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20 Most Recent Speeches
Speech on Randalstown Bomb
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to The Northern Ireland Assembly, 11 January 2009 on Mon 11th Jan 2010
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.
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[Read "Speech on Randalstown Bomb" in full (619 words)]
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Speech on the Climate Change Report from the Assembly Environment Committee
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to Northern Ireland Assembly on Mon 7th Dec 2009
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."
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[Read "Speech on the Climate Change Report from the Assembly Environment Committee" in full (1007 words)]
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Speech on Final Stage of Department of Justice Bill
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to Northern Ireland Assembly on Tue 1st Dec 2009
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.
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[Read "Speech on Final Stage of Department of Justice Bill" in full (2458 words)]
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Speech in Final Stage of Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Bill
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to Northern Ireland Assembly on Tue 1st Dec 2009
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.
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[Read "Speech in Final Stage of Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Bill" in full (357 words)]
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Speech on the Budget Bill
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to Northern Ireland Assembly on Tue 16th Jun 2009
Speaking towards the end of the debate in the Assembly Chamber on the Budget (No. 2) Bill, David Ford MLA said, "I start by saying that I will be the last Member to speak before the Minister: I think that I am the fourth Member in a row to do that.
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[Read "Speech on the Budget Bill " in full (2229 words)]
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Northern Ireland deserves hope - David Ford MLA
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to Alliance Party Conference on Sat 21st Mar 2009
It is always a pleasure to welcome Conference here to Dunadry, to South Antrim. That welcome is, however, tinged with sadness this year as we reflect on the events of two weeks ago. On Saturday 8 March, Antrim hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with the murders of Sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinzey.
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[Read "Northern Ireland deserves hope - David Ford MLA" in full (4669 words)]
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Ford speaks in Assembly on Antrim Attack
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to Northern Ireland Assembly on Mon 9th Mar 2009
Speaking in the Assembly, David Ford MLA for South Antrim said: "On behalf of my party in the Assembly and in the wider community, I have words this morning of sympathy, condemnation and solidarity. Our first words must be of sympathy for the families of Mark Quinsey and Cengiz 'Patrick' Azımkar, the two young sappers who were killed on Saturday night. Those two young men were doing their duty and serving this community before they proceeded to do their duty in Afghanistan in uniform. Our sympathy goes out to their families, friends and comrades, some of whom were still in Antrim while others were already in Afghanistan, and in particular, to their two wounded comrades, who are being treated in hospital here.
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[Read "Ford speaks in Assembly on Antrim Attack" in full (1024 words)]
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Diseases of Animals Bill
Speech delivered to Assembly on Tue 17th Nov 2009
I first declare my interest or, technically, that of my wife in a family farm. As one who did not speak in the first part of the debate, I think that this section corresponds with what I heard earlier. The Minister has listened to the views of the industry. The Committee has reflected those views and engaged in discussions that were, perhaps, robust, but that may have been the kind of discussion that was required. We probably have a good Bill now, and I shall support the three amendments in group 2.
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[Read "Diseases of Animals Bill" in full (604 words)]
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EU Fisheries Council
Speech delivered to Assembly on Mon 16th Nov 2009
I too welcome the debate and congratulate those who secured it. It brings back to me nostalgia for the days of the first Assembly, when, every autumn, the Agriculture Committee devoted parts of a number of meetings to discussions on the forthcoming European Fisheries Council meeting. We got the results after the Christmas break, and, generally, they were uniformly bad. However, it is important that that discussion is not confined just to the Agriculture Committee and that the motion is on the Floor of the Assembly for wider consideration of what is needed.
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[Read "EU Fisheries Council" in full (751 words)]
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Supporting the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Bill
Speech delivered to Assembly on Tue 10th Nov 2009
Mr Ford: I express my general support for the principles of the Bill and for the amendments. A few months ago, we reached the Consideration Stage of the Taxis Bill, and I remember saying that it was like the penultimate meeting of a rather sad club that had met on many occasions. However, the membership of the club has changed somewhat. In particular, there is a new Minister, who was not subject to all the difficulties that some of us went through. Indeed, time took its toll on the Committee; some of its members did not have the excitement of going through the process. It is good to see that the same smiling faces are sitting in the Minister's Official Box, watching as we debate the penultimate stage of the Bill.
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[Read "Supporting the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Bill" in full (917 words)]
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The Persecution of Christians in Orissa, India
Speech delivered to Assembly on Mon 2nd Nov 2009
I also congratulate Stephen Moutray and his colleagues on securing the debate. I welcome the terms in which he tabled the motion, as it expresses the legitimate concerns that many people in Northern Ireland have about the situation in Orissa.
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[Read "The Persecution of Christians in Orissa, India" in full (687 words)]
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Assisted Suicide
Speech delivered to Assembly, 12 October 2009 on Tue 13th Oct 2009
At the outset, I emphasise that, given that my party regards assisted suicide as an issue of conscience, I speak in a purely personal capacity.
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[Read "Assisted Suicide" in full (852 words)]
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Conacre motion in Assembly
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to Northern Ireland Assembly on Mon 28th Sep 2009
Speaking in the debate on the conacre motion, David Ford MLA: "My party colleagues and I will support the motion and the amendment. By way of introduction, I declare my interest - technically my wife's interest - in a shared family farm, which is recorded in the Register of Members' Interests.
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[Read "Conacre motion in Assembly" in full (843 words)]
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Financial Pressures on Householders motion
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to Northern Ireland Assembly on Mon 30th Mar 2009
Supporting the motion and amendment David Ford MLA said: "I hope that the final challenge from the Minister was not directed at this corner of the House. Anyway, we will let others answer for themselves at a different time.
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[Read "Financial Pressures on Householders motion" in full (973 words)]
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Speech on Act on CO2 advertising campaign motion
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to Northern Ireland Assembly on Tue 24th Mar 2009
Supporting the motion in the Assembly on the Act on CO2 Advertising Campaign, David Ford MLA said: "My colleagues and I will support the motion as amended because of the words that appear on the Order Paper, not because of any oratory powers or scientific persuasion from the Members who proposed the motion or those who tabled the amendment.
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[Read "Speech on Act on CO2 advertising campaign motion" in full (1178 words)]
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Proposing Amendment to Motion on the Consultative Group on the Past
Speech by David Ford MLA delivered to Northern Ireland Assembly on Mon 2nd Feb 2009
The original text of the motion as proposed by the DUP was "That this Assembly recognises the importance of meeting the needs of victims; and condemns proposals from the Consultative Group on the Past which equate perpetrators of violence with innocent victims."
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[Read "Proposing Amendment to Motion on the Consultative Group on the Past" in full (1671 words)]
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[Archive of earlier Speeches]
 Speech Feed(v1.0).
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