Claire Sugden
East Londonderry · Independent · Northern Ireland
“That is, gosh, almost 35 years ago, yet we are still having the conversation in 2026. If I were to speak to that eight-year-old girl, I would tell her, "When you are 40, Claire, this will not even be a consideration for you". Sadly, however, it still is. It is deeply disappointing that, when we had an opportunity, it was not taken.”
“Indeed, I tabled an amendment to that Bill to achieve the desired outcome, but, sadly, the opportunity was not taken. One of the strengths of the Assembly is that Committees can identify where Executive legislation has fallen short and produce their own practical, targeted solutions.”
“Frankly, we should be listening. Sometimes, we talk about equality in broad terms, but the Bill reminds us that equality is often about practical things. It is about removing unnecessary barriers from everyday life and ensuring that opportunities and choices do not depend on arbitrary differences between schools.”
“That is ridiculous. The point that we should all pay attention to is that of girls feeling less exposed. We should focus on that even if there were no other reasons to pass the legislation. Girls simply want to get on with their school day without having to think about something that most boys take for granted.”
“That meeting was a reminder that issues that can appear small to adults — there have been adults who have asked why the Assembly is legislating on this — can be issues on which we need to legislate. When people do not behave appropriately, we as a legislature have a responsibility to legislate.”
“Around one in seven couples in Northern Ireland experiences fertility problems, yet Northern Ireland continues to offer one of the most limited publicly funded fertility services anywhere in the United Kingdom. Couples face lengthy waits, restricted eligibility criteria and fewer publicly funded IVF opportunities than elsewhere.”
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“If we are serious about prevention, advice about strength, physical activity and bone health should be embedded in our public health approach and supported across our health system. A women's health strategy should therefore address not only clinical services but the role of prevention, education and public health in supporting women's well-being across the life course. <BR /> <BR />We see inequalities in areas of health that are not always immediately recognised as women's health issues. Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death among women, yet awareness of heart attack symptoms among women remains far lower than it should be. Women are also more likely to experience delayed or missed diagnosis following a heart attack. Similarly, dementia disproportionately affects women.”
“<BR /> <BR />That is not simply a clinical issue; it is a systemic issue. Better prevention, early identification and a more coordinated approach to women's health could reduce suffering for those women and pressure on our health service at the same time. <BR /> <BR />That raises a wider point about prevention and public health. Bone health and muscle strength decline as we age, particularly in women. Strength and resistance training are widely recognised as one of the most effective ways of reducing the risk of osteoporosis and falls later in life, yet much of the conversation about that happens through private initiatives, gyms or community groups rather than structured public health messaging.”
“<BR /> <BR />I recently spoke to a woman who, by the time that her gynaecology appointment came up, no longer needed it, yet she was advised to keep it on the basis that the waiting list was so long that she might need it years later. That tells us something about the reality of access to care in Northern Ireland today. <BR /> <BR />We see similar pressures in other areas of women's health. Osteoporosis services, for example, provide excellent clinical care but struggle to keep up with the scale of demand. Too often, osteoporosis is identified only after an older woman experiences a serious fall and presents at hospital with a fracture. Anyone who has spent time in an emergency department (ED) will recognise how frequently older women appear in the waiting rooms following falls that might ultimately be linked to weakened bone health.”
“That is the central reason why I have proposed the motion in the Assembly today: women's health requires a life-course approach. It requires us to think ahead, to join the dots between the different stages of life and to recognise that the health needs of half our population cannot be addressed through fragmented services. <BR /> <BR />In reality, the individual services struggle to meet the needs of women. Even where services exist, they are often not accessible when women need them. We see that most clearly in the extraordinary wait times for gynaecology services in Northern Ireland. Women wait years for assessment and treatment for conditions that significantly affect their daily lives, their physical health and their ability to work and care for their families.”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Women's health is often spoken about as if it were a series of separate issues that arise at different points in a woman's life: menstrual health in adolescence; contraception in early adulthood; pregnancy and childbirth for those who choose to have children; menopause in mid-life; and the challenges of ageing later. The reality is that women's health does not work like that. It is not a series of isolated episodes; it is a continuous journey. The information that women are given or not given, the symptoms that are dismissed or left undiagnosed and the services that they are unable to access will shape their health outcomes decades later.”
“The framework must continue to evolve to ensure that it reflects the seriousness of offences and maintains public confidence in the justice system. For those reasons, I am supporting the Bill through its Second Stage.”
“Public workers should be able to do their jobs without facing intimidation or violence, and it is right that the law reflects the seriousness of that conduct. <BR /> <BR />Taken together, the provisions in the Bill represent a meaningful attempt to respond to concerns that have been raised over many years about aspects of the justice system and the way that sentencing operates. It is important to acknowledge that it has taken a long time to reach this point. The review of sentencing policy began a decade ago, and reform in this area should not take that long. The reality is that political instability has slowed progress on many issues across government, including this one. Nevertheless, it is positive to see these reforms now coming forward. Sentencing is too important an issue to ignore.”
“The refusal to disclose the location of a victim's remains prolongs the suffering of families in a way that is difficult to comprehend. While the justice system cannot undo that harm, it can recognise the additional cruelty involved when offenders choose to withhold information. I know how hard Lisa's family have worked on this issue over many years, and it is right that their determination is also recognised in how measures are now being introduced. <BR /> <BR />The Bill also creates a specific offence of assaulting a public worker, and I very much welcome that. Too many people who provide services to the public experience abuse of violence simply for doing their job. Healthcare workers, transport staff, retail workers and many others can find themselves on the receiving end of behaviour that should never be considered acceptable.”
“Peter Dolan and his family have shown enormous courage in continuing to campaign on this issue while carrying their own loss. Their determination helped to bring about a wider examination of sentencing in Northern Ireland, and it is only right that their contribution is recognised. The Bill reflects some of that work, and I welcome that. <BR /> <BR />It also includes provisions to deal with a situation where offenders refuse to disclose the location of victims' remains, and, in Northern Ireland, that issue is painfully associated with the case of Lisa Dorrian. For families who are left without answers in those circumstances, the impact is profound and enduring. Lisa's family have lived with that pain for many years.”
“The review was also influenced by individual cases that deeply resonated with people, and one of those was the death of Enda Dolan and the campaigning of his father, Peter Dolan. In that case, a young life was lost because someone made the choice to engage in dangerous and illegal behaviour on the road. The consequences of that decision were devastating and irreversible, and that is what made the sentence that was imposed in that case so difficult to understand. The sentencing review could never change what happened to Enda Dolan or undo the devastating loss experienced by his family, but it sought to ensure that, where such crimes occur, families are not left feeling that the justice system has failed to hold people properly accountable for their actions.”
“That was one of the reasons why I initiated the review of sentencing policy in Northern Ireland in 2016. At that time, there had not been a comprehensive examination of sentencing policy for many years. Concerns were being raised by victims' families, by legal practitioners and by the public more generally about whether the system was delivering outcomes that truly reflected the seriousness of certain offences.”
“For many victims and families, that process can be difficult to understand, particularly when they are dealing with the loss that has been suffered and simply want justice for their loved one. That is why the framework that we set as part of the Bill matters. If the starting point is not high enough, the final sentence, even after adjustments, can appear and feel insufficient.”
“<BR /> <BR />Sentencing cannot be looked at in isolation. Judges are not simply picking a number; they are working with a sentencing framework that has been set in law and shaped by case law over many years. When we, as legislators, look at sentencing, what we are really doing is adjusting that framework rather than deciding what the sentence should be in any individual case, and that is not always easy to explain. Often, we hear that the maximum sentence for a particular offence is a certain number of years, but, then, we see a significantly lower sentence imposed. People do not always see the process behind that decision. The court begins with a starting point; considers aggravating and mitigating factors; applies reductions where appropriate; and, ultimately, arrives at the final sentence.”
“Sentencing is one of those issues that people feel strongly about. When a crime is committed and harm is caused, particularly where there has been a death or serious harm, one of the first questions that people ask is whether the sentence truly reflects what has happened to the victim and the victim's family. Often, that is what people mean when they say that they want justice for those who have been hurt by the crimes of others. When I was Minister of Justice, I spent a lot of time thinking about sentencing and how it works in practice. Sentencing serves several purposes: it is punishment; it is intended to act as a deterrent; and it should provide an opportunity for rehabilitation. Ultimately, however, the sentence imposed by the court should reflect the seriousness of the crime that has been committed and the harm that has been caused.”
“If the nervous system itself has become dysregulated, part of the pathway must focus on helping people return to a regulated state, not simply asking them to think differently about what has happened to them. That is an area where I believe that our services in Northern Ireland still have work to do. <BR /> <BR />My time away has given me a clearer sense of how fragile health can be, a deeper respect for our healthcare staff and a greater compassion for those who are living with trauma without the support that they need. I am glad to be back, and I intend to continue pressing for a system that understands trauma not as an afterthought but as part of the foundation of better care.”
“We are a post-conflict society, where many people have carried trauma for decades. For some, it comes from the Troubles, and, for others, it comes from domestic violence, childhood adversity, poverty and the constant pressures of caring responsibilities. However, if we are serious about prevention and about easing pressure on our health service, trauma-informed approaches must be properly embedded in our system and across wider public services. At present, much of our response focuses on cognitive therapies such as CBT, and those absolutely have their place. However, trauma is not only something that people think about that is in their heads. It is something that the body experiences.”
“Medically, that can mean a dysregulated nervous system, where the sympathetic system that prepares us for threat stays switched on and the parasympathetic system that is meant to calm and regulate the body struggles to restore balance.”
“<BR /> <BR />My experience of the uncertainty and the investigations and what followed made me reflect on something that we do not talk enough about in this place, which is trauma. We often treat trauma as something that sits in the past, but the body keeps a score. Experiences can be carried physically long after the moment has passed.”
“While I was there, I spent many hours in A&E, where I saw older people waiting far too long, many of them on their own, and staff working at full stretch. On the stroke ward, I saw real dedication from the staff but also the pressure that they are under every day. It is a difficult experience to find yourself at 39 years old and as the mother of a two-year-old in a ward that we normally associate with those who are later in life. Yet, the consultants were clear that younger patients there are not unusual. Increasingly, they see people whose bodies have been under sustained pressure for long periods due to trauma, stress and strain, leaving nervous systems operating in fight or flight mode for far too long.”
“I want to acknowledge my absence from the Chamber over the past number of months. I also thank colleagues from across the House and the many members of the public who contacted me privately during that time. The kindness shown to me is genuinely appreciated. My absence began with what, I thought, was a migraine; thankfully, it also ended there. There were scans, three lumbar punctures, a suspected stroke and several weeks of uncertainty. The care that I received at Causeway Hospital was excellent. The staff responded quickly and professionally when they believed that I was experiencing a medical emergency, and for that I am truly grateful. <BR /> <BR />Being in the system that we often debate and advocate for gives you a different perspective.”
“I expect that you will stand up and tell us all the reasons why that figure exists, and it may not be as simple as some of us would have assumed at the outset. However, the fact is that there is not enough money and our system is not efficient enough to address services in a way that can justify the figures that we have to present to the public.”
“<BR /> <BR />The person who cannot afford to pay their rates will not pay them, and will then go through a lengthy accountability process. I suspect that the Minister has regular conversations with the Minister of Justice about the challenges and pressures that the Enforcement of Judgments Office faces. Is that an issue as to why we are unable to collect rates better — that, again, the system is so bureaucratic and convoluted? <BR /> <BR />We need to have an honest conversation. I admit that I came at this by seeing £145 million and saying, "Wow, that is a huge shortfall", particularly when we put it into the context of the many millions of pounds that we need for other services. Minister, I encourage you to look at the system as a whole and speak to your Executive colleagues about this.”
“Rates is one of those issues, particularly non-domestic rates. More often than not, any business that challenges its rates bill will win that appeal because the system is so convoluted that it cannot really justify itself, and LPS will probably have no option other than to agree with the appeal. <BR /> <BR />I do not want to rehash what others have said: I am trying to be a bit more thoughtful about the contributions because they point to the general concerns around the system. We need to see reform. We need to look at what we are doing there. Maybe we need to look at other ways in which to raise revenue so that rates are not the only opportunity for us to get more money for the services that we all use.”
“To be honest, the only way in which to do that is through rates and, ultimately, by increasing them. We can point to the successes of recent years and the money that has been brought in by Land and Property Services, but, ultimately, that has been because you are raising rates. I appreciate that we need rates, at local, council function level and at Northern Ireland function level, because we just do not have enough money to go across all services. I am a little bit concerned that that, in itself, is what is increasing our rates generally. We need to have an honest conversation about why the system is there and what it is for. <BR /> <BR />Earlier, I mentioned that I have been in the Chamber for 10 years, and that we are talking about the same issues that we talked about a decade ago.”
“However, the public are trying to understand. They see that huge £145 million shortfall and are trying to understand: is it due to Stormont incompetence or does the fact that the system is just too bureaucratic — I mentioned that in my intervention to Mr Gaston — mean that it is almost not worth recovering it, because to recover it in an efficient way may cost more? <BR /> <BR />That takes us into another conversation about how we collect rates and what the issues are, and even Linda Dillon's point about the fact that people simply cannot afford it. That, in itself, is an issue, because the rates system is one of the few ways in which Northern Ireland can raise its own revenue. As budgets get cut, as services seem to cost more and as public services haemorrhage money, we need to find it from somewhere.”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I prepared a speech that took the issue at face value, in that £145 million sits outside the system. When the general public hear that figure, they think of the debate that we had prior to this one and the £110 million that we are not paying in relation to the police data issue. They also think of the money required for the holiday pay claim and the millions that, the Health Minister says, we do not have in our budget to pay nurses. I appreciate, Minister, that it is not as easy as transferring money across Departments.”
“The Member has outlined the extensive process involved in collecting the rates bill, setting aside the particular individual at whom it was directed in that case. Does that bureaucracy in and of itself add to the cost and the challenge with rates collection that we are discussing?”
“I encourage the Minister of Finance and the Executive to look to the community and voluntary sector, if for no other reason than to balance the books, because the Minister does not have the money to provide the services that the sector offers. We should therefore be supporting it. It is a case of invest to save, Minister, so it is over to you.”
“Perhaps we are not appealing to the right Minister today and should instead have the Minister for Communities responding to the debate. We need to recognise our community and voluntary sector and the services that it provides. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion. Although I am calling on the British Government to take action, I also call on our Executive to start taking responsibility, because we cannot keep blaming London every time that such issues arise. We have not meaningfully supported and invested in our community and voluntary sector in the way in which we should have done this year. That is one issue, but it is one of many.”
“<BR /> <BR />More often than not, groups in the community and voluntary sector are not paid the attention that they deserve, simply because they quietly work away in their communities doing the things that, unfortunately, do not make the headlines. Their good work is not talked about enough. I join others across the Chamber in expressing how grateful I am to the community and voluntary sector in Northern Ireland, but I fear that, if we do not start funding it appropriately and in a sustained way, we will lose those groups and no longer be able to talk about them. Today, we are debating the importance of various funds, the benefits that they provide and, indeed, the shortfall that will be created if we do not find some form of replacement funding.”
“<BR /> <BR />Those organisations support families, provide training opportunities, promote well-being and create spaces where people can connect. I feel that, to an extent, we are losing our communities because we are losing those organisations. As a mother of a two-year-old, I know that it takes a village to raise a child, but that village is our community and voluntary sector. We want to understand why people have mental health problems and why we have issues with parenting and behaviour right across society. The reason is that we are losing our sense of community. The support does not exist any more. The Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government really need to return to the issue, because it is indicative of some of what we are seeing in society.”
“In my constituency, I see every day the difference that organisations in the community and voluntary sector make. Indeed, when I became an MLA, I identified as many of those groups as possible and set out to meet every one of them, and there were hundreds. Regrettably, since COVID, we have lost some of the strength in our community and voluntary sector, so funding is more critical now than ever. We hear every day about older people feeling lonely and about people in rural communities not being able to access services, meaning that they do not even try to access them. For a region in a Western democracy, it is not good enough that people feel that they are not being served and that they just have to get on with it. Unfortunately, they cannot do that.”
“Staff and volunteers are exhausted and fed up. They are trying to plan from year to year, with no certainty about their future. In my 10-plus years as an MLA, I have heard every year about organisations putting their staff on protected notice because funding certainty just does not exist. Beyond the loss of jobs and community services, gaps are being left that government is not filling. If anything, those gaps are widening, because budgets across the board are being cut.”
“I support the motion because it speaks to a growing concern in communities across Northern Ireland, namely the uncertainty that community and voluntary sector organisations are facing and the real fear about what happens when the funding runs out. <BR /> <BR />In my 10-plus years as a Member, those organisations have been treated as an optional extra because they have never been supported in a way that is sustained and continuing. Yet they deliver services, which government depends on but cannot provide because it does not have the capacity, that range from employment to training, mental health, family support and tackling loneliness. <BR /> <BR />Those organisations reach out to people whom public services cannot, and they do so with compassion, expertise and knowledge of those people. Their goodwill can go only so far, however.”
“Minister, I appreciate that you recognise that HMOs are useful in certain circumstances. One of the biggest threats to the Causeway Hospital is recruitment. People do not want to take jobs there because they simply cannot find places to live. My concern with the statement is that we could actually add to the housing crisis, which is particularly acute on the north coast, if we do not make the distinction that needs to be made.”
“Thank you, Minister, for giving way. I apologise for not having been able to contribute to the debate. I was at another engagement. <BR /> <BR />On the point about equality and what the guidance might do, the Minister will be aware that I tabled an amendment about girls being allowed to wear trousers. To give him an idea of from where that came, an eight-year-old child was so concerned about upskirting that she asked to be allowed to wear trousers. Despite having taken that suggestion to her school principal, he was not having any of it. Can you therefore give a commitment that, in developing them, your guidelines will address that specific issue on the basis of equality, which you have just outlined.”
“I thank the Minister. We made a mistake in respect of the dog that has been in the news recently: that dog should not have been in the prison. Its placement did not fall within the policy and legislation, which, I believe, needs to be reviewed and updated. The Minister received correspondence, as recently as this morning, in which concerns relating to how we dealt with that particular animal continue to be raised. Will the Minister give a commitment that that will not happen again and that she will review what is happening operationally within the Northern Ireland Prison Service? I appreciate that it is not directly her responsibility, but it falls within her remit.”
“I give credit to the White House and others for the diplomacy that may have brought us to this point. It would be naive of any of us to think that the motives are entirely selfless, because geopolitics rarely is, but, if the consequence is peace or the beginning of it, that is a moment worth acknowledging. My hope, and the hope of all decent people, is that the ceasefire, if it holds, will be more than just a pause in violence and the start of a process that restores humanity; rebuilds lives; and allows Palestinians and Israelis alike to live free from fear and oppression and to build a future in which the atrocities that we have witnessed since October 7 are not repeated.”
“However I have always looked towards the inhumanity of what we have seen and been on the side of the children who have lost their parents; the parents who are searching for children; the children who have been emaciated; and the families, on both sides of the horror, who have been torn apart by violence. The brutal attacks and hostage taking that happened on October 7 were inexcusable and horrific, but so, too, is what followed: the relentless destruction, the displacement of a population and the denial of basic human dignity to millions of people. <BR /> <BR />When we look at the images coming out of Gaza, we are not watching a conflict between equals; we are witnessing people — men, women and children — who are trapped in a place where survival itself has become political. There are no winners in that, only loss.”
“Like many across the Chamber, I welcome the reports of progress towards a ceasefire in Gaza. I do so cautiously, because hopes have been raised and dashed so many times that it is difficult to feel optimism without scepticism. However, if the agreement offers even the faintest possibility of ending the unbearable suffering that so many have endured, we must hold on to that hope. <BR /> <BR />I have never taken a side in the conflict because, in truth, I do not know much about it and, also, because I feel quite hopeless about being able to change anything.”
“Let us stand up not only for Naomi Long, Liz Kimmins and Dáire Hughes but for every person who believes that democracy should be a contest of ideas, not a battle of intimidation.”
“It should never be normal for elected representatives to require security measures at their home or their offices, but that is now our reality. <BR /> <BR />Across the world, politics feels angrier and more polarised. We need to take a collective step back, because, ultimately, most of us, from the left, right or centre, are trying to reach the same place, which is safer communities, strong services and decent lives for the people whom we represent. Those who resort to threats or intimidation do not defend democracy; they dismantle it. You can hold strong views and still show respect. That is what democracy requires: disagreement without dehumanisation. <BR /> <BR />Let us send a united message that intimidation has no place in Northern Ireland politics and that our differences must never be met with fear.”
“No one — indeed, not politicians themselves — should have to make that sacrifice. <BR /> <BR />I do not know a politician who came into this job without good intentions. We may disagree, sometimes strongly, but most of us are here to make things better from our perspective. When we strip away that humanity and start to see people as fair game rather than fair citizens, we cross a dangerous line. We have seen where that leads: the murders of Jo Cox and David Amess. <BR /> <BR />As chair of the Women's Caucus, I have taken part in discussions about the growing abuse and intimidation that faces those in public life, particularly women. Mr Speaker, I appreciate your acknowledging that in your opening remarks and facilitating those discussions.”
“I begin by expressing my solidarity with Minister Naomi Long and her husband, Councillor Michael Long. What happened outside their home last week was not a protest; it was intimidation, and it was wrong. A genuine protest is open. It is about conviction and ideas. Intimidation is about fear. When people cover their faces and target a private home, it is not about being heard; it is about silencing someone else. That is not democracy in action; it is an attack on it. <BR /> <BR />We need to be honest about how we got here, however. As a society, we have started to dehumanise politicians and to forget that behind every decision and debate is a person: someone who goes home to a family who did not choose public life and did not sign up for the abuse that their loved one gets.”
“I really welcome the scheme. Businesses seemed to know that it was coming, and they seem really content about it. However, ultimately, it comes down to the people who will be employed. Minister, how are you promoting the scheme to help employers to identify talent and ensure retention? For example, neurodiverse individuals are proven to really thrive in the tech industry and the creative industries. How are you promoting this to those types of businesses so that we can get those people into those jobs?”
“I look forward to hearing the plans to do so.”
“It is important not just for East Londonderry but for everyone in Northern Ireland that we support it.”
“I appreciate that the Minister for the Economy will respond to the debate, but it is not just about her Department. It is a cross-cutting issue. Other Members talked about the Department for Communities and the Northern Ireland Football Fund. I appreciate that that was not a geographical application, but it has created a geographical problem, because the north-west is not represented. That in itself is something that we need to reflect on. I think of the Department for Infrastructure in relation to transport and of the Department for the Economy in relation to Coleraine. I reiterate Mr Bradley's point about how it should not be a competition between the campuses at Coleraine and Magee. It should be about them complementing one another so that we can realise our potential in higher education. <BR /> <BR />I support the motion.”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I appreciate the intervention. I agree 100%, because, to get to Derry or other parts of Northern Ireland from Belfast, you have to go through East Londonderry. I reiterate the point that it is about connectivity. It is about looking at Northern Ireland as a corporate plan and ensuring that every part of it is connected. By not doing that, we fail Northern Ireland, not just its individual parts. We fail to get the opportunities that we could have as a region. Again, Northern Ireland is not a huge place. It has a population of about 2 million people. Huge opportunity comes with that, and the Government need to do so much more to realise that opportunity. <BR /> <BR />I will touch on the point about the other Departments.”
“That should concern every Member of every constituency, because, if a constituency with that level of representation falls that far behind, something in the system is not working. I appreciate that the problems did not appear overnight. They have taken years to build up, but the same parties have held power for most of that time. They have had the opportunity to fix them. While the imbalance is long-standing, the failure to correct it is not inevitable; it is a choice. It is not one Department's problem. Every Department —.”