Paula Bradshaw
South Belfast · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“They were places where those who were vulnerable were concealed, young mothers were stripped of their babies and children were stripped of their identities. Let us be resolute in our remembrance of what happened behind the doors of those institutions.”
“At all stages, the Committee has set out its clear support for the legislation's overarching aims and principles, which are to establish a statutory public inquiry into the systemic failings associated with mother-and-baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses between 1922 and 1995 and to create a statutory redress scheme for t…”
“Again, I refuse to call them "mother-and-baby homes", for we now know that there was nothing homely about them. What the Bill can and must do is offer a tangible declaration that the state accepts its responsibility.”
“As Chairperson of the Committee for the Executive Office, I welcome the opportunity to speak at the Final Stage of the Inquiry (Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses) and Redress Scheme Bill.”
“Key points were also made in relation to redress: the need to ensure that the Executive Office introduces clear guidelines for the scheme as soon as practicable; the need for the Executive Office to widely communicate and promote the scheme to all victims and survivors, including those who live overseas; and the need for the Executive Off…”
“The First Minister and deputy First Minister tabled a number of amendments that gave effect to the Committee's intent across a number of clauses. In several instances, the Committee chose to withdraw its amendments in favour of the Ministers' wording, where that better reflected the broader book of the law.”
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“First, I thank the proposer of the motion for tabling it today and for outlining the great difficulty that people are having in the wait for diagnostic assessments, the degree to which there is a postcode lottery and the objective of a longer-term co-design strategy. I do not see how anyone would have any difficulty with it. Secondly, I thank the proposer of the amendment. We feel that it delivers a greater degree of precision, both to the issue itself and to our ask in this motion. As the debate goes on, and possibly afterwards, I will be interested to hear more detail about what the independent body would be about, but I have no difficulty with it in principle. <BR /> <BR />The motion is timely because, of course, for people with autism and their families, the pandemic has been a disproportionately stressful experience.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is time to lead, it is time to legislate and it is time to grasp the opportunities of a green new deal that is supported by the Bill.”
“It is about creating a genuine, fair society with opportunities for all. We want Northern Ireland to be a world leader in green opportunities and innovation in environmentally friendly areas as far-reaching as fintech, where we are already world-leading; renewable technologies and green aerospace, where we have much to build on; and emerging areas in hydrogen deployment and smart materials. <BR /> <BR />Yet again, we find that Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without legislation in a crucial area. Over a decade since it was put in place elsewhere, we are lagging behind politically on yet another issue. The attitude that we will not be bounced into legislative action is one that condemns us all to lag behind. Is that what we want for Northern Ireland?”
“The Minister will know that I do not sit on the AERA Committee, I sit on the Health Committee. Our spokesperson sits on that Committee, and they will engage fully in the scrutiny process as people bring forward the information. I mentioned that we are open to engaging. I know that John Blair met the Ulster Farmers' Union and other organisations to look at the issues that they are bringing forward in order to see how they could be mitigated. <BR /> <BR />I will make a broader comment. There must be no question of meekly returning to the status quo when the pandemic is over. We must grasp the opportunity to reset some of our policies and even assumptions that have proven to be so outdated. <BR /> <BR />Tackling climate change is not just about the environment, as I said.”
“All opportunities to make our economy more green are to be welcomed. <BR /> <BR />I am concerned that some of the targets in the Bill are being presented as restrictive when, in fact, they are means of developing opportunities. This is more relevant to Northern Ireland than anywhere else because of our ongoing reliance on the subvention and the need to create our own wealth to reduce that reliance. What better way than to become a world leader in sustainable development and sustainable economics? The costs that some referred to could be turned into a net benefit.”
“Let us now ensure that Northern Ireland plays its full part in that success into the future, proofing policy to ensure that it is a leader in tackling climate change and grasping the opportunities which emerge from doing so.”
“Nor is it just about the environment but about how we proceed with greater fairness in everything, from the provision of social care to the delivery of economic livelihoods. Those who engage in denial are not just denying the obvious impact of rapid climate change but denying social and economic opportunity to a much wider number of people. <BR /> <BR />Since those at the more sceptical end of this debate tend to come from the unionist Benches, I will also add that there is a significant UK success story here. The decline in carbon emissions is one thing at which the UK is genuinely and clearly world-beating. However, Northern Ireland has not contributed anything like its fair share towards that reduction in carbon emissions.”
“Those proposals will complement this Bill, but it should also be emphasised that they are essential to the success of any such legislation. That is not to say that we should not set challenging targets. On the contrary, we should, but we should also emphasise that some sectors will need support to enable us to deliver on them. <BR /> <BR />It is also important to note that our intention is not to focus on the fear factor. Indeed, I argue that sometimes the fear factor plays too great a role in these debates and can end up turning people off. On the contrary, as my party established in its 'Green New Deal' policy paper last month, the challenge in tackling climate change can be hugely engaging and positive. It is not just about avoiding an emergency ahead but about creating opportunity.”
“This means that bringing forward this Bill has led to the Department also taking action, and that is good. We are supporting the passage of this Bill on the basis that a challenging climate change Act should exist in Northern Ireland, but we are also content to scrutinise all relevant options to achieve that. Whatever way we end up with a climate change Act, I hope that the legitimate concerns of the agri-food sector, represented by the Ulster Farmers’ Union, sectoral lobbyists and others will be taken into account. <BR /> <BR />In our 'Green New Deal' paper published recently, the Alliance Party put forward proposals for enabling and supporting a transition, including support for nature-friendly farming.”
“I support the Bill at its Second Stage. I thank the sponsors of the Bill and the proposer, my constituency colleague Ms Clare Bailey, for bringing it forward. The Bill emerges from a cross-community, non-partisan initiative, and it reflects the real climate emergency ahead of us. It is not an issue on which we can do what the Assembly so often does, namely engage in endless delays or an internal process of lots of talk but no action. The Bill is already the product of well-defined expert input. If we cannot proceed based on a clear emergency and well-defined expert input, when can we proceed? <BR />As others have mentioned, we are in the peculiar position of having two climate change Bills in development, with the other coming from the Department.”
“The costs of such a mess, not just financial, are huge to a sector that is already struggling and to customers who were looking forward to the restoration of social contact. It is long past time that the Executive Office guidance focused clearly on being attentive to the direct needs of people who are trying to make ends meet, to resume their passions and to meet up with friends after a long, dark winter. The ongoing confusion is immensely frustrating and could so easily have been resolved through a focus on greater clarity. We have a long way to go before we remove the emergency legislation altogether, so there is still time for lessons to be learned.”
“While I respect that public health risk is not the only consideration, I remain of the view that public compliance would be higher if there were a more direct link between restrictions and clarity on the scientific evidence for them. <BR /> <BR />I turn to what is now best read as amendment No 1 of the 2021 regulations. That, too, has largely been overridden by the opening of gyms, retail and outdoor dining. Are we clear that the regulations are being applied clearly, coherently and consistently? The issues that have affected the hospitality sector in Belfast have been raised today. In the past week, some premises found that arrangements identical to those made and permitted under identical regulations last summer were suddenly no longer permitted. Either implementation was wrong in the summer or it is wrong now, but neither looks good.”
“The requirement should simply be for them to be worn in any indoor public space or when visiting a home to provide a service, with specific allowance for practical requirements such as eating in a restaurant. <BR /> <BR />The revocation of the (No. 2) regulations is a helpful tidying-up of the overall regulations, although I still wonder whether we are giving enough attention to the why rather than just the what. The tidying-up means that it is clearer what the regulations state, which is a good thing. However, as I raised at the Health Committee, I wonder whether there should be some commentary, perhaps in an explanatory memorandum, that goes beyond generalisations about public health considerations and explains exactly why the regulations are in place.”
“Those constant layers of complexity may sound good in theory, but they make the public give up trying to understand them in practice, with an inevitable impact on compliance. Is outdoor activity low-risk or not? In other words, while it is understood that a range of considerations goes into deciding on the restrictions and that the process is complex, there is no doubt that the outcome should not be. If we expect compliance, we need to ensure that the outcome is clear, coherent and consistent. <BR /> <BR />I am still a little mystified as to why the face covering regulations are not written more straightforwardly. I have received assurances that they are being considered again.”
“They contain permission for 10 people from two households to meet outdoors for exercise and for six people from two households to meet in a private garden. Subsequently, we appear to have broadened the latter but not the former. There are, no doubt, graphs and charts that explain how that, in theory, is supposed to reduce the risk of inter-house spread, but it is hard to understand why it is 10 people specifically for exercise but no other purpose, with a further requirement that it be in public, but six — now 15 — people for any purpose as long as it is in private. In fact, at one stage, we permitted golf four-balls from a maximum of two households: that is just not how it works.”
“We should not underestimate the severe impact of denying or delaying access to vital services, notably in health; of restricting people from doing things to help their physical or mental well-being; and of limiting people' s ability to earn a living and engage in their passions. Nevertheless, as responsible representatives and legislators, we accept that the balance falls in favour of restrictions in the interests of overall public health. We need to be sure at every step, however, that restrictions are justified and consistent and that they can be easily understood and complied with. <BR /> <BR />Amendment Nos 6 and 7 to the (No. 2) regulations have already been largely overridden in practice, but amendment No 6, in particular, continues to contain a degree of precision and complexity that mystifies many members of the public.”
“It is with some reluctance that I support the regulations such a long time after they came into effect; indeed, some have, in effect, been superseded by later regulations that we have not yet debated in the Chamber. I hope that you, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, will allow me some brief leeway to touch on those later changes towards the end of my contribution. <BR /> <BR />I repeat my and my party’s great discomfort about the need for the regulations to be in place at all. We are a liberal party. We want to move as quickly as possible to a position where people can access public services freely, engage in socialising and leisure activities as they see fit and run businesses without significant barriers.”
“Recently, the all-party group on terminal illness received a great presentation from the Palliative Care in Partnership programme on its wide range of services and support. Generally, we do not see the wide breadth of that work, so it was a real privilege to hear about it. I am glad that it continues to develop. <BR /> <BR />That concludes my commentary. Again, I thank everybody who contributed. I put on record my thanks to Marie Curie, the Northern Ireland Hospice and others for the sterling work that they do every day of the week and year.”
“There can be very tough discussions with families at the end of life. <BR /> <BR />Finally, the Minister thanked those who work in the health and social care sector for their role during and before the pandemic. He very much agreed that palliative care should be in the Programme for Government and that its exclusion is an anomaly. It should be in there. It is an omission that needs to be addressed. He recognised that there are five parties in the coalition and that it is not just for the Department of Health. There should be a cross-societal response, and it will require cross-departmental support. <BR /> <BR />The Minister also talked about the Department of Health's palliative care strategy.”
“<BR /> <BR />Robbie Butler talked about the role of Cruse Bereavement Care and said that people who are listening in should reach out because there is support there. He recognised that hospices are not just about health and social care staff and recognised the roles played by volunteers and those who do the fundraising. He also recognised the role of his wife in providing palliative care and working in hospices. Again, he said that it is not all about sadness. It is also about living and families coming together at that time. <BR /> <BR />Robbie also spoke about his research for his private Member's Bill on post-traumatic stress disorder and that he had found that people are involved in the process whether they are in the Police Service, the Ambulance Service or other bodies.”
“He also mentioned Charlie Craig. I thank him for that, and I will pass on his sentiments to Charlie's parents, Cliodhna and Fintan. They are friends, and, as he mentioned him, I recalled that my husband, Ian, who is a mad linguist, was providing wee Charlie with French lessons in his final months. We have to remember that those young people, or anybody else, are still living, still want to learn and still have a thirst for life. Ian told me that Charlie's younger sister used to pop in and out of the room and that there was a wee bit of fun. The palliative stage does not just have to be about healthcare visitors arriving. It can also be about still living your life through it all. Sorry, I am getting emotional.”
“She spoke about the need for specialist bereavement services and mentioned a specialised psychological autopsy service to support families who have been bereaved through suicide. <BR /> <BR />Pat Catney talked about the unity of purpose in the Chamber and shared that lovely Jewish prayer with the line:”
“Pam Cameron also made the very important point that the five parties in the Executive signed up to a commitment to investment in palliative care in 'New Decade, New Approach'. We gave that not just to the Assembly but to the population in Northern Ireland when we restored this place. <BR /> <BR />Órlaithí Flynn talked about palliative care being not just about health support but about meeting physical, emotional, spiritual and even, potentially, financial needs at the end. She also shared stories of her family's personal circumstances and said that, when someone passes, they sometimes leave behind a young family, who have very particular needs in processing that at a young age.”
“I agree with her. The papers that we received in advance of the debate were very good. She talked about how her father had wanted to pass his last days at home and what was called "a good death". Carál said that she appreciated the support that the palliative healthcare team had provided, not just to her father on his choices but with the advice, guidance and information that her family received at that time. <BR /> <BR />The Deputy Chairperson of the Health Committee, Pam Cameron, who is also the chair of the all-party group on lung health, talked about idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which all of us at the all-party group heard about recently. My takeaway from that was that palliative care might be needed over many years, in contrast to the very short-term interventions that Mr Clarke spoke about.”
“Trevor Clarke spoke about his father's death and how that had been thrust upon his family in very quick time. I think that he mentioned that he had gone in for a routine operation. He spoke about how the family had to adapt very quickly to his passing. He also referred to his mother, who was on a ward in her final days. My mother died from cancer in the Mater Hospital, and we were lucky that she had her own room. My family is big, and we were almost playing tag teams to visit her, so it was very comforting that we had that private space. People's experience can be very different. Trevor Clarke and Carál Ní Chuilín also acknowledged that palliative care is not just about cancer but about conditions such as motor neurone disease. <BR /> <BR />Carál Ní Chuilín thanked Seán from the Assembly's Research and Information Service.”
“She thanked the health and social care staff for providing support to people in their final moments who otherwise would have been alone. <BR /> <BR />Kellie Armstrong talked about how death impacts everyone and mentioned her role in bereavement counselling. A key point that she made was about the care that is provided to new mums who may be bereaved and the role of bereavement midwives in that. At the all-party group meeting that many of us, including Órlaithí Flynn, were at last week, we talked about the role of the new bereavement suites in many of our trusts. Those are quiet places for people to regroup away from the busy maternity wards, where people are welcoming their new healthy babies.”
“Colm Gildernew, the Chair of the Health Committee, also referenced the work of the health and social care workers not just in our trusts but in our hospices and care homes, and he acknowledged the sterling role that they played during the pandemic. He touched on the need for advanced care planning to be sensitive and compassionate, and said that conversations need to take place over time. They need to be dynamic, because people's needs and wishes change as they move through their illness. He talked about the need for the commissioning of bereavement services and the burden that is on the community and voluntary sector in providing that support. <BR /> <BR />Sinéad Bradley very much welcomed the motion and talked about the glaring omission of palliative and end-of-life care from the Programme for Government.”
“I thank all the contributors, including the Minister, for being here, and I thank Marie Curie and others for doing so much to inform our discussion. <BR /> <BR />I will go through some of the contributions from Members. We started with the Chair of the all-party group on terminal illness, Ms Joanne Bunting, setting out why we are here today and saying that the Programme for Government fails to recognise the end-of-life cycle and how it is becoming more important to cater for the increasingly complex needs of our changing and growing older demographic. She thanked those who sat at the bedsides of people who were dying during the pandemic when their loved ones were unable to be there.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your commitment. I take you to be sincere there. <BR /> <BR />You will be aware that the Executive Office has started a reference group on historical clerical child sex abuse. You will also aware that the like of Nexus, which provides counselling for sexual abuse victims, has hundreds of people — perhaps over 500 — on its waiting list. I am concerned, Minister, that, as this gets a bit of momentum and there is a wee bit more public discussion about bringing people forward to disclose that they have been a victim, the support will again not be there for them. Can we pre-empt that a wee bit by making sure that counselling in that very sensitive area is in place?”
“I recently had a meeting with a consultant orthotist, who echoed the Member's comments on the issue. On a broader point, one of the consultant's concerns was that health trust managers are not allocating enough theatre time for procedures on children's feet and legs. How does having insufficient theatre capacity fit into the regional prioritisation programme, considering that the earlier the intervention to correct the issue, the better?”
“Thank you, Minister, for your statement. I was grateful that you outlined the wide range of organisations and individuals involved in this incident. It is truly wonderful to see so many people put their lives on the line. <BR /> <BR />You mentioned the issue of emission of carbon as a result of the fires. I sit on the all-party group on lung health. This might be a naive question, but is there anything that your Department can do, alongside other agencies or Departments, to mitigate the impact on local residents from those emissions?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I also place on record my thanks to the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service for its efforts at the weekend. <BR /> <BR />Minister, you will be aware that the Irish Government are proceeding with the minimum unit price for alcohol and are planning to have it in place by the end of the year. Will you please outline whether that was discussed at the meeting? What is your Department doing to proceed with that in Northern Ireland?”
“<BR /> <BR />I hope that, in his response to the debate, the Minister will provide more detail about the rebuilding of services on a regional basis; what the assumed scale of the challenge is, given that people have not necessarily sought medical assistance during the pandemic; how rebuilding dovetails with reforming; and, perhaps notably, a public awareness campaign to ensure that, as the motion says, people with signs and symptoms of cancer seek help quickly in the right place.”
“A lot of very useful work has already been done on prioritising proposals and assessing what constitutes an efficient way of improving cancer services. Given that the UK lags behind much of Europe on cancer outcomes, it is welcome that work has already begun on learning from elsewhere. As such, I hope that the forthcoming cancer strategy is set in the overall context of Northern Ireland and takes account of where we are in practice in areas such as past investment, workforce planning and data. We also need, as a matter of priority, to get GPs back seeing the vast majority of their patients directly. As beneficial as telemedicine is, some people need face-to-face appointments. They can be a vital early intervention.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Minister and some of his party colleagues talked encouragingly about what, essentially, is a new and clear understanding, among public service users and medical professionals alike, of what a Bengoa transformation process would look like. With cancer and other services, the emphasis in the trust plans is, rightly, on regional prioritisation of clinical need to avoid any postcode lotteries. That includes patients and staff travelling to ensure that the highest quality of specialist care is provided. In other words, delivering a universal, high-quality health service at the point of access is not a matter of defending the status quo. It is about embracing reform and transformation.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am not sure that I will need it. <BR /> <BR />I very much agree with the Member. I will come on to the point about patients presenting at GPs, but I very much commend our local charities that provide very useful online resources to those who are waiting for appointments so that they can get some information about potential changes and symptoms. <BR /> <BR />In other words, if we do not treat non-urgent cases, they will soon become urgent. It might also be emphasised that those who are living with chronic pain, uncertainty about the impact of their condition or, indeed, a diagnosed cancer for which they are getting no treatment because of clinical decisions will regard their cases as urgent.”
“<BR /> <BR />Last week in the Chamber, the Minister provided us with an outline of the broad recovery plan. In fairness, it prioritised cancer, but it could be noted that what he said about cancer services applies to many other services. <BR /> <BR />Service delivery during the pandemic, in some ways, took us away from Bengoa and Donaldson and, broadly, an intentional change was made to prioritise urgent cases only. The difficulty that that causes is that a whole host of interventions that could have been made swiftly earlier will now need to be made later, with the potential for cases becoming more complex in the meantime.”
“The Department needs to put in place an urgent and high-profile campaign to state quite the contrary: that the health service is open and that anyone with concerns should seek medical advice without delay. <BR /> <BR />When transferred to Northern Ireland, much of the work mentioned by the campaign is essentially about speeding up transformation. We need to be faster in reforming workforce planning and ensure that we have the most up-to-date equipment and the means to provide services in the home or via telemedicine, where appropriate. We need a greater focus on and investment in palliative and end-of-life care. Very specifically, we need to ensure that those in communities with traditionally lower levels of uptake of health and social care services do so faster.”
“What does that mean in practice? One Cancer Voice has some excellent ideas, but they are UK-wide and will need specific application in Northern Ireland. Merely clearing our backlog will take years and will require not only the support of the independent sector but learning to ensure that diagnostics, treatment and procedures are carried out efficiently. There is a specific challenge here. Alongside the ambition that is sought in the motion, there needs to be clarity about exactly what role the independent sector will be expected to cover for the rest of the decade, not just the rest of the year. <BR /> <BR />We also need to be very careful that our communications about the virus do not continue to suggest to people that they cannot and should not seek assistance.”
“I support the motion. I welcome the efforts of the One Cancer Voice campaign to raise awareness and better inform us of the challenges and potential opportunities that are ahead. It is a strong statement when 47 charities and organisations come together behind a single, well-informed campaign that provides a clear statement of intent and direction. <BR /> <BR />We cannot be under any illusions about the scale of the challenge. On top of the horrendous pre-existing waiting lists, we are likely to have around 1,400 people in Northern Ireland who should have started cancer treatment but did not. I therefore highlight a line in the motion, which reads:”
“What safeguards are in place to ensure that such an issue does not arise again?”
“Apologies, I was not here for the start of the statement. <BR /> <BR />Minister, thank you for your statement today. Of all the patients I have spoken to over the past few years about this matter, the most striking case was that of a woman who had been bed-bound for several years because she had been misdiagnosed and was on the wrong medication. When she raised that with Dr Watt, he said, "Sure, we are sorting you now". She, and many others, will be devastated that there has been very little progress made with the redress scheme today. I appreciate that we are coming through a pandemic, and, therefore, I urge you to seek to subcontract that work to one of the large consultancy companies. The Deputy Chair of the Health Committee, Pam Cameron has covered that matter. <BR /> <BR />I want to raise the issue of the epidural blood-patch review.”
“Thank you for the response. I am conscious that a lot of work went into the development of the draft report, including the stakeholder engagement. Going forward, will representatives of different sections of society be on that working group, and what input will councils have?”
“Thank you, Minister, for your statement this morning. I share the Chair of the Health Committee's concerns about the fact that you talk about pushing forward with reform and then coming back and consulting with the wider public on that, but I will not labour the point. <BR /> <BR />The Minister talked about there being 145,000 patients waiting for a diagnostic test. Obviously, cancer is key area for that. I chair the all-party group on cancer. I was not aware that the Department of Health was at an advanced stage in taking forward the recommendations from the various work streams. Can the Minister provide us with an update on the investment needed for better diagnostic testing and whether consideration is being given to putting some of those resources into primary care and possibly even the community and voluntary sector?”
“— would sadly be lost. I support the motion and the amendment.”
“Even getting the issue into the public domain has not been possible without the help and campaigning of the likes of Nexus, Women's Aid, Victim Support, Reclaim the Night and Raise Your Voice. As others have mentioned today, MAP has also been very prominent in keeping the agenda in the public mind. It has been responsible for raising awareness and providing emotional and practical support, without which many vulnerable victims —”
“Scotland's Equally Safe strategy focuses on preventing violence and maximising safety. Surely we must draw on that. It also has a delivery plan from 2017 that is, rightly, based on a shared approach. That will be vital here. <BR /> <BR />It is important to acknowledge that there have been some improvements in how the PSNI handles allegations of domestic abuse and attacks on women, but there is still some way to go. We need to move as swiftly as possible to continue to deliver on the recommendations in the report of the Gillen review of law and procedures in serious sexual offences.”
“It is essential that it proceeds quickly so that not only are clear offences created in law but a message is sent that violence against and the abuse of women and vulnerable people will not be tolerated in any way. <BR /> <BR />If we are really interested in preventative work, we also need a complete shift in social attitudes. That is why the strategy to tackle and prevent gender-based violence makes this a seminal moment. It is urgent, but the process of developing the strategy must be far-reaching and inclusive. <BR /> <BR />We are well behind our neighbours. The Irish Government have had a strategy since 2010. Only this month, the Citizens' Assembly was looking at the issue. The potential for a victims of gender-based violence commissioner was raised, although I would like there to be a focus on having fewer victims in the first place.”
“<BR /> <BR />What about the victims? Women who suffer gender-based violence often do so in silence. Such is the way in which society has skewed this that victims often end up feeling shame and as though they have only themselves to blame. Why should women just walking home be expected to do so many things right? It is an example of why Naomi Long's work in the Justice Ministry over the past year has been vital. She has brought forward the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Bill and the Protection from Stalking Bill. As my party colleague outlined, work has also begun to outlaw upskirting and to develop a victims of crime commissioner's office. That is vital work.”
“Indeed, they are proportionately more likely to be, but we have faced up to the challenge that that is largely because we tolerate too easily violence and toxicity among males from an early age. We need to move towards a society where violence is never seen as the answer. There are specific circumstances here in Northern Ireland that we cannot ignore. We still have a hangover from the Troubles, where pain and injury were used as legitimate mechanisms to try to exert authority and control and to instil fear, and we have done little to tackle the resulting gang culture that is still referred to as paramilitarism, where men who threaten or use violence are seen by some as role models in their community. There is something deeply toxic and troubling about that and the fact that it is still going on a generation after the agreement.”