http://www.davidford.org/speecharchive.php Recent Speeches from David Ford MLA, Leader of the Alliance Party en-GB David Ford MLA, Leader of the Alliance Party http://www.davidford.org/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2012 David Ford MLA, Leader of the Alliance Party 2012-02-10T15:06+00:00 United Kingdom http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000089/rathlin_island.html "Mr Deputy Speaker, you will see that I am speaking from the Back Benches, as I am happy to say that the Department of Justice has no direct involvement with Rathlin, although last year, not long after the House elected me as Minister of Justice, I arrived on Rathlin to discover that I had just missed the annual Rathlin meeting of Moyle District Policing Partnership. It was a fairly short meeting, and that says a fair bit about Rathlin. 2011-10-04T16:45+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000088/responding_to_debate_on_fuel_smuggling.html "I welcome the Assembly's interest in this matter. I begin by congratulating the Members who secured this useful debate. Fuel fraud must be of concern to us all. Given its impact on the environment and the end user, and the loss of revenue to legitimate trade and to the Exchequer, it is of interest to Members. It is also of interest to Westminster, where the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has an inquiry under way, a point that Mr Irwin highlighted at the beginning of the debate. I expect to give evidence to that inquiry in the near future. Debates such as this and that inquiry will serve as useful assessments of our response to fuel fraud and will help to identify where that response can be enhanced. 2011-10-03T15:35+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000087/statement_on_the_review_of_the_youth_justice_system_in_northern_ireland.html As the House will recall, in line with the Hillsborough Castle Agreement, last November I commissioned an independent team of experts to review the youth justice system in Northern Ireland. I have now received the report, which I am publishing today. I will begin by expressing my gratitude to the review team - John Graham, Stella Perrott and Kathleen Marshall - for its work. I recall that, when I commissioned the team to undertake the review, I set an initial timescale that, in hindsight, was too challenging. I was happy to listen to the words of the Committee for Justice and to take the team's advice then and throughout the exercise that more time was required to do justice to the final product. 2011-09-26T13:45+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000086/alliance_wants_to_deliver_an_economic_revolution_in_northern_ireland.html As a Party we are not afraid to stand out from the crowd, to take the hard decisions that will lead to real change in Northern Ireland. We stand by our principles and talk openly and honestly about the changes that need to occur to make Northern Ireland a better place for everyone. 2011-04-20T12:10+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000085/most_ambitious_manifesto_for_northern_ireland__alliance_is_leading_change.html Good afternoon. Two weeks ago, as we launched our campaign for the Assembly and Local Government elections on 5th of May, I promised that in the course of the campaign we would present our most comprehensive policy manifesto ever. Today we deliver on that promise. 2011-04-19T12:00+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000084/alliance_campaign_is_leading_change.html "Change is not a word that many people associate with elections in Northern Ireland. 2011-04-05T15:00+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000083/leading_change.html What a difference a year makes. When I was thinking about this Conference, my tenth as Party Leader, I decided to look back at last year's speech, so see what had changed - and to see whether I had made any dangerous promises or predictions that might come back to haunt me. 2011-01-22T12:00+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000081/adjournment_debate_in_assembly_on_reavey_family_murders_january_1976.html The report further stated that no member of the Reavey family had any verified links to any paramilitary group, which is contrary to later speculation. I know, from the meeting in May, about the particular hurt that has been caused to Eugene Reavey by the repetition of that speculation. This afternoon, Mr Bradley and other Members referred to the feelings of Mr Reavey's mother. We all wish those feelings to be taken into account. 2010-06-30T18:03+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000082/assembly_statement_on_the_review_of_prisons.html I wish to make a statement on the review of the conditions of detention, management and oversight of all prisons. As the House will be aware, the review is an action that was identified in the Hillsborough agreement of 5 February 2010 for inclusion in the addendum to the Programme for Government. Although I gave the Committee for Justice a summary of my intentions in regard to the review when I appeared before it, it is right that I should report its composition and terms of reference in the Chamber. 2010-06-21T14:23+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000080/policing_and_justice_powers__devolution_to_northern_ireland.html In the debate on the Executive Motion on the devolution of Policing and Justice Powers to Northern Ireland, David Ford said: 2010-03-09T12:20+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000079/delivering_responsible_government__leaders_speech_to_conference_2010.html We meet at an interesting time for this community and for the Alliance party. I must admit that when I was thinking about Conference a few weeks ago, I was not thinking of the developments of recent weeks, some of them bizarre, some momentous, some deeply worrying. 2010-01-23T12:00+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000078/speech_on_randalstown_bomb.html It is right that our first business of this new year should be to send our best wishes for a full recovery to Constable Peadar Heffron, and let his parents, his wife and his friends and colleagues know that they are in our thoughts and prayers. 2010-01-11T12:07+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000075/speech_on_the_climate_change_report_from_the_assembly_environment_committee.html Speaking in the debate on the motion: "That this Assembly approves the report of the Committee for the Environment on its inquiry into climate change; and calls on the Minister of the Environment, in liaison with Executive colleagues, to bring forward a timetable for implementing the recommendations contained in the report", David Ford MLA said: "As yet another member of the Committee for the Environment, I welcome the fact that the report, which has taken most of the year to produce, has been published. I thank the Committee staff, DOE officials and representatives of a huge range of NGOs who assisted us in our work. One of the most useful aspects of the inquiry was a practical visit to AFBI at Hillsborough to see the work that it was doing on renewable energy and on the remediation of methane production from ruminants. It was an example of where Northern Ireland could be at the forefront of the debate, but sadly, at the moment, is not." 2009-12-07T13:15+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000077/speech_on_final_stage_of_department_of_justice_bill.html Speaking in support of the Bill, Alliance Leader, David Ford MLA said "Having just listened to Mrs Kelly, I am glad that I heard Mr Durkan say earlier that the SDLP supports the Bill. 2009-12-01T17:05+00:00 http://www.davidford.org/speeches/000076/speech_in_final_stage_of_goods_vehicles_licensing_of_operators_bill.html Supporting the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Bill, Alliance Leader, David Ford MLA said: "One example of what happens in this place when a good Bill is made better by a Committee is that there is nothing left to say when the Bill reaches Final Stage. If one happens to be the sixth Member to speak in the debate, one has even less to say. I shall, nonetheless, do my best to say a few words. 2009-12-01T11:30+00:00