LEGISLATING FOR NORTHERN IRELAND

That this House calls on the Government to include Northern Ireland in all new social security, pensions, commercial law and road traffic legislation, be it in the form of acts, orders in council or statutory rules; recalls that there has been no legislature in Northern Ireland for a quarter of a century nor is there any real or apparent chance of its re-establishment; recognises that there are a number of policy areas where there will continue to be a call for Northern Ireland variants which should be drafted into primary bills or consequent United Kingdom regulations; welcomes the fact that such a reform will do away with a large proportion of the 500 sets of Northern Ireland Statutory Regulations annually put before Ministers and civil servants and then published, saving money and parliamentary procedure writing; and recognises that for clarity and simplicity, citizens and lawyers in Northern Ireland expect, and opinion polls show that both sections of the community overwhelmingly prefer, the same laws and benefits.