Sinéad McLaughlin
Foyle · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“After decades of silence, being believed matters; having your experience acknowledged matters; and knowing that society finally accepts the truth matters deeply. That is what, I hope, the legislation provides. <BR /> <BR />Throughout the process, I wanted to ensure that, where we could strengthen the Bill, we did.”
“Today is an important day because it is a day of accountability. I welcome to the Gallery all of the birth mothers, all of the adult adoptees and all of their family members. I thank everyone who has journeyed with you and loved you throughout the process.”
“As time passed, I believed that the original figure no longer reflected the recognition as strongly as it should have done, so I was pleased that Members from across the Chamber supported that amendment.”
“Behind every clause is a person; behind every amendment is someone's lived experience; and behind every decision that we make in the Chamber are people who have spent years carrying the consequences of decisions that they never made. That is why the legislation is so important.”
“It is often Members who receive the attention in debates such as this, but good legislation depends on the dedication and expertise of many people working quietly in the background. Today, we complete the legislative journey, but we should not pretend that justice begins and ends with the passing of a Bill.”
“We are here because survivors refused to accept that their stories would remain untold. We are here because they never stopped asking for what should never have been so difficult to receive in the first place: recognition, dignity and justice.”
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“If reform is pushed aside again, we should not be surprised if instability continues and public confidence continues to drift.”
“We have a responsibility to learn from and act on that. <BR /> <BR />Mr Buckley, I have heard enough from you today and yesterday.”
“The SDLP has put forward proposals to equalise the titles of First Minister and deputy First Minister, improve how the Speaker is selected and create stronger requirements for Departments to cooperate. Those modest but important changes will help to create more stability and reduce the opportunities for political brinkmanship. At its core, it is about restoring trust. People need to know that their Government can act together when it matters most. They need confidence that the lessons have been taken seriously, and they deserve institutions that are built around the needs of the public not the internal politics of one party. <BR /> <BR />The inquiry has given us a clear picture of what happens when systems fail and leadership falters.”
“Furthermore, if the institutions had not been collapsed for the two years prior to COVID, maybe we would have been more prepared. The institutions need reform. The inquiry, and what it outlined in its report, said that very clearly. Does anybody here believe that, if it happened tomorrow, we would be any more prepared? We would not. We have a duty to every constituent whom we serve. We are their servants. We have a duty to reform these institutions and to take the inquiry as seriously as possible.”
“Our amendment simply recognises the obvious: reform was not placed at the centre of the Programme for Government, and avoiding it has contributed to continued instability. <BR /> <BR />This is not about pointing fingers. It is about accepting that, without meaningful, structural change, the problems highlighted by the inquiry will not go away. Reform is not an academic exercise. It is about making sure that the decision-making is dependable, that crisis responses do not collapse under political tension and that the Executive can work collectively on challenges that affect every family. To be honest, the public do not trust us. The two main parties — Sinn Féin and the DUP — lost the changing room during COVID.”
“The childcare strategy has sat unresolved for almost a month in the Executive, and, repeatedly, key strategies on investment, climate and public services struggle to get through the Executive. Even Ministers are acknowledging the extent of that backlog. Those delays have real effects. Families who are waiting for childcare support cannot put their lives on pause, workers need certainty, businesses need decisions and communities need a Government that set priorities and follow through. The public can see that the system is still under strain. Nothing has changed. "Negative vetoes" was even given an outing this week. Many feel that this place is not delivering what was promised and, when frustration builds, confidence in the institutions weakens further.”
“The inquiry has put in writing what so many already knew: the Executive did not function as they should have. Divisions, delays and political disputes shaped decisions at a time when leadership should have been steady, united and dignified. That failure had consequences. It caused confusion, weakened public confidence and left people more vulnerable than they ever should have been. <BR /> <BR />We cannot talk about moving forward unless we are honest about what went wrong, and we must also be honest about where things stand today. The dysfunction that was highlighted by the inquiry did not vanish when the pandemic ended. We continue to see gridlock on issues that should command agreement.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. If ever a debate personified the dysfunctionality of these institutions, it is the debate that we have heard over the past hour. People deserve better. <BR /> <BR />As we close the debate, I bring the focus back to the people who lived through the worst days of the pandemic. Too often, discussions like this become abstract. For many families, the COVID inquiry's findings go to the heart of their personal grief. They are people across the North who have lost loved ones, without being able to hold their hand or sit beside their bed; families who said goodbye through windows; people who were denied the chance to give their relatives a proper funeral, while others in positions of power ignored the rules. It was disgusting. Those wounds have not healed, and they may never fully heal.”
“I did not know who was talking: was it me or Mr Buckley?”
“I have raised it regularly in the past on behalf of my constituents. I have been in contact with the Northern Ireland chamber; I have been in contact with the FSB. The office would give clarity, improve communications and act as a point of support for traders who simply want to get on with their work. Many businesses were pushing for that during Lord Murphy's review of the Windsor framework. Unfortunately, it was seen as politically unacceptable for unionists.”
“I raise it regularly on behalf of my constituents.”
“However, if we truly want to support businesses — the party opposite often says this — strengthen democracy and maximise the benefits of dual market access, observer status alone is not enough. That is why the SDLP amendment calls for the establishment of an EU Commission office in Belfast. To put it plainly, it makes no sense that we do not already have one. Every week, businesses tell us the same thing: they are trying to navigate the Windsor framework; they want to trade confidently but do not know where to go to get reliable guidance. <BR /> <BR />Mr Buckley, I totally refute your assertion that we do not raise issues in relation to barriers to the economy. I have raised it in the Committee, and you are in the Committee with me, so do not play that game with me. You will go nowhere with it, OK?”
“The expectation that the UK will rejoin ERASMUS, for example, is hugely positive for our students, universities and local industries. Northern Ireland should not be left behind as that relationship improves. That is why the SDLP consistently proposes ways that we can rebuild our European links. <BR /> <BR />Observer status in the European Parliament, the central idea of the motion, was set out in the SDLP's 'Our European Future' paper. That idea has now gained strong international support. Just last month, 13 Irish MEPs and an Italian MEP wrote to the President of the European Parliament arguing that Northern Ireland representatives should be granted observer status. There is nothing to fear from that. That is a significant endorsement, reflecting the unique position that we are currently in.”
“We cannot plan for the future unless we are honest about where we are. However, today's debate is not about running old arguments. Well, I suppose that it precisely is about running old arguments, because today's debate is like a copy or cut and paste from previous, pointless debates that have taken place in the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />We should be prioritising limiting the damage and creating better opportunities for people here. The majority on this island voted to remain in the European Union. They deserve a serious, practical route back towards closer partnerships with our largest trading partner. We are already seeing the UK Government take steps in that direction — small steps, but steps nonetheless. The recent UK-EU agreement on areas that include trade, fishing and defence shows that cooperation works.”
“Thank you. <BR /> <BR />I agree, Eóin. It is just wheeled out when Members want to put wedge issues into this place to create bad politics and a bad environment. <BR /> <BR />Brexit has held back our economic growth, caused real pressures for businesses and affected social and political cohesion here and across these islands. The Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, said in a recent podcast that it was self-evident that Brexit had damaged the British economy. He is right, because that is what the evidence tells us. According to information collated by Best for Britain, the cost of Brexit to the UK economy is now estimated at £240 billion. An estimated 1·8 million jobs have been lost in the UK, and households pay over £250 more a year for food as a direct result of Brexit-related pressures.”
“As many contributors to the debate have said, we cannot ignore the simple truth that Brexit has not delivered what people were promised. The DUP petition of concern is just a farce. There was no cross-community consent for Brexit. That was not on the agenda. Cross-community consent is also not required for the constitutional status of this place.”
“Thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker. I begin by thanking the proposers of the motion for bringing the SDLP's former proposal back to the Assembly. It is really good. I also thank Timothy Gaston for giving the SDLP the prize for being the most European party here. That is almost as good, sincere and heart-warming as FIFA's peace prize for Trump at the weekend.”
“They are the children who are learning in classrooms — I am glad that the Education Minister is here — with fewer resources or in buildings that have seen better days. Many of them are in my constituency. Those gaps in opportunity shape a person's outcomes, their choices and their life chances. They are not the result of bad luck: they are the result of political ineptitude that has occurred in this place for decades. <BR /> <BR />On that note, I want to say, "Thank you" to the Speaker, who wrote to me last week to give me permission to access drafting services for my Member's Bill that will seek to legislate on regional balance. I thank the Speaker for that, and I look forward to engaging with the Members' Bills development unit as I get on to the next stage of the process.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am in danger of having that one transferable speech, and it is about regional balance. I speak today about the challenges facing Derry and the wider north-west but also the reality shared by other areas right across Northern Ireland. Communities in places such as the Causeway Coast and Glens area, Fermanagh and Omagh lag behind the Northern Ireland average across a range of outcomes, from health and employment to education and connectivity. <BR /> <BR />I will not go into any of the statistics at the moment, but they show real, damaging consequences for people's everyday lives. They are the workers who struggle to get to their jobs because of limited or unreliable transport options. They are the young people, from Derry to Ballymoney and Enniskillen, who feel that they must leave home to build a future.”
“That should be a source of shame for the Department. No Minister, official or Department should take pride in forcing the Assembly into such a position. We will support the regulations because we refuse to punish those who entered the scheme in good faith, but let me be clear that — I hope that this is clearly understood — that support is not an endorsement of the Department's approach or the flawed process that has brought us to this point.”
“Serious doubt remains about how it can be monitored, verified and enforced. <BR /> <BR />We recognise the wider context: Northern Ireland must continue to support the generation of renewable heat and to honour commitments to those who entered the scheme in good faith, including many in my constituency. The SDLP has always stood by that principle, and we will always stand by those people. Those who acted honestly deserve proper compensation. However, the truth is that, because of the Department's mishandling, delays, lack of planning and failure to act when action was needed, the Assembly has been backed into a corner. The options before us are so limited and so constrained that we have, in effect, been left with no choice but to support the regulations despite the many flaws in how we have arrived at this point.”
“<BR /> <BR />We are being asked to approve tariffs without having sight of the closure guidance; we are being asked to trust the Department to deliver the inspections needed to ensure that the scheme is not abused without being provided with a detailed plan for them; and we are being asked to accept administration costs that are more than 50% higher than Ofgem's, with no convincing justification. There are also serious questions about the banding scheme. Under these regulations, we could see boilers operating at 5% usage whilst getting payments for their operating at 50%. We understand the theory that the scheme is meant to nudge participants to use the higher usage bands, but we remain unconvinced that that will work in practice and that it represents a fair or an efficient approach.”
“<BR /> <BR />However, that is only a symptom of a much wider and more deeply troubling pattern. We should never forget that we are here because the Department failed to act when Ofgem first indicated that it intended to hand back the administration of the scheme. The warning was given two years in advance. The Department had sufficient time to prepare a smooth and orderly transition; instead, it hesitated, delayed and allowed the situation to drift. The result is what we see before us: a rushed process, regulations being introduced at the last minute and an Assembly being given far too little time to scrutinise something that deserves the highest level of scrutiny.”
“From the outset, the SDLP has had profound concerns about the process that has led us to this point. The regulations set the tariffs only until March 2026, when the Department for the Economy will take responsibility for administering the RHI scheme. The tariffs that we are being asked to endorse are extremely similar — almost identical — to the tariffs on which the Department has just finished consulting as part of the proposed closure arrangements. In other words, the Assembly is being asked to vote in favour of a tariff structure that is being consulted on as we speak. That is not good practice. It undermines confidence in the consultation process and suggests that the Department has already settled on an outcome long before participants, stakeholders and the Assembly have had a meaningful chance to respond.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answer. Ending violence against women and girls is, of course, a cross-government priority, but the PSNI launched the tackling violence against women and girls action plan in September 2022, and the Executive launched their strategic framework to end violence against women and girls in September 2024. Surely, it is really important that, if we know that the two action plans are working, we know the data and track it on a daily basis.”
“— continuing to rise. What other actions are you taking to support businesses in their moment of need?”
“Minister, I welcome that news. It is really important that those decisions are made quickly in the Executive, because the Budget offered nothing meaningful for businesses. Firms here are crying out for support and help. Energy prices throughout Northern Ireland are —”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answer. We appreciate what you want to do and what your predecessor wanted to do, but business owners are literally hanging on by their fingernails, and they really need support now. With four Executive Ministers, you can push it right on to the agenda and get it moving as soon as possible: when will you do that?”
“— the same facilities as Sinn Féin receives in the Dáil.”
“— is doing the heavy lifting in opposition. We demand to have —”
“<BR /> <BR />If we are serious about building a sustainable future for Northern Ireland, we cannot simply avoid the difficult conversation. A motion about long-term budgeting means little if we strip out the tools that are required to make it work. Ultimately, the motion is about changing direction. Our public services cannot survive in a system defined by volatility, instability and short-term thinking. <BR /> <BR />Let me be clear: if the Executive want credible scrutiny and credible alternatives, they must empower the Opposition to deliver them. The SDLP —”
“Northern Ireland cannot expect its services to improve if it refuses to explore the fiscal tools available to other devolved Governments. Scotland and Wales have already taken on additional fiscal powers. Meanwhile, we continue to rely almost entirely on the block grant, even as demand rises and pressure intensifies. We constantly criticise Britain, but we do not put any other plans in place to take responsibility. We must, therefore, like the way in which Britain throws us the money. A multi-year Budget must at least open the conversation on new fiscal powers, not to raise taxes for the sake of it but to ensure that we have the tools to protect essential services. That is why we will vote against the DUP amendment. It would water down the intent of our motion and remove any reference to the need for a greater devolution of fiscal powers.”
“If we are prepared to press Westminster for needs-based funding for Northern Ireland, we must apply the same logic to our borders and invest in the regions that have been neglected. Regions that have been overlooked for decades deserve a long-term plan that does not shift with political tides or depend on the flavour of Minister. <BR /> <BR />If we are to support better budgeting, we need better financial oversight. The SDLP has called consistently for the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council to be placed on a statutory footing. When oversight is optional, accountability is also optional, and it weakens. A statutory Fiscal Council would provide transparent, independent scrutiny to ensure that financial decisions are evidence-based, long-term and not driven by short-term politics. <BR /> <BR />We must also be honest about revenue.”
“The Member knows where I stand on defence spending, particularly if state money in Northern Ireland is being spent on genocide and the weapons of genocide. I will leave it at that. <BR /> <BR />Regional balance is another area where year-to-year budgeting does real harm. Communities in the north-west and other areas in which there are long-standing economic challenges know exactly what it feels like to be promised progress that never materialises. Investment comes in short bursts; projects start and stop; and long-term commitments evaporate when budgets tighten. A fair and balanced economic model requires sustained investment over many years, not one-off announcements or short-lived cycles.”
“Earlier this year, the possibility of increasing tuition fees emerged, a clear sign of how strained the system has become. We challenged that because pushing down on students would damage opportunity and our economic future. Without a stable, multi-year funding model, the underlying pressures will simply return again and again. Skills cannot be developed on guesswork; research cannot grow without certainty; and employers cannot plan when the pipeline of talent is at risk. Economic growth depends on having a skilled workforce, and that depends on sustained investment.”
“<BR /> <BR />That is why the SDLP has taken matters into its own hands. While the Executive have continued to drift from crisis to crisis, we have been doing the serious work on policy that they should be doing. We have published detailed papers on childcare, our future relationship with Europe, the reform of housing and the arts. We have even published an alternative Programme for Government. We are credibly outlining how we would do things differently. We are not just pointing out what is wrong; we are setting out fully formed proposals on how to fix things. We are not just sitting in the corner and getting clicks on TikTok like Mr Gaston. <BR /> <BR />The higher education and skills sector faces the same short-term pressures. Universities and FE colleges have been pushed to their limits.”
“Her answer was that it was the fault of British austerity. That is just bonkers. It is childish. We cannot keep on doing that. We have responsibilities in government. <BR /> <BR />Consider childcare. Northern Ireland has the highest childcare costs across these islands. Families feel that pressure every week. For years, the SDLP has called for proper investment to make childcare genuinely affordable. Yet, when childcare Barnett consequentials were available, they were not protected. That decision set us back significantly. Had those funds been ring-fenced, we would be building a childcare system that supports families; strengthens the economy; and helps to tackle poverty, including child poverty, in our constituencies. Instead, we remain playing catch-up, and families pay the price.”
“That requires serious institutional reform, because reliable budgeting depends on reliable governance — without both, progress is impossible. <BR /> <BR />A long-term Budget must also align with the Programme for Government. For too long, we have had promises on paper with no stable financial plan behind them. The result is predictable: ambitions fade when budgets tighten, and commitments fall away, because there was never any serious, realistic plan to fund them. <BR /> <BR />Minister, I get really frustrated that, each time we ask about budgets, the response is the same: if the money is not there, it is because of the Brits, and, if the money is there, it is because of you, Minister, or Sinn Féin. I will give you an example. I recently asked the Infrastructure Minister about moss on pavements in my constituency.”
“Budgets, strategies and priorities are meaningless if there is no functioning Executive in place to implement them. Our public services have endured repeated collapses of government, some lasting years. During those periods, nothing progresses, consequences pile up and problems deepen. Services do not pause because Stormont has paused. Children waiting for assessments do not pause. Families struggling with childcare costs do not pause. Hospitals, schools and community organisations do not pause. When the Executive collapse, the public — our people; our constituents — pay the price. If we want a system that is capable of delivering a multi-year Budget, we need institutions that cannot be switched off when political disagreements arise. The structures of government must be resilient enough to withstand political turbulence.”
“Operating a single-year Budget process forces Departments into short-term thinking; prevents them from investing early in reforms that would save them money in the long run; limits their ability to redesign services in a way that works for people; and creates a culture of firefighting instead of planning. A multi-year Budget will not fix everything, certainly not overnight, but it will provide certainty that will allow Departments and the people who work in them to make sensible, responsible decisions. It will give space for innovation, forward planning, strategic investment and the reform that, we all know, this place desperately needs. <BR /> <BR />We cannot talk about long-term planning without acknowledging the instability at the heart of the institutions.”
“Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I thank all those who contributed to the debate. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland deserves a Government who plan ahead, not one that stumbles from one financial year to the next. That is really what the motion is about. For far too long, our public services have been trapped in a system that offers no stability, no long-term direction and no sense of strategic purpose. When schools cannot plan their staffing, when health trusts do not know what they can afford beyond a few months and when universities warn of financial strain and uncertainty, it is obvious that the way in which we budget is part of the problem.”
“Thank you, Minister. Thank you, again, for taking the time to meet my constituents and to hear just how serious and distressing their experiences with social services have been. Given the gravity of what you heard and your confirmation today that a review will now take place, will you outline when you expect that review to begin, what timeline you envisage for its completion and, more importantly, when families can expect to see meaningful change as a result?”
“First Minister, do you accept that strengthening our presence in Brussels is a two-way process and that the effectiveness of our work there would be significantly enhanced if we had a European Commission office based in Belfast?”
“Colleagues, cancer is a disease that demands urgency. The studies tell us that a four-week delay in treatment increases the risk of death by up to 8%. Every additional week is a week too long. It is our task to meet this moment with empathy, ambition and partnership North/South and east-west. The people we serve deserve nothing less. I support the motion and the amendment.”
“The question should be, "Is this in the best interest of the patient?", because patients deserve a system that meets them with compassion, not complexity. <BR /> <BR />To the Minister I say that the cancer strategy sets the right direction but, without sustained funding, workforce planning and radical reform of diagnostic services, it will remain a plan on a page. We need rapid diagnostic centres operating at full capacity, meaningful investment in imaging and a real strategy for recruitment and retention, including cooperation with our neighbours, who face many of the same challenges. This is not at all an attack on the Minister, because we know that he works under a constrained budget, but we need the culture in the Executive to reflect the desire for meaningful change for the better.”
“<BR /> <BR />When the nearest radiologist, the fastest diagnostic slot or the most appropriate surgeon is 20 minutes across the border, the question should never be: is this jurisdictionally tidy?”
“Cancer does not recognise borders, and neither should the response. Each day, people from Derry, Fermanagh and Newry go across the border, into the Republic, for treatment, and they do so because they cannot wait and because cooperation works. We have already seen the success of the North West Cancer Centre. It is truly first in its class. It treats patients from Donegal and demonstrates that shared services improve outcomes for everyone. We should be expanding that collaborative model, including through shared diagnostic capacity, cross-border workforce planning and joint investment in specialist services, and we should be fully utilising the EU-UK pathways that still allow structured health cooperation on this island.”
“Only around one third of patients who are urgently referred with suspected cancer begin treatment within the 62-day target. For breast cancer, in the most recent quarter, just 6·6% of urgent referrals were seen within 14 days. Since regional transformation of the services has taken place, the Western Trust referrals waiting list time has increased quite significantly, which is devastating news for my constituents. We have the lowest one-year survival rates for ovarian and pancreatic cancer anywhere on these islands. Those delays mean later diagnosis, more invasive treatment, poor outcomes and, tragically, lives lost that could have been saved. We cannot allow that to continue. <BR /> <BR />While we confront the scale of the problem, we must also acknowledge that solutions exist, if we choose to grasp them.”
“I speak to today's motion with a deep sense of empathy for every family across the North who has faced the fear, the uncertainty and the anguish that a cancer diagnosis brings. I am thinking, in particular, of one family who just got bad news yesterday. Behind every statistic in the debate is a person who is waiting for news, family and friends who are pacing corridors and communities that are holding their breath, and it is for them that the Assembly must act with urgency and unity. <BR /> <BR />The motion outlines what we already know to be true: our waiting times are unacceptable and are costing lives.”
“Thank you, Minister, for that answer. I am delighted to hear that the draft strategy has gone to the Executive. You promised to meet the deadline of autumn; that is about to pass, and families are still waiting for that support. Given the fact that consultation on the strategy will take at least 12 weeks, it could be April before we see a real start. Will you explain why the Executive are not moving more quickly on that? How quickly will you overcome some potential areas of disagreement in order to get the consultation out and start supporting families?”