Michelle O'Neill
Mid Ulster · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“We are shocked and deeply saddened for both the victim of the horrific incident in north Belfast and the people who have been impacted on by the disorder that we have witnessed since. There is absolutely no justification for racism, violence or intimidation.”
“It is the latest chapter in a political psychodrama. It has been playing out in Westminster for forever and a day but particularly over the past 10 years. Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of Brexit, which inflicted so much damage to the wider economy. We are now on the verge of having a seventh British Prime Minister in 10 years.”
“We cannot look at things in isolation. Whether it is the refugee integration strategy, the framework or the legislation, all those things need to move together and at pace.”
“I agree with the Member about the ugly language that was used to describe some people in our community. Like the Member, I have met many people from the black and ethnic minority community in recent times. I do that on an ongoing basis, but I did so recently given what happened over the last number of weeks.”
“There is not just one answer to it, as the Member knows. We need to come at it from every angle. That could be a policing response initially, for which additional funding was secured. I agree that this is the third year in a row in which we have had that type of racist behaviour on our streets. Likewise, I would describe it as a pogrom.”
“Building on that progress, the Executive Office is contributing £3·3 million towards the Derry on the North Atlantic Museum, which is due to open in 2027 and will further enhance Ebrington’s role as a heritage and tourism destination. <BR /> <BR />Ebrington is also continuing to develop as a vibrant events space.”
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“Work is also progressing with partners to advance other elements of the delivery plan, including work with sectoral groups to address key issues such as safer socialising and healthy relationships.”
“<BR /> <BR />Work on the regional change fund investment with the community and voluntary sector continues to progress with a view to making an announcement imminently. In partnership with the PSNI and DOJ, the Power to Change public awareness campaign will also be launched soon. The campaign uses the active bystander approach and targets harmful attitudes and behaviours of men and boys. <BR /> <BR />Recently, Junior Minister Reilly and Junior Minister Cameron had the opportunity to meet the six successful suppliers that are developing innovative ideas and solutions to tackle the scourge of violence against women and girls. That was part of two small business research initiative challenges.”
“Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will answer questions 5 and 12 together. <BR /> <BR />The ending violence against women and girls first delivery plan was published last September. It sets out key actions to support collaboration across government and wider society. It focuses on prevention and early intervention over the next 15 months. As part of a wider £3·2 million investment, we launched the local change fund on 9 January. A total of £2 million will be shared across 11 councils to enable them to support ending violence against women and girls action in their local areas. That funding will support community networks and provide opportunities for grassroots organisations to play their part in preventing violence, harm and abuse against women and girls.”
“We have not engaged with Scotland or Wales on the issue. I think that Dublin is the only place in Europe that has pre-clearance at this stage. We will continue to make the case for connectivity. It is written in the draft Programme for Government that connectivity is so important to growing our economy. We should pursue anything that helps us to improve that situation.”
“I have just said that it is. I just said that the deputy First Minister and I are committed to working with the Economy Minister to pursue it even further. We should take that advantage if we can get it. Ultimately, because of the cost of such infrastructure, it will come down to the airport itself, so we will engage with it also. It is clear what the Economy Minister has set out: connectivity is so important to our economic growth. Therefore, trying to improve connectivity across our island will always be a good thing. So, yes, I cannot be any clearer about the fact that the deputy First Minister and I have said that we are committed to working with the Economy Minister to pursue the matter further.”
“He has set out in an economic strategy and plan how that can be done by using the Windsor framework to grow local exports and attract better FDI, taking full advantage of the all-island economy and collaborating very much with our business representatives, trade unions and academia. He has also set out his clear mission to have a highly productive, zero-carbon and regionally balanced economy with good jobs. <BR /> <BR />As we constantly review, prepare and plan for the future, such reports are very much a welcome part of what we have in the public domain, so that we understand what makes our economy tick and how we can look towards growing it into the future for everybody.”
“Yes, very much so. I have just started to take a look through it. I very much welcome the fact that the report has been published by the Economic and Social Research Institute, because I think that it will contribute to a wider understanding of how our economy works. Our Executive colleague Conor Murphy is working to ensure that our economy serves everybody and serves everybody well and that everybody gets to enjoy prosperity.”
“It is about Irish America, engagement across the board, drumming up tourism potential and so much more. We can consider all these things going forward.”
“I think that there is a lot of grey area about what the intention of this new Administration will be, particularly when it comes to economic policy and protectionism policy. Therefore, we will have to work our way through that. He is only being inaugurated as we speak, and we can consider all these things in the round going forward. My interest in engaging with an American Administration is always in our own selfish interests, and that is important. We can all have our own views on the individual who holds the position of president, and we are all entitled to do so. The American people voted for this president, so that is their prerogative. My concern is about what is good for our economy, what is good for our job creation and what is good for our ongoing engagement, which is much wider than the White House.”
“<BR /> <BR />Appointments such as that of a US envoy are yet to be made, but we have had beneficial experiences of working with previous envoys. Let us hope that we can have similar types of benefits going forward.”
“As the Member has noted, the inauguration is happening as we speak, I believe. Obviously, we will continue to work proactively to try to secure pre-clearance. That would be an enormous economic booster for us here. As we have done with previous Administrations, regardless of who is at the helm, we will work with those who are responsible for delivering this important economic booster. The Economy Minister has taken that forward quite strongly in engaging with the Department for Transport and in commissioning research around this so that we can make the case for why it is so important. Yes, we will take all opportunities to ensure that we can secure this. I think that it is in our best interests to secure this.”
“We are fully committed to supporting the Minister for the Economy in any way that we can in taking this forward.”
“As civil aviation is a reserved matter, DFE officials have explored with the Department for Transport the possibility of extending pre-clearance services to Belfast International Airport. The Department for Transport has committed to entering into exploratory talks with the United States Administration on the options for introducing pre-clearance checks on customs and immigration for passengers travelling on direct flights between here and the US. The deputy First Minister and I are fully supportive of the reintroduction of a transatlantic route to Belfast and implementation of pre-clearance. A direct flight between here and the US really would have transformative economic benefits for our economy. It would boost tourism and open up new opportunities across the board, including for our universities.”
“With your permission, Mr Speaker, junior Minister Reilly will also answer this question.”
“I ask that junior Minister Reilly take this question, Mr Speaker, with your permission.”
“It takes time to build relationships, and you have to invest in order to attract people. I very much value the work of our international desks.”
“I do not have the specific figures with me, but I can say that the offices that we have in Washington and Brussels represent value for money and that it is important that we have networks. Alongside that, remember that Invest NI also has premises all over, internationally, which gives us a global footprint for attracting trade and drumming up business. Since the Executive came back in February of this year, our message on that front has been that we are open for business; we are ready to trade; we have something good to offer; we have a highly skilled workforce; and we have an educated young population. Those are all unique selling points. Access to both markets is a huge selling point for us. All our bases help us to establish contacts. Unfortunately, you do not just go in and out of investment.”
“One good example is our ending violence against women and girls strategic framework. That was based on data that was garnered from different sources and brought into one home, which then allowed us to develop our policy and strategy accordingly. We must be data-informed. We cannot just do things on a whim. We must have informed policy that is based on information that has been gathered. That way of developing policy, done by co-design and co-production with partners, is always going to lead to much better policy development and therefore much better policy for the people whom we represent.”
“We work right across Departments to try to share as much information as we can, because each Department holds different information. As part of the development of the Programme for Government, we now have a portal that we can access to look at different data. That is important, because we need to be able to measure our progress, learn about where we are doing things right and adjust when we are perhaps not doing things in the way in which we should. Ensuring that we have the most up-to-date data and that we digitally innovate will therefore be important for improving how we develop policy.”
“Yes, absolutely. The North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) and the British-Irish Council are among the bodies that were established under the Good Friday Agreement, and they remain key components of it. All the bodies that were established must work. We take the opportunities that are presented to us to learn from one another, to share good practice and to learn what things work and what things do not work. Those bodies, in their many forms, will always work to boost tourism, to attract investment, to encourage business development and to help people flourish across these islands. They are so beneficial to us, and we get so much from them. I hope that we can continue to learn from, grow and even enhance the work that we do across all the different pillars of the Good Friday Agreement.”
“We also made the case directly to the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, for why our public services deserve proper funding, for which we need to have a proper funding model. We made the case for public-sector workers and said that we want to continue to transform our health service, to invest in making childcare more affordable and to improve our education system. We said that, in order to do so, we need to have a proper funding model. We therefore took the opportunity at the BIC meeting to make our case on all those matters.”
“Yes. The deputy First Minister and I, the Economy Minister and the Agriculture Minister all travelled to Edinburgh to be part of the BIC meeting. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Prime Minister and the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales were all there, and the conversation was about just transition financing. Achieving a just transition presents the same challenges for all of us, but it also provides us with opportunities that come from green growth. It was therefore a hugely important opportunity for us to discuss issues facing ordinary workers and families across these islands, and we were able to raise for discussion our approach to the climate agenda. <BR /> <BR />Equally, we were able to make the case for what we are trying to do by developing our Budget and our Programme for Government.”
“I will write to the Member so that I do not give her misinformation about who exactly we have contacted, but I have no doubt that that work was followed up, given that we had that protection. As we know, it is an issue across this island, and I can assure you that we raised it at the North/South Ministerial Council, because it is important that, across both jurisdictions, those records are protected and that there is no more diminution in them. I can assure the Member that we are still working on that, and I will write to her with more information.”
“Not in relation to the Programme for Government consultation, obviously, but, previously, I, as deputy First Minister, met the religious institutions about their contribution. We need to continue to do that where appropriate. As you will be aware, negotiations are under way to try to ensure that all the institutions pay for the support that we need to be able to provide to victims and survivors. That is work in progress. It is work that is being led independently of us, but, where appropriate, we will be engaged. My door will always be open to make sure that we work with everybody. As you know, we will be looking at clerical abuse and the research that is being done by our universities. We need to bring that forward.”
“As a general point, I can agree with that.”
“I can only make a general point on that, given that the remit for Civil Service employment falls under DOF. Where we have temporary positions, we should move to make them permanent. We should have proper workforce planning. We insist on that across the public service, and we should also have that in the Civil Service. Where there are issues, we need to find solutions to them, but, really, that comes under the remit of DOF.”
“Yes, we will continue to see progress in this area. We do not have a choice: we have to fix the waste water infrastructure, and I am determined to work with other Ministers to do so.”
“Sorry, I missed what you said. Did you mean an options paper in relation to waste water infrastructure? Yes. I know that there is a question for urgent oral answer to DFI today as well. This is one of the biggest issues that we have to grapple with as an Executive. Investing in waste water infrastructure will take huge investment after decades and decades of underinvestment in our infrastructure. We have to do this, otherwise we will not be able to build homes or support local businesses to deliver. We all have our minds fixed on this as an issue to which we need to find a solution. The Infrastructure Minister has already brought proposals for legislation on sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) that will help us to drain some of the water. There is not one solution; there are probably three or four solutions on the table.”
“I think that I might have received a question for written answer from you at some stage recently. Yes. The position is the same. We have received the SIB review, and we hope to be able to bring forward proposals in this area, particularly because we will be bringing forward the investment strategy. It is important that this is also aligned and is part of that.”
“We need to keep doing more of it, and I want to do more of it. I will work constructively with everybody in the Chamber to ensure that we deliver for the people whom we collectively serve. We should reflect on what we have been able to achieve in this first year, and I look forward to the next two years of this mandate and to seeing whether we can deliver even more of what we have set out to achieve together.”
“It is a far cry from constructive opposition, Matthew, I will tell you that. I am very pleased. We are coming up to the one-year anniversary of this institution coming back, and, in this first year, the four parties in the Executive have made remarkable progress collectively. I am so glad that we have made progress on childcare. I am so glad that we have made progress on regional balance. I am so glad that we have been able to bring forward the Budget and that we are currently working through the next Budget. I am so glad that we have consulted on a Programme for Government. I am glad that we have made progress on the A5. I am glad that we continue to make progress that makes a real difference to people's lives daily. When we reflect on all of that, we see that we need to keep doing it.”
“We will keep working our way through that, and I know that that is similar for other Ministers. <BR /> <BR />I also said to you earlier that we have already started this work. We have reached out to all the Departments. We have asked them for the reasons for delays, and we have also asked for a time frame for when things will come forward. The deputy First Minister and I will make a statement in the new year on what exactly this picture looks like for the year ahead.”
“As I said, seven Bills are under way, and we are working our way through those. There are others still to come. There are some that, I believe, are only weeks away from being introduced in the Chamber. We know that there are a number of policy decisions to be made, particularly around some consultations that were had, and there is a lot of detail to be digested and then turned into legislative provision. I am quite sure that Ministers will bring their legislation as quickly as they possibly can. <BR /> <BR />I can refer only to my Department, and, for example, we consulted on the issue of mother-and-baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses. We received 269 comprehensive responses. I do not want to rush that. I want to do it in a timely manner, but I also want to get it right.”
“Yes, I agree. I do not think that it takes into account our local situation and the fact that we have the highest agricultural land prices. It disproportionately impacts on our farmers and farm families here. We have been very vocal about the issue, and we will continue to be very vocal about it. We need to have the flexibility built in around our local circumstances, and we will take every opportunity to raise that point. We know that the Finance Minister has done so. We have also done that collectively and will continue to do so.”
“Indeed, we raised it at the British-Irish Council last week also.”
“There is no doubt that the changes will have a disproportionate impact on family farms here compared with those in other jurisdictions, given that we have some of the highest agricultural land prices. <BR /> <BR />We also attended the rally arranged by the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) to show our strong support for the farming community. Unfortunately, the British Government have stated that they are not willing to change their position on this, but I assure you that we will continue to speak on behalf of our farming community across all areas that impact it and at all levels of government.”
“On 18 November, along with the Agriculture and Finance Ministers, we wrote to the Chancellor, urging her to reconsider the decision and ensure that agriculture and business property reliefs are retained as they currently apply and the ability to pass a family farm down from one generation to the next is protected. <BR /> <BR />Taxation must be fair and proportionate, and placing a large tax burden on farm families to the extent that a significant number of farm businesses cannot continue on the death of the owner could not be described as "fair" or "proportionate". Farming and agri-food are key sectors in our local economy, ensuring vital food security, and family farms are the backbone of our local agriculture sector and rural communities.”
“Yes, absolutely. The support services are vital in supporting victims and survivors across a range of areas. We want to ensure that everything that we have in place is appropriate. You will know that we have just launched our victims and survivors strategy, which sets out clearly the area of work that we are focused on as part of a holistic approach to supporting victims and survivors. I hope that we can get people into post as quickly as possible and get on with supporting victims and survivors.”
“Following a public appointment process, we have agreed the successful candidate for the post of chair and three successful candidates for board member posts. We are considering the paperwork before we make the formal appointments, and we will announce those when letters have issued to the candidates.”
“We intend to bring that to the Assembly for a statement early in the new year so that we can set out exactly where we are with every piece of current legislation and what else will be coming in the next year.”
“I am keen to answer any of the questions that are put to me, but it is not appropriate for me to get into the ins and outs of why individual Ministers have not brought forward legislation, some of which I am aware of and some of which will take a little longer because of policy development issues. It may be the other side of Christmas before some things are advanced compared with when they were initially intended. <BR /> <BR />I hope that we can get there, because I also still want us to get to that point. We all want to get into the nitty-gritty of the legislation that is coming forward. The deputy First Minister and I have written to all Ministers again to ask for an update on the legislative programme.”
“<BR /> <BR />We intend to make a statement to the Assembly on the full 2024-25 programme in the new year. That will include an update on all the Bills that have already been announced. We will continue to work with Executive colleagues to ensure that outstanding Bills are introduced in a timely manner to meet the commitments set out in the Executive's legislative programme.”
“Seven Executive Bills have begun their passage through the Assembly, and it is our expectation that, subject to the consent of the Assembly, all the Bills included in the Executive's initial legislative programme for 2024-25, which was announced back on 23 May, will be introduced during the 2024-25 session of the Assembly. Some slippage is, however, likely in the introduction of certain Bills within the timescales that were originally estimated. Further Bills will be introduced in the first quarter of 2025, but we share the Assembly's disappointment that there has not been greater progress to date. However, it is important that the underlying policy issues be resolved and finalised so that a Bill can be presented to the Assembly in as complete a form as possible.”
“Unfortunately, electoral legislation is not under the remit of the Executive Office. As a party representative, I absolutely advocate voting at 16. There is no agreement across the House on the topic, but we have had a debate and a discussion. Individually, I always lobby and advocate for voting at 16, including legislative changes. Let us hope that we get there some day. Our young people should have a say and a stake in what we do here.”
“I do not have the update with me, but I am happy to write to the Member. I assure her that her voice and the voices of others who represent older people have been heard as part of the Programme for Government consultation. We look forward to advancing the draft consultation.”
“To my knowledge, there is no specific role, but I have outlined some of the areas where we are engaging with young people on policy development. We thought it was particularly appropriate to have a child rights impact assessment for the Programme for Government and the Budget because those decisions will have an impact on young people. We hope that we have the right tools, as opposed to having people in post. <BR /> <BR />I will ask whether we have anybody in particular, but it is more of a general duty on everyone in the Department to ensure that our policies are fit to meet the needs of everybody.”
“Where policies are likely to have a particular impact on children and young people, officials also consider whether a child rights impact assessment is appropriate. That assessment, endorsed by the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, aims to embed children's rights considerations at the very beginning of developing legislation, strategies and policies. <BR /> <BR />Child rights impact assessments were recently undertaken on the 2024-25 Budget, the Programme for Government and, as I said, the ending violence against women and girls strategy. We will continue to use them as an appropriate consultation process where policies are likely to have a particular impact on children and young people, alongside our commitment to deliver and embed our section 75 duties.”
“The Executive Office is committed to effective consultation and engagement with everyone across society, including children and young people. Officials use a variety of consultation methods and documents that can be made available in a range of formats to ensure that they are accessible. Recently, the Department took additional steps to engage with children and young people in its consultation on the ending of violence against women and girls strategy and its review of the Race Relations Order 1997. <BR /> <BR />Our officials follow the guidance in the Department's equality scheme and advice from the Equality Commission when preparing any policy consultation and equality assessment.”
“The language belongs to us all. Nobody has anything to fear from any language. We should all embrace it and create a better and inclusive society. Let us create fairness across our society, and let us not look over our shoulders at the other. Let us build a better society; that is what I am here for. I encourage you to do likewise.”
“They are two separate strands of work, but of course they will have to speak to each other. That will naturally happen over time, but I hope that we can see the publication of the Irish language strategy and the other strategies as quickly as possible. When that process is aligned, next year, we will start to see a real difference in the strategies being put in place, the commissioners, their responsibilities, their roles and the areas they will cover, and then we will all be clear about how that proceeds. The two things will absolutely have to talk to each other.”