Official Report: Monday 15 September 2014

Mr Principal Deputy Speaker: Members will have been saddened to learn of the passing of the former First Minister the Rt Hon Lord Bannside. Before I pay my own tribute, I advise the House that the Business Committee has agreed, as a mark of respect, to adjourn today's sitting after Members have had the opportunity to speak. That requires a formal item of business, which I will take now.

Mr Weir: I beg to move

Mr Principal Deputy Speaker: Before we proceed to the Question, I remind Members that the motion requires cross-community support.

Mr Principal Deputy Speaker: Before we go any further, I wish to inform the House that the Speaker has asked me to convey his apologies that he is unable to be here due to ill health. Members will appreciate that, given the long personal and political connection between the Hay family and the late Lord Bannside, he would have wished to be here, but I am sure that the House will join me in wishing the Speaker a speedy recovery.

Some Members: Hear, hear.

Mr Principal Deputy Speaker: One of the saddest duties from this Chair is to report to the House the passing of former or current colleagues. However, it always serves to remind us that, no matter about the heat of the political disagreements that we have in this House or elsewhere, ultimately, we are all made of the same flesh and bone.

I know that Members will have different views on Ian Paisley's politics and his legacy that they will want to express, but it is not for me to dwell on that from this Chair. However, there is no doubt that the former First Minister was instrumental in us all being in the Chamber today. Indeed, he will have influenced the politics of Members on all sides of the House.

I think that Members will agree that politics has lost a giant personality. The international coverage since his passing acts as proof of that. To opponents or the public, in speeches or in interviews, Ian Paisley may have come across as a strident, foreboding character, but I know that many in the Chamber will also hold valued memories of his warm and personal nature. That came across in his reputation as a champion of all his constituents and, of course, combined with his sense of humour, on the election campaign trail, it made him a force of nature.

It is often the case that some of the most significant and memorable political figures are those who provoke a strong emotional reaction, positive and negative. Ian Paisley did that. He was straight-talking whether you liked what he said or not. Let us remember today that, regardless of his political contribution, he regarded himself first and foremost as a man of faith and family. We express our heartfelt condolences to Baroness Paisley and the entire Paisley family. It is safe to say that Northern politics would not have been the same without Ian Paisley. May he rest in peace.

As is customary, I will now invite party leaders to speak for around five minutes to pay tribute to our late friend and colleague. I will not impose strict time constraints but I encourage Members to be brief and to speak for no more than three minutes in order to give time for as many as possible in the one and a half hours that have been allocated for tributes. When tributes are concluded, Members are invited to join me in signing the book of condolence in the Great Hall. The book of condolence will be available for Members, staff who work in the Building and for users of the Building to sign until 3.00 pm today after which it will be open to the public. The House will now pay its own respects.

Mr P Robinson: The custom on occasions such as this is to comment and reflect on the life's service and contribution of the person who has passed away, but when the person is someone who, head and shoulders above all others, strode and dominated the public stage for a time beyond the adult life of all of us who sit in the House, it is a daunting task and one that no eloquence or command of detail could, in truth and with fairness, accomplish.

Ian Paisley was a remarkable man whose long career in public life has left an indelible mark upon all of us who knew him. Like so many, I was drawn towards politics by the clarity, certainty, strength and conviction of his message. The "Big Man", as he was known, provided firm and decisive leadership when unionism lacked it most and needed it most. The stage for his oratory ranged from the lofty debating chambers of the Mother of Parliaments and the European Parliament to countless halls and meeting rooms across the land. He was as much at home speaking on top of a wooden crate or a lorry platform in an open field as he was from the green or red Benches at Westminster, yet he had a special place in his heart for this Chamber. Whether on the opposition Benches or as First Minister on this side, he loved Stormont. He could energise and inspire those around him like no other person I had met before or have met since.

He loved Ulster and her people. They returned that love and trust by repeatedly lifting him to the top of the poll in North Antrim and then giving him poll-topping success in five consecutive Northern Ireland-wide European elections. He had a sincere interest in people's problems no matter who they were or whether their problems were large or small. There are multitudes that have been touched by individual acts of kindness that were carried out away from the gaze of the media or the public.

For most of his life, Ian was blessed to have Eileen by his side whether he was battling in the valley or marching on the mountaintop. She gave him decades of love and support. At this sad time, our prayers are with Baroness Paisley, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was as special to them as they were to him, for his was a close and loving family circle.

Those of us who knew him best will remember the fun and joy it was to be in his company. Today, we close the page on a long and glorious era, and already politics seems a little less colourful and exciting. Ian has taken his place in the chronicles of Ulster history, alongside the greats of unionism, making our heritage even richer. As a leader of men, a friend of the people, a servant of the state and the undisputed leader of unionism, Ian Paisley outclassed all around him. Ulster will never see the like of him again. He was an exceptional human being. He had a loyal heart, a fidelity to freedom, a passion for democracy and a love for public service. In a storm, he was oak and granite, and in the sunshine, he radiated passion and commitment.

Ian's faith shaped his entire life. We will never know, this side of eternity, just how many thousands of lives were changed through his preaching and witness. In a sermon he once preached entitled "Five Minutes After Death", he said:

Those of us who stood beside him when he did sing will know how blessed a hope that is.

I was present when Ian made what was probably his final major speech, at an event in Hillsborough Castle, where he, along with the deputy First Minister and me, was awarded the International Ellis Island Medal of Honour. Though his strength was waning and he moved slowly to the platform, his message displayed the clarity of his mind and the certainty of his convictions. He told of a time when he knelt at the feet of the saviour of the world and received eternal life. He told us it was this that had driven him all his years and would drive him through the gates of eternity to the land that is fairer than day, where wars will be no more, where darkness shall surrender to eternal light and where we will sit in the majesty of God himself. He pronounced that in Northern Ireland we were moving in the right direction and, though we were facing significant problems, encouraged us all to complete the journey. He expressed the hope that future generations would be able to live in peace and urged us to do our bit to reach that goal.

He no longer sits among us, but we are entrusted with his legacy and stirred by his injunction to finish the course and do our bit in securing lasting peace and stability for the land he loved so much.

Mr M McGuinness: I, too, thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to say a few words about Ian Paisley today.

First, I want to wish our Speaker, William Hay, well. He is presently in hospital, and I hope that he recovers very quickly indeed.

This is a very sad occasion for all of us. I have very fond memories of that weekend in the spring of 2007 when the First Minister and I, as Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness with no titles, sat down with other members of our party to work out and craft a statement that would be issued by Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams the following Monday; a statement that confounded the international community, which had arrived, en masse, to proclaim yet another glorious failure in the peace process.

That was a very remarkable experience; all the more remarkable because I remember that, as an 18- or 19-year-old on the streets of Derry, being like most of the other population in Derry, in fear of Ian Paisley when he came to the city, with his huge stature, his booming voice and his politics, which we did not share or like.

There has been a lot of talk about his politics over the last couple of days and a lot of criticism of the actions in which he was involved in the past. And I say that, conscious that, from a unionist perspective, there are also a lot of perceptions and criticisms of people on this side of the Assembly.

I will leave it to history to decide on Ian Paisley's legacy. I can really only talk about my experiences with him. The negotiations that the First Minister and I were involved in brought Ian Paisley and me into the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister on the basis of equality. I have to say that it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life to be in that office with him for that year. From the word go, for some reason, we hit it off. Not alone did we develop a positive and constructive working relationship, but we actually became friends. We grew to like each other, and that is incredible for people who, undoubtedly for many decades, intensely disliked each other. We genuinely grew to like each other and, in doing so, we confounded the world. I think that was a good thing. He certainly made a huge effort. In one of the first conversations that he and I had together, he said to me, "Martin, you know, we can rule ourselves. We don't need these people coming over from England telling us what to do". On another occasion, when we met here in Parliament Buildings with representatives of the factions in conflict in Afghanistan, he went out of his way to describe himself — as I know he has done on previous occasions — as an Ulsterman and an Irishman, stressing, of course, that the Ulsterman came first. Those two statements were common ground that we could stand on and, as I said, it was an incredible experience.

In December 2007, we went off to the United States of America to begin the work of trying to attract foreign direct investment so that we could give our people jobs, show the world that we were open for business and that a transformation had taken place. I will never forget the meeting that he and I were involved in with President George Bush in the Oval Office which was, supposedly, to last 20 minutes but lasted well over an hour. It was an incredible experience. We were accompanied on that visit by the late John Harrison, well known to everybody in this Assembly. He was also someone we had a great friendship with and a great love for. Ian Paisley loved John Harrison. We had a memorable experience in the Oval Office when one of our press officers, Paddy Cullen, was told by John, who thrust a camera into his hand, to "snap everything in sight", when a flotilla of press people came in. The sight of Paddy Cullen jumping up on President Bush's sofa to take the photographs always got a great laugh between Ian and me.

It is not so long ago that I went to see Ian and Eileen for coffee at their home. I spent almost two hours with them, and I was really glad that we had that opportunity to talk. It was obvious to me that he was visibly weakening, but he had a project in mind and it was a project he wanted me to attend. Sadly, that will not now be the case, but we had a great conversation for two hours. I regard Ian and Eileen Paisley as two of the strongest supporters of the peace process that anybody can imagine. I think I can say that without fear of contradiction.

So, along with everybody else, I want to extend my deepest sympathy and condolences to Eileen Paisley, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I think that she is a remarkable woman and she played a very powerful role in a lot of the political changes that brought many of us together in this House. Sometimes, I think that is not recognised enough.

When Ian left office, I asked the late, great Seamus Heaney to write out the "hope and history" poem. Seamus wrote it out in his own hand on the most beautiful parchment paper you could imagine, and we got it framed. I was to make the presentation to him. When I did that in the Executive room, I also presented him with one of my own poems about disappearing sea trout on the west coast of Ireland and Native American Indians. About a month later, Ian asked to see me. He was in his own new room after he had left office here in Parliament Buildings. I went up to the room and was brought into a side room, and there on the wall was Seamus Heaney's poem alongside mine. I said to him, "I appreciate very much you raising me to the elite of the poets", and we had a great laugh about that.

I was part of the delegation that went to Liverpool to argue for City of Culture status for my city. We made the case. The announcement was to be made on 'The One Show', and we were all there for that. The announcement was made, and we won against all odds. The first phone call I received after I stepped down from the podium was from Ian Paisley. He said, "Martin, I've just been watching you on TV. This is a fantastic result for the city and a great result for our young people". That had a tremendous effect on me.

At the same time, I know that when Ian left office, a number of reasons were cited by journalists and so forth. Some said that the DUP thought that he was elderly, and he was, but others said that it was also because he was too friendly with me. There is food for thought in all of that for every Member, in that he had the ability, coming from where he came from, to bridge the differences with me, and, as I wrote in the book of condolence in my city at the weekend, in rising above old enmities, we pointed the way to a better and peaceful future.

I believe that the peace process has lost a great friend, and I have lost a friend. I know that, over the weekend, some people in the republican community took exception to me saying that. I have heard that, and it has been on social networks. I say this to them: if F W de Klerk had died before Nelson Mandela, what would Nelson Mandela have said about F W de Klerk?

We all have to rise to the occasion, folks. This is about peacemaking and building a better future for our young people. I want to end on that note. I think that Ian Paisley, whatever about his past, did a magnificent service for our young people and for the future. For that, I am proud to be associated with him.

Dr McDonnell: Thank you very much, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. Like others who spoke, I wish our Speaker, Willie Hay, a speedy recovery to good health, because we miss him, and I am saddened that he is not able to be with us here today.

My main purpose in speaking is to express my most sincere sympathy and that of my colleagues and the SDLP to Baroness Paisley and the family, including the children and grandchildren. I also extend a heartfelt sympathy to colleagues opposite and DUP colleagues of Lord Bannside across Northern Ireland. I could never, and would never, agree with much of Ian Paisley's politics, but that was understood and very clear, but I have to pay tribute to him as a committed constituency representative and dedicated public servant.

I am not going to delve into the whys, wherefores or why nots. I will leave it to others and to history to judge Ian Paisley's contribution to this place, particularly in the latter days in helping to bring about peace and devolution. In 2007, his efforts ensured that power-sharing and devolution were put back in place, but today our thoughts are with the family and friends.

I have known Ian Paisley for over 40 years. I do not want to admit how many years over 40, but it is a while. Despite fundamental political differences, at a personal level, we had many conversations and an enduring personal friendship that defied political differences.

So, today our thoughts and sympathy must be with Eileen, Baroness Paisley, with the extended family and with the grandchildren, who are grieving and trying to come to terms with this sad loss. We in the Chamber can move on at various speeds — some of us will maybe be able to move on more quickly than others — but the point is that the family are left with a big gap in their lives. There is a husband, a father and a grandfather missing, and my and the SDLP's sympathy goes out to all of them on this sad and difficult day. Thank you.

Mr Nesbitt: As I begin, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, may I, on behalf of my party, send our best wishes to the Speaker? You acknowledged that Willie Hay has been taken unwell. The Ulster Unionist Party wishes him a full and speedy recovery, and we look forward to seeing him back in the Chamber as soon as possible.

In representing the Ulster Unionist Party, I acknowledge the loss of Ian Paisley — a loss that will be felt most keenly by his family and by the Members to my left in the Chamber. I was in my constituency office on Friday helping a family in need when the news came through, and I believe that it is to the Paisley family that our thoughts should turn today.

It is a powerful consideration that Lord Bannside's widow, Baroness Paisley, was married to him for longer than many Members in the Chamber have been alive. This week, Eileen Paisley finds herself in a position that she has not been in since 1956: not having a husband to turn to for comfort and for companionship. I have no doubt that her faith and her family will be comforts of immeasurable strength at this time. I do not know what value she will place on the thoughts and prayers of the Ulster Unionist Party, but let me assure the House that she and her family are very much in our thoughts at this time.

Ian Paisley was a huge figure, physically and metaphorically. He also made huge decisions that affected all of us in the most profound way, but I do not believe that this is the day for me to analyse his leadership or its legacy. This is the day of his funeral, and I wish to be respectful of that occasion. There will be plenty of time to reflect on political relationships, on rationales and on that legacy.

My personal relationship with Dr Paisley was more centred on my days as a broadcast journalist than as a politician, and I have to say that interviewing Ian Paisley was always something of an event. If you had not been admonished by Ian Paisley, you could not consider yourself a proper journalist. Now he is gone, as is Albert Reynolds. John Major, John Hume, David Trimble, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Bertie Ahern and many, many others have all left the mainstream political stage, yet we are still a long way from where they and we would like to be.

So, on this day that a family mourns, let us keep the Paisley household foremost in our thoughts, but let us also commit to finishing our political journey — a journey that took Ian Paisley on a remarkable voyage, for better and worse.

I understand that there are many, many Members wishing to speak today, so I will finish here to allow as many as possible to record their memories of Lord Bannside.

Mr Ford: On behalf of my colleagues in the Chamber and in the Alliance Party generally, I also wish to express our sympathy to Eileen, Baroness Paisley, her children and grandchildren, the family circle and those who loved and respected Ian Paisley most. Also, as you have done, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, we wish to record our best wishes to the Speaker for a speedy recovery, and we hope to see him back soon in his place in the Assembly.

Ian Paisley was certainly a man of many parts; he was a preacher, a politician and, of course, a partner and a parent. Many of us in the Chamber disagreed with many of the things that Ian Paisley did and said over many years, and we should not seek to brush that aside as we look at his legacy. The journalists are already asking the "what if" and the "what if not" questions, but the reason why we are paying tribute today is because he became First Minister of Northern Ireland and he played his part in that.

On the day he stepped down from office, I remember saying that historians would have to judge whether he was remembered for 40 years of saying no or for two years of saying yes; but today we can commemorate the fact that we have a working Assembly and that he played a significant part in ensuring that that happened.

I can certainly remember as far back as the 1970s when, as well as being the preacher and the politician with the fiery rhetoric, he was also an assiduous constituency worker. I know that my colleagues in the Northern Health and Social Services Board saw many typewriter ribbons — that is how long ago it was — worn out in the letters of reply that went back as he followed up the case of any constituent who went to him. I have no doubt that the Northern Health and Social Services Board was not the only public agency that bore the brunt of his representations on behalf of the people of North Antrim and, of course, subsequently as an MEP, of any part of Northern Ireland on whose behalf he cared to follow matters up.

I got to know him personally particularly well when, following the Good Friday Agreement and the full restoration of powers to this place, I was a member of the Agriculture Committee, which he chaired. There is no doubt that that was a time when, some of us will remember, all was not particularly easy in the Chamber. Sometimes, sitting in the Alliance Party wedge immediately between the DUP and Sinn Féin was not always the easiest place to be. Yet, in the Committee, even though Ian Paisley was reluctant sometimes to use people's names, when he looked down the table and pointed and said, "This gentleman will now ask a question", and the gentleman in question was our former colleague Francie Molloy, he proved that the political did not have to become the personal as well and he could take that forward.

It is clear that in the years following the Good Friday Agreement, when the balance of power in unionism changed, he could see a different role. I remember a conversation in the period that led up to the St Andrews Agreement, although it was some time before it, and which was private and which I did not report, from which it was clear that he could see that there was a need for change, that he wanted to see change happen, and that he wanted to be part of something positive. He sought to bring his party around to that view along with others. Eventually, of course, at St Andrews and then in talks in and around this Building in the spring of 2007, he saw that happen.

Over the last few days, many journalists have said that only he could have brought the DUP into that form of power-sharing. I tend to agree, because the reputation that he had established and the certainty with which he led his party gave him the authority and the courage to make that change and to bring us to where we are, in these institutions today, with credibility and with that change.

I suspect that historians will record little of his actions as First Minister. The crucial issue was that he brought about change in which he became First Minister in a partnership power-sharing Executive in this Building. The fact that he did so presented us, as others have said, with the opportunities and the challenges that we face in the difficult circumstances we are in today. If we are going to pay any respect to Ian Paisley's legacy, it would not just be in the words that we utter in the Chamber today but in a firm commitment to build on the agreements of 1998 and 2007 and embed power-sharing devolved government in a way that ensures that we, collectively, meet the needs of the people of Northern Ireland.

That, however, is a point for the future. Today, let us remember the family burying their loved one and the loss that they in particular suffer.

Mr Allister: It is natural that, in this political place, there should be a particular focus on the highly significant and highly successful politician that Ian Paisley was, but to those who will miss him most, above all that, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and a caring grandfather and great-grandfather.

Anyone who knew Ian Paisley knew that, next to his faith, his family was all-important to him. The way in which he loved, cared for, protected and promoted them was central for him. He did it as he did most things: single-mindedly and unabashed. The mutual devotion between him and his wife, Eileen, was legendary, so today we should think most of those who will miss him most. Personally and on behalf of my party, I wish to pass on to the Paisley family our sympathies at this time of great loss for them.

I have many good memories of earlier years. The House and the wider public know that, in more recent times, I had significant differences with Ian Paisley. I do not intend to dwell on them today, but I would not be true to myself if I did not record that it is, of course, an abiding regret for me that, after his decades of principled stand, his legacy in the House is terrorists in government and a system that is not fit for purpose. None of that would have been possible without Ian Paisley. The arrangements that needed to be sold to those they needed to be sold to could be sold only by Ian Paisley. By any standard, his was a remarkable political journey. Whether one approves or disapproves of it, one can but marvel at the journey from being the scourge of republicanism to the proclaimed friend of an unrepentant IRA commander.

Whatever one's disagreements with Ian Paisley, you could not help but like him. A big man in every sense, he had many charming characteristics. He was great company, he was compassionate to those in need and, in public life, he was a colossus. His personal charisma was key to his success, and he had an easy ability to relate to all in all walks of life. That ability, which he had in abundance, was remarkable to observe, and it induced in many, of course, an unshakeable loyalty towards him.

I would venture to say that Ian Paisley was the most charismatic politician that these islands produced in the 20th century. Yes, he could have a sharp tongue, felt sometimes by friends as well as foes. Yes, it was not always deployed judiciously, but, in his day, he was an orator in this land without equal. It made him into a renowned parliamentarian who used those oratorical skills to great effect. In his prime, in this place and in the House of Commons, he was in a league of his own. In the pulpit, too, he was a prince of preachers, and many have reason to be eternally grateful for his ministry there.

It has been said, but it bears repetition: we will not see the like of him again.

Mr Agnew: Ian Paisley had many titles over the years, the most recent one being, "The Lord Bannside". He was a councillor, an MLA, an MP and a Member of the European Parliament, and he had the titles "Reverend" and "Doctor" in front of his name. However, when we get to sickness and, ultimately, death, all those titles strip away. The status that they proclaim on us can mean very little, and we are left with a human being who is vulnerable to life's final conclusion. That is important to remember on the death of a public figure. We should remember the vulnerability of the family and the difficulties that they face.

It was with much regret that I witnessed some of the comment on and reaction to the death of Margaret Thatcher. When public figures or politicians retire, that is the time to reflect on their political career and to pass comment and judgement. Today, we mourn the death of a human being and remember him as a person more so than various roles that he played in his life.

I make the comparison with Margaret Thatcher, and it is an apt one, because both had a huge impact on our politics. Although he had a particular impact in Northern Ireland, there is no doubt that Ian Paisley's importance went well beyond this Province. Both equally divided opinion and provoked a strong reaction in people. As I said, the time of someone's death is a time to moderate our reactions and be respectful to the memory of the person and to the grieving family, friends and wider circle.

I have heard it asked many times over the past few days, "What will history conclude? What will the final analysis be on Ian Paisley? What will be his legacy?" To come back to what Mr Robinson said, in a short speech you could not sum up Ian Paisley, and I do not think that history will ever become able to reconcile a standard narrative on his impact on the politics of Northern Ireland and beyond. He was too significant and complex a man to be distilled into such an easy conclusion.

However, if, as many have suggested, his legacy is to be that we have these Assembly institutions and that he was a significant, if not the final, piece in getting stable politics in Northern Ireland, and if that indeed is to be how we finally assess the contribution of Ian Paisley, then it is incumbent on all those who rise to pay tribute to him today, particularly those in the positions of highest responsibility — and it was noticeable that the First Minister and deputy First Minister spoke with such fondness towards the man — to do everything in their power to make these institutions work for peace in Northern Ireland and for the betterment of our citizens.

On behalf of myself and the Green Party in Northern Ireland, I would like to extend deepest condolences to the Paisley family, to his friends and to all of his many, many well-wishers.

Mr McNarry: On behalf of Nigel Farage and myself, I extend condolences to Baroness Paisley and the family circle. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, of course.

We are gathered to pay tribute to Ian Paisley as our former First Minister. This is a time for respect, so let us face it and be honest that, without Ian Paisley saying yes and embracing power-sharing, this Assembly would not be here today nor would we be in a position to make this tribute. I suspect that listening to us right now — some sworn enemies, some hypocrites and some in genuine grief and despair — "the Doc" would be having a good chuckle. His sense of humour, certainly for me, took us through many traumas.

He shocked outsiders and insiders when he led the DUP into power-sharing with republicans. It was an amazing time and an amazing day when he made that decision. Some concluded then disappointment in him. Well, I did not. How could you be disappointed when he took on, and took over, the groundwork cleared out painfully and to the cost of others before him, which culminated in him walking into office as First Minister? I would like to think that, whilst the issue was the same for any unionist and therefore fraught with complexities, the solution in the end proved to be relatively simple. Ultimately, he chose what he thought was good for the people and best for the country, and it is in that context that I pay tribute to him.

So, I say respectfully: thanks, "Doc". The "never" moved towards a "maybe" and turned into a "yes". It was a yes to work in progress, a yes to move forward, and a yes to ensuring Northern Ireland's continued Britishness. Our job from here on is to hold that line and do what we think is best for our country. Rest in peace, Dr Paisley, and thank you for your time in office.

Mr B McCrea: I offer my sincere condolences to Ian Paisley's family. As Mr Agnew acknowledged earlier, it is sometimes difficult with events like this to separate the personal loss from the political legacy.

I will just say — I say it advisedly — that I liked Ian Paisley. I got talking to him towards the end of his political career. I did not always like Ian Paisley. I did not always agree with him. In fact, if I am really honest, almost all of my political awareness since I was growing up was against what Ian Paisley was talking about. I did not accept his argument, and I was disappointed in the way that he used his talent. But such was the wonder of the man that, when you got talking him and got that sense of humour and interaction, all things appeared to be possible. I perhaps did not know him politically in the way that everybody else here in this room will have done. I only saw him towards the end of his career, when perhaps he was not the orator that he had been earlier, but he still retained that sense of humanity and that willingness to have a wry smile with you that smoothed the way on a lot of issues.

I acknowledge that his commitment to his family and his faith is unquestioned. I know some of his family quite well. They, too, are personalities, and they, too, will have a contribution to make in the coming years. They are a powerful legacy for this place. My message to them is that we are absolutely at one with their loss. It is the loss of someone very special. I hope that they use their talent to move forward and bring this place to a better place.

It is one thing to have great oratorial skills and the great ability to get people to follow you; it is a different thing to get them to follow you in the right direction.

I will conclude on this message by saying that, yes, no one can say other than that Ian Paisley dominated politics in Northern Ireland for 40 years or longer. Of course he did, and he will have a legacy, but I hope that that legacy is a Northern Ireland that is at peace with itself and is able to build a future and to show that it is OK to make friends with people who you once thought were your enemy. I do not agree with some of the assertions that are put forward in the Chamber that that is a bad thing. The mark of a man — a big man — is the ability to change your mind, and we witness today the passing of a great man and a big man.

Lord Morrow: The name of Ian Paisley is known in different tones. Those of who know him affectionately knew him as the "Big Man". Some know him as Lord Bannside, some as the Reverend Ian Paisley and some, of course, as the "Doc". Right at the outset, I want to extend my sincere sympathy at this time to Baroness Paisley; to his sons Kyle and Ian; to Cherith, Rhonda and Sharon; and to his brother, Harold, and sister, Margaret. They will miss him the most.

It is at times like this that you start to reflect on when you first met the person who has passed away. I can very vividly remember that experience, and it was quite an experience. I was but a stripling. I remember my first encounter with him, and he was everything in stature that I was not. I felt so very insignificant in his presence. It goes back to August 1964. I was a boy at school then. I was not at primary school, but it seemed as if I was as I stood there that day. Dr Paisley had a great passion for the lost and the perishing, and he had come to conduct a gospel mission in a place called Laghey, Killyman. For those of you who do not know where it is, it lies about two and a half miles south-west of Dungannon town.

I remember that first encounter so vividly that I will never ever forget it, and he left a mark on me that I will never forget either. When I stood there that day as but a boy, and a very small boy and very small in a whole lot of ways, because I was standing beside a giant — those of us who are not over six feet and who stand beside someone who is well over that do look and feel very small, and that is how I felt that day — I was struck right away that that man with the big booming voice and a big heart — he had a big heart — had a love and compassion for everyone, irrespective of who they were. That was my first and lasting impression of Dr Ian Paisley or, as he is today, Lord Bannside.

Dr Paisley was challenging, inspirational, persuasive, direct and sincere in everything that he put his hand to. I am doubtful whether there was anyone who had a greater love for his country than Ian Paisley. He was a colossus — that word has been used often — on the political landscape. Whether you agreed with him or not, you could not ignore him. I suspect that even his political opponents today would acknowledge that he could not be ignored.

He was, of course, a man with tremendous faith, passion and zeal unequalled. I learned many valuable lessons — enduring lessons — that have stayed with me to this day. I listened to one of my party colleagues today who had been asked whether he had ever been admonished by Dr Paisley. Well, I must have been a good boy, because I cannot recall ever being admonished by him, but I vividly recall being in the room — I am not talking about Stormont here — when others were, and I just thank God that I was not that person. However, when that was all over, it was over, and he moved on to other things.

I counted it a great honour and privilege that, when Dr Paisley was elevated to the House of Lords, I was asked to be one of his co-sponsors along with Lady Boothroyd. I will always hold it dear that he thought me worthy to be one of his co-sponsors on the day that he was elevated to the House of Lords.

Again, I want to say how sorry we are as a party. As an individual and, speaking for my wife and family, we miss him the most. Northern Ireland and politics somehow will not be the same without him.

Mr Principal Deputy Speaker: I ask Members who wish to contribute to rise in their places in the usual way, because we are not sure of the completeness of the list of names that has been subscribed. In order to get as many in as possible — we have just over half an hour — I ask Members to confine their remarks to three minutes.

Ms Ruane: Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. Tá muid ag smaoineamh inniu ar chlann Paisley, Baroness Paisley, an cúigear páistí agus na garpháistí. Our thoughts today are with Baroness Paisley, her five children and her grandchildren. Bhí saol lán agus fada ag an Uasal Paisley.

Across Ireland, people have had a very wide range of views about Mr Ian Paisley during the 88 years of his long life. I can say without fear or favour that our First Minister has made a contribution to history, and history will obviously analyse that and judge that; today is not a day for that.

I want to focus today on my dealings with Rev Ian Paisley during my time on the Executive. We had very different views on a wide range of issues. I was a feminist — I do not think that Ian Paisley ever named himself as a feminist — and I was a supporter of equality in education and the abolition of the 11-plus. Mr Paisley had different views, although I often wondered whether he was a secret supporter of getting rid of the 11-plus.

We also had very different views on equality for the LGBT community, but, at all times, he treated me with the utmost courtesy and respect.

I never felt his tongue as Lord Morrow mentioned earlier. He was courteous at all times, including during some very fraught Executive debates that he jointly chaired with Martin McGuinness. There were fraught debates on a wide range of issues, and education was one of the issues in the eye of the storm at that time. I remember coming out of one Executive meeting and ending up in the middle of Ian Paisley and Peter Robinson, just because of the way that we had all walked out of the room. Afterwards, I drove to Mayo to see my mother, who was not well. I got some stick in Mayo after the media reports of that.

What I admire about Ian Paisley is the role that he played in helping to create a peace process. From the first day that he came out in support of power-sharing, he did not resile from it. I was privileged to be a member of the Sinn Féin team at the first meeting with the DUP here in Stormont. From that day on, I watched him. He had made a judgement: it was the right thing to do and he stuck with it. He was not in it half-heartedly. He did not jump in and out of it. He was involved in all aspects. He was equally gregarious at North/South meetings — I remember him in Dublin, Dundalk and various other places — and British-Irish Council meetings. I admire the leadership that he showed in the peace process. At times, it could not have been easy, and it obviously was not easy for him. All of us together created our peace process, and the peace process has changed us all. Rinne Ian Paisley a lán oibre ar son phróiseas na síochána.

My daughter is moving on to another phase of her life — she is leaving home to go to study — but she came here at 11 years of age, and, without my knowing, went up to Ian Paisley and asked for his autograph, which she got. She has come by a lot of different things throughout her life and does not keep them all, but when we were clearing out her room, up on her noticeboard was Ian Paisley's autograph. I think that that is testament to the role that he has played in our peace process. She, like me, is a feminist and is very progressive on a wide range of issues, but she admired what Ian Paisley did for the peace process at an instinctive level.

Mr Campbell: I join others in offering my sympathy to the Paisley family today. Of course, our best wishes go to the Speaker as well as he recovers in hospital.
My mind is drawn to one of the first times that I heard of Ian Paisley, way back in the late 1960s, when the Troubles were afflicting our Province. I had heard that he was to speak at a meeting in Limavady Town Hall. I, in my naivety as a young teenager, thought that this was a political meeting, even though it was on a Sunday afternoon. I went along to hear about how Ulster's ills could be remedied. I did hear of a remedy, but it was not a remedy for political ills. The remedy was that someone like me, who was born in sin, could find a saviour. That is what he preached unequivocally and clearly that day.

I got to know him much better in the years that followed. I remember when, in 1984, the INLA planted a car bomb to try to destroy me, my wife and my family.

Of course, that was in the days before mobile phones. We had to go to another home, because ours was sealed off as the army disposal officers tried to deal with the device under our car. Ian Paisley sought out where I was and phoned me to pray and to assure me of his support in the midst of the deepest trauma.

A few years ago, when a member of my family was nearing the end and I was in hospital, the phone rang. It was Ian Paisley on the end of the phone. He was a man of compassion, a preacher and a politician. He was a man who did not broach subjects with any stealth; whatever it was, he was full on. I have read some attempts to rewrite history over the past few days, and we shall deal with those in the next few days. He was very clear in his life and his ministry: error had to be exposed, and enemies had to be opposed. That was his life; that was what he knew he had to do. Once it came to the point in his life where some of his enemies realised that they could not bomb or blast his people, he was prepared to be as assertive in his magnanimity as he was in his opposition. Once he reached that point, he was prepared to go forward. People learned that, if you kept asking Ian Paisley the wrong question, you got the wrong answer. That is why they got the word "no" all the time. However, when they asked the right question, they got the right answer.

When we come to the point that we all reach of crossing the Jordan, we need to know that Ian Paisley's saviour is our saviour, too. I know that, in the corridors of glory today, there is singing a bit louder and shouting a bit louder than there was on Thursday.

Mr Storey: It is with a great sense of personal loss and sadness that I stand in the House today. There will never be another of the stature of Ian Paisley either in Church or in state. To me, he will always be the "Doc" and the "Big Man" — that larger-than-life figure whose presence filled the room. It was a privilege for me to know him not only as my MP and moderator for over 40 years but as a friend and someone with whom I shared many occasions and of whom I have many, many precious memories. I will always be proud to be called a Paisleyite.

My first recollection of Dr Paisley was of him coming to canvass in my home village of Armoy in the heart of his North Antrim constituency. My father, a local founder member of the Protestant Unionist Party, which ultimately became the DUP, went to canvass with him around the doors of the village of Armoy. For our family, that was a special day — the day the "Big Man" came to visit our home. Little did I think that, one day, I would have a greater privilege: that of standing alongside Dr Paisley in the same elections and on the same ballot paper, representing the same North Antrim constituency he loved and served faithfully.

He married Christine and me some 26 years ago. To have him share that special day in our lives was indeed an honour. When I was ordained to serve as an elder in Ballymoney Free Presbyterian Church, he was there to be our support and to be by our side. When my late mother passed away in 2000, as Gregory and thousands of families in Northern Ireland have recounted, although out of the country, he called our home and spoke and prayed with my father and me over the phone. Indeed, it was through the faithful preaching of Dr Paisley that my late mother came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. What a reunion there has been for them in glory.

Dr Paisley was a faithful political representative for the people of North Antrim in Westminster and Stormont for over 40 years. The thumping majorities that he achieved in each election are testament to his devotion to public service and the popularity with his people. Since the sad news broke of Dr Paisley's death, I have met countless constituents over the weekend from throughout the area who have told me personal accounts of how he had helped them and their family in their circumstances with their problems. No case was ever too small for Dr Paisley to deal with. His constituents mattered to him, and his dedication to duty was unwavering. He served the people of North Antrim and Northern Ireland with fairness and diligence and without fear or favour in every forum to which he was elected.

There may be one inaccuracy that I feel is necessary to set right in the House this afternoon. Yes, he founded the DUP and the Free Presbyterian Church, but he was not the founder of the Independent Orange Institution. He was born in 1926; that institution was founded in 1903. I have no doubt that today, in glory with the late George Dawson and James McClure, colleagues who loved him, they will have had a reunion to recall those days of the past. He was made a freeman of the borough of Ballymoney, the first local authority to confer that honour on him, in 2001 because in that town they loved him. The resolve that they had for him is resounding.

In conclusion, I want to extend to Baroness Paisley and, in particular, to my close friend and colleague Ian Paisley Jr and to the entire family circle, including Mrs Beggs and his brother Harold in Canada, my sincere sympathy at the loss of a great man of God. Let us ever be mindful of the words of scripture that tell us in Psalm 116:

Mr Poots: First, I wish well the Speaker and Minister Kennedy, who are unwell at this time. The greatest tribute to Ian Paisley will not be in the eloquent speeches of people in this Chamber or, indeed, in the well-crafted words of Prime Ministers or statesmen. The greatest tribute to Ian Paisley will be those simple tributes that will come and have come from many men and women over the weekend that they came to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through hearing the preaching of Ian Paisley. I had the privilege from being a very young boy of hearing that preaching. He spoke with fire and fervour, with passion and compassion and with power and conviction, and his impact was felt right across Northern Ireland but well beyond Northern Ireland. My sister was one of those who came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through his preaching. She ended up taking the gospel to the people in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. In Brazil, many lepers were healed as a result of the work of Bill Woods, who went out there on the support of Ian Paisley and many others. People in the slums of Manila, and people in the mountains of Nepal. That was the spread of the man. It was not just Northern Ireland but has been a worldwide spread. Locally, many a drunkard, a gambler and a wife-beater sought Jesus Christ after hearing the preaching of Ian Paisley, which made a remarkable difference to families.

He looked on his political opponents as people who could be redeemed because he knew that the apostle Paul was a man who called himself the greatest sinner and was actually involved in the killing of people. He knew that anybody could find forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ, and he wanted to spread that gospel, irrespective of who it was. My father first stood with Ian Paisley in 1969 as a Protestant Unionist, and he entered this Chamber in 1973 in the old Northern Ireland Assembly. He walked in with him, and he was carried out with him. I then had the privilege of walking in with him in 1998 and of being with him right through until he retired in 2008. The more I got to know Ian Paisley, the more I liked the man. That is not a trait that always happens. He was more than a colleague. He was caring, he was kind and he was wise. He could be quite crafty. For me, he was a friend, a brother and a mentor, but most of all he was a spiritual father. I had the opportunity of spending time with the family yesterday. As we recalled stories, we laughed and considered various things. We mourned, and we wept.

As we gather today to remember Ian Paisley, we owe it to him and to future generations to carry through the work that he has done and to ensure that it is not undone. He wanted peace in our land and peace in people's hearts. There is a great work still to be done, and it is our duty to do it.

Mr Wells: We have heard many eloquent words here today. I just want to focus on the enormous energy of Dr Paisley. I worked for the DUP between 1981 and 1985, and I well remember one Friday evening when Dr Paisley rang me up and said, "Brother Wells, I want to see you at Aldergrove airport at six o'clock". I said to Dr Paisley, "That is fine. I will have a lie-in, have an early lunch and see you at Aldergrove at six". He said, "At six o'clock this morning". I also knew that he was speaking at a DUP dinner in Kesh and that Rev William McCrea was singing. In those days, the Rev McCrea had a habit of gathering us all around the piano after an event and singing until the small hours, and that, indeed, is what happened. We sang until 1.00 am, I caught the plane at 6.00 am, and Dr Paisley spoke at an Orange parade in Glasgow. He then came back, picked up his car and was driven to Londonderry to open a new Free church there. He then came back that night and spoke to the prisoners in Crumlin Road prison. He had four services on the Sunday, and he bounced into the office on Monday morning as bright as a daisy. I was absolutely exhausted, and all I had done was follow him.

That was the type of man that Dr Paisley was. He had the most enormous energy. No one can understand how anyone could work as hard as Dr Paisley. He often joked and said that he had a day's work done before most men were out of their bed, and I can confirm that that is true. He never seemed to sleep. He would regularly ring you at 1.00 am or 2.00 am asking for something to be done.

I also saw the spiritual side of Dr Paisley. I was in Rathfriland campaigning, and he heard that someone who admired him greatly but was not a member of his Church was facing the valley of the shadow of death and was about to pass away from cancer. He dropped everything and went to that house. I will never forget the comfort, succour and support he gave to that family. No one could handle that type of situation better than Dr Paisley. While thousands of people from Northern Ireland will bless the day that they attended a mission or service at which Dr Paisley preached, there are many other thousands whom we will not hear about who have passed through into death with comfort and support from Dr Paisley. No one could do that better.

I have so many memories over the last 40 years. Northern Ireland, Ulster, the United Kingdom and Ireland are much poorer places for his passing. There will never be another Ian Paisley. Even if Ian Paisley had been nothing more than a carpenter or a plumber, he would have been well known in his community, but he was so much more. I will find it an enormous privilege to tell my grandchildren that I knew Ian Paisley. I think that it is a great honour to be able to say that.

Mr Frew: I rise with great sadness on this historic day in the Chamber. I can boast that I am younger than most people who have spoken here today. My first recollection of the great man Paisley was in the early 1980s when I was young boy on a tricycle, or at least on a bike with stabilisers. When Paisley came to visit a household, or even just to canvass, he would have had an entourage that no one else could match. When Dr Paisley was in your street or your area, you knew about it and so did that community. That community would have congregated around that street or house to catch even a glimpse of the great man or to say hello to him. That is why none of us here could ever compare to the man who was Dr Paisley.

Many things have been said here about Dr Paisley and many things were written about him throughout his life, but I would like to concentrate on Dr Paisley the servant, because that is what Dr Paisley was, first and foremost.

I grew up with Dr Paisley as a childhood hero. Some might say, "That's sad. Why would you have a politician as a hero?", but he was much more than a politician. For many people in North Antrim and Ballymena, he was their hero. That is because he served them and helped them. In his constituency work, he got the mould and broke it, and he set a new standard that no one from that day to now has ever had the energy, the passion or the compassion to match. All in this room can try, but I doubt that any of us will be able to match that energy, work rate and commitment to the people, not only of North Antrim but of Northern Ireland, when he served them in Westminster, Europe and this House.

He was also a family man, and not only in the true sense of the word. Around these Benches today, he created a family that worked tirelessly, followed him, tried to be like him, tried to work like him and tried to have the energy like his. If there is anything that we around these Benches can do today and for ever more, it is to try to match that energy and commitment. That will be our lasting tribute to the person that we know affectionately as "Doc".

Mr Principal Deputy Speaker: Before I call the next Member to speak, I want to point out that some Members who have taken the trouble to put their name down are not going to be called, because we are simply going to run out of time. So, I ask people to respect the three-minute rule or possibly even curtail their remarks to give other colleagues an opportunity to speak.

Mr Bell: It is a privilege to pay tribute to Rev Dr Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Lord Bannside. I know with certainty that Ian has already heard the greatest of all tributes because he has already heard the:

So, on this day that this great son of Ulster is laid to rest, we return our thanks to God, as Ian would want us to do, because he always put God first in his life, for the love that sought him, the blood that bought him and the grace that brought him to the fold, and how faithfully he preached Christ crucified. To be alongside Ian was to know and understand that Christ was his strength and Christ was his might. The fire of the Reformation burned strongly in Dr Paisley, and he embodied in that hymn something that we should all dedicate ourselves to — that faith of our fathers, the holy faith that he was true to until death.

He was an amazingly well-read man and a powerful orator. I do not need to pay tribute to his strengths as a politician. Long ago, he entered into the pantheon of great unionist leaders. I can remember him telling me how difficult it was when Eileen confined him to bringing 3,000 of his favourite books to their new home, because he had just short of 34,000 to choose from. He was a man of great humour and pastor's heart. As a student, I remember coming back to his house one night with a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket after putting up posters at midnight in Belfast city centre. He came in from whatever meeting he had been at and sat down with us at his kitchen table, where he filled a pint glass full of ice cubes to the brim with red Shloer and sat and joked with us until the early hours of the morning. We got up the next day just short of lunchtime to learn that Dr Paisley had been outside the shipyard in east Belfast at half six in the morning campaigning for the European election. He was an orator of excellence. He could politically face down the worst evils of terrorism and still rejoice in his faith.

I will conclude now, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, having heard your words. How do you ever finish a tribute to Ian? Ian always quoted Ephesians chapter 6, verses 19 and 20. I thought of that. Today, however, as the Rev William McCrea would have sung with him, "There are no wreaths of death on Doc's mansion door. Teardrops are not welcome beyond the gates of glory because that heart will never break any more." The Paisley family held "Doc's" hand right up until Friday afternoon and cared for him so well until a higher hand came and took his other hand to bring him home. I will finish with the words of the doxology — no pun intended:

Mr I McCrea: First, on behalf of my entire family circle, I offer our sincerest sympathies to Baroness Paisley and her family on the passing of their loved one and our friend Lord Bannside, or as others have said and as he was affectionately known to us, the "Doc".

I have had the honour of knowing Dr Paisley all of my life. In fact, although I do not recall it, when I was a child, he came to my dad's church to dedicate me as a young boy. I suppose that it came as no surprise that if there were ever to be a firstborn boy in our house, he would surely be christened after Ian Paisley. He always told me how proud he was that I carried on that name.

Over the years, my dad — and it is good to see him here today — has had a very close bond with Dr Paisley. He shared the pulpit with him. As a teenager, he was an assistant to him in Belfast. He was a colleague in the ministry for well over 40 years. He shared the Benches of Parliament at Westminster and here with Dr Paisley. Indeed, he also shared a prison cell with him in Crumlin Road Gaol. I am not sure that too many people can say all that.

Growing up as a boy, I have many memories of Dr Paisley coming to our home. I suppose that, as one of five, I always claimed that I was his favourite. Mind you, that must have been because of the fact that he always sent home a gift from Westminster with dad for me now and again that the others did not get. So, there may be some truth in it. I will hold fast to that anyway.

I have numerous memories of Dr Paisley. I will always cherish them. We will all have our own memories. Whether it was his coming to Magherafelt to open the loyalist arch, the time he spent in our home, his preaching at dad's church or indeed at the Easter convention at the Martyrs Memorial or when he was here at Stormont, Dr Paisley always took the time to ask how things were with me and my family. He always had a genuine interest and showed that he cared.

Since hearing of Dr Paisley's passing, I have been overwhelmed by the number of constituents and others who have approached me to express their sympathy. I want to ensure that the family are aware of that today.

There will never be another Dr Paisley in my lifetime. He was a giant both in the political world and as a minister of the gospel. I believe that Ian Paisley was God's man for Ulster's hour of need.

Dr Paisley will be greatly missed. His seat is now empty but many of us will carry his memory in our hearts. He loved this Province. He always gave hope in the darkest day. He brought comfort to many over the years, especially those whose lives were wrecked by terrorism. He stood up for the rights of the ordinary man. He was a true Ulsterman. Through his leadership, he has left a legacy of hope for generations to come.

In conclusion, I just want to recall the hymn that he always sang at the closing of the Easter convention. It was:

I thank God that, by his saving grace, I will meet Ian Paisley at Jesus' feet.

Mr Dunne: I, too, count it a great honour to stand today to pay tribute to Dr Paisley, whom I knew as my pastor and saw as a great leader and friend. He was a family friend who was very close to my late father and mother. As many know, I was brought up in County Fermanagh. My father and mother were great followers of Dr Paisley throughout the 1970s.

Having moved to north Down, I got involved in politics there and was involved in many election campaigns. I remember the days in Bangor market. We had a famous lady from Bangor — I am sure that a lot of you remember Beryl Holland — who was a great friend and colleague of Dr Paisley's and, in many ways, challenged him about how he carried out his business. Those are just some of the people who backed Dr Paisley in the early days. The important thing he had was the ability to link with ordinary people. He always remembered the ordinary person on the street. That is an important lesson for all of us today.

As a pastor in the Martyrs Memorial church, Paisley conducted our wedding, almost 30 years ago. He dedicated our three children and he was a faithful minister and pastor for over 60 years.

I will remember him as a great leader; in Europe, in Westminster, in the Northern Ireland Assembly and as First Minister. He made very brave decisions, and I think that he made the right decisions. I believe that the future of the Assembly is secure because of Ian Paisley.

An example of the outpouring from the people of the Province in respect of Dr Paisley happened on Friday. Shortly after the announcement was made, a lady came straight to our office in Holywood with a card for Mrs Paisley. A Roman Catholic lady, she had rushed out and bought a card and brought it to our office to be passed on as a mark of respect.

I think that I have said enough. Dr Paisley has run his race. He has finished the course. He has kept the faith.

Mr Moutray: My first real-life experience of Dr Ian Paisley was in the early 1970s when he came to speak at political open-air rallies in the Mourneview estate in Lurgan. I remember him speaking from a platform, which comprised an open-top lorry, to a crowd of maybe some 500 people. Ian Paisley had a charisma that was lacking in unionism at that time. He appealed to all sections of the unionist community, but particularly to the working-class people, whom he represented so well. My family background was not connected either politically or spiritually with what Ian Paisley represented, but I admired the man from those days for his honesty, his forthrightness and his determination, sometimes against all odds.

In later years, through political and church involvement, I got to know Dr Paisley well, and, indeed, his family. I found him to be a person of total integrity who was caring and compassionate. I remember being out on the election trail with him. That in itself was an experience. He always had time for the ordinary people on the street. Ian Paisley made a tremendous impact on the life of this Province. He was a force for good. I believe that Ulster is a much better place today because of his contribution.

To Baroness Paisley, our colleague Ian and the rest of the family, I extend condolences from myself, my wife and my family. Yet, even at this time of sadness, we are consoled to know that, as Philippians chapter 1, verse 23 says, he is:

Mr Givan: Ephesians chapter 6, verses 19 and 20, say:

Those of us who have Dr Paisley's signature on our Bible, as I do on mine, will know that he always ascribed those texts with his name and that he lived out those verses in his life, in the pulpit and in politics. It is a privilege for me to speak on this day as a tribute to him. Today, we have lost a son of Ulster. We have lost a mighty man of God.

Dr Paisley was the embodiment of what it is to be for God and Ulster. Dr Paisley had an impact on my life that was immense. My grandfather and his two brothers were founding members of the Protestant Unionist Party, which then became the DUP. My father followed him, and I will always be, and proud to be, known as a Paisleyite. I wear it as a badge of honour.

He connected generations of my family in a special way and he made an impact upon thousands of people. I thank God for his ministry in the Martyrs Memorial. My wife, 16 years ago, at a youth rally, responded to his sermon and put her trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as her own personal saviour. I and thousands of others followed Dr Paisley because he led us in a closer walk with God.

Today, our hearts are broken and we mourn with his family, but we are not without hope, because Dr Paisley is with the Lord. At church on Friday we sang that song, 'Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me', to which Dr Paisley penned a fifth verse. It states:

Dr Paisley is at home in glory, but we hear his voice loudly, as he says to those who remain, "put on the whole armour of God", "Fight the good fight", "press toward the mark", "run ... the race that is set before us", and, "God be with you till we meet again".

Mr Principal Deputy Speaker: That brings an end to the tributes to Lord Bannside. I ask the leaders of the political parties in the Chamber to join me in the Rotunda, where we will proceed to the opening and signing of the book of condolence. Members thereafter will be afforded the opportunity to sign it. The book of condolence will be available for users of this Building and staff until 3.00 pm, when it will then be open to the public.

Finally, I express my thanks and appreciation to all the Members for the sincerity of their comments and the conduct of this discussion on the life and times and contribution of Dr Ian Paisley. Thank you all very much.