Patsy McGlone
Mid Ulster · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“Limiting the power to dismiss charges involving the death of or serious physical harm to a vulnerable person will enhance the fairness and integrity of those criminal proceedings.”
“The SDLP welcomes the provisions for the long-overdue establishment of a statutory Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses of Crime. That is a significant step forward in the development of our justice system.”
“Putting the office on a statutory footing will ensure that the commissioner's role is legally recognised and accountable to the public and the justice system. The Minister outlined a number of the measures in the process of accountability.”
“OK. I thank my colleague — indeed, the Minister — for responding. It is, as the Minister said and my colleague highlighted, a sensitive area. People who are approached to give a reference should think long and hard about the implications of the references that they give: where they might wind up; the circumstances in which they give them;…”
“The SDLP welcomes the Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill and the opportunity to debate it, alongside the Chairperson — or should I say, "Mr Amendment" — at its Second Stage.”
“I accept that the Minister's Department, as she has stated repeatedly, does not have the capacity or resources to develop those legislative provisions during this mandate.”
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“The Minister knows that I have made multiple representations about the NIEA. We are veering slightly off topic, but it is an important body that will have a functional role — a functional role — in a just transition. However, it, too, needs resource. It also needs to improve its turnaround times in order that the communities that will have to adapt and respond to just transition are best empowered and best placed to do so, especially isolated rural areas such as ours, which will be faced with the consequences if just transition is not got right.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does he agree that, when it comes to the likes of a just transition, which is dealing with innovation and the future, not least the future of the planet, the commission must be sufficiently resourced in finance, experience and innovative methods, as must any report that it produces, so that those of us who live in rural areas and our economy and society are sufficiently supported and developed as we move into the future?”
“Will the Minister elaborate on how he intends to deliver the objectives of the REACH programme when the greatest concentration of youth services at risk of funding gaps are in Derry city, west Belfast and north Belfast, which also have the highest levels of need?”
“What specific targets, timelines and accountability measures are contained in the draft investment strategy to ensure that it does what, you say, it is anticipated to do, which is to deliver measurable private-sector investment, good jobs and regional balance across all parts of the North?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Chéad-Aire fosta.”
“I thank the Member for taking an intervention. You were taking me into a vein of thought, given the current international crisis, the price of oil and the way in which things have been handled in the Middle East, particularly by President Trump. That has been a salutary lesson to many Governments across the world about total reliance on fossil fuels. Biomethane is yet another alternative that we have in our pack to try and ease the heavy reliance on fossil fuels, and it should be tested, particularly in our rural areas.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. We have had a few debates in the Chamber on the nutrients action programme (NAP), some of which were not particularly productive. During those debates, ideas were put forward, including one from my party, to address and alleviate the problem and support the farming community so that it can see a better future in a similar way to what has been done south of the border. They are good, innovative ideas that need to be supported.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answer. This is invaluable work, and I entirely support it. Many people require supported living, and many come from institutional care and require reintegration into the community. I will refer to a constituency issue. What duty of care do the organisations responsible for the placement of individuals, some of whom have severe mental health problems and are bordering on being high risk, have to others who live nearby? What responsibility and duty of care has the likes of, let us say, Praxis to individuals living in close proximity to those who have those high-risk behavioural problems?”
“Minister, you published the wildfire action plan earlier this month, and there is a pledge to look at existing legislation to deal with those who start wildfires. You touched on enforcement: what measures are you considering, and are you going to be harsher on those who are found guilty of engaging in and starting wildfires? Secondly, do you have a timescale for the overall work?”
“Will you please elaborate on what those specific issues are and the "urgent and sustained" action that is required?”
“Thank you very much for your statement, Minister. You said:”
“Thank you for your answer, Minister. I am sure that everyone in the House shares the views that you expressed about that very dangerous act at the police station and the danger that was caused to civilians, not least the driver of the vehicle. <BR /> <BR />Minister, can you indicate whether there are any additional cross-border initiatives taking place to ensure that organised crime, such as drug trafficking and human exploitation, and paramilitary crime can be tackled?”
“Thanks very much for giving way, Minister. Given, as you outlined, the wide range of other statutory bodies that would need to be involved, and given that they may have legal duties under such a law, would that not narrow the confines of the spread of any amendment that might be introduced?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does the Member agree that the lightness of such sentences and, indeed, the anonymity afforded to some people in court feed the narrative that, in fact, they are some sort of agents for the police?”
“I intend, as, I am sure, will other Members, to engage positively with the Department and the Minister on that and make sure that, in this mandate, we see good, effective legislation that helps to deliver for the many people who have been victimised over the years and who look to the Assembly for something positive that recognises their hurt and loss and delivers proper justice.”
“I thank the Minister for elaborating on that. Perhaps, in her winding-up comments, the Minister will indicate whether she will take the Scottish route, which she outlined, and introduce a separate misogyny Bill. That would be very helpful. Nevertheless, according to one official, sex is one of the groups that could be added at a later stage. The Minister has clarified her position on that. I suggest that, rather than follow the English and Welsh model, we align our hate crime legislation now with that on the rest of the island of Ireland and with the intention in Scotland to include characteristics of sex or gender in the protected groups. <BR /> <BR />The Bill includes important provisions that can help to secure public confidence in the criminal justice system. I hope that, as the Bill progresses, those issues can be resolved.”
“That is a direct quote from one of the officials who attended that meeting and presented evidence. Perhaps they were not looking carefully enough, or perhaps they need to widen the scope of what they are looking at or to liaise more with the police and community and voluntary groups to establish the extent and nature of that particular crime, as I suggest that it is.”
“That is consistent with what the Minister outlined. However, we were recently informed that the Minister sought agreement from her Executive colleagues in November 2025 to introduce and include transgender identity as a protected group in the Bill. It was the Executive's inability to agree to that measure that meant that transgender identity as a protected group was removed from the Bill. That lack of consistency in the approach to protected groups was compounded by the argument from the departmental official at the Justice Committee in November 2025 that officials had already looked at sex as a potential protected group but decided that incidents where:”
“One of the departmental officials who attended the Justice Committee meeting on 27 November last year stated:”
“I thank the Minister for that. Equally, I trust and hope that the level of commitment to engaging with and delivering such legislation will not be hindered by anything in or outwith the Chamber, as has been the case up to now. <BR /> <BR />I am sure that, within the past hour, the Minister and other Members received the email from the Commissioner for Older People expressing disappointment that crimes against older people have not been included in the Bill. Hopefully, that will be a matter for consideration by the Minister when it comes to the secondary legislation that she suggested. <BR /> <BR />We had been told that the Bill was about introducing the statutory aggravator model, starting with the four existing protected groups, and that the second provision was there to introduce the additional protected groups at a later date.”
“We do not believe that it reflects the ambition or the progressive nature of Judge Marrinan's recommendations.”
“or "perform a public duty". I think that I was one of the members who raised at Committee the issue of what that definition might be. The Chair already mentioned that issue. There is some concern that the widespread extension of that offence could undermine the original intention to protect emergency workers, who are already covered. <BR /> <BR />I also highlight our concern about the provisions for a statutory aggravator model for hate crime. It was supposed to reflect the recommendations from Judge Marrinan's review of the way in which the justice system deals with criminal conduct motivated by hate, malice, ill will or prejudice. While the proposed mechanism itself may allow for that, we are concerned about the Minister's apparent minimalist approach to protected groups or characteristics.”
“It is, however, outcomes that will ultimately play a greater role in improving public confidence, and they will need to be monitored very carefully. The Bill also creates an offence of assaulting a public worker, extending the existing offences of assault on police, fire and rescue officers and ambulance workers to cover all public workers who:”
“In November 2021, the Justice Minister announced proposals on Charlotte's law in the Chamber, but they have been delayed by the actions of the parties who sit in the Executive Office. I hope that there are not similar delays in introducing the legislation that is required for Caoimhe's law. Given the raised expectations of victims' families, it is important that the preparations be made and the resources put in place so that the Bill's provisions can deliver real impact from day 1. <BR /> <BR />My party also welcomes the changes to the procedure for addressing unduly lenient sentences. Simplifying and expanding the arrangements is a step in the right direction to improving public confidence in the justice system.”
“They will no doubt be keeping a close watch on what happens here today and, indeed, at the Justice Committee as it scrutinises the Bill to ensure, as the Chair committed to earlier, that there is effective delivery for those people who have already suffered loss, hurt and injury as a consequence of what has happened to them in their lives. <BR /> <BR />The Bill's provisions are all important and very welcome changes. In particular, I welcome the introduction of provisions for Charlotte's law. We acknowledge the Murray and Dorrian families at this time. We are also reminded of the pain suffered and injustice felt by the families of those who were disappeared by the Provisional IRA, some of whom have waited over 40 years for the return of the body of their loved one.”
“Enda was an 18-year-old student from Killyclogher in County Tyrone who had been studying architecture at Queen's University. On 15 October 2014, on the Malone Road in south Belfast, a van driver who had taken drink and drugs mounted the pavement and struck Enda. Enda was thrown on to the roof of the van. The driver continued driving before eventually stopping. Enda died from his injuries at the scene. The driver pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and related offences. He was initially sentenced to seven years in prison, with the sentence later being increased on appeal. Enda's family launched the Run for Enda campaign and have, for many years, advocated for tougher sentences for drink- and drug-driving that causes death. As I said, Peter and Niamh, Enda's parents, are with us in the Public Gallery.”
“We in the SDLP have proposed modest reforms that would prevent a repeat of such lengthy delays with important legislation in future by allowing the Assembly to continue to sit and to scrutinise drafted legislation in circumstances in which a single party chooses to collapse the Executive. <BR /> <BR />The Bill is important. It includes a number of provisions on the exercising of the court's discretion when sentencing, the availability and effect of suspended sentence orders, the determination of tariffs where a court is required to pass a life sentence and a review of certain sentences. It also increases penalties and disqualification periods for causing death or serious injury by dangerous driving. As the Minister and the Committee Chair have already said, we have the parents of Enda Dolan in the Public Gallery.”
“The SDLP welcomes the Second Stage debate on the Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc) Bill. As has already been set out, its provisions are important and overdue. The review of issues to do with sentencing policy that the Bill covers was announced 10 years ago, and proposals for a sentencing guidelines mechanism were announced four years before that, in 2012. As always, it is important to take the right approach to addressing the issues. The time, however, that has been taken to introduce a new legislative framework and a new and effective sentencing guidelines mechanism cannot be considered to be helpful for securing public confidence in the criminal justice system. It is for the parties responsible for causing the delays in the legislation's introduction to reflect on the impact of their decisions.”
“Given the expectations raised with victims' families, what steps are being taken to ensure that the preparations are made and the resources are in place so that the reforms deliver a real impact from day one?”
“Minister, the speeding up justice programme will increase the number of cases being dealt with, but can you give an assurance that it will not diminish the quality of justice that people receive?”
“Thanks very much indeed to the Member for outlining the issues at NI Water and the infrastructure requirements on the ground. Will the Member add a fourth element? That element, as it should be for all public bodies, is the efficient running, administration and management of public funds.”
“Minister, on the issue of the drive towards a cashless society, can you advise whether your Department, perhaps in conjunction with the Treasury, has done any evaluation of how vulnerable that leaves people in the event of a crash in either the banking system or the electrical supply, as happened in Spain fairly recently?”
“Minister, a very strong theme has been reverberating throughout the Chamber. Will you outline the direct engagement that you will have with small rural schools and their communities before those schools are assessed against any agreed criteria, and will you guarantee that rural schools will not simply be the first casualty of a budget?”
“Thank you, Minister. I will just pick up on that area that you were taking us into of cross-departmental collaboration. Can you specify how resources among Departments and, indeed, external agencies are being coordinated to ensure that homeless people, particularly those who are vulnerable due to mental health needs, are being looked after?”
“We have AI, artificial general intelligence (AGI) and the potential for artificial superintelligence (ASI). The potential that can arise from all that is developing at a very fast rate. Therefore, what specialist expert opinion has the Department engaged to make sure that Departments keep pace with or, at least, try to keep pace with that and to engage in monitoring and supervision to make sure that AI does not travel too far ahead or too fast ahead of the normal expectations of society?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Minister, the point that I made about access to services is that, important though the thrombectomy services are, the rurality of major sections of Northern Ireland is such that access to the ambulance services to transport people to the thrombectomy provision is vital to their treatment. Are you intent on addressing that deficiency?”
“My sincere sympathies go to the McLernon and O'Neill families, and their extended families, on the passing of a true gentleman.”
“We all, including those in the Gallery, know how important those hours are for at least some form of recovery and treatment of the patient. Regrettably, Michael passed away on 2 February. I have the permission of the family to raise his case here. Access to an ambulance and to thrombectomy services are crucial for stroke victims. The deployment of extra resources to the Ambulance Service and first responders is complementary to the provision of thrombectomy services in the hospital, which are provided by those excellent staff. <BR /> <BR />That, Minister, is a real-life example. In particular, it is an example of life in many of our rural areas. I conclude my remarks by saying of Michael: may God rest his gentle soul. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam séimh.”
“The ambulance left Michael's address in rural Tyrone at approximately 3.30 am and headed to Antrim Area Hospital, which is about 35 or 40 minutes away, so the estimated time of arrival was 4.15 am. The Ambulance Service's mean target for category 2 calls is 18 minutes. A recent analysis reported that fewer than one in five suspected stroke or heart attack calls were reached within that 18-minute target. In this case, the response time was more than three hours. <BR /> <BR />When Michael was admitted to Antrim Area Hospital, the care that was provided by the stroke team was excellent: the family told me that and wanted to pay tribute to the staff at Antrim Area Hospital. However, he was admitted approximately five hours after he had taken the stroke.”
“I welcome the members of Stroke Association and NI Chest Heart and Stroke who are in the Public Gallery, particularly Clodagh Dunlop, who has been a true champion of and advocate for thrombectomy services. We need those services 24/7. As is the case in so many other areas, the other part of that equation is getting access to the services. <BR /> <BR />I will speak about Michael, who took a stroke on Tuesday 27 January 2026. The first call was made to the emergency services at 11.30 pm. That was followed by at least two more calls. I made representations about the case, through the Minister's office. No first responders were available, and no ambulance was available. An ambulance eventually arrived at approximately 2.30 am.”
“Minister, will you clarify which of the proposed measures you intend to prioritise, what budget has been allocated to that work and how progress will be measured so that survivors can see that change is happening?”
“As we know, the dispute has been going on for 14 months without resolution, and we know and accept the difficulties that it is causing for victims. I want to tease something out: has mediation been brought to a close? Is that option not there?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an fhreagra sin.”
“Minister, I am sure that you will recall previous commitments, including from the First Minister, to introduce school bus safety legislation. Why has that not been included in this year's Executive legislation programme? Can you give us assurances that, in fact, it will be implemented within the mandate?”
“Minister, picking up on what Mr McGuigan said, we understand that the cost of such screening is a mere £5 per child. Do you agree that £5 per child is not much to spend to ensure that the number impacted each year —? We could give people the best start in life, and prevention and early detection could save the health service quite a lot of money in the longer term.”
“More staff than five years ago, more expensive than five years ago and poorer delivery than five years ago: that is the Northern Ireland Audit Office's damning verdict on our Civil Service's value for money. Can the Minister explain why three quarters of the reform recommendations that the NI Audit Office made in 2020 have not been implemented? How many will be implemented before the end of the mandate?”
“<BR /> <BR />We welcome the provisions in general. We have concerns, as I outlined, about how some of the measures will operate in practice. As with all powers, their effectiveness will depend on their implementation and the allocation of resources by the relevant Ministers.”
“In the absence of an extradition treaty, the resolution of those cases may ultimately depend on diplomatic pressure, as is the case now. Similarly, the provisions regarding the suspicious sales of knives may sound reasonable, but it remains to be seen how those will operate in practice and whether they will actually reduce knife crime. <BR /> <BR />We are disappointed that there is no new offence to criminalise the creation of deepfake sexualised images. I am sure that the Minister will address that. I would be interested to find out, too, Minister, what representations the Department made to the Home Office on that specific issue to see whether amendments can be introduced to the Bill at Westminster. My colleague Cara Hunter, as we heard, has been campaigning on that issue for some time, and we and she will continue to do so.”
“The new provisions to enable the Department for Infrastructure to introduce legislation to restrict access to replacement driving licences for registered sex offenders are reasonable, but we expect the Infrastructure Minister to introduce the required legislation promptly when that power is enabled, and to address the issues raised by Mr Beattie. <BR /> <BR />We hope that the new offence of child abduction, where a child is kept abroad without appropriate consent, will act as a deterrent. However, it is less clear how useful it will be when a parent or guardian is attempting to have a child returned from abroad. There has been much publicity around at least two such cases in the North and, indeed, in the rest of the island.”
“The provisions will make it an offence for any adult to attempt to involve a child in criminal activity. The criminalisation of the possession or publication of pornography that portrays strangulation or suffocation is a step forward in addressing the harm that extreme pornography can cause, and we welcome the protection for victims of stalking, including new guidance for the PSNI on disclosing information about the identity of the abusers in those cases. <BR /> <BR />Those are welcome measures that will have long-term benefits for society. We have concerns, however, about the implementation of some of them.”