Speeches by Swann.

“You will know that I have asked you in the Chamber about the legacy Bill that the Northern Ireland Office is bringing forward and the fact that sexual offences are not specifically listed as one of the crimes that the commission will look at in a historic nature. The work of the Committee here has actually recommended …”

“To explore that a bit, what engagement are you having with the Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland women’s organisations? I am thinking of the Training for Women Network and people like that. That message is very important in Northern Ireland. There was a campaign in regards to combating loan sharks with re…”

“Thanks for coming along, Minister. This ties in with your closing point. You have mentioned other Government Departments’ role in your strategy, but also recognised the devolved nature of things. You referred to the post-conflict influence in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Executive Office report, Every Voice M…”

“Rob, the NCA went operational in 2013, and has been operational in Northern Ireland since 2016. I was in the Assembly and I remember those debates and discussions about allowing that authorisation. That was by agreement between the NCA director general and the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice. Is there an opportuni…”

“To follow up on Simon’s point, I think the Irish Government put out figures on the numbers of asylum claims that they said had come via the UK to Northern Ireland and to the Republic of Ireland. It will be strange if the Irish Government have some way of capturing that data but we don’t.”

“One final point: you spoke about money laundering on either side of the border. Following up on Ms Hanna’s question, does the agency have a fiscal limit where you investigate or you do not? Is there a trigger point?”

“Rob, you used the phrase “multi-agency teams” when you were talking about commodities. Does that include the Irish Government as well? I am sure you are aware of some recent media coverage where drug smugglers were saying, “Look, don’t enter British waters; stay in Irish waters when you want to land.” It was cocaine at…”

“Are you in conversations with the PSNI about the usage of it?”

“Facial recognition did get some coverage, because it was very much a trial in Holyhead. Is there an intention to roll that out in other ports or airports across GB, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland? What is your plan?”

“It does, Gordon, but I suppose it raises another. You mentioned the gaps that others are becoming aware of, and you are obviously aware of those gaps as well. What actions are you and law enforcement taking to close those gaps at speed?”

“A significant expectation of the common travel area via the land border being used for the purposes of both irregular migration and criminal activity has been reported. Has the scale or nature of that changed in recent years?”

“Is the MOU in that operational environment still with the Department of Justice or is it with PSNI in partnership with its policing plan?”

“Rob, the NCA went operational in 2013, and has been operational in Northern Ireland since 2016. I was in the Assembly and I remember those debates and discussions about allowing that authorisation. That was by agreement between the NCA director general and the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice. Is there an opportuni…”

“I thank the Member for giving way. He will be aware that a good friend of ours, Frank Feighan, the TD for Sligo-Leitrim, is in Westminster today. Frank has often championed the idea that the Republic of Ireland should return to the Commonwealth and expand that greater familiar connectivity that we have across the old e…”

“To follow up on Simon’s point, I think the Irish Government put out figures on the numbers of asylum claims that they said had come via the UK to Northern Ireland and to the Republic of Ireland. It will be strange if the Irish Government have some way of capturing that data but we don’t.”

“rose—”

“One final point: you spoke about money laundering on either side of the border. Following up on Ms Hanna’s question, does the agency have a fiscal limit where you investigate or you do not? Is there a trigger point?”

“Are you in conversations with the PSNI about the usage of it?”

“Is the MOU in that operational environment still with the Department of Justice or is it with PSNI in partnership with its policing plan?”

“Rob, you used the phrase “multi-agency teams” when you were talking about commodities. Does that include the Irish Government as well? I am sure you are aware of some recent media coverage where drug smugglers were saying, “Look, don’t enter British waters; stay in Irish waters when you want to land.” It was cocaine at…”