Speeches by Shannon.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I wish you well in your new role. I thank the hon. Member for Ceredigion Preseli (Ben Lake) for raising this issue. I watched him on TV this morning being interviewed with his constituent. He should be commended and applauded for his efforts on behalf of his co…”

“Yes, Madam Deputy Speaker.”

“The hon. Gentleman always brings wise words to any debate. I talked to him on Monday in Westminster Hall, when he got up and said that he had a few comments. I was greatly impressed by his contribution—I went over to him afterwards and said that his words were very wise—and his words now were also wise. The point I wil…”

“I am not technically minded, but the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right.”

“Of course I will. I knew the hon. Gentleman long before he became a Member. He and I have been friends for four or five years. We corresponded on an app regularly, I followed his progress as a councillor and I very much welcomed him to the Chamber. I look forward to his friendship throughout our time here. I wish his d…”

“No, I cannot say that in the Chamber—it would be unfair. But I can say that I wish the hon. Gentleman’s wife many happy returns. I am sure that when the hon. Gentleman is here she is probably more happy than ever—[Laughter.] I say that in jest.”

“The hon. Gentleman and I have been friends for many years, long before he was elected to this House and before he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly, back when we were representatives on the council many moons ago. His words have added emphasis to what we are trying to achieve. I truly believe the first step in r…”

“Yes, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Health Minister was there as well. I am very respectful of others who were there who I have not named, but I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I can think of two or three names, but I will not mention them. I do not believe that we have fully grasped the potential merits in m…”

“I could not have put it better. That was brilliant; well done. It is my firm belief that much good for the self-esteem of our young people comes from instilling in them national pride and identity, but for the benefit of our local economy I would also highlight the good that can come from establishing saints’ days as n…”

“We might have different aspirations—one for unity, one for independence—but none the less the hon. Gentleman and I are good friends and have been for a long time, and will continue to be. May I suggest that the next Adjournment debate should be on that very issue?”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for filling in that gap. Hansard will pick up on the constituency and keep it right. The only reason the hon. Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) is not here is because he is away doing something very practical in his own constituency, so well done to him. We must continue to pr…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. It seems to be a regular occurrence in Westminster Hall now. I wish you well and thank you for all you do. I thank the hon. Member for Glenrothes and Mid Fife (Richard Baker) for leading the debate. I am very pleased to be here. He mentioned Harland and Wolff,…”

“The hon. Gentleman is right. I am not here to deliver a bad message to the Minister. I welcome the scheme, because it is a good scheme. Any scheme is a good scheme if it helps. I was about to mention Greggs, Kellogg’s and other companies that do deals with schools. Just in the past week, Asda and Tesco have come up wit…”

“As the hon. Lady says, there will always be children who miss out. How do we bring them into the system? The Minister has, no doubt, listened to her question, and hopefully his answer may be of some help. In March 2024, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health revealed that 109,000 children in Northern Ireland…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I thank the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis) for setting the scene and for delivering a debate that is so important to us all. Obviously, I will give a Northern Ireland perspective. Although Northern Ireland is not the Minister’s responsibility, I know—or a…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam) for raising this issue. He and I have very different opinions, as he knows, but we are both committed to seeing a just peace for the people of Gaza and Israel, securing the hope of a different future f…”

“I go on the tube twice a week, and the disability seat in the carriage says “Not every disability is visible”. Bearing that in mind, those with severe mental health issues, such as paranoid psychosis, anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, already fear phone calls from withheld phone numbers. Will the S…”

“What assessment has the Minister made of the COP29 commitment to tripling finance for developing countries from the previous goal of $100 billion to $300 billion a year by 2035, and what is the United Kingdom’s contribution to that sum?”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“I am going to come on to that now—my hon. Friend is absolutely right. I have long marvelled at the way St Patrick made theology understandable for those who had no education, no access to holy books, and no ability to read them. He came with a message of love and action. This is the St Patrick I believe we should celeb…”