Speeches by Shannon.

“I commend the hon. Lady for bringing forward this debate. She brings really important debates to Westminster Hall, and her contributions on the Floor of the House are much appreciated as well. On the subject of rural broadband, especially for businesses, I, like the hon. Lady, make a plea. Broadband must be dependable …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. I congratulate the hon. Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) on securing the debate and setting the scene. I thank him for being here and giving us all an opportunity to participate. I have two helpful suggestions for the Minister. If things we hav…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Belfast South and Mid Down (Claire Hanna) for securing the debate. She and I may have some constitutional and political differences, but this is a unifying issue for us both and for the community that we represent. Connectivity across the UK is a subject that I have raised on multiple occasi…”

“I very much welcome the Minister’s commitment to the Post Office compensation—he laid out clearly the way forward, and we were all pleased to hear it. However, I must register my concern that post office branches in Newtownards in my constituency, and in Bangor in the neighbouring constituency of North Down, are poised…”

“In the last Parliament, I was a member of the APPG on infant feeding and inequalities alongside Alison Thewliss, a former Scots Nats Member. I am very pleased that this issue is being debated, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Blackpool South (Chris Webb) on securing the debate. Does he agree that, while we can al…”

“I congratulate the hon. Gentleman, who is equally tenacious, and so is everyone else in this room. Last year in Northern Ireland, there were 3,801 children in care. We welcomed the boost for foster carers earlier this year, but we did not see a boost for kinship carers. Does he agree that there must be more financial p…”

“I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. He is right to bring up the issue of school transport, especially in rural areas. We should never deplete services that children rely on to get to school; instead, we should increase their accessibility. I had a meeting with my Translink bus service and the educati…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. Does the hon. Member not agree that the story in the south-west is being replicated across all of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? He may not be aware of a survey of almost 300 dentists in Northern Ireland that found that almost nine in 10 in…”

“I welcome the Minister’s statement—there is no one in the Chamber who is not encouraged by what she has said. She will know that there is great disappointment that youth services did not appear to be prioritised in the Budget. Early intervention allows children to go on to access training and apprenticeships, directing…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Reading Central (Matt Rodda) on setting the scene and thank him for giving us an opportunity to participate. I want to give a Northern Ireland perspective on where we are. My method of getting here is to travel from London Heathrow or London City airport. Coming into Heathrow, I get t…”

“I spoke to the hon. Lady yesterday. This is a massive issue for me and my constituents back home, and they bring it to my attention all the time. It was great to attend the Breast Cancer Now “Wear It Pink” event last month to raise awareness of the most common cancer in the UK. Studies have suggested that breast cancer…”

“Me or him, Mr Speaker? [Laughter.]”

“Minister, it is always good to have the necessary answers. The report notes savings of £1.5 billion. The increase in pension credit take-up from 63% to 68% represents an additional 100,000 households. Any take-up negates savings made by the Government. The fact is that pensioners who would qualify have lost out this ye…”

“It is clear that there is a role for all schools across this great United Kingdom to play in public sector decarbonisation. They also have a role in educating the children in their classrooms, who we want to be the pioneers of tomorrow. What has been done to ensure that the good things that happen on the mainland of th…”

“I commend the hon. Lady for bringing forward this debate. I spoke to her beforehand to ascertain what she was trying to achieve. Strangford has had a resurgence of alcohol production, including the microbrewer Ards Brewing Company, just a few minutes away from me on the Carrowdore Road in Greyabbey. It is a necessity t…”

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“I commend the hon. Lady. This is a massive issue in my constituency, and that is why we are all here to support her. The Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland has revealed that 96% of deepfakes surveyed online were non-consensual pornographic materials, and 70% of targets were private individuals’ photos that had bee…”

“I have been inundated with messages from farmers back home. I am a member of the Ulster Farmers’ Union, so I understand the issues clearly. The National Farmers Union here on the mainland has the same point of view. Every one of my neighbours will be impacted, and the Ulster Farmers’ Union estimates that almost every f…”

“I congratulate the hon. Lady, to whom I spoke beforehand, on securing the debate. The Ulster Farmers Union runs its “Mind Your Head” campaign every February to bring down the stigma attached to poor mental health in the farming sector. That is so important because research shows that 95% of young farmers in this great …”

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