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.”
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“I thank the Member for giving way. It is important to thank you for acknowledging and recognising my constituency predecessor Dominic Bradley for his role in pioneering the passage of the Autism Bill through this place in 2011 and his predecessor, John Fee, another great man, who was the first MLA to raise the issue of autism in the Assembly. Does the Member agree that the vital work undertaken by GAA For All, which allows children with different abilities the opportunity to hone their skills and develop their physical strength and prowess and communication skills and lets them experience being part of a team, should be supported in a more direct way by the Executive, through the provision of additional resource to help it grow its footprint and impact? That is not necessarily a matter for the Minister of Health”
“Will the Member agree that it is quite incredible, in the year 2024, that we are still talking about flags? Does she agree with John Hume's assertion, "You can't eat a flag"? Will she also agree with me that the party political advertising, including illegally erected billboards and 6 feet by 4 feet Correx boards, such as those erected across my constituency that are there all year round, and not just in an election year, should be removed? If you are confident enough in your message, why does it have to be rammed down people's throats? Can that be included in the Alliance Party's request to the Executive Office?”
“I warmly welcome the Minister's announcement about Rathore school in Carnagat, Newry, and the purchase of the site adjacent to it. When can we expect to see contractors on-site and see that wonderful educational provision expanded and improved?”
“— provide an effective reminder that children cannot be reduced to a set of characteristics. Does the Minister agree that the act of deleting acronyms and replacing them with full text would be symbolic of going beyond the stereotypes and seeing the individual shining through?”
“Acronyms, when they are applied to children, carry a lot of power. Avoiding their use does not prevent stereotyping children, but it does —”
“Minister, I warmly welcome the announcement of new prioritisation in support of children with special educational needs. The ripple effect of that will be felt throughout households, and there will be many sighs of relief around kitchen tables from parents and families who feel that, eventually, they have been listened to and heard. <BR /> <BR />I noticed that, in your speech, you refrained from acronymising children. I implore you, everyone in the House and everyone in education to stop using acronyms to describe children. Children are children and young people first; they are not a category. Each child has individual talent and claims on a positive future.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I warmly welcome any initiative that will lessen the load on MOT test centres and take pressure off drivers. Over recent months, so many drivers have been pulling their hair out due to red letters about tax having run out at a time when they cannot get an MOT, so the statement is hugely welcome. <BR /> <BR />Is this biennial testing by another name? Make this 'Sesame Street'-simple for drivers. Is that what it is? With no MOT being necessary from four to six years or six to eight years, is this biennial testing by another name?”
“I thank the Member for giving thanks to my former SDLP MLA colleague Ms Sinéad Bradley. Her idea was born out of the loneliness task force led by Professor Sean Moynihan of ALONE and Dr Keith Swanick. They laid the ground for that all-party group that was founded by Sinéad Bradley. Fair play to the Member for paying tribute to Sinéad Bradley and her work in that regard. Does he agree that we all have a responsibility to tackle loneliness, one conversation at a time?”
“What communications has the Minister had with his colleagues in the Executive Office about how delays to tendering are hiking costs and potentially scuppering the possibility of the Euros being hosted in west Belfast in 2028?”
“Minister, further to the previous question about victims and survivors, there are those who do not have physical scars but whose life has been changed utterly and who bear psychological scars. They have had to leave their home and move country to get away from the terror, and they bear the scars to this day. Will the Troubles permanent disablement payment scheme accommodate those people?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does he agree that it is important to recognise that drug addiction is a disease and that we should all respond to addiction with compassion, concern and empathy? For those battling addiction, it is important that we communicate this loudly: you are not alone in the struggle, and recovery and escape from drug addiction is a challenging journey, but it is one that can lead to hope, healing and transformation. Help and support are out there, free from the risk of prosecution. Stay strong, and know that there is hope for a brighter, healthier future.”
“Let us call the motion out for what it is: nakedly sectarian, ill guided and self-serving. If the DUP had any decency, it would withdraw this nonsense motion and sit down with us, who want to see safer communities, instead of playing dog-whistle politics and whipping up sectarian tensions.”
“I strongly condemn such incidents, and my best wishes go out to our brave police officers who have been injured in the line of duty. <BR /> <BR />I know that the DUP is not advocating on behalf of the police, who have repeatedly stated that policing reform in south Armagh has been and will be beneficial for the community, for its officers and for the quality of policing across the board. I know that the DUP is not advocating on behalf of the emergency services and first responders: if it were, it would be tabling credible proposals to address the issue in all parts of the North, for the fire, police and ambulance services. <BR /> <BR />Singling out south Armagh on a problem that evidently exists everywhere in the North is wrong. To be blunt, I say that the DUP is serving itself.”
“On 25 April 2020, in Dungiven, a police car was written off when it was rammed. I could go on and on. I strongly —”
“Whom exactly are the DUP advocating on behalf of today? I know that it is not advocating on behalf of the people of south Armagh, who will be outraged that the DUP is singling out our community on an issue that exists across the North. The DUP mover of the motion himself referenced 127 incidents across the North. On 5 February 2024, two officers were injured when a car was rammed in Omagh. On 24 August 2023, three officers were injured when a car was rammed in Belfast.”
“I thank the Member for giving way. Does he agree that a meaningful way to provide security and stability to households in fuel costs would be through a united effort by the Executive to lobby the UK Government for the introduction of a cap on the profit of energy companies, as was done successfully in France during recent spirals in home energy costs?”
“You say that you are so careful and compassionate about child poverty, but to what extent do you accept responsibility, given that your party, the DUP and the Alliance Party handed over welfare powers to the cruel and tyrannical Tories?”
“One in five children living in poverty is a shocking statistic. Minister, do you agree that words of comfort are not enough? We are told that it is time for real change. When is that change coming? Cold houses and empty bellies have a ripple effect through a child's life, affecting their educational achievement, their employment prospects and their health outcomes. It is a cycle of poverty for those children, and it means that their children will have cold homes, experience educational underachievement and have poor health outcomes. What action will be taken now?”
“Alan Black said, "never", and I want a different united Ireland, not one that celebrates, glorifies and romanticises terrorism.”
“Until Sinn Féin's leadership and its representatives are prepared to accept their responsibility for their direct role in the savagery and butchery of Kingsmills — indeed, for so many other atrocities across these islands — nothing will change. Nothing will change the pain that so many souls have to live with every single day. Not in my name. There was always an alternative. <BR /> <BR />I pay tribute to Alan Black. I met Alan Black at his house in Bessbrook to discuss a united Ireland and my party's vision for a united Ireland. Alan said to me:”
“The Kingsmills massacre was a brutally designed act, with the sole objective of slaughtering totally innocent human beings for obscene motives. There is no justification, none whatsoever, for what happened on the south Armagh roadside that night. The cruelty of that night has been permanently etched into the soul and fabric of the community that I represent. <BR /> <BR />I am sick, sore and tired of the sickening triumphalism that comes courtesy of the so-called commemorative events carefully orchestrated by those who try to make murderers into martyrs for political advantage. There are those in this place who would prefer to try to forget that their political philosophy provided the cornerstone for the delivery of that terrible cruelty that shattered so many lives.”
“In relation to funding for schools, does the Minister agree that suspending the school enhancement programme works at St Mary's Primary School, Barr, after £350,000 has already been spent will be a waste of his Department's limited financial resources? Will he agree to meet me and the St Mary's school leadership to discuss the progress of that much-needed project?”
“With the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, what representations did you make to the powers that be in the United States to call for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid for the impoverished people of Palestine, who are being slaughtered?”
“to Armagh Ladies Gaelic footballers, who had a victory yesterday in Croke Park in the league final against who else but the kingdom. There are ways of winning finals, and winning finals against the kingdom is always the best way. I congratulate them on their victory; on their trailblazing over so many years; on their leadership; and on being role models. For Armagh to be the first team in the country that has its own GAA grounds for ladies Gaelic football is testament to the ambition and leadership shown by the county board and the players over a generation. Comhghairdeas”
“Will the Minister join me in commending the work of the Newry BID? During the recent floods, Eamonn Connolly was there with his sleeves rolled up, carrying sandbags and doing immense work to protect local businesses and stand up for them when they were under huge duress.”
“Minister, what conversations have you had with the Department of Education and the Minister there about the reality faced by hard-working couples who, crippled with the burden of hiking childcare costs, are having to make, or have made, the decision that either the mother or the father will stop working? What advice would you give them?”
“His niece, Doire Finn, proudly follows in Sean's pathway, as a member of the Newpoint Players and as an elected representative for the SDLP on Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. <BR /> <BR />If anyone want to see the play, 'The Shadow of the Glen', it is being presented on 21 March as part of the 70th anniversary of the Newry Drama Festival. The festival commences on 18 March and runs until 23 March. I encourage everyone to attend.”
“It took home all the following awards: three for best set and decor were won by Tom Carvill; best lighting, Declan McConaghy; two for best supporting actress, Frances Morgan; best supporting actor, Mickey Brannigan; best supporting actor, Lowry Hodgett; two for best actor, Mickey Brannigan; two for best actress, Pauline Lynch; three for most imaginative/ambitious production; best Irish-dialect award; a special award for costumes and masks, Alison Rodgers and Bernie McParland; and two for best director, Seán Joseph Treanor. <BR /> <BR />The late Sean Hollywood would be proud. He was a director of the Newpoint Players. He was also a founding member of our SDLP and a proud Down and Ulster Gael, having played hurling for Down and Ulster.”
“to a proud Irishman, Cillian Murphy, who has become the first Irish-born winner of the best actor award for his role as Oppenheimer. It was incredibly positive that Cillian dedicated his Oscar to peacemakers everywhere. <BR /> <BR />Closer to home, I received an email last night from Declan McConaghy about the Newpoint Players from Newry and their production of 'The Shadow of the Glen: Reimagined', John Millington Synge's play as reimagined by Seán Treanor. The Newpoint Players have become the first group to qualify for the final of RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival 2024. After Saturday night's results, the Newpoint Players have won three festivals: Tubbercurry; Ballymoney and Castleblayney.”
“Minister, to what extent do you attribute progress on the A5 to the pressure group that has been campaigning vociferously for years, including the families of many people whose lives were lost? Fifty lives have been lost on that road since 2006. How can any further delays be explained?”
“I thank the Minister for his answers thus far. Minister, to what extent do you attribute progress on the A5 to campaigning by the A5 pressure group and the families of the 50 people whose lives have, sadly, been lost there since 2006? Is it acceptable that there would be any further delays?”
“Does the Member agree that having branded uniforms places additional pressure on young children, especially from impoverished backgrounds, who do not feel that they measure up, if their families cannot afford uniforms? There is also a bullying aspect to the problem. Young kids feel that they are not measuring up. Does the Member agree how unfair it is to put that pressure on young children?”
“When things seem darkest, cometh the dawn, and then comes the light.”
“I also think of Seamus McCabe, who, following the death of his son Séamas, who tragically died aged 20, established PIPS Hope and Support. Since that time, PIPS has evolved, and it has emerged as the leading suicide prevention and counselling service in the Southern Trust. Seamus was also instrumental in the development of the crisis cafe. A place for people who need help to cope with their mental or emotional distress, the cafe is the first of its kind in the North. <BR /> <BR />Moving from trauma to post-traumatic growth has been extraordinary for those families, and I commend them.”
“I think of the McAnallen family: Brendan RIP, Bridget, Donal and Fergus. After tragically losing their son and brother to sudden adult death syndrome, the McAnallen family set up the Cormac Trust. The mission of the trust was to raise awareness of sudden cardiac deaths in young people, promote cardiac screening for young people and provide automated external defibrillators to all sports clubs for the entire community to use. Again, they channelled their hurt and heartbreak into saving other families from going through the same trauma that they went through.”
“They travel the length and breadth of this country to share their story and spark inspiration in others, fighting to end men's violence against women. I heard them speak at the Women's Aid conference in Newry last week, and I was mesmerised at the power of Noel's speech to hundreds of delegates. Noel said at the conference:”
“Did Collie and Eithne go to pieces? Probably, but who amongst us would not? However, they also set their minds to honouring their son's memory. They founded the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, which has repatriated the remains of around 2,000 people to their families. Collie and Eithne Bell have focused all their hurt and heartbreak on lifting weight off the shoulders of families who are enduring the same trauma that they endured. <BR /> <BR />I think of Noel and Bernadette McNally and their sons Brendan, Declan and Niall. After the brutal murder of their daughter and sister, Natalie, and their unborn grandchild, Noel, Bernadette and their family stand as advocates and champions for the protection of women and girls.”
“Last week, I attended a remarkable event in Newry: Women's Aid Armagh Down's Be the Change conference. Some of the contributions and testimonies at that important conference were harrowing, stomach-churning, informative, frightening and inspirational. I have reflected almost continuously on that conference since I attended, and my feelings of angst have ebbed into feelings of inspiration and a belief that those people and families who have endured trauma and come out the other side are not victims but survivors, and, in many cases, champions who have moved through pain to positivity. I think particularly of a number of families in my constituency and beyond when I say that. <BR /> <BR />Collie and Eithne Bell are parents who tragically lost their son Kevin in a hit-and-run accident in New York when he was just 26 years old.”
“We need to pay public-sector workers what they are worth and ensure that they feel valued for keeping the wheels of our economy and our society turning. Pay them what they are worth. Fair pay now.”
“We need to do better than playing catch-up with our overburdened and underpaid public-sector workers' pay packets. We need decisive action and ambition from the Executive to ensure that our public-sector workers feel valued and are fairly rewarded. If we continue to delay fair pay for our teachers, midwives, nurses, doctors, classroom assistants, physios, radiographers, dieticians and public transport workers, how can we be surprised when they vote with their feet and walk out as they did on 18 January, when tens of thousands of hard-working and hard-toiling workers from 16 different unions walked out in a demonstration against unfair and unjust pay? I have to applaud the unions for organising an event of such significance — the major such event of the past 50 years — with such goodwill from everyone on the day. Well done to them on that.”
“The investment required to realise its full potential is significant, but, with 75% of the capital commitment coming from the Irish Government, it is truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore Ireland's rail infrastructure. <BR /> <BR />If I have one message for the Infrastructure Minister today, it is this: grasp the opportunity with both hands and progress the report and the project at pace and ensure that the transformational impact of the strategic rail review is felt in communities in every part of the North. Like you, Minister, I may not see it, but we must build a legacy for the future. I will take a line from my predecessor Séamus Mallon's book, 'A Shared Home Place':”
“Whether it is visiting friends and family, travelling to a theatre, going on a family trip to the zoo or undertaking a trip to have dinner with grandchildren who are at university, the cost of a taxi is prohibitive. If someone has a car of their own, more often than not, driving to the nearest train station seems pointless, because, by the time that they get there, they are already 60% of the way to their destination. The real and tangible difference that an overhaul of rail connectivity could bring for people in isolated rural areas would be immeasurable. <BR /> <BR />I have acknowledged the sterling work of former Infrastructure Minister, my SDLP colleague Nichola Mallon, in her leadership in commissioning the review. The recommendations in it are far-reaching and transformational.”
“Implementation of the review will bring jobs and investment to parts of the North that are crying out for them through laying new lines, building new stations, manufacturing new equipment and transport infrastructure. Beyond that, it will address the significant and stubborn issues in respect of rural isolation. At present, transport infrastructure for people in places such as Derrynoose in rural County Armagh does not provide reliable access to urban centres. It leaves people with no option but to use their car to get from A to B. I think particularly of our elderly generation and the social isolation that that reality causes, especially if they have limited or no access to private transport.”
“International tourists who travel to this island overwhelmingly arrive at Dublin Airport as their point of entry. Without adequate infrastructure to access areas such as the Ring of Gullion, the Mourne Mountains, the glens of Antrim, and the ancient city of Armagh, the size of the economic footprint left by international tourists will inevitably be diminished. In that respect, implementation of the review serves to facilitate regional equity and ensure that every nook and cranny of our island, not just the urban centres, is accessible to overseas visitors. <BR /> <BR />The tangible social impact of implementation is also to be welcomed.”
“<BR /> <BR />Every one of us has heard ad infinitum of the pressing need to take individual responsibility for the environmental challenges that we face, but, often, ordinary people are left uncertain as to how behavioural changes on their part can have a meaningful impact on the crisis. Therein lies the fundamental challenge in meaningfully combating the climate crisis: the fact that there is a responsibility on the Government to provide citizens with the tools to play their part in addressing that climate crisis. The review provides transformative investment to make sustainable practices accessible to all. <BR /> <BR />In addition to the environmental impact of the transformation, the potential for profound social and economic uplift must be seized. Let us take tourism as an example.”
“For people in my constituency, the re-establishment of rail connectivity to Armagh city will be a game changer for commuters travelling to Belfast and Dublin, and the enhancement of capacity for services from Newry will help to close the gap of disadvantage that commuters in Newry currently face relative to their counterparts in other parts of the North. <BR /> <BR />Beyond enhancing commuter connectivity, full implementation of the report would mark a quantum leap forward, empowering ordinary people to push back against the climate crisis. Full implementation of the report would forge an unprecedented partnership approach between the Government and ordinary people in decarbonising our society and transitioning away from unsustainable transport practices.”
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to support the motion. I thank those who tabled it: my SDLP party colleagues Matthew O'Toole, Mark Durkan, Sinéad McLaughlin and Daniel McCrossan. The all-island strategic rail review commissioned by our former Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon presented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform rail infrastructure on the island. It is heartening that the groundwork laid by former Minister Mallon is now taking shape. <BR /> <BR />The spectrum of opportunities in the all-island strategic rail review will provide a huge social, environmental and economic uplift for communities throughout the length and breadth of the island.”
“<BR /> <BR />I finish by paying tribute to under-resourced and overburdened teachers and assistants who help children with special educational needs to navigate the challenges they face. I pay tribute to the parents who are fighting with all their might and every ounce of their being for the support that their children need and deserve. I pay tribute to the children with special educational needs and disabilities, present and past. You are and should have been entitled to support to shine a light on your path through the education system in order to allow you to reach your full potential. If that has not happened or it is not happening, you are being failed, and you deserve better. No child should be left behind.”
“<BR /> <BR />Without adequate support and timely interventions, children with special educational needs will suffer poorer outcomes with respect to mental wellness, social isolation, bullying and delays in school development and academic progression. It is important to remember that governmental and bureaucratic failures with respect to special educational needs have a permanently negative effect on the lives of children and their families. That is time that they will never get back and ground that can never be made up. Reform and the transformation of the systems and processes are desperately needed, but it is critical that we ensure that those reforms are undertaken with the needs of children and young people at their heart.”
“The issues are well documented, but central to the debate should be the human impact of the shortcomings of statutory bodies. One small example of those impacts sits prominently in my mind today. I was contacted by a mother of three children, two of whom have special educational needs. Due to administrative issues, applications for free school meals for those children were not processed in time. Despite extensive lobbying efforts, it took almost six weeks for the Education Authority to correctly process those applications. In that intervening period, their despairing mother was forced to give up her own meals so that her children could bring lunches to school. That is an insight into the human impact of the profound failures in our special educational needs system.”