Speeches by Eastwood.

“Bernie, I want to come back to you, because, when I was talking earlier, you were looking concerned. I do not know whether that was because you agreed or did not agree, or because you were listening. In terms of those young women particularly who I was talking about, have you ever met any of them yourself? How do you f…”

“Was that literally paid into their account?”

“The shame is not with them.”

“You have said and shared out loud that children in Northern Ireland are making money, literally, for want of a better phrase. That is not the appropriate phrase. I would say these individuals are being exploited and they are engaged in abusive and exploitive behaviours online. Ultimately, companies are profiting from c…”

“That is another illustration of why it is so important to create safe spaces, particularly for young people, and to have good, robust RSE in our schools. We know we have been struggling in Northern Ireland to get in, in a consistent way, across Northern Ireland and speak to our young people about issues around sexualit…”

“I thank the Minister for her responses so far. Northern Ireland is indeed open for business, and I am delighted that companies are investing in my hometown. Does she agree that the Dublin to Belfast economic corridor, which includes my constituency of Lagan Valley, will play a key part and that it is a huge opportunity…”

“I want to contribute as the MP for Lagan Valley, which is the home of Army HQ in Northern Ireland. I, too, am proud of my family members who served in the Regular Army, the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. However, I will depart from the view of some Members; I would say that they were profess…”

“I am proud to put my name to the hon. Lady’s reasoned amendment. Does she agree that we have a decision to make in this House today? Do we stand alongside some of the most vulnerable—people who feel that politics cannot deliver for them? Surely we have a moral duty, across this House, to stand with those people, to pau…”

“Hospitality has also been hit by the apprenticeship levy. We used to have entry-level jobs in hospitality and tourism that gave our young people a chance to skill up, but those are now gone because of decisions on national insurance and the levy. Does the hon. Member agree that that needs to change?”

“I thank the Minister for his responses so far. I, too, stand in solidarity with workers at the Prax Lindsey site. Whenever big companies are responsible for the stewardship of our energy, and sometimes for its generation, I worry that the cost will be passed on to consumers. I am also worried that workers at the Tata S…”

“With your indulgence, Mr Speaker, I will briefly pay tribute to the Police Service of Northern Ireland for tackling the public disorder in Northern Ireland over the last two nights, with over 30 police officers injured. I am sure the whole House will want to join me in that, and in condemning the racist violence. Wheth…”

“My constituent Silé’s husband developed early onset dementia at the age of 38. Nobody knew what it was initially, because they were not expecting a normal, healthy 38-year-old to have early-onset dementia. Does the hon. Member agree that we need to do much more right across the UK to highlight that dementia and Alzheim…”

“I, too, am greatly concerned about our young people. I was at an event in my constituency of Lagan Valley the other night, at which it was said that almost all our young people across the UK are having their mental health impacted by social media. If we throw this into the mix, it has the potential to do untold damage.…”

“Thanks, everyone, for being here today. Some of you I know and have talked to on many occasions. This is just to take it back to Katrina’s question about truth recovery. I have some real concerns about the truth recovery. It is very clear that there are some people in Northern Ireland, and further afield, who want to e…”

“I feel I have to declare an interest: I sat on the Democratic Scrutiny Committee, so I know some of the panel from when they gave evidence to that Committee. Some of the stuff you have touched on about the operation of the Democratic Scrutiny Committee is important. I do not want to speak out of turn, and my informatio…”

“Yes, I think that is fair. I know the Executive Office has an operation in Brussels, but do you think that, given everything you have just said, there would be merit in having some sort of a small EU resource or office based in Northern Ireland to assist people in businesses, civil society and so on, to navigate the wa…”

“I am asking the question on AI in honour of our colleague Dan, who cannot be here today but would be absolutely desperate to ask this. Everything we have just talked about is actually quite a good segue into AI, because it is clear that there is the potential for divergence and doing things differently between the UK a…”

“I feel I have to declare an interest: I sat on the Democratic Scrutiny Committee, so I know some of the panel from when they gave evidence to that Committee. Some of the stuff you have touched on about the operation of the Democratic Scrutiny Committee is important. I do not want to speak out of turn, and my informatio…”

“Yes, I think that is fair. I know the Executive Office has an operation in Brussels, but do you think that, given everything you have just said, there would be merit in having some sort of a small EU resource or office based in Northern Ireland to assist people in businesses, civil society and so on, to navigate the wa…”

“I am asking the question on AI in honour of our colleague Dan, who cannot be here today but would be absolutely desperate to ask this. Everything we have just talked about is actually quite a good segue into AI, because it is clear that there is the potential for divergence and doing things differently between the UK a…”