Criminal Damage (Compensation) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2009

My Lords, I am very grateful for the strong support from the noble Viscount, Lord Bridgeman, and the noble Baroness, Lady Harris. The noble Baroness asked what work had been undertaken to ensure that the order would not be vulnerable to challenge. Legal advisers have received the proposal and are fully satisfied that it meets equality requirements under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. We, too, are confident that it meets all the necessary requirements. The noble Lord, Lord Bew, quite rightly said that the trend that necessitates the order is contrary to the trend that we discussed earlier. That is regrettable, as was clearly articulated by the noble Lord, Lord Browne, to whom I must apologise for calling him the noble Lord, Lord Morrow, earlier. The recent trend is regrettable, but we trust that it will be temporary. I am sure that the Northern Ireland Assembly will reflect on these issues in due course when the trend has gone the other way. The noble Lord, Lord Bew, also mentioned the GAA. I assure him that my colleague, Paul Goggins, has had meetings with the GAA and that very strong views have been expressed, quite rightly, by the nationalist community. I also have some sympathy with his view that the views of the SDLP and other nationalists cannot be expressed in this House because there are no Members from that community. I am very conscious of that, and I regret it in many ways. I am delighted that Northern Ireland has such a strong voice in this House, but it would be very good if there was a voice from the nationalist community as well as from the Ulster Unionist and other Protestant communities. I hope that this will be addressed in due course, but I do not wish to comment further at this stage. I hope that communities in Northern Ireland will continue to be sustainable and that the facilities which they use will be properly maintained, thanks to the order. I am grateful for all contributions this evening. Motion agreed. Sitting suspended.