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.”
The complete record
Every one of 5,636 lines we hold for Michelle O'Neill, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 113.
“Good party lines. The DUP attack lines in advance of the election are well noted. Let us focus on what the public at home want to hear from the Chamber. They want to hear that you and I are working together on their behalf. They want to hear that every Executive party has their back. They want to know that we will challenge for proper funding for our public services and work together to try to deliver for them on a day-to-day basis. That is what I am here for. That is what I continue to do.”
“The Executive are one in saying that we want fairness for people here and a proper funding model that allows us to support our public services and deliver for families who are getting it really tight right now. We will continue that conversation, but last week's efforts by the Treasury were more about distraction and deflection from how it has failed people here.”
“Broadly speaking, when you directly compare us with Scotland and Wales, you see that it is just over 100% in Scotland and 115% in Wales, yet they both have been funded above their identified level of need. We are asking for the same thing, because it would make a hugely significant difference in what we could invest in our public services. The Treasury should go back to the drawing board and look at its own published figures, because we draw on those figures as well. <BR /> <BR />The reality is that, because of underfunding and our population's identified needs, our current allocation is unfair based on direct comparisons with Scotland and Wales.”
“Thank you for that question and for creating that opportunity, because it is really important. Public services here have been systematically underfunded for generations, and the British Government's austerity politics and policies have really constrained our ability to invest across all our public services. They have compounded the problems that we see in Health, Education and Infrastructure. The figures that I referenced are certainly not arbitrary; they derive from established work by Professor Gerry Holtham as part of his review and from subsequent analysis by the Fiscal Council. That work assessed relative need across the devolved Administrations.”
“<BR /> <BR />As you know, fuel prices are largely set by international markets and taxation, so there are clear limitations on what the Executive can directly control. Whilst we are pleased that the Executive have agreed to provide £100 fuel vouchers to those who are most in need, we recognise that a much more comprehensive approach is required, and that is what our engagement with the Prime Minister is about. We are determined to do all that we can locally to ensure that we are fully informed about all potential impacts and mitigations. We have also established a cross-departmental strategic policy group to report to the Executive, which will help to facilitate a coordinated and effective policy response across government.”
“Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will answer questions 2 and 3 together. <BR /> <BR />We recognise and share the significant concerns that many people have about rising energy costs, which are compounding the existing cost-of-living pressures. We met the Prime Minister on 12 March and raised those concerns. We have since written twice to Keir Starmer to highlight the disproportionate effect that higher energy costs have on local constituents and businesses, and we have called on him directly, as all parties of the Executive, to bring forward a package of measures to support those under pressure. We have also requested an urgent meeting to discuss the escalating budgetary challenges that we face.”
“Yes, I have raised that directly with the Irish Government. It is important that, when Ireland has the presidency for six months, we are part of that. Across all sectors, there will be a huge amount of engagement during that six-month period, and we want to have a part in that. I have made that representation directly to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and to Helen McEntee in her role as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. I look forward to seeing how that unfolds when Ireland takes the presidency in June.”
“The Member has visited the office in Brussels and knows that it is there to support the Executive in our relationships with the EU. I do not engage with individual HR matters. However, it is important that, if we are to build good relationships, which have been very much damaged during the whole Brexit debacle, it is a good thing to have permanent staff to build those relationships and get things done. I am sure that the Member follows this, given his role on the Committee, but there is also a quarterly report to the Assembly on the work that is happening in our office in Brussels so that we are transparent about what is happening. Hopefully, that is helpful to Members. The ongoing staffing issue is an issue for the Civil Service more widely.”
“I outlined in the initial answer some of the engagement that we have had with all the relevant Ministers, which we did because we want them to hear the challenges that our businesses are facing and we want to find solutions. The legislation on the new strategic partnership at British Government and EU level will hopefully deal with some of those things. Let us keep trying to find answers to the problems that arise in the post-Brexit world.”
“I want to maximise all our opportunities, but the reality is that, sponsored by the Member's party, we now have a post-Brexit trading reality. The rest of the parties of the Assembly and Executive have worked to try to find mitigations for the worst impacts of the outworkings of Brexit and to reach into dual market access. There is no doubt that there are barriers to trade, and I do not want to see barriers to trade across this island or between our islands. I want there to be maximum opportunities for all our businesses to tap into some of that economic growth, but the reality is that there will be ongoing changes in this post-Brexit world. <BR /> <BR />However, we will continue to raise those issues, as we have done the whole way through.”
“Caoimhe Archibald continues to drive forward our strategy. She has travelled across Europe to try to drum up interest in this place as being a great place in which to invest, which, in turn, will grow our economy. We therefore have to maximise that opportunity, because it is a strength, and, at the same time, we have to minimise all the negativity that there is about the post-Brexit trading reality.”
“I do agree, particularly given that we continue to deal with the outworkings of what was a divisive Brexit and with the post-Brexit reality in which we all now operate. There is no escaping the fact that Brexit has had long and lasting negative impacts on our economy, our businesses, our farmers, our students and, of late, our community and voluntary sector. To mitigate some of those impacts, we have to take every opportunity that we have to rebuild relationships. As I said, I welcome the fact that enhanced discussions are taking place at British Government and EU level to improve relationships, to provide stability and to iron out barriers, where they occur, for businesses and consumers alike. <BR /> <BR />Alongside doing that piece of work, we have dual market access, which is a unique selling point for us.”
“There is obviously a lot of global volatility. In our international relations strategy, we need to take account of all the changes that are happening. The Member is, however, right to say that it is clear that the British Government plan to introduce and enact new UK-EU arrangements. We need to play our part, and we then need to ensure that any new arrangements are reflected in our future international relations strategy. We have engaged with Nick Thomas-Symonds on the substance of the legislation that is to be introduced, because we want to have early sight of it so that we are able to influence it. All of what I have mentioned will keep resulting in changes to our international relations strategy, so that piece of work needs to be done in order to allow us to produce our strategy, which we are committed to doing.”
“<BR /> <BR />Finally, Members will be aware of the Executive Office's role in supporting delivery of the EU PEACE PLUS programme, which continues to make a difference to communities here.”
“Through the Interministerial Group on UK-EU Relations and bilateral discussions with the Minister for the Cabinet Office, we have engaged with the British Government to ensure that our interests are represented in the ongoing negotiations with the EU. Through our Brussels office, we maintain strong working relationships with EU institutions and member states, ensuring that relevant developments in EU policy and legislation are fed back to our Departments. <BR /> <BR />During St Patrick's week, our junior Ministers travelled to Brussels to raise our profile with key EU partners, including the chair of the European Parliament delegation to Britain, Sandro Gozi MEP.”
“Engagement with the European Union remains an important priority, given our unique situation under the Windsor framework. In the past year, the deputy First Minister and I have represented the Executive at the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee at its meetings in April 2025 and, most recently, in February 2026 to ensure that our views are presented to the EU and the British Government on the implementation of the Windsor framework. <BR /> <BR />We engaged directly with senior EU representatives, including the EU ambassador, Pedro Serrano, alongside ambassadors from several EU member states, during a visit in late 2025.”
“Those are the issues that are raised in my constituency office, as is the case, I am sure, for many others. We should not take money out of the pockets of the most vulnerable in society to fund warfare and the weapons of death and destruction. Nobody wants that, and nobody in the Chamber should want that.”
“Yes, I agree 100%. I made a pledge on day 1 as First Minister to do everything that I could to support citizens across the North. I do not look through a lens of anything other than people, households and families who are struggling. They need our support, and they need us to work together. That includes us rejecting calls that take money out of people's pockets and take money from hard-pressed households. Workers and families deserve to know that we have their back. They deserve to know that we are doing everything that we can to support them. We need to get on with doing the things that matter most to the public: housing, the health service, Lough Neagh, growing our economy, creating job opportunities and fighting for proper investment in our public services. That is what matters to the people whom I speak to every day.”
“. The master of distraction and deflection. Whatever you do, do not mention that you are a cheerleader of war. That is what we see.”
“I thought that the commentary from Arlene Foster was absolutely shameful. Any right-minded person would think that her comments were absolutely shameful. Sadly, I cannot say that I was surprised by the flippancy and arrogance of such a statement, saying, "Let us cut welfare, cut everybody who is in need, take money off the vulnerable and support the militarisation agenda". Then the DUP leader weighed in and doubled down on that very argument. Shame on the DUP. That shows you where its focus lies, and it shows you that that is the style of politics that you get from it. <BR /> <BR />When people are struggling, our job is to support them.”
“You will not be surprised to hear that there is no agreement in the Executive Office, but, at a political level, I have raised the issue of reform with both Governments as recently as the last week to 10 days in my engagement with Helen McEntee, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, and with Hilary Benn directly. They are very aware of my view of reform. The nonsense in some of the debates that we have had in the Chamber around tweaking titles and whatever do not fundamentally change how we do business here. The issue of reform is something that I am up for discussing, and I will continue to work with other like-minded people.”
“Sorry, I cannot hear. The fact that the Justice Ministry is not part of the d'Hondt system is an anomaly that has been outstanding for the past 16 years. It needs to be fixed, and I have raised that directly with the Secretary of State. When it comes to titles of offices and everything else, I am not interested in a cosmetic debate, and I know that you are not either. I know that you fundamentally want reform. I too believe in reform, and I think that we should make the arguments together. The Assembly and Executive Review Committee is doing a big piece of work. My team is fully engaged in that work, and we will look at all the areas that are put on the table for discussion.”
“As soon as that is done, we will get it to households, and we will be able to help people. That is why I made the point today that the noise, distraction and deflection does nothing to serve anybody who is worried about their household bills. From my perspective, I do not want to engage in that. People want to hear a joined-up message from this place that we have their backs and are working hard on their behalf to help them with the cost of living and to get their household bills down. They want to hear that we will call out the big oil companies, particularly when it comes to the like of the price gouging that has been talked about a lot since the start of the conflict.”
“Yes. All I heard last week was distraction and deflection from the DUP. That is not what people want to hear. The reality is that, because the DUP had been cheerleading for the war from day 1, it needed to rein back on some of that ground, so it went out and started to create all those mistruths. It was deliberately misleading to people who were worried about their bills. It left people in the position of hearing fake news, if you want to call it that, that money was sitting there and not being distributed to them. <BR /> <BR />Thankfully, we had a responsible adult in the room in Caoimhe Archibald. She engaged and continued to do so. She set the record straight by saying that the £81 million is not sitting in the Executive coffers; it is money that the British Government need to legislate a change for at Westminster.”
“We need to do that piece of work whilst advocating for more support, because £17 million does not cut it.”
“If the £17 million were to be applied across the board to every household, we would be talking about £30 each. That will not scratch the issue, especially when some people's bills have gone up to £1,000 for 900 litres of oil in the past week. <BR /> <BR />John O'Dowd, as the Finance Minister, has already communicated with the Department for Communities about the £17 million that was announced today, because we need to see it being turned into delivery. Let us get that £17 million out to people and target lower-income households. The announcement was just made this morning, but it is clear —. I have asked the Department for Communities how we can get that £17 million out, how it will be targeted and how quickly that can be done, because people want answers on that.”
“I am sure that, when MLAs went to their constituency offices on Friday or over the past couple of weeks, they all engaged with people who were really worried. People were panic buying and trying to get oil in, because they were really fearful about where it would all end up. None of us know whether the recent rises are where it will stop or whether it will get worse. That is why we need support for householders. That is why we make the case to the Treasury. <BR /> <BR />I find the £17 million that has been put on the table today to be a real slap in the face. It is a slap in the face to families who are struggling to pay their oil bills. Nearly two thirds of households here rely on oil, and they are thinking, "What is this £17 million? What does it look like for me as an individual?".”
“The British Government are underfunding us, and that impacts on our ability to deliver on the things that I know we are all passionate about because, like you, my office is inundated with messages from people who are struggling to get a home and a roof over their head for their families.”
“We agree that housing is a priority, which is why it is in the Programme for Government, but we have spent an awful lot of time today talking about the constrained Budget that we have and the fact that we are underfunded. That is why we make that case. Policy decisions that are taken in London to prioritise military spending over public services have a real impact on people here. That is why I believe that, in the longer term, we would be much better placed to fight our own corner by having all the powers devolved here and working together in a new constitutional arrangement. Whilst we work towards that point, I make the case at every turn for better funding of our public services, including housing. I will continue to do so, as First Minister. <BR /> <BR />We are underfunded.”
“As the Member knows, housing is one of our Programme for Government priorities. He will also know that we are working to finalise our Budget. I hope that we get to the point, at the end of the month, where we have a three-year Budget in place that will allow us to know exactly how much we can prioritise on every area of public spending, whether that is in housing, education, health or infrastructure. We need to get to the point where we have a three-year Budget. Then, we will fully understand exactly how we can meet our targets when it comes to housing. I am fully committed to the targets that we have set for housing.”
“I suggest to you that, given the quantum of what we need to support households right now, the best thing that we can all do is work together, fight for our constituents, dial down the noise and nonsense and actually get on with trying to get money into people's pockets. That is where my focus is.”
“Again, you accuse others of point-scoring and squabbling, but you are doing the same thing yourself. People want to hear from the Chamber what we are doing on their behalf. What I have said is that, from day 1, we have been fighting our corner on behalf of people here. They need help with their bills. I have set out for you what those Ministers have been doing — what Caoimhe Archibald and our Ministers have been doing. Yes: throughout the week, there has been a lot of noise and deflection from the Benches opposite. You know why. Call it out for what it is, Matthew, instead of doing the same thing and joining in with the chorus.”
“I have repeated myself throughout Question Time, but I will do so again. From day 1, we have been fighting for households here and highlighting the impact of conflict and what it means to households on a day-to-day basis when it comes to the spikes in oil prices that they are experiencing. From day 1, we have been engaged with the British Government and made the case to them for supports. From day 1, Caoimhe Archibald and her counterpart have been engaged with them on energy support. She has been doing that because, as you know, a lot of the firepower that we need to support people comes directly from the Treasury. John O'Dowd has been doing that, and I have been doing that at every turn as well. From day 1, we have been making the case for our constituents when it comes to dealing with the crisis that we are all facing.”
“We are pleased to say that the director of the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression, the Irish Language Commissioner and the Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster British Tradition have been in post since 13 November last year. The NIO commenced further provisions of the Act on 27 January to enable the offices to carry out their statutory duties, including the Act’s "due regard" duty on public authorities with regard to the national and cultural identity principles. We met Katy, Pól and Lee for an introductory meeting on 9 February, when we discussed the important role that they play in promoting and celebrating our rich cultural diversity, identities, languages and traditions. We wish them all every success in their new roles and look forward to working with them.”
“Thank you. <BR /> <BR />I absolutely agree with the Member. I believe that the DUP has absolutely been on the wrong side of this the whole way through. From day 1, the DUP has been cheerleading this war, and you should be ashamed of yourselves, because what we are seeing is a flagrant breach of international law and countries turning their backs on the UN charter. We need to see an end to this conflict, a de-escalation, our trade routes opened again and an end to the deaths of thousands of people. We need to see negotiations, peace, dialogue and support for local households. That is what I remain focused on in my role as First Minister.”
“Everybody elected to this Chamber is worried about their constituents, so, instead of the nonsense, distraction, point-scoring and politicking, you should work together, fight the corner of your constituents, fight to get support into households and fight for people to get help with their bills. They are worried, and that is what they want to hear from this House, not the DUP's nonsense.”
“As I have said throughout Question Time, we continue to make the case for why we need support for households here. These are the real-life implications of war — a war that your party championed from day 1. You have been gung-ho and have been cheerleading this war from day 1. You are on the wrong side; I have to tell you that. I will tell you what you did throughout the week: you called it wrong. You have been cheerleading this war from day 1, and then you tried to create deflection and distraction to take away from the fact that you have been so gung-ho about this war. Your constituents, just like mine, are suffering. Your constituents are worried about how they will pay their bills. Mine are, too.”
“<BR /> <BR />On your second point, yes, I raised that directly with Keir Starmer last week, and I pushed him very hard on what he is going to do. As I said, what has been announced today does not cut it, so we have to continue to make the case for an urgent support package to mitigate the worst excesses of what people are experiencing right now.”
“The Economy Minister, Dr Caoimhe Archibald, remains in ongoing contact with both the Irish and British Governments. As I have spoken about today, the immediate concern is the impact of rising energy costs. Those increases are being felt acutely by families who were already dealing with the cost-of-living crisis and now have to deal with those energy costs on top of that. Minister Archibald engaged with her counterpart the British Energy Minister, Michael Shanks, and with the Irish Government, and she made the case very strongly that the same support and assistance that was made available when the war broke out in Ukraine should be provided now. She has also engaged with suppliers on the price hikes that we are really concerned about.”
“On the first point, we are told that there is no immediate risk to energy supply here. We are, however, continuing to monitor the situation, because we do not know where everything is going to end up.”
“The Minister for the Economy is continuing to engage with her counterparts, as is the Minister of Finance.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Executive discussed the deeply worrying situation at our meeting last week. All Ministers expressed concern about the humanitarian consequences of the crisis and agreed to keep developments under review, particularly the economic impact, which many Members have spoken about today. Locally, we have seen an almost immediate impact, with oil prices spiking, exceeding $100 a barrel last week. That is the first time that that has happened since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
“We are pleased that they have been able to accommodate that request in their processes. <BR /> <BR />We welcome the commencement of chartered flights, which are prioritising the most vulnerable people. We have also seen the restarting of limited commercial flights to Britain and Ireland from the region. We therefore continue to communicate with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Office regularly, and we have stood up all our coordination mechanisms to ensure that any emerging issues are quickly detected and escalated. It is very much an evolving situation, and we are using all our communication channels to encourage people who are affected to register their presence through the relevant government portals and to keep up to date with official travel guidance.”
“With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will answer questions 4, 8 and 11 together. As I have said, I am extremely concerned about the situation in the Middle East, particularly the humanitarian impact on the citizens of the countries that are currently under attack and on the people from here who are in the region. Many find themselves stranded in very uncertain circumstances. We are fully engaged with the British and Irish Governments, and, last week, we met the Prime Minister and the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs to discuss the ongoing situation and to offer our assistance to help people in any way in which we can. In particular, we raised the issue of people from here being able to register with either British or Irish embassies, regardless of whether they are travelling on an Irish passport or a British passport.”
“We want to see our children with additional needs being supported. We want to do all those things, but if we are starting on the back foot as a result of underfunding from London, doing them will always be a problem for us.”
“I am sure that the Member will agree that the blame for the Executive's Budget constraints lie firmly at the feet of the Treasury. I have spoken at length today about the fact that we are so underfunded, relative to the likes of Scotland and Wales in particular. What is fundamental to all of this is that, if we want to invest more in our public services, which I genuinely believe that we all do, we have to have the right funding model, which we do not. If we do not have enough in the centre to enable us to invest in, say, community policing, the health service or education, we will always face challenges when trying to operate within the limitations of the Budget. I therefore continue to make the case for why we need more. We want to have good public services and more neighbourhood policing. We want our health waiting lists to be reduced.”
“If the PSNI knows that there are under-represented groups, what is it doing to make sure that its recruitment campaigns are effective? Although I accept the Member's point about how the Justice Minister is appointed, that does not take away from the fact that the Department should be run like every other Department. How the Justice Minister is appointed is an anomaly from 16 years ago, and it needs to be corrected. It feeds into the jigsaw of trying to create a system that is fairer and inclusive. There are no no-go positions for anybody, and that is where we need to get to.”
“The reason 50:50 did not work is that it was stopped suddenly just when we were starting to see some change coming through. I put that directly to the Chief Constable, who said that he had an open mind about it. It is important to note that. It should be one part of a bigger jigsaw. A combination of factors needs to be looked at, including 50:50 and how the recruitment campaigns are run.”
“What is it doing to ensure that it creates a space where the Police Service is inclusive and representative of the community? What is it doing to ensure that it encourages people — in particular, those from the nationalist community, women and minority groups, who are not well represented in our Police Service either — to come forward? The PSNI has a big job of work to do. Of course, politically, we all have a role to play in that. It is not one or the other: it is both.”
“As I said in my initial answer, the service needs to be representative of society. I constantly make that point to the Chief Constable. All the parties that sit on the Policing Board have a role in making sure that the Police Service is representative. I engage regularly. I raise directly with the Chief Constable areas of concern that, I know, are very much felt in the nationalist and republican community. <BR /> <BR />I have been to graduation ceremonies, and I have called on people to join the PSNI. However, we will have a fair and effective policing service only when it represents the community that it serves. The number of Catholics who came forward for the latest recruitment process should worry everybody. That is a backward step, and it should worry every one of us. <BR /> <BR />There is also a challenge to the PSNI.”