont. The serious point is that if there is a Justice Minister, there could be a sudden, unforeseen vacancy, as a result of either a resignation or an accident—we cannot dismiss this issue. The problem is that such occasions often occur at the least convenient time, and there is the possibility of a big political row or crisis in Northern Ireland. Let us assume, for the purposes of this debate, that the Alliance party has filled this post. It might not suit the party, at such a moment, to offer a replacement, or the replacement might not be acceptable to the other political parties of Northern Ireland, and thus there could be a paralysis for a significant period. May I buttress my argument by pointing out that when the right hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley) stepped down as the first First Minister, that created a hiatus—a period when it was not possible to agree, for some time, normal government arrangements? Had he not stepped down, that probably would not have happened, but the occasion invited some people, who are probably not in this Chamber, to orchestrate difficulties. I foresee a situation in which this would happen as a surprise and without notice. I put the following question to the Committee: can there be a Justice Ministry with no Minister? There is no jurisdiction in the democratic, free world that does not instantly replace a Justice Minister—it is done with dispatch.