To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 28 January (HLWS1282), what procedure they used to commence the provisions in Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 28 January (HLWS1282), what procedure they used to commence the provisions in Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022.

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn) made ​the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022​ (UIN HCWS1282) statement on Wednesday 28th January. A minor inaccuracy in this statement has been rectified, an updated statement can be found below;

I wish to provide...

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn) made ​the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022​ (UIN HCWS1282) statement on Wednesday 28th January. A minor inaccuracy in this statement has been rectified, an updated statement can be found below;

I wish to provide...

I wish to provide an update to the House regarding the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 (‘the Act’).

The New Decade, New Approach deal which was instrumental to the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive in 2020 (after a three year absence) included an agreed legislative framework for progressing...

I wish to provide an update to the House regarding the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 (‘the Act’).

The New Decade, New Approach deal which was instrumental to the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive in 2020 (after a three year absence) included an agreed legislative framework for progressing...

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn) has today made the following statement:

I wish to provide an update to the House regarding the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 (‘the Act’).

The New Decade, New Approach deal which was instrumental to the restoration of...

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn) has today made the following statement:

I wish to provide an update to the House regarding the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 (‘the Act’).

The New Decade, New Approach deal which was instrumental to the restoration of...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which Irish language groups he has met; when those meetings took place; which Irish language centres he has visited; and when he visited them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which Irish language groups he has met; when those meetings took place; which Irish language centres he has visited; and when he visited them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the time taken to appoint commissioners under the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the time taken to appoint commissioners under the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022.

Motion that this House has considered St Patrick's Day and the contribution of the Irish diaspora to the UK. Agreed to on question. Sitting adjourned without Question put.

Motion that this House has considered St Patrick's Day and the contribution of the Irish diaspora to the UK. Agreed to on question. Sitting adjourned without Question put.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered St Patrick’s Day and the contribution of the Irish diaspora to the UK.

Thank you, Dame Siobhain. I thank my co-sponsor, the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Dame Karen Bradley), as well as all Members who supported the application for this very...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered St Patrick’s Day and the contribution of the Irish diaspora to the UK.

Thank you, Dame Siobhain. I thank my co-sponsor, the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Dame Karen Bradley), as well as all Members who supported the application for this very...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her kind words about the all-party group. At its meeting this week, we remembered our friend Sir Tony Lloyd and how proud he was to talk in these debates, as well as how we as a community recognise both the past and...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her kind words about the all-party group. At its meeting this week, we remembered our friend Sir Tony Lloyd and how proud he was to talk in these debates, as well as how we as a community recognise both the past and...

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I also place on record my thanks to the late, great Tony Lloyd, who was my constituency MP when I was a child. He was a huge champion of the Irish community in Greater Manchester, and his legacy lives on today. My hon....

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I also place on record my thanks to the late, great Tony Lloyd, who was my constituency MP when I was a child. He was a huge champion of the Irish community in Greater Manchester, and his legacy lives on today. My hon....

I completely agree with my right hon. Friend. The Irish Post was not only the voice of the Irish in Britain, but a lifeline to many people who had emigrated here, often in very difficult times, and acted as a support mechanism to bring communities together. They knew what was...

I completely agree with my right hon. Friend. The Irish Post was not only the voice of the Irish in Britain, but a lifeline to many people who had emigrated here, often in very difficult times, and acted as a support mechanism to bring communities together. They knew what was...

I think that this is probably the first time that I have served under your chairmanship, Dame Siobhain; it is an absolute honour to do so. I pay tribute to my co-sponsor, the hon. Member for Salford and Eccles (Rebecca Long Bailey), for her excellent opening speech and for setting...

I think that this is probably the first time that I have served under your chairmanship, Dame Siobhain; it is an absolute honour to do so. I pay tribute to my co-sponsor, the hon. Member for Salford and Eccles (Rebecca Long Bailey), for her excellent opening speech and for setting...

I thank my right hon. Friend for her kind remarks. I was proud to be the co-chair of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly from 2016 to 2022. I commend her work, and the work of BIPA over so many years in promoting relations between not just Britain and Ireland, but the...

I thank my right hon. Friend for her kind remarks. I was proud to be the co-chair of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly from 2016 to 2022. I commend her work, and the work of BIPA over so many years in promoting relations between not just Britain and Ireland, but the...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to pay tribute to all the schools and churches that help to promote the Irish identity in his constituency. I also thank him for his work on BIPA, which he was so devoted and dedicated to for so many years.

When the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to pay tribute to all the schools and churches that help to promote the Irish identity in his constituency. I also thank him for his work on BIPA, which he was so devoted and dedicated to for so many years.

When the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body...

Go raibh maith agat, Cathaoirleach. Seo seachtain Lá Fhéile Pádraig agus fosta Seachtain na Gaeilge, coicís go deimhin, agus tá imeachtái ar fud an tír, agus ar fud an domhain a thugann faillí dúinn cultúr, teanga agus oidhreacht na hÉireann a cheiliúradh. Maith sibh, gach baill as an chúpla focal...

Go raibh maith agat, Cathaoirleach. Seo seachtain Lá Fhéile Pádraig agus fosta Seachtain na Gaeilge, coicís go deimhin, agus tá imeachtái ar fud an tír, agus ar fud an domhain a thugann faillí dúinn cultúr, teanga agus oidhreacht na hÉireann a cheiliúradh. Maith sibh, gach baill as an chúpla focal...

I have not actually prepared a speech; I was just assuming that I would be the only Irish accent in today’s debate, but then the good hon. Member for Belfast South (Claire Hanna) chipped in. I cannot do any Irish except for: conas atá tú?

I have not actually prepared a speech; I was just assuming that I would be the only Irish accent in today’s debate, but then the good hon. Member for Belfast South (Claire Hanna) chipped in. I cannot do any Irish except for: conas atá tú?

You could do Ulster Scots.

You could do Ulster Scots.

I could do Ulster Scots, but—[Interruption.] Same thing! I am glad to see my hon. Friend the Minister here. A year ago I tried to put him on the spot by asking him to speak a bit of Ulster Scots, and he went a bit red during that APPG event...

I could do Ulster Scots, but—[Interruption.] Same thing! I am glad to see my hon. Friend the Minister here. A year ago I tried to put him on the spot by asking him to speak a bit of Ulster Scots, and he went a bit red during that APPG event...

My hon. Friend mentioned the incredible contribution that Irish people have made to Great Britain and the United Kingdom and all of the islands that we share. Would he agree that the Irish people have contributed an enormous amount of support to the Commonwealth? The Irish ancestry is all around...

My hon. Friend mentioned the incredible contribution that Irish people have made to Great Britain and the United Kingdom and all of the islands that we share. Would he agree that the Irish people have contributed an enormous amount of support to the Commonwealth? The Irish ancestry is all around...