Assembly Speaker Welcomes His Counterparts To Foyle

Synopsis: The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr William Hay MLA, today welcomed Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon John Bercow MP and the Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP to the UK City of Culture to undertake a series of meetings and visits.

Session: 2013/2014

Date: 30 September 2013

Reference: SO 03/13/14

The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr William Hay MLA, today welcomed Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon John Bercow MP and the Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP to the UK City of Culture to undertake a series of meetings and visits. 

©/Lorcan Doherty Photography - 30th September 2013. ASSEMBLY SPEAKER WELCOMES HIS COUNTERPARTS TO FOYLE The Mayor of Derry, Councillor Martin Reilly, with The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr William Hay MLA, right, and Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon John Bercow MP and the Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP during a visit to the Guildhall on their tour of UK City of Culture to undertake a series of meetings and visits. Photo Lorcan Doherty Photography

The Speaker said: “I am delighted to welcome my counterparts to Northern Ireland and, in particular, to my home constituency of Foyle, this year’s UK City of Culture. It is always a pleasure to engage with colleagues from other legislatures, and it is a particular pleasure to meet with those, who, like me, enjoy the privilege of fulfilling the role of Speaker. This visit is an excellent way to compare the differences and similarities in the challenges that each of us faces.  

“Following our formal meeting in the Guildhall today, Speaker Bercow and I had the privilege of visiting Foyle View School, where we met with some very inspirational teachers and students. I was particularly proud that Foyle View was a finalist in Speaker Bercow’s School Council Awards in 2011. It also gave me enormous pleasure to introduce our visitors to the sights, the sounds and the people of this great city and I know that they were impressed with the continuing regeneration and renowned local community spirit.”

©/Lorcan Doherty Photography - 30th September 2013. ASSEMBLY SPEAKER WELCOMES HIS COUNTERPARTS TO FOYLE. L-R The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr William Hay MLA, right, and Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon John Bercow MP chatting to Foyle View student, Jason Welsh, during a visit to the UK City of Culture.

Mr Hay concluded: “I am confident that we will have met our aims of engaging with local communities and sharing best practice and knowledge within our legislatures. Although we work in different Chambers, many of the experiences and issues we encounter are very similar. I hope that we can continue to learn from one another, and I look forward to building on this exchange of knowledge and experience in the future.”