Mr. Ronan Gallagher:

I thank Ms Hanna and it is good to see her again.

On her first question, we very much have had an engagement with the Northern Ireland cancer strategy, including where we presented this vision to the all-party group on cancer in highlighting the opportunity that is here. We have also had quite a number of conversations where I presented this vision to Cancer Focus Northern Ireland, which is one of the main cancer charities in Northern Ireland. There are definite opportunities there and this is very much on that agenda in how we can work together.

On the biotech sector and Invest NI, this is particularly relevant - and I will explain this now for other people in the group - because we are in the middle at the moment of the Belfast Region City Deal, which is a significant investment in infrastructure in Northern Ireland in a number of different areas including data, creative industries, health and life sciences clinical trials, and all of these are very relevant to this programme. One of the things that we have been feeding into the Belfast Region City Deal and also to the Derry-Strabane City Deal are the opportunities to look at ways in which we can work together right across the island. The SME is particularly important in Northern Ireland in respect of that community and we have been working very closely with it both in general as to both Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University but also in highlighting this potential opportunity.

Hopefully, the Belfast Region City Deal will finally be announced at the end of next month and it is something that we have been working on for the past three years. It is essentially a £1 billion programme right across Northern Ireland in the Belfast city region, and, as I said, there are other deals as well. These provide that opportunity for innovation and we certainly see cancer research and care being an integral part of that.

Going back, perhaps, I will answer Ms Hanna’s question or part of it and I thank her for the questions. I was there in 1999 in Government Buildings in Stormont. A sense of excitement and a sense that this was something different very much permeated that which was to do with Professor Johnston and his vision. Thankfully we are bringing that vision along and bringing it to the next level. He is, hopefully, up there looking down at us proudly.