Alex Maskey
West Belfast · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“First, I thank the Minister for making an absolute pledge of non-interference by him as the Minister of Finance. I note that he has asked others to do likewise.”
“I think that it has been made very clear that you can legislate, set up institutions and all the rest of it within a particular framework, but, if people chose and choose not to embrace the principles and concepts, it will not work.”
“I appreciate that the Member was not here last February, so she had no role in the last discussions, but she needs to be aware that her party voted against the proposal to close the scheme in February 2016. That is the reality; that is a fact.”
“Over the last number of years, we have all been challenged in the things that we had to do and in the agreements that we had to reach and were challenged to adhere to. Nevertheless, when people have worked in the spirit of partnership and sharing power, this place and this and previous Executives have produced much better work.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. I really did not want to interrupt, because I know that he is passionate about the points that he is making. If I remember correctly, the Ulster Unionist Party leader said a couple of months ago that, if the Good Friday Agreement was up for debate now, the party would not support it.”
“A Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle, I also wish you well in the time ahead as a republican activist. <BR /> <BR />It is fairly ironic in its own way that, in the last hours of this Assembly, we are debating the principles and values of the Good Friday Agreement.”
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“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. First, I commend the report to the House this afternoon. I thank all the Committee officials, the members and all the witnesses who have participated so far in the inquiry over a lengthy period. Obviously, this will continue for the next number of weeks and perhaps months. <BR /> <BR />Members will recall that the inquiry was initiated following a 'Spotlight' investigation in July 2013 that made allegations about the actions of the Minister for Social Development. The House was recalled from summer recess last year to debate it, and the Committee subsequently agreed to hold an inquiry to establish the facts of the matter. <BR /> <BR />The first evidence session was held on 14 November 2013.”
“On behalf of Sinn Féin, I express our condolences to the family, loved ones and colleagues of Sam Foster.”
“He was, of course, honoured to do that and he was in no doubt about the challenges that he would face in the time ahead. He certainly embraced the challenges, and I think that he embraced them in the spirit of the time in 1998, 1999 and thereafter. Therefore, in calling Sam a political opponent, I would be very generous and use the term advisedly. As I said, a tremendous mark of respect to Sam Foster is that he spent a long time in public life. He never ever, in my experience or presence, had any airs or graces about him. He was obviously a man of the people, and he was very well respected in Fermanagh and South Tyrone and in the wider community. I have no doubt that he will be missed in the Ulster Unionist family. Of course, he will be missed by his own family.”
“On behalf of Sinn Féin, I express my party's deepest regrets and condolences to Dorothy and all Sam's family. I had the pleasure of working with Sam here in the first Assembly and in the negotiations in the run-up to the Good Friday Agreement. I would hesitate to call him a political opponent because I always remember that Sam — notwithstanding the fact that he was an Ulster Unionist — worked to try to make the Good Friday Agreement and these institutions work. My recollection is that he always treated each and every one of us with the utmost respect. <BR /> <BR />A mark of his character is that, even when he was appointed Minister, I had the pleasure of being in a lift with him — I will not use his exact words — and he expressed some surprise at being appointed to the position.”