Lord Dodds said,
“I warmly welcome the creation of a new Northern Ireland Select Committee in the House of Lords. I served on the previous Windsor Framework Lords Committee and this new committee will carry on the work of examining the EU legislation affecting Northern Ireland and wider issues pertaining to the Protocol/Windsor Framework.
In the last Parliament, we were able to do an enormous amount of detailed examination of the multitude of foreign rules, regulations and laws which have a massive impact Northern Ireland. Some also reach back into the rest of the U.K.
The scandal is that no MLA, MP or Lord has any say or power in formulating, developing, or amending such legislation which may be directly contrary to Northern Ireland’s best interests.
The Committee will also have a wider remit to investigate broader policy issues relating to the Protocol.
Previously the House of Lords has been able to find consensus on several extremely challenging issues for Northern Ireland, including the absence of a veterinary medicines agreement and issues concerning restrictions on trade on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
It has also looked at the denial of democratic rights to the people of Northern Ireland as United Kingdom citizens and the damage done to the internal market.
In the coming months and years, this work will become increasingly important.
This is a positive step forward and will be an effective means of shining a spotlight on what is going on in relation to the EU legislative jurisdiction over Northern Ireland.”