Speeches by Shannon.

“Absolutely. The moral of the story involving the young lady, who happens to come from Newtownards, is: “Don’t get too emotional at the airport, because the clock is ticking.” People might find that £3 or £5 has become £10 or £20. If they reach for a hanky and cannot find one, they are in deep trouble. Airport drop-off …”

“I agree with the principle of what the hon. Lady says; there are things that we can take advantage of through having a working Assembly. Another way we have an advantage is the £100 winter fuel payment and the medication payment provided for our elderly. There are certainly barriers to delivery, but one of the major on…”

“I am not going to get into a row, but under devolution we have seen the delivery of childcare. People see that in my constituency and every constituency in Northern Ireland, whether they like it or not. I tell you what: my constituents like it, and that is the point I want to make.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sorcha Eastwood) for the way she presented the case. It is important that we do that in a measured way. I was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for 12 years before I came to this place. Each of these institutions, …”

“I commend the hon. Member for securing this debate. He is right to bring up the issue of melting ice: whether it be climate change or simply that the ice is melting, it is a key issue that cannot be ignored. The melting ice makes us more accessible, but we have forewarning, and to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Does…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Secretary of State responded to another Member on the subject of Northern Ireland. Can she confirm that the Crime and Policing Bill will be modified to include Northern Ireland?”

“I have often said in this Chamber in the last three or four years that the Government should sponsor medical students—those working to be doctors or whatever the position may be in the medical service—and ensure that they do three or four years in the health service. Wales does that, and it works. I have a constituent …”

“I thank the Minister for her answer. The House Builders Association covers electricians and what they do. Councils also have a role when it comes to pointing out those who should be registered but are not. My question is simple: what has been done to encourage those who are not members of any electrical organisation to…”

“I thank the Minister for what he is putting forward. The OBR has said that some £55.5 billion will be raised, but the money is not coming from millionaires. It is coming from lower and middle-income families, which means that some 4.8 million more individuals will be paying the higher rate and some 600,000 more individ…”

“A valid point that my constituents have brought to my attention is that if they pay the higher rate of tax, tax on the interest from savings rises to 40%. Those who scrimp and save and put their money away for a rainy day will be penalised. Does the shadow Minister agree that that is absolutely immoral and very wrong?”

“I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. I spoke to him beforehand to get the thrust of his comments. Does he agree that universities must cut domestic undergraduate numbers to absorb funding cuts, limiting local access to higher education, which is exacerbating the existing trend of young people leaving …”

“We all know that the Minister is a very honourable man, and we like him for the answers he gives us, but today we need confirmation of the dates—everybody has asked similar questions. He will be aware that delays in UK Ministry of Defence contracts create cash flow challenges, forcing delays in the MOD’s own operations…”

“I commend my hon. Friend for all that she has done in this campaign; she was very much to the fore. I also commend the Ulster Farmers’ Union on the stance that it took—it never gave in and stood its ground the whole way through, as did the NFU across Scotland, England and Wales. She has farmers in her constituency, as …”

“I thank the Leader of the House for the opportunity to ask an important question, and this week I would like to turn our attention to Nicaragua. The country has witnessed a recent severe escalation in human rights violations and religious persecution. The Nicaraguan Government have banned the Bible—the very Bible we st…”

“As always, the right hon. Member brings wisdom to the debate. He is right to highlight that the Tatmadaw and the authorities are using people’s religion and race as reasons to legitimise repression. As far as they are concerned, they do not want people to have anything, and by focusing on those things, they take away t…”

“I thank my hon. Friend—he has been my friend for all the time I have known him—for his intervention. He is absolutely right, and he has outlined, in those two or three sentences, what this debate is all about. It is an opportunity to highlight religious minorities and persecution, with a focus on Myanmar. Independent m…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered religious minority persecution in Myanmar. This is something that has been on my mind, and the mind of lots of us, for some time. We may not know very much about Myanmar in relation to religious persecution, but I am glad to see my friend and colleague in the Gallery who, a…”

“I thank the Minister for his answers to the seven questions on the Order Paper about buses. The Holy Bible refers to seven as the perfect number. If we are to improve local bus services, we need to improve the type of buses that are manufactured, make them energy efficient, and provide an hourly service. What discussio…”

“I thank the Minister very much for the statement; there is much positivity in it. Anyone who has to declare a health issue on their driving licence will know that it becomes much more complex—I declare an interest as a type 2 diabetic. They need a full MOT and an eyesight test before they get their driving licence rene…”

“I thank all hon. Members for their contributions, including those who have now left. The hon. Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi), as always, very clearly highlighted the issue of the Rohingya Muslims; the fragile peace, if it is such a thing as peace; and the fragile conditions in which they live. We all look forward to cont…”