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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“Yes, I agree with that. The Member will be aware, but I refer to the comment from the artist himself at that time on his view around all that. You are absolutely right that we have a serious problem with misogyny and violence against women and girls in our society. We have serious work to do in this institution, and I encourage Members to focus on the things that really need to be grappled with in our society: the problem with violence against women and girls and tackling the racism and the rise in hate crimes that we have seen, particularly over the past year. That is the business of the people elected to this Chamber, and that is where I am focused.”
“Again, given that there was a criminal investigation, we took appropriate action. I think that that is absolutely correct, and I am very confident to stand over the action that we took at that time. I am not getting into some of the commentary made by many others about an individual. It was the role of the PPS to do its work, and that is now complete. I am satisfied that we discharged our duty, and I am very confident to stand over it.”
“That should not even be a question put to me. Absolutely, of course, all day long.”
“The question only arises at this moment in time out of political opportunism — not by you, of course, but by others who want to use this issue. The question arose in the Committee last week, and I can assure you, as the Chair of the Committee, that I have signed off on a response to you that will set out very clearly what I have said in the Chamber today. Hopefully that will clarify the matter for you.”
“Yes, I do, and that is why I said that we collectively have a role, as elected representatives in the Chamber, to stand very firm against discrimination, hate, sectarianism, racism, homophobia, misogyny or anything that we see and to send a very clear collective message that there is no place for this in our society. We cannot — again, this is a collective endeavour — allow these incidents to happen. We cannot allow people to mark out territory or to attack homes. They must be dealt with with the full force of the law. We cannot allow any of those things to become normal behaviour, because, collectively, we are tasked with leadership in this Assembly to try to build an inclusive society. I am certainly committed to that, and I am sure that many others in the Chamber are also.”
“<BR /> <BR />On what you asked, on 22 October, I did make a statement to the Assembly as Sinn Féin vice president, so you are incorrect in your statement. The events in Belfast City Hall on 19 October have been fully investigated by the PSNI and the PPS, and I said that in the Chamber last week. The PPS has made its decision, and that is the appropriate course of action. Given that there was a criminal investigation, I am confident that the action that Sinn Féin took was entirely appropriate.”
“<BR /> <BR />Aisling Reilly attended the event as a West Belfast constituency MLA and as a Gaeilgeoir, so, for the avoidance of doubt, the Executive Office was not represented at the event. I have signed off on a written departmental response to the Executive Office Committee, which will confirm all that. <BR /> <BR />The question also refers to our commitments to the elimination of prejudice, racism and hate crime. Let me be clear: many forms of hate and prejudice, racism and sectarianism, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny and sexism exist in our society. The Assembly can be fully confident that we all collectively have a role to say no to all that and to stand up collectively against any form of intolerance. That is the work that I am focused on getting on with.”
“To be clear, the total information held by the Executive Office is one email, an invitation to Aisling Reilly as a constituency MLA. <BR /> <BR />Aisling Reilly and four other Sinn Féin representatives received the invitation. Aisling Reilly, as junior Minister, did not receive five complimentary tickets. The invitation was not fulfilled in the role as junior Minister. TEO had no further involvement beyond registering the case. TEO did not provide any advice in respect of the invitation. There was no briefing commissioned or compiled from officials, and, for absolute clarity, TEO does not hold any further information in relation to the events of 19 October.”
“There have been a number of inaccurate comments and claims made in relation to the events at Belfast City Hall on 19 October 2024, including at the Executive Office Committee last week. The junior Minister said at that Committee meeting that she attended the event as a West Belfast constituency MLA and, equally, as a Gaeilgeoir. She was very clear about that statement then, so let me also be very clear today. That invitation was not accepted in her role as junior Minister. As would be normal practice for all Ministers in TEO. Aisling Reilly forwarded the invitation to the private offices to ascertain whether she could attend in her role as junior Minister. That is the only reason why the invitation is held on file.”
“Mr Speaker, I am sure that we are not going to start dissecting the outworkings of all decisions taken by the PPS in all cases. It has made its view known. I have nothing to add to it.”
“The matter that the Member refers to is for the PPS to decide. I discharged my duties as responsibly as I always should. That was an issue for the PPS. It has made its final view known. You may not like the outcome, but the outcome is the outcome.”
“Those discussions need to be had with the Irish Government, the British Government and at EU level. That is important. Observer status for Northern representatives would certainly assist in all the planning and preparation and, as I said, in having our voices heard in Europe. <BR /> <BR />We know that rejoining the EU through constitutional change would open up many more doors for all our people and could attract more investment, create more jobs, boost tourism and truly seize our potential. We need to keep our eyes focused on an outward-looking, inclusive and better future. Having our voice heard at a European level would be crucial in shaping that narrative.”
“Yes. Everything that I do every day is about trying to make people's lives better. There is a much brighter and better future ahead for us all if we can only grasp that opportunity together. We have so much untapped potential across the island that can best be unlocked through constitutional change. Of course, I see no contradiction in delivering good public services and working together in this institution every day while having equally legitimate political aspirations for where we see ourselves in the future. I really want us to embrace that, but we need to carefully plan for change. It is important that people have the facts and the information and that everybody knows that every vote will have equal value. The discussions on and preparations for constitutional change need to be had now.”
“I therefore support that initiative and hope that we can continue to make the case for having our voice heard in the European Parliament.”
“Yes, I will. Again, there probably is not an agreed position on that in our office, but, from my perspective, I absolutely agree with the initiative that was taken. There is no escaping the reality that Brexit has been disastrous for us. All that we have faced from that time has been uncertainty, economic challenge, mitigation and further mitigation. Even today, we are talking about more mitigation through financial support to businesses. It has been a hugely uncertain and challenging time. Many of us have worked to mitigate the worst excesses of Brexit. Without those efforts and mitigations, we would be much worse off. Our unique position in having access to both markets demands that we have direct access at an EU level.”
“We have to wait until our three-year Budget is set later this year. Then we will know what departmental budget we are playing with. Yes, we have identified the need for an AI strategy, and that is being actively developed. I concur with you on the role of our new Chief Scientific and Technology Adviser, Helen McCarthy, and the work that she is doing. A wide-ranging team is helping her to develop that strategy, and we hope to bring it to the Assembly in the near future. However, the strategy needs to be backed up by resource to make it practical. We will definitely have that conversation as part of the budget discussions.”
“I am sorry: I cannot. I am happy to talk to officials in case there has been official-level engagement on that, but it has not been brought to our attention. Given the enhanced role of AI in everything that we do in life, we need to have the right protections and the right regulatory framework around it, so we would obviously have something to say about that. We will see what comes later in the week with the Budget, in which, I hope, there will be more support for workers and families. I hope that there will be more support for childcare and that inheritance tax will be dealt with. As we await Wednesday's outcome, we have made our views known on the Budget, but we do not have the detail on the regulatory framework yet.”
“<BR /> <BR />That is an incredible opportunity and something that we can do in a real, practical sense to make a difference to people. I encourage all parties in the Assembly to engage in and be part of shaping what could be the most progressive legislation. We could see an end to exploitative zero-hours contracts, and, among other progressive measures, we could see stronger rights for trade unions and paid leave for neonatal care. We should all work together on that, because it will really make a difference to people's lives.”
“Yes, I do. Instead of criminalising workers, including teachers, as mentioned in the previous question, we need to do all that we can to support them to do the incredible job that they do. That is why I very much welcome the protection for workers' rights that the Economy Minister will introduce shortly in legislation that we will all have a chance to debate, discuss and, hopefully, agree on. That will be the most progressive workers' rights legislation that we have ever seen. It will be an opportunity for us to put money into workers' pockets by giving them protection in law for the conditions under which they work. It is very much about supporting workers' families and protecting the rights of trade unions to support those workers.”
“Yes, I do. I, too, have been contacted by those teachers. I absolutely will work with you and other Members who are opposed to criminalising our teachers just for taking industrial action. We need to strengthen workers' rights, not take away from them. I give an unwavering commitment to every teacher that I will not endorse or stand over proposals that criminalise them for taking industrial action in order to seek better conditions for themselves and their colleagues.”
“I am not sure that I understand the question, but I can tell the Member that I have made my views known on any damage that I caused to public health messaging and have taken every opportunity to do so. I led us the whole way through that pandemic, and I continue to lead us. Faced with it again tomorrow, I would do likewise, but I would have the added advantage of all the lessons that have been learned, some of which I have already reflected.”
“The Member will, of course, be aware that I have addressed that question in the House on numerous occasions, as well as in the public inquiry. Through my actions, I never set out to deliberately further hurt families who had lost loved ones throughout the pandemic. I have also made that clear directly to the families.”
“We will do a further review in 2026 of the framework. We are already taking part in an exercise named "Pegasus", which is about future planning for any potential catastrophe or pandemic. We are putting lessons in train and putting them into action. I want the public to know that that is what is already being embraced. We are not waiting until the end of the public inquiry but are doing things as we go, just as we did the whole way through the pandemic and have done in the years since.”
“Our office has established a cross-departmental steering group to consider all the recommendations, not just from this module but from all modules of the public inquiry. We are absolutely committed to building a more resilient civil contingencies system so that we can respond to all emergencies. Significant progress has been made on improving preparedness, response and recovery, which has included the appointment of a Chief Scientific and Technology Adviser. I certainly felt, the whole way through the pandemic, that that was something that we, as an Executive, were missing, so we now have it in place. We have expanded the Executive Office's civil contingencies division. We have established cross-government civil contingencies structures. We have developed and enhanced the civil contingencies risk register.”
“You do not seem to be able to hear me when I tell you each time you ask me the same question that I am up for the issue of reform being dealt with. The place on which to have that conversation is at the AERC, of which you are a member. I absolutely embrace the issue of reform, and I tell you that time after time. Maybe you do not want to hear it, but it is a fact. <BR /> <BR />On the inquiry, it is important that the public understand that we are taking on board the lessons to be learned. We were faced with an unprecedented global pandemic. All four parties on the Executive, I believe, worked really hard to get people through it. Was what we did perfect? Far from it. Did we get everything right? Absolutely not. That is where the lessons need to come from. <BR /> <BR />I will advise the House on the progress that we have been able to make.”
“We have already put some things in train, and we will do much more in the time ahead.”
“First, as I said last week, I very much recognise that the report is another difficult moment on the recovery journey for all the families that the pandemic impacted on. We need to be mindful of them. From my experience of engaging with all those families, I believe that they want us to learn lessons, and that is very much what I am committed to doing. I thank the chair of the inquiry for her work. It marks a major milestone in our learning from and preparedness for a future pandemic, which we will inevitably face. We have to reflect on all of the report and all of its findings. I do not think that any of us has anything to gain from dissecting it or going over ground that we have gone over before. I will, however, absolutely take on board the learning from the report.”
“Yes, a fair funding model is in place, and I wish the commissioners and the director the very best. Their role covers inclusion, mutual respect, creating a better society and respect for cultural difference. That is crucial. The remit of the three new offices can be really pivotal in shaping the narrative in our society and in creating the space in which everybody can be comfortable in their Irishness, Britishness or Ulster Britishness: whatever they identify with. We need to create space for one another, and the commissioners and the director have a role to play in helping create that dynamic in society.”
“across public authorities here and to devise and develop best-practice standards for that purpose. <BR /> <BR />I concur with you on the number of children who are being educated through the medium of Irish. That shows the growth of the language and the growth in the number of parents who want to educate their children through Irish-medium education. The strength of the Irish language in the arts, music and culture in recent years is something to be very much celebrated. It is positive and vibrant, and it is a living language. All people in society should see themselves, their culture and their identity reflected in public services.”
“Yes. As I said, I very much welcome the fact that the Irish Language Commissioner is in post and that the other commissioner and director are also in post. The appointment is an extremely important milestone for us. It is a step forward in building a society that is respectful and inclusive, and it is a real sign of inclusion, equality and representation that the Irish language and culture are now properly reflected in society. Part of the role of the commissioner is to ensure, enhance and protect the use of an Ghaeilge”
“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 took up their posts on 13 November. Those appointments are a significant step forward as we continue to build a shared, inclusive and respectful society by recognising and celebrating our rich cultural diversity of identities, languages and traditions. We wish them all every success in their new roles and look forward to working with them.”
“With your permission, Mr Speaker, junior Minister Reilly will answer the question.”
“Anybody who commits a crime should be dealt with accordingly. That is common sense and should be the norm in any society. However, it is back to the previous commentary about the importance of language and how we describe things: it is very easy to characterise all sexual crimes against women as being committed by people from a particular community. That is not the case. It does not stack up from a policing perspective, given the stats. It does not stack up when it comes to the stats from the Office for National Statistics. Do your homework very carefully.”
“There are so many layers of different work, but it needs to be joined up in a way that makes a meaningful difference. I concur with the Member about how dangerous language is and how important it is for us, as political leaders, to set the tone.”
“I agree: some of the rhetoric is so toxic. It also puts people from a black and minority ethnic community in particular in a position in which they do not feel safe to walk the street. I know people working in our hospitals who are afraid to go to their workplace. How anybody thinks that that is an acceptable position is beyond me. We have a role to play in how we shape this place through the language that we use when speaking about such things. We also have a role to play through the policies that we develop, not least our refugee integration strategy and our racial equality strategy. In addition, it is about updating our race relations laws, our funding to support minority ethnic development, the work that we do with councils, and good relations funding.”
“We need to ensure that members of our minority ethnic community here, who, as I said in a previous answer, play a crucial role in the delivery of our public services, know that they are valued and that they feel part of our society and feel safe. We all have to play our part in that regard.”
“Thank you for that question. We must work together. This is about our home, our society, good relations, social cohesion and integration. We all have a role to play in tackling racism and calling it out where we see it. We should not have any acceptable level of tolerance for racism when we see it. The PSNI data that you referred to shows that the levels of racist hate crime have risen. That should concern every single person who is elected to this Chamber. We should never forget the real human impact at the core of all that. <BR /> <BR />As I said, there should be no tolerance of hatred or racism. No one should be targeted because of their race, religion, nationality, disability or sexual orientation. It is so important that we create a welcoming and inclusive society that celebrates and champions diversity.”
“We need to put things in perspective. When it comes to asylum seekers — people who seek support at times when they have had to flee war, persecution or genocide — we should all be open to that. I am absolutely open to the idea of a managed immigration system that provides support for those who actually need it and is fair, accountable, human rights-compliant and compassionate. That is the least that we can all do. We need to keep in perspective the actual numbers that we have here of people who seek asylum and of those who come here as economic migrants.”
“The question that you ask relates to what is being proposed in Britain. I have set out very clearly our role in immigration: we do not control migration flows. What I can say about your initial question is that what was published by the Labour Government last week provides us only with a high-level overview; we still do not understand what that means for the practical outworkings of the asylum reforms that the Home Office plans to implement. The detail of all those reforms will still have to be worked through. <BR /> <BR />Unfortunately, the reality is that many of those figures are overinflated, particularly by some people in your own party. We depend very much on migration right across our health and social care system. Quite a high number of people migrate here to work and to provide our public services.”
“Immigration is an excepted matter, and the Executive have no decision-making powers in respect of the movement of people and migration flows. We believe that the asylum system should be fair and balanced and offer protection to people who are in genuine need. We recognise the positive contribution of migration to our society, including in the delivery of our essential services — particularly our health and social care sector — and to our economy. On 12 November, we attended the inter-ministerial group for safety, security and migration, at which the intention on reforms was highlighted. Now that we have received the published asylum policy statement, we are reviewing the proposals and will continue to engage with the Home Office at ministerial and official level on implementation and local impacts.”
“With your permission, Mr Speaker, junior Minister Reilly will answer this question.”
“That is my view. I am not sure that that view is shared across the office, but it is certainly my view that we should have a Commission office based in Belfast. You are absolutely right that it is a two-way street. I welcome the progress that we have made in our office in Brussels and look forward to visiting it at some stage in the near future, but, as we reach into the opportunities, those are things that would make good, common, practical sense to help businesses to understand and navigate the sometimes complex trading world in which we now live.”
“We need to see more of the detail of that, but we should always be positive about anything that helps to remove barriers to businesses getting opportunities.”
“Yes, I will join you in your relentless positivity. There is a good-news story to tell, and we very much promote the message that we are open for business. The fact that we have dual market access makes us the envy of many other economies and is something that we must maximise. That is why what happens in our Brussels office is important. There are resource implications for that. <BR /> <BR />We also face post-Brexit realities and challenges that need to be mitigated. I welcome all the advocating that we have done collectively on behalf of local businesses about the need to have some support for businesses to enable them to overcome some of those challenges and opportunities. It has been mooted that that will be part of the Budget this week.”
“That is in direct comparison with a 9% drop in Britain, so that tells you how unique our status is and how we have to maximise that advantage to grow our economy, create jobs and reach for that market. I commend the work of Caoimhe Archibald, the Economy Minister, in continuing to look towards those opportunities, promote the unique selling point that we have in our dual market access and send the message that we are open for business and want to grow our economy and attract what investment we can with that unique selling point.”
“Yes. The Member has raised this question with me on a number of occasions. I absolutely concur with that. We have seen the Murphy report, which is his own report, and we await the British Government's response to it. That will come in January, which is just two months away. It focused on a number of areas, not least the fact that we need to lean more heavily into dual market access. I absolutely agree that we need to continue to do that. <BR /> <BR />This is a real opportunity for us to grow our economy. When you look at the growth of our export market over the past years — since we have had the Windsor framework introduced — you see that our exports have increased by 2%.”
“I assure you that that is raised at all our engagements. Obviously, we welcome the fact that there will be an sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, because it will iron out a lot of the issues that have developed to this point. However, we need to have a particular approach to veterinary medicines, and that is raised at every engagement. We are hopeful that we will continue to make progress.”
“One of the recommendations is that further staff be seconded or added to the Executive office in Brussels, and we welcome the recognition of the important role that that office has to play in providing information and upstream engagement on EU legislation. We also advocated for support for our local businesses and therefore welcome the commitment made by the British Government today. Our officials are working to understand the details of that funding package and how it will be implemented.”
“, I will answer questions 2 and 13 together. <BR /> <BR />The independent review carries a range of recommendations and suggestions on the functioning of the Windsor framework. Many of the recommendations concern areas of responsibility for the British Government, and our officials are engaging with the Cabinet Office and the Northern Ireland Office on the areas that touch on the Executive's responsibilities. We also held a very useful discussion with the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Nick Thomas-Symonds, on 13 November at which we outlined the importance of working together to ensure a pragmatic approach to addressing the issues raised in the report.”
“to Pól Deeds as he takes up his role. We should all get behind him and stop skirting around the issues and being so divisive. Try to think about it from an inclusive point of view. This is a promotion of the Irish language, and it is a positive thing. You should not be frightened.”