My Lords, I begin by thanking those who participated in the debate. I have not counted but there were probably 20 speeches. I am grateful for the noble Lords’ participation and will do my best to answer their points. They have concentrated on one aspect—the latter aspect that I came to—and certainly not the general thrust of the order, which I think has received widespread support. It is a bit more complicated than simply taking one bit of it out, as I shall seek to explain.
I quite agree that it will be much better when Northern Ireland is looking after itself in terms of policing and justice. I have made that quite clear. It will offer more suitable scrutiny than what this House or the other House gives, with Orders in Council. It will be much better. However, as I said earlier, given the number of years that this provision has been gestating, following the passage of the 2003 Act, we see no good reason to delay it. It is as simple as that.
Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008
Proceeding contribution from
Lord Rooker
(Labour)
in the House of Lords on Monday, 30 June 2008.
It occurred during Debates on delegated legislation on Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
703 c101 
Session
2007-08
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
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Timestamp
2023-12-16 01:59:50 +0000
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