Paul Givan
Lagan Valley · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“The EA's enhanced support model has been out for consultation. The Member's party is the largest political grouping on the Education Authority, so his party supported the model's being consulted on.”
“Protections around strike action and action short of strike are firmly established in statute for all workers, including teachers. If the Member is referring to the Education Inspections Bill, let me be clear: nothing in that legislation removes or undermines that right.”
“The issue was covered at length at the Education Committee. The position is still not where it ought to be. When I came into office, the position that I inherited was much worse than it is today.”
“It is an area that I have had to navigate, as have many previous Education Ministers. Industrial relations is an area that needs ongoing work. I have outlined how we can address it, but I come back to saying that, when workload was undefined, trade unions struggled to specify the challenge.”
“That is not a fair characterisation. In fact, I was with Justin McCamphill, the leader of NASUWT, at the launch of the curriculum reform, at which he commended me for it and said that he thought that it was good. I have sat in many a meeting with trade union representatives during which they have said, "This is a good initiative.”
“That is exactly why there is a 16-week consultation period, rather than the normal 12 weeks or the minimum eight weeks; to allow the public and teaching profession to very much engage in that curriculum, which I commend to all Members.”
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“I will not apologise for visiting a school where Jews, Arabs and Christians learn together. While others indulge in performative outrage, I will continue to deliver for our children, our schools and our future. Whether those people like it or not, so long as my party entrusts me with this office, I will be here. <BR /> <BR />I will quote Tennyson's 'Ulysses':”
“In short, by learning from others and building on our own successes, we are creating an education system that can compete with the very best across the world. That is the ambition that I have for every child. <BR /> <BR />To conclude, the motion is not a stand for principle; rather, it is a stand for political convenience. It is not about upholding standards; it is about silencing dissent. The message is clear: if you dare to think differently, if you dare to stand with Israel and if you dare to speak up for victims of terrorism, you will be hunted, hounded and hauled before the Assembly. I will not be silenced. I will not be intimidated. I will not be removed by those who preach tolerance but practise exclusion. I will not apologise for standing with victims of terrorism.”
“In the face of opposition in the House, I have been vindicated by the courts for correctly applying the law that the Assembly passed on integrated education. I have assembled a team of international educational experts to ensure that Northern Ireland will have a world-leading education system. <BR /> <BR />In TransformED, I have launched the most far-reaching and comprehensive reform of education in generations, focusing on curriculum, assessment, school improvement and qualifications, all of which is underpinned by a focus on and investment in teacher professional learning. When implemented, that will help to close the attainment gap for disadvantaged children and raise standards for every child. I have invested £31 million in teacher professional learning in the largest-ever intervention of that kind.”
“On behalf of the Executive, I have delivered the most meaningful package of childcare measures in the history of Northern Ireland. Later this week, I will submit the early learning and childcare strategy to the Executive for consideration. <BR /> <BR />I am undertaking a far-reaching programme of reform to support special educational needs. I have introduced new guidance to discourage the use of mobile phones in schools. I have introduced legislation to ensure that school uniforms are affordable. I have brought common sense back to our education system by making it clear that biological boys should not be playing in girls' sports, using girls' toilets or changing in girls' changing rooms.”
“<BR /> <BR />While the debate has helped to expose and reveal the true face of Gerry Carroll's coalition and the hypocrisy that is at the heart of the opposition that has been levelled at me, it is a distraction from the work that I have been doing — we have been doing a lot. While the Alliance-led Education Committee has been pondering whether a three-year-old can be trans, I have been focusing on what happens in the classroom. In my first 18 months, I ensured that the starting pay for teachers increased by over £7,500 to £31,650. More generally, teachers' pay has increased by between 16% and 18%. Later this month, the independent review of teacher workload will report, and we will take forward a package of measures to ensure that teachers can focus on the place in which they matter the most: the classroom.”
“We can look at the genocide of the Uyghur community that is taking place in China, but Sinn Fein's hypocrisy is such that it is prepared to turn a blind eye whenever it suits. What of the Alliance Party, which is now a bedfellow of Gerry Carroll as well as a regular bedfellow of Sinn Féin? Mr Mathison accused me of being on a propaganda visit. That is grossly offensive. If he had seen and heard what I saw and heard, he would not have said such a thing. <BR /> <BR />The motion is not about justice but ideology. It is not about conduct; it is about control. I will continue to speak up for those who need to have their voices heard. I was in Yad Vashem, the national Holocaust memorial centre, and will remember the six million Jews — men, women and children — who were murdered in the Holocaust.”
“No longer at the margins of political acceptability, others row in behind him to create Gerry Carroll's coalition of hate. What of Sinn Féin's Deputy Chair of the Education Committee, Mr Pat Sheehan? He is a man with a chequered past to say the least. Having once been sentenced to 15 years for bombing a cash and carry, following his release he attempted to bomb a security checkpoint in Belfast. On that occasion, he was convicted and sentenced to serve 24 years and was released only under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. Now, he is not just an MLA but a friend of Hamas. No wonder it took his party leader five days, following the horrendous events of 7 October 2023, to condemn the attacks on Israel. Sinn Féin alleges that the Israelis are guilty of genocide, but allegations of genocide are no impediment to Sinn Féin's approach to China.”
“Is it more serious than when the then deputy First Minister brazenly and unapologetically violated the Executive's own COVID regulation at the peak of a global health crisis, undermining public trust and setting a dangerous precedent at a time when leadership was needed most? There were no exclusion motions then. There was no outrage and no accountability. <BR /> <BR />What of my accusers? Do they come with clean hands? Gerry Carroll, the author of the motion, is the same man who tweeted "Victory to the Palestinian Resistance" as Israelis were being murdered — a tweet that remains on his timeline to this day and for which he has never apologised. That is the man who would stand in judgement of me, but Gerry Carroll does not stand alone.”
“What of the countless occasions when no exclusion motion was brought? Is it more serious than when an industrial tribunal found Conor Murphy to have discriminated against a Protestant on religious grounds and that his evidence was "implausible and lacking credibility"? There was no exclusion motion then. Is it more serious than when Margaret Ritchie, Mark Durkan and Michelle O'Neill were separately found, by the High Court, to have acted unlawfully and in breach of the ministerial code? There were no exclusion motions then. Is it more serious than when the IRA murdered Kevin McGuigan on the streets of Belfast, and the police and security services confirmed that Sinn Féin continued to operate subject to the direction of the Provisional IRA army council? There were no exclusion motions then.”
“Are they more serious than when the police raided Sinn Féin's offices in this very Building, investigating a suspected spy ring on the back of the IRA's break-in at Castlereagh police station and its training of FARC terrorists in Colombia? Remember this: I went to visit children in a school, whereas Sinn Féin's partners in the IRA went to Colombia to teach terrorists how to use car bombs. That is the contrast; that is the truth.”
“<BR /> <BR />Are today's trumped-up charges truly more serious than the refusal of the IRA to decommission its weapons and to continue to murder people when Sinn Féin remained in government in the early years of devolution?”
“That was deemed appropriate, given the need to manage the Israel trip within my broader ministerial diary and the need to cancel other engagements. <BR /> <BR />Where do those alleged offences fit into the annals of the Assembly? Has it been forgotten that, far from simply visiting a school, there are Members in the House, some of whom have served as Ministers, including as Education Minister, who were personally guilty of the most heinous crimes without one word of regret or remorse? The Assembly has considered exclusion motions on a handful of occasions, so let us compare the gravity of those allegations with those that I face today.”
“Going to Israel on a fact-finding mission to hear from the victims of terrorism? Going to a country with which the United Kingdom retains full diplomatic relations and an embassy in Tel Aviv? Going to visit a school during that trip? Are Members seeking to tell me what to think or where to go? Is it, as some would suggest, merely asking the Department to publicise my visit to a school — yes, a school — on the departmental website and on social media, a request that was properly approved at the highest level in the Department before it was issued? As I said last week, my permanent secretary assessed the Department's role with regard to the trip and concluded that its involvement was limited and administrative in nature.”
“It is signed by those who, for generations, refused to recognise the police, the courts and the rule of law in Northern Ireland and still claim that there was no alternative to murder, including the murder of over 70 children by the Provisional IRA. We truly are in Alice in Wonderland territory. <BR /> <BR />What is it that the MLAs who speak and seek a political lynching want? Is it to rebuke me for my conduct in visiting a school where Jews, Arabs and Christians are educated together? No. It is to exclude me from office altogether. It is a form of political internment — exclusion without a proper trial — not for the minimum period of three months but for the statutory maximum of 12 months, indicating that there can be no greater punishment for any Minister, no matter their conduct. <BR /> <BR />What is the case against me?”
“<BR /> <BR />The motion has not just targeted me; it has sent a chilling message to the unionist community that our convictions, our values and our right to engage with the wider world are to be policed and punished. It is a warning to every unionist voice that dares to speak outside the lines that have been drawn by nationalism. It tells our community, "You may participate", but only on their terms. You may speak but only if you say what they want to hear. It is because those truths have revealed themselves that I welcome the motion and the opportunity to reply today. <BR /> <BR />Let me begin with the trumped-up charges drafted by Mr Carroll but signed and endorsed by others. The motion suggests that I do not support the rule of law and have breached the ministerial code in some undefined way.”
“We have seen the informal creation of a new coalition of Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Alliance Party under the leadership and direction of Gerry Carroll. We have witnessed a calculated attempt to drive a unionist Minister from office, not for misconduct but simply for daring to dissent from the prevailing anti-Israel orthodoxy of Irish nationalism. That is not principled politics; it is an attempt at ideological purging. We have had a glimpse into a new Ireland. It is not a land flowing with milk and honey but a land where unionists serve only at the pleasure of and on terms dictated by nationalists and republicans, aided and abetted by the Alliance Party. It is a vision not of equality but of subjugation.”
“Mr Speaker, I will not be taking any interventions. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the opportunity to respond to the debate and to take the opportunity to expose the toxic mix of antisemitism, anti-unionism and hypocrisy that is at the heart of the motion. The motion was proposed by a man who has never condemned the murder of over 1,200 Israelis and is now backed by a coalition of those who will jump on to every bandwagon going. The debate has exposed the ugly face of pan-nationalism and its fellow travellers. <BR /> <BR />I am confident that, when the votes are cast, the attempt to drive me from office will have failed, but, in the process, some deeper truths will have been revealed. Those truths will not be lost on the unionist community.”
“<BR /> <BR />I thank Members for their contributions to the debate, even if some strayed into party politics. I welcome further engagement with all concerned so that the benefits of a new early learning and childcare strategy are fully realised for children, families and the wider early learning and childcare sector.”
“<BR /> <BR />The strategy will be comprehensive and ambitious, but it will also be realistic. The scale and pace of implementation will depend on the budget that is available. It will include a proposed prioritisation and be structured in a way that enables actions to be scaled up or down or rescheduled. It will be flexible, allowing us to respond to the funding that is available over the coming years. I have consistently said that I would bring the strategy to the Executive by this autumn, and I will do so. If agreed by the Executive, it will be consulted on. I invite the House and Executive to support the strategy and, when the time comes, provide the funding that will be necessary to deliver it. We have too many strategies that are a substitute for delivery. I do not want this one to be another example of that.”
“Those findings, alongside the data that is being gathered through the Northern Ireland childcare subsidy scheme, other commissioned reviews and significant stakeholder engagement, are supporting the development of the draft strategy and ensuring that it reflects the needs of children, families and the sector. The strategy will include measures to support the early learning and childcare workforce, recognising the issues with recruitment and retention and the need to truly value and support all those who provide those essential services to ensure the best start in life for all our children. It will build on the early actions to support child development, including for those with special educational needs or disabilities, children in Irish-medium education and those for whom English is not a first language.”
“<BR /> <BR />A robust evidence base is critical to determining where investment should be directed. I commissioned the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency to carry out the Northern Ireland childcare survey, and the first ever official statistics on childcare in Northern Ireland were published on 8 May this year. It provided insight into a range of issues, including the type and amount of childcare used, childcare costs, summer holiday childcare arrangements and the factors that influence parental childcare choices, including affordability, quality of care and proximity, to name a few.”
“The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has also been at the table to ensure that any planned action is considered through a rural lens. That collaboration has been essential to address the challenges that we face in transforming early learning and childcare. I am committed to continuing with that approach. <BR /> <BR />In tandem with successful cross-departmental engagement, my Department has engaged directly with parents, children and the early years sector. I have attended a number of meetings with the early learning and childcare stakeholder engagement forum, which allowed me to hear at first hand the challenges that they face. I listened to what was said and incorporated proposals in the draft strategy to address a wide range of issues, many of which were mentioned today.”
“My officials have also worked closely with the Department of Health, which has statutory responsibility for childcare regulation, including minimum standards for day care and childminding provision, and the Department for Communities to support those on low incomes with childcare costs and those who are economically inactive to get into the workplace. In addition, work continues with the Department for the Economy on supporting training and apprenticeships in the sector and on proposals for a specific business advisory service. Whilst progress from that Department has been very slow, I am grateful that the Economy Minister has led on the recently published scoping study on the sustainability of the childcare sector. The recommendations from that report will also feed into the strategy.”
“I thank all for their continued work and support as we move to introducing and implementing an early learning and childcare strategy for Northern Ireland that builds on the successes to date. <BR /> <BR />It is essential to the success of all cross-cutting strategies that Departments work together in a collaborative and tangible way. That is why I established the cross-departmental task and finish group to ensure that the measures to date and the longer-term strategy reflect each Department's policy needs in the early learning and childcare arena.”
“Added to that is the additional funding to support children who face disadvantage via Sure Start, the pathway fund, the Toybox project and a range of programmes to support additional needs or disability. That early investment has made a real and meaningful difference for many children who often find the odds stacked against them. <BR /> <BR />I have clearly demonstrated my intention to enhance and transform early learning and childcare in Northern Ireland through the actions that I have taken forward to date. I am sure that colleagues will agree that that is a significant achievement in a very short timescale. I take the opportunity to acknowledge the positive partnership working across Departments with the early learning and childcare sector and parents in enabling the successful roll-out of those initial actions.”
“When the scheme is combined with tax-free childcare, working families in Northern Ireland have saved approximately £37·5 million on their childcare costs. <BR /> <BR />I accept that bills are still unacceptably high for some families. I want to go further. In the context of the strategy, I will bring proposals to the Executive that would further improve affordability. In addition, the £80 million that has been allocated by the Executive to date has enabled me to fund the creation of 2,500 more full-time preschool places, with the provision of a free school meal for eligible children. That means that half of our preschool places are now full time, with further increases planned for September 2026.”
“<BR /> <BR />The scheme has made a meaningful, tangible difference to families by providing a 15% reduction to registered childcare costs, with potential savings of up to 32% when combined with the United Kingdom's tax-free childcare. In order to maximise the benefit of the subsidy for parents, when childcare fees increased in April 2025, I again acted, increasing the subsidy cap of the scheme by 10% to £184 per month per child and raising administrative payments to providers. Almost 22,500 children are registered and active on the subsidy scheme. Since September 2024, £17·8 million has been paid out to reduce childcare costs for eligible working families. That is a significant investment that simply would not have happened had I not prioritised the introduction of the scheme ahead of the strategy.”
“That has allowed us to introduce a range of tangible measures, including the Northern Ireland childcare subsidy scheme, which initially targeted support to families with preschool children, but was extended to include school-age children from 1 September 2025. That scheme now provides support to a much wider group of working parents, with the recent expansion to school-age children resulting in a 60% increase in the number of children who are eligible for the subsidy. That has helped to address the cumulative childcare costs that are faced by families with multiple children aged from 0 to 11, and it is in line with the tax-free childcare coverage.”
“as set out in the Programme for Government, demonstrates the Executive's commitment to invest in that area over the longer term. I am happy to confirm that I will bring a draft strategy to my Executive colleagues for consideration within the next few weeks — certainly before the end of 2025, as is requested in the motion. If that draft strategy is agreed, it will be subject to a public consultation. <BR /> <BR />The strategy will address all the issues that Members have raised today. It will build on the significant investment of £80 million already allocated by the Executive, which is making a positive difference for thousands of children, families and providers across Northern Ireland.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Transforming early learning and childcare has been a key priority for me since I took up the office of Minister of Education. The priority to:”
“I thank the Member for his question. The legislation sets out specific obligations for Ministers concerning transparency, accountability and the conducting of official business. Those obligations apply only to relevant meetings, which are defined as prearranged meetings with third parties to conduct official business. Having reviewed all engagements during the Israel visit and consulted officials, my permanent secretary and I have concluded that none of them meets that definition. The visit to Ofek School was a tour rather than a formal meeting. It did not involve an agenda or agreed actions. The focus was on having the school leader share insights into educational practice while fact-finding, which is relevant to my portfolio. It did not constitute a meeting to conduct official business in the formal sense that is required by the Act.”
“I quite happily associate myself with the remarks of the Chairman of the Education Committee. I bore witness to how children in those schools in Gaza have been entirely indoctrinated. Hamas is not just a paramilitary terrorist organisation but the political infrastructure of Gaza. It controls the schools and the hospitals. It controls the social welfare system. Do you know how you get a better pension scheme in Gaza? The more Jews whom you kill, the bigger your pension scheme is. That is what the Hamas-run Gazan territory is about. Schools and hospitals are being used by terrorists as infrastructure and for tunnels. It is the terrorists who have abused the civilians and children of Gaza.”
“I will remember the 378 victims at the Nova festival and the voice of Yair, who spoke about how, although he was able to escape, 44 other people were taken hostage and held captive. I will remember those people. <BR /> <BR />I can condemn violence on all sides. I can think about and have empathy with all innocent civilians. I will, however, not stand by and listen to those who have supported and promoted Hamas terrorism. Hamas has destroyed Gaza. The people of Gaza need liberated from those Hamas terrorists so that they can have a free Palestine without terrorists ruling it. That is what needs to happen. Members can therefore reflect on the stories that I have relayed to them. I await with interest their showing any concern at all for the people to whom I have referred.”
“I agree with the Member. What we have in evidence here is a mob mentality of shouting down and seeking to intimidate. That is not going to happen. I will continue to speak up for those who need to have their voices heard. I was in Yad Vashem, the national Holocaust memorial centre. I will remember the six million Jews who were persecuted during the Holocaust. I will remember Boaz in the kibbutz of Malkia on the border with southern Lebanon, who has endured Hezbollah rocket attacks raining down on his community. I will remember the Druze community, which is an Arab community, in Majdal Shams, where Hezbollah killed 12 innocent children playing on a football pitch. I will remember Rita in the kibbutz of Nir Oz, where 117 people were either murdered or taken hostage on 7 October.”
“I am also focused on ensuring that our teachers, who got a pay rise of over 11% under me, as Minister, which was more than under any other Minister in previous years, are represented. I will continue to represent those teachers and get on with doing my job while others just want to distract from it.”
“Yes, absolutely. That is why I will continue getting on with the job. When I came into post, we faced a crisis in special educational needs placements, and we established thousands of extra places. This year, we had to establish thousands of extra places. Whilst others want to detract and take us away from those issues, my job is to continue to deliver, and I will deliver by creating those places. I have published all the details on area planning. I say this to the Member and to Sinn Féin: I brought forward a costed, detailed, 10-year strategic plan for children with special needs, but Sinn Féin still has not put it on the agenda. When will Sinn Féin put things such as that on the Executive agenda? <BR /> <BR />My focus is very much on helping children with special educational needs.”
“Members opposite are shouting about those with international arrest warrants and criminal convictions. Am I living in a parallel universe? I ask the Members opposite this: how many of you were incarcerated in the Maze prison, in Maghaberry or in Crumlin Road because of your terrorist criminal convictions? How many of your family members were engaged in terrorism? You have the audacity to sit there and lecture me and others about this visit to Israel. Seriously? You may have been sanitised by others who in 1998 were weak on the Belfast Agreement, and you may be acceptable to the British Government, who have failed to deal with Sinn Féin's politics effectively, but we will continue to stand up to, expose and confront your politics, because that is what we have to do in the Assembly and in the Executive. Get used to it.”
“You can continue to shout me down; I will continue to give you back the answers that you need to hear.”
“I agree with the Member, and I thank him for being part of the delegation. Members clearly do not like the report that we are bringing back on the devastation that happened in Israel. They do not like to hear the truth. Well, you are going to have to get used to hearing the truth.”
“We met members of the Israel Defense Forces. Here is what we witnessed. We were in the outpost right on the Gaza border. Do you know what happened on 7 October? Hamas came into that outpost, took 19 unarmed females, put them into a room, rolled up tyres, set them on fire and suffocated the women to death. They burnt them alive. All that was left was their military dog tags for their families. The party opposite talks about gender equality and ending violence against women, but it does not worry about the violence by Hamas terrorists against women in Israel.”
“The Member asks a very important question. In the past, questions have been asked about minutes and notes of meetings that have taken place when it comes to China. I know the position that I have when it comes to engaging with China: I do not. They are committing genocide. This, however, is the challenge: it is the inconsistency, particularly of Sinn Féin, and the inconsistent approach. If you are claiming to be against genocide in Israel, why are you not against genocide when it comes to China and the Uyghur community? It is the inconsistency and double standards. Let us see how principled Sinn Féin is in the days, weeks and months ahead when it comes to its engagements with the human rights-violating People's Republic of China.”
“The Member is in lockstep with Hamas. That is who he is in step with, and that is who he was commending and celebrating on 7 October. Hamas, which has brutally murdered, raped and killed babies and children. The Member should go to Gaza and take his left-wing policies and ideology and see how he will be treated in Gaza. He might not get back out if he were to articulate the views that he has on Hamas and Gaza. <BR /> <BR />I note that Matthew O'Toole is not here. That is probably appropriate, because we now have the real leader of the Opposition, Gerry Carroll, leading Alliance, the SDLP and Sinn Féin. I give credit to Gerry Carroll: at least he is honest. At least he does not try to hide the antisemitic position that he holds. Others in the Chamber masquerade as being against racism. It is clear that the mask has truly slipped.”
“When the vote on the no confidence motion comes, it will troop into the Lobby behind Gerry Carroll, the man who posted, "Victory to the Palestinian Resistance". How far the Alliance so-called cross-community Party has fallen that it is now in the pretty appalling position that it has found itself in.”
“I am repeating for, I think, the fourth time that it has been reviewed by my permanent secretary and senior officials, who have found that I and every official in the Department acted entirely appropriately when it comes to the visit. There are no issues to see here, despite those who want to manufacture them. <BR /> <BR />The Member said that the Alliance Party had been entirely consistent. I remember a time when the Alliance Party condemned terrorists. Now, the Alliance Party does not even know what an innocent victim of terrorism is. I remember a time when the Alliance Party used to find space to vote with DUP colleagues in the Chamber. Now, the Alliance Party walks through the Lobbies led by Gerry Carroll.”
“I thank the Member for his question. At no time did departmental officials suggest to me that I was in breach of any rules relating to my ministerial duties. Opponents want my civil servants in the Department to have acted in a highly political manner when it came to the statement that was released. That would have been to invite them not to act impartially under the direction and control of the democratically elected Minister but to usurp the authority of those who are in elected office. I repeat it for the benefit of all Members and the media who have been listening that this has been reviewed by the senior officials in my Department, and the permanent secretary has given a clean bill of health when it comes to every civil servant who engaged with the visit and to my conduct as Minister.”
“We know that other Members visited, but they went to visit Hamas”
“— of the religious differences in Jerusalem. The Member shouts, "Rubbish": I was there last week, so I have witnessed it.”
“As I have said, it was entirely acceptable for me, Dr Aiken, a TUV councillor and the leader of the Welsh Conservative Party to visit that school. Members would have been critical of a delegation to Israel that refused to go into East Jerusalem, where there is a majority Arab community, and to experience what it has to live with. The same Members would have condemned us for not doing that. We went to listen. We heard clearly about what many people in Jerusalem and across Israel have had to experience. <BR /> <BR />Do you know what it was like in pre-1967 East Jerusalem under Jordanian rule? Jews were not allowed in. Christians were not allowed in. They were refused access to a lot of the holy sites in the city. Under Israeli rule, all the sites are open, irrespective —”
“You may not like the answers, but you will listen to them from me today, tomorrow, next week, next month and next year”
“You may have tried to bully other people in the past, but it will not work with me”