Justin McNulty
Newry and Armagh · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for challenging some of the narratives that are peddled in relation to immigration. <BR /> <BR />Minister, what steps are you taking to support community safety partnerships in addressing misinformation on illegal immigration and to help build confidence in how local criminality is being managed?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. I welcome the progress that has been outlined today on major waterways projects, including the Ulster canal project.”
“Will you commit to throwing your full support and that of your Department behind that effort by backing the establishment of the task force and by working proactively with local councils and partners, including the Department of the Taoiseach's Shared Island unit, to realise finally the enormous economic, tourism and environmental potenti…”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. We have all seen the deterioration of our high streets and streets in our towns and villages with the shift to online shopping. Vacancy and dilapidation are now sadly the norm. Will the review act as a stimulus for businesses on those streets in our towns and villages?”
“Absolutely. The Minister and the Department can never relinquish the reins of proper scrutiny. <BR /> <BR />The reclassification by ONS will mean that all trust ports can borrow, which will allow them the commercial flexibility to invest more in their infrastructure.”
“<BR /> <BR />The trust port model has stood the test of time and has worked well for the North. We can see the economic and social benefits in the local communities around the ports. In 2025, the DFI completed a review of the trust ports in the North to explore how the Department's policy on trust ports could be updated.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,598 lines we hold for Justin McNulty, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 13 of 32.
“The ombudsman must produce the unvarnished truth of the report, even if it is uncomfortable — especially if it is uncomfortable — because what an obscenity it would be for Alan Black to survive the Kingsmills massacre, to survive the spray of gunfire but not to survive to see the findings of the ombudsman's report. <BR /> <BR />We will never see true reconciliation without justice, and we can never hope to see justice until there is truth. None of us should have anything to fear from hearing the truth. Alan Black and the Kingsmills families have spent too long campaigning for answers to those questions to be told to wait longer for the findings of the ombudsman's report. Telling them to do so is cruel, and the ombudsman must release the report on the Kingsmills massacre without delay.”
“However, there is a stubborn and simple fact: there has been not so much as a charge, let alone a conviction, for the mass murder that occurred on 5 January 1976 when 10 ordinary working-class men were pulled out of their work van and slaughtered at the side of the road. <BR /> <BR />The Police Ombudsman's office holds a report on those murders that it has so far failed to publish. It must do so without delay. At a time when so many families are struggling for truth and justice across the North, it is unacceptable that the Police Ombudsman is holding back the report on Kingsmills.”
“Nothing can ever undo the horror of what happened at Kingsmills. Nothing can ever bring back or replace the fathers, brothers, sons and husbands who were so cruelly and needlessly ripped away from their families on that dark night in January. <BR /> <BR />It always astounds me when people glibly or even petulantly suggest that we should "move on and leave the past behind", because there was simply "no alternative" to the wanton violence, murder and maiming. Those same people continue to happily and gleefully celebrate and commemorate the violence and the perpetrators of violence.”
“It is hard to comprehend the sheer saturation of trauma in such a small rural area in such a short time, in Whitecross, Kingsmills and Ballymoyer. In a coordinated familicide — the mass shooting of an innocent Catholic family by the UVF — the O'Dowd brothers were killed on the same night as the Reavey brothers. <BR /> <BR />The excruciating weight of grief, fear and horror that engulfed south Armagh in the wake of the massacres of January 1976 left permanent scars in the psyche of people and neighbours throughout our community. In the village of Bessbrook, where nine of the 10 murdered men came from and where Catholics and Protestants lived side by side, a coldness began to emerge. My late friend and the MP at the time, Seamus Mallon, vividly described the atmosphere in the years after the massacre. He said:”
“One man, Alan Black, whom I spoke with today, miraculously survived. The scene could only be described as a bloodbath. In a disturbing reflection of the gruesome realities of the time, the hearses of two young men who had been murdered in Whitecross the night before, John Martin and Brian Reavey, had to be diverted because 10 men lay dead on the Kingsmill Road. Anthony Reavey died in the following weeks, leaving three Reavey brothers dead. I call attention to Eugene Reavey, who became great friends with Alan Black, and to the important role that they and their families played in building peace. <BR /> <BR />It is also worth noting that those atrocities were followed by the murder of Majella O'Hare, just up the road in Ballymoyer, seven months later.”
“The Kingsmills massacre, the murder of 10 innocent men on their way home from work on 5 January 1976, was a crime whose barbarity was matched only by its cowardice. When their work bus was stopped, the men on board thought that it was a loyalist murder gang because the leader asked for the one Catholic on the bus to be identified. Reggie Chapman took the hand of Richard Hughes and squeezed it as if to say, "We will not give you up. We will not let this happen to you". Imagine that. Reggie Chapman held on to his humanity while staring into the cold faces of an evil murder gang. Richard Hughes was then ordered away, and the remaining Protestant men were lined up against the bus and riddled with gunshots. There were more than 100 spent cartridges found at the scene. Ten of the 11 men died.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does the Member agree that, in developing a strategy to rejuvenate our town centres, it would be positive to see the Ministers of Finance and Economy engage directly with councils to identify local need and maximise the impact of planned schemes through targeted and strategic intervention?”
“Are the actions in the environmental improvement plan sufficient to reduce the number of deaths caused by poor air quality in the North? For context, the number was recently estimated at 900 deaths a year.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Justice Committee has agreed to recommend that the rule be approved by the Assembly, but members have expressed some concern about the Department bringing forward the provisions by means of an amendment to the Justice Bill at Consideration Stage. The Committee has expressed concerns to the Department about utilising that approach for such a substantive measure. However, on balance, the extension of the provisions in the 2020 Act is advantageous because it meets a need and offers time for the Department to work with the Committee to sort through the particulars of having the provisions included in the first departmental Bill. We support the motion.”
“There is a clear purpose for the continued use of the provisions in reducing the backlog in court cases due to the pandemic. There is also an important argument to be made that extending the provisions will allow vulnerable victims and victims of violent or sexual crimes to remain in a safe place and provide evidence in a non-intimidating environment, rather than coming face to face with their attacker in a courtroom. The reliance on the provisions in the 2020 Act will be an interim measure, as the Minister has already indicated that she will include live links provisions in the departmental Bill.”
“I welcome the unpausing of the city deals, which is wonderful news for Armagh city and its environs. I also recognise that there are huge demands on health, education, infrastructure and housing, but will the Budget announcement and all the extra cash facilitate any progress from the Executive on Casement Park?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. Minister, it is extraordinary for you as Justice Minister to refer to the actions of the legal profession as "precipitous". To what degree does your Department's policy of payment delay impact on the legal aid system and access to justice for the most vulnerable and marginalised victims? Will the extra £7·4 million that you referred to in your statement help to rectify and reform that approach?”
“Littering, and the damage that it does to our environment, is another big aspect of vaping that has to be dealt with. The AERA Minister should address that.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is incumbent on the Minister of Education to take the crisis seriously and work with his Department to draft a plan to educate our young people on the risks of vaping and allocate the time and resources that our schools need to address the problem. However, tackling the crisis is not the responsibility of only the Education Minister, and policing the problem should not be the sole responsibility of our teachers. I suggest that the Department of Health, the Department for the Economy and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs look into how they can play a role in supporting and collaborating on the drafting of any future policies that may help to prevent our children and young people succumbing to this highly addictive drug.”
“<BR /> <BR />Today, we look back at the history of cigarettes: the mass advertising, the glamourisation and the societal omnipresence of a drug that we now know to cause premature death to the majority of users through use as intended. We do not want to look back in another 30 years and see the same thing with vaping, regretting that we did not do more. Whilst it seems credible that vaping is significantly less dangerous than smoking traditional forms of tobacco, it is not without its health risks, and we should never allow it to be used by our children. Our teachers and school leaders have many challenges to contend with already, and we must urgently reckon with the modern iniquity of vaping.”
“At the same time, our teachers, who deal with a multitude of diverse and challenging tasks in, at times, poor and under-resourced schools, now have to meet the added demand of policing a sizeable minority of vape-addicted children. I say that again: teachers now have to meet the demand of policing vape-addicted children. <BR /> <BR />Whilst the true long-term damage of vaping cannot yet be known, we already know enough to know that more must be done. The story of Belfast 12-year-old Sarah Griffin, who, last year, suffered a collapsed lung and ended up in an induced coma for four days, should alone prompt us to do more to curb the scourge of vaping, but so too should the less-reported stories of addicted teenagers who are unable to focus without the crutch of their vape, racked by anxiety, headaches and withdrawal.”
“<BR /> <BR />Why are vapes marketed as a confectionary product when they are a nicotine product? A 2022 Public Health Agency survey reported that 21·3% of 11- to 16-year-olds in the North have tried vaping. Fidelma Carter from the Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke charity said that 17% of young vapers do it regularly, which is a shocking figure. Without action, further risks will be created. <BR /> <BR />As young people navigate their studies and the often challenging reality of peer dynamics, relationships and digital addiction, they now also have to contend with a novel 21st-century drug that lacks any long-term testing.”
“The proliferation of vape shops in our high streets, with their colourful signs that offer sweet and fruity nicotine highs, lure many of our young people to take up this highly addictive habit that causes damage to their lungs, adversely impacts their educational outcomes and increases the likelihood of creating a new generation who will move on to lethal cigarettes. <BR /> <BR />On top of that, vaping is not cool. Young people of all ages do not suit vaping, and it is a scourge on our society. School leaders across the North have highlighted the fact that vaping is a plague in our schools and said that the problem is at crisis point. We desperately need action. I welcome the motion, which recognises the harm caused by vaping, the scale of the problem and its impact in our schools.”
“Having been invented a little over 20 years ago, vaping has, incredibly and sadly, become ubiquitous in our society. While vaping was initially launched with the sales pitch that it would help smokers who wished to escape their cigarette addiction by moving to a so-called safer interim alternative, it is now clear that vaping and the vaping industry have an agenda, and that includes attracting and addicting new users. Many of the new users have never tried cigarettes, and many of them, regrettably and scarily, include our children.”
“Can the Minister outline the time frame for the closing of Crossmaglen police station, as per the recommendations of the 'South Armagh Policing Review'?”
“Minister, we all welcome and appreciate efforts to improve maternity services, but you must recognise that there are mixed messages. I am being contacted by senior midwives and clinicians who are really fearful for the future of maternity services at Daisy Hill Hospital and angry about the manner of communication by management to them. What reassurance can you give midwives and mothers with babies in my constituency that the existing suite of maternity services at Daisy Hill Hospital will be secured and protected right now, and enhanced for the future, and that the maternity unit at Daisy Hill Hospital will be funded with 24·6 full-time equivalents, which is the safe operational level for staff in our maternity units?”
“Some parents are being forced to consider giving their children up to the full-time care system because they cannot cope anymore. They are not OK. <BR /> <BR />There needs to be significant investment, a regional respite unit, potentially for those children who have the most complex needs, and greater engagement with the community and voluntary sector. The Gateway Club in Newry, for instance, has offered, and is keen to offer, respite and short breaks for parents. It is very good at providing that service, given its expertise. <BR /> <BR />Fundamentally, parents and families need our support and our help. They need answers and access to short breaks on a regular and consistent basis.”
“I begin by offering moral support to the parents and families of children with complex needs. I also give a huge thank you to the professionals and volunteers who provide respite, be that day care, overnight stays or short breaks. Their care and support for families and the individuals who receive the respite is extraordinary. <BR /> <BR />Parents and families deserve enormous admiration and empathy for the strength that they demonstrate on a daily basis, but they do not need empathy and admiration. They all need and deserve support and access to respite and short breaks on a regular basis. Members will agree that parents and families are not OK. Some of them are on their hands and knees, enduring the burden that they must carry.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. He will be aware that the water and waste water infrastructure is, increasingly, becoming a barrier to housing and commercial developments in Newry. Does he recognise that addressing those issues inadequately will impede the success of projects to develop and enhance Newry city centre and increase the housing supply there? Will he outline what engagement he has had with developers on such projects?”
“I thank the First Minister for her answer. The House recognises that your credibility as the northern leader of Sinn Féin overlaps with your credibility as First Minister for all. To help restore trust in your ability to hold the highest office in the Assembly and in keeping with the Nolan principles, will you consent to a senior counsel scoping exercise with a view to assessing the need for an independent inquiry on how Sinn Féin, as a party, has dealt with complaints of abuse by those in positions of power and trust?”
“— there are local catchment fora. Would we not benefit from local catchment fora to improve our waterways and bring the fish back into our rivers?”
“I still regret that I never caught that fish, and thinking about it still makes me despair. <BR /> <BR />Does the Member agree that the river basin management plan from DAERA and its Minister should learn from what is being done in the South? First, there has been a huge financial commitment in the South. Secondly, there has been a more localised approach. Thirdly —”
“As a youngster, I spent my summers playing in the streams, lakes and rivers of south Armagh around Slieve Gullion, skimming stones, fishing and building dams. I will never forget the excitement one summer's afternoon when a fish swam down the river in which we were building a dam. I was trying to catch that fish, which was a wonderful experience from my childhood.”
“Does the Member agree that there needs to be an Executive-wide commitment to support the Communities Minister in addressing the housing emergency, including a commitment from the Finance Minister to allocate the necessary funding and investment to upgrade the waste water infrastructure and a commitment from the Infrastructure Minister to overhaul our planning processes to prioritise housing?”
“Minister, what reassurance can you give midwives at Daisy Hill Hospital's maternity unit who, given recent actions and inaction by the trust, are concerned that your Department and the trust are systematically dismantling maternity services at our hospital in Newry city?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does the Member agree that Executive parties are literally going through the motions?”
“It is disappointing that the Justice Minister is not here to answer questions on the matter. It is terribly sad that another young woman has lost her life in the past day. Does the stand-in Minister agree that the chronic underfunding of the police by the Minister's Department, which is leading to insufficient officer numbers and inadequately trained officers, is, despite red flags, allowing tragic murders of women such as that of Mary Ward that could have been prevented with proper training and staffing levels?”
“Minister, last week was Baby Loss Awareness Week, a painful reminder that parents who lose their babies during pregnancy will feel every year. Can you guarantee that, by the time of Baby Loss Awareness Week next year, the baby loss certificate scheme and any accompanying legislation will have been introduced?”
“To clarify, Minister, are you saying that the minimum age of criminal responsibility being raised from 10 is not included in the provisions of the Bill because you have not had responses from your Executive colleagues on that crucial issue?”
“I thank the Minister for her points, but why do the Justice Minister and the Department of Justice feel it is appropriate to employ Henry VIII powers? Is it the Justice Minister's modus operandi to legislate via royal proclamation? <BR /> <BR />We must consider the Bill's provisions while fully acknowledging the trauma that the system inflicts on victims who have bravely come forward to report a crime and thinking of those who have not come forward because they know that the system is not adequately resourced to help them. The question that we must ask ourselves today and at every stage of the Bill is this: how will it directly, tangibly and positively impact on the experience of every victim who comes into contact with any part of our justice system? Victims are begging the Department of Justice and the Justice Minister to wake up.”
“I ask the Chamber this: when is the Department of Justice going to wake up? When is the Justice Minister going to wake up? Why is the Minister bringing late amendments to the Justice Bill? Why do the Justice Minister and the Department —.”
“Criminal Justice Inspection has repeatedly told us that, owing to the high numbers of prisoners serving short-term sentences and the inconsistent quality of and access to rehabilitation services, prisoners are losing out on employment, housing or family contact. Prisoners serving short-term sentences — we have high numbers of those — are also not subject to post-custody supervision, and the support services available to help them transition to community life are seriously limited. We know that that directly increases the risk of reoffending, which poses a serious problem for victims of crime and, yet again, breaches their trust. <BR /> <BR />I will come back to the victims' survey results that I mentioned at the beginning of my contribution. The commissioner designate said:”
“At the same time, however, we are still suffering from serious delays in the system, which harm victims. How can victims even be sure that their cases will get to trial in the first place? I say that with huge concern. The Department of Justice's policy of payment delays currently most impacts on people from marginalised and deprived backgrounds and their access to justice. <BR /> <BR />The Chairperson of the Justice Committee has already highlighted concern about the Department's intention to introduce additional provisions by way of amendments at Consideration Stage. I am particularly concerned about the possibility of such provisions amending rehabilitation periods in order to shorten the existing rehabilitation periods and to allow more convictions to become spent.”
“The Youth Justice Agency, however, has raised questions about the retention and recruitment of adequately trained staff and general resourcing in the youth justice sector, so I wonder how the Bill will be fully implemented without adequate funding. I also question why there is no provision for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised from 10, given that, as it stands, the age is not considered to be internationally acceptable by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. I would be interested to know how the experiences of children and young people were taken into account during the drafting of the Bill. <BR /> <BR />I am pleased about the inclusion of the no bill provisions, which are a step towards ensuring that victims get full justice.”
“It is in the context of that abysmal picture that we must examine the Justice Bill. <BR /> <BR />With respect to retention periods for DNA and biometric material, I note that the definition of those materials is vague. I am concerned that it does not provide sufficient protections for victims of sexual crimes; nor does it take into consideration the number of legacy issues ongoing in the North as a result of our violent history. We must also question whether sufficient provisions exist to protect children under that section of the law. It is vital that our children are adequately protected. I welcome the many provisions in the Bill that seek to improve the experience of children in our justice system, in line with the strategic framework for youth justice.”
“The commissioner designate described the results as:”
“I speak in my capacity as the SDLP member of the Justice Committee. Yesterday, the Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime, Geraldine Hanna, presented us with statistics about our justice system that, frankly, the Department of Justice and the Executive should be ashamed of. Of the respondents to the victims' survey, 63% said that the police did not investigate their crimes properly, and 50% were dissatisfied with how they were treated by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS). Only 9% of respondents believed that they received enough support during the court process. Only 7% of respondents were confident that the criminal justice system could deliver for victims of crime. That is only scratching the surface of the stark reality of our justice system that is portrayed in the survey results.”
“— so how on earth can it be justifiable to close Daisy Hill's maternity suite to emergencies —”
“We are hearing reports of more healthcare staff moving to the South due to the benefits of Sláintecare, and why wouldn't they? Minister, what steps is your Department undertaking to better retain our staff so that we do not have repeats of what happened last weekend, when admissions were diverted from Daisy Hill maternity unit to Craigavon? <BR /> <BR />Minister, your answer does not really stack up, because a bank of midwives was asked to retire and return. There are enough midwives to sustain services —”
“Will the Minister clarify whether he plans to impose cuts to the level of funding for individual tackling rural poverty and social isolation schemes or to reduce the number of TRPSI schemes available?”
“Financial constraints are not an excuse, and failure can no longer be the default outcome for the Executive. Children and young people deserve better. Children and young people need the Executive parties in the Government to do better.”
“We are asking for public money to be used more effectively in the pursuit of better outcomes. That simple step could make a significant contribution to improving the delivery of special educational needs provision, supporting a government-wide approach to eliminating child poverty and creating a better functioning children's social care system. <BR /> <BR />I fully anticipate financial constraints being invoked as a reason for the Executive's shortcoming. We all know that we need more money — that is no secret — but it is equally true that we already have powers at our disposal to tackle the issues head-on. We must use those powers to make things work for the better here and now. Nothing could be more important than safeguarding our children and young people, and the Executive must act accordingly.”
“We do not see much evidence of bravery, collaboration or focus on innovation and efficiency. Frighteningly, there is no mention of children's mental health in the Programme for Government. I will say that again: there is no mention of children and young people's mental health in the Programme for Government. Stakeholders working on the front line say that cooperation in the delivery of services for children remains the exception rather than the rule and that there is a minimal and piecemeal approach to the pooling of resources. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP's motion simply asks the Minister of Finance to use the powers of the Children's Services Co-operation Act (CSCA) to set up the appropriate mechanisms to make cooperation and collaboration across Departments easier and more effective in delivering effective action on children's mental health.”
“<BR /> <BR />We have the tools to support a collaborative approach to the delivery of children's services, having previously passed ambitious legislation that created a duty to cooperate in the delivery of children's services. Rather than that legislation being used to its full potential, there has been little more than lip service and lacklustre implementation. It is true that Departments are impeded by financial constraints, but that does not explain why we are not using existing powers to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of services and improve outcomes. <BR /> <BR />The Programme for Government states:”
“<BR /> <BR />In tackling the cause, nothing is more pressing than supporting the well-being of our children and young people in their formative years. So many Departments have a key role to play in upholding the mental health of our children and young people, most obviously Health and Education, which are on the front line of the issue, but it is equally important that the Communities, Infrastructure, Finance, Economy and Justice Departments engage in finding solutions to the underlying problems that contribute to mental ill health among our young people. Tragically, meaningful action on improving the mental well-being of our young people is being blocked by a dysfunctional Executive who would rather engage in sham fights and petty posturing than work together to address shared problems.”