Sian Mulholland
North Antrim · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Members from different parties recognised that our justice system must continue to evolve and continue to have children, young people and victims at its heart. What, we know, works to reduce offending and create safer communities has that support. <BR /> <BR />Not every contribution reflected that approach.”
“I will use my final Member's statement before recess to reflect on the work of the Ten is Too Young Coalition and all those who have worked so passionately to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR), including Voice of Young People in Care, the Children's Law Centre, NIACRO, the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Childre…”
“We so often hear calls in the Chamber for legislation that is evidence-led, data-driven and compliant with our human rights obligations. Those are principles that I wholeheartedly support, but they cannot be principles that are applied only when they are convenient. Children's rights are human rights too.”
“<BR /> <BR />The triggering of the petition of concern mechanism was a misuse of a mechanism that was designed to protect minority rights. Here it is, blocking change designed to protect those who are most vulnerable.”
“Safeguarding falls within your remit, Minister. We know that, but we also know that it is the responsibility of each and every one of us. That is part of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. Faith-based counselling is not subject to the same regulation as other clinical counselling services.”
“Thank you, Minister. I am glad to hear you say that the role played by social workers is "complex and challenging". From what I hear from those who have contacted me, social workers are stretched to capacity. What is the Department doing to address that?”
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“A UNICEF spokesperson warned that children who are experiencing acute malnutrition are particularly vulnerable and their likelihood of dying from simple causes is up to 10 times higher than that of a child elsewhere. He added that access to hospitals in Gaza is no longer safe for ill or malnourished children. That is not a tactic of war; that is a war crime. The deliberate denial of humanitarian aid, the bombing of aid convoys and the killing of people who simply seek to access food and water has to be condemned. <BR /> <BR />It is my view that we have to stand firm in calling for a permanent ceasefire and that a pause is not enough. We should support the call for the British Government to suspend arms sales to Israel. How can we speak of peace when supplying the weapons that perpetuate some of this destruction?”
“I will take note of that. However, the reduction and removal of arms is, for me, definitely a key point of that. <BR /> <BR />Every innocent life, whether it is Israeli or Palestinian, is of equal value, and we reaffirm that fundamental truth and call for the immediate release of all hostages. I find the use of starvation particularly horrific. We have seen the harrowing images of emaciated children, and, whilst others will say that it is not starvation, so many charities and NGOs around the world that have said the exact same thing: aid is not getting in, and children are going hungry due to the lack of nutritious items entering the Gaza Strip. New mothers and their babies have been exposed to illnesses resulting from malnutrition.”
“It is not antisemitic to call out the attacks on Gaza. It is not antisemitic to demand that international law be upheld. It is not. It is not antisemitism to mourn the loss or starvation of Palestinian lives or to call for their protection. We do ourselves and our Jewish friends and neighbours a grave disservice if we allow legitimate criticisms of a military action to be smeared as hate. Before we are asked, yes, we condemn the horrific attacks by Hamas on 7 October 2023. We supported a motion in this Chamber that referenced that. We condemn Hamas unequivocally. The murder of civilians, the taking of hostages and the use of sexual violence against women in a conflict situation are all appalling attacks that rightly shocked the world.”
“There is always a "but" and always a, "What about?" This is horrific. <BR /> <BR />Antisemitism, like all forms of racism and hatred, must be opposed wherever it rises, but it is not antisemitic to call out”
“It is from Save the Children, I believe, and I can send the Member the link.”
“The leading cause of child death around the world at this time is the Israeli Government. This year alone, more children have been murdered —.”
“Sorry. I will continue. <BR /> <BR />I find it difficult to talk about balance, when some people in the Chamber seen unable to separate Hamas from Palestinian civilians or Israelis from the Israeli Government. There should never be a "but" when we talk about the death of any human. To have any representative in the Chamber say, "What has happened to the Palestinians is awful, but" and then talk about another horrific act is simply horrendous. When we talk about those issues, we do not always have to point to "the other side" or "both sides". <BR /> <BR />I will make a point about the idea that any criticism of the actions of the Israeli Government is antisemitic. I have to reject that notion entirely. It is dangerous and dishonest to conflate the Israeli Government's military campaign with Jewish identity.”
“No, you have to —. You look around the Chamber and —.”
“Oh my goodness. I know that I am not alone in my horror at what is unfolding on our screens and, actually, in the House. I refer to the communications that I have had from my constituents. On no other topic this year have I had more emails than on the humanitarian issue in Gaza. People can shake their heads and disagree, but I know what my email inbox says. They are not people who support Hamas. They do not wish ill on any civilians, but they say that they feel helpless and hopeless because of the images that they see on social media. After the laughing, the in-jokes from one side of the House and the shouting down of other opinions in this debate, I ask this: where is the respect and humanity?”
“We certainly need to drive down costs where we can. Has the Commission considered installing solar panels?”
“Thank you so much, Minister. Can you outline the legislative context in which other jurisdictions in GB and Ireland operate and how children are protected there?”
“Does the Member agree that some of the cause of the problems over the past few weeks has been the people who have actively targeted homes, set fire to homes and rioted on our streets, not just the issue in the LCM?”
“They will also acknowledge the ongoing challenges that we in the Chamber cannot ignore and that we have heard so much about, namely that one in four children in Northern Ireland continues to grow up in poverty and that homelessness amongst young people is increasing. I therefore commend Action for Children for its 25 years of outstanding service, and I wish it continued strength in its vital work.”
“It works to develop long-term solutions to the challenges that children and young people face and ensures that their voices and experiences shape the decisions that affect their lives, whether on policy, legislation or services. I am sure that every Member will have received at some point over the years a briefing from Action for Children. <BR /> <BR />To mark its 25th anniversary in Northern Ireland, it will be hosting tea parties in every community in which it works. Those tea parties will celebrate the difference that the charity has made over the past quarter of a century by bringing together children, young people, families, and community and statutory partners.”
“It provides specialist services for young people who are at risk of experiencing homelessness, including through providing floating support in Omagh and in County Fermanagh and supported accommodation that helps young adults aged 16 to 24 to build the life skills that they need to help them manage their tenancy and move towards independence. Through its fostering, it finds safe, loving homes for children and young people who have faced an incredibly difficult start in life. <BR /> <BR />What makes Action for Children stand out, particularly for me, having engaged with it extensively, is its deep commitment not just to service delivery but to lasting change.”
“Action for Children's vision is powerful and simple, and it is that every child and young person will have a safe and happy childhood, as well as be given the foundations needed in order to thrive. That vision drives its work. It steps in early and offers support before families and young people reach crisis point. We know how important early intervention is, and Action for Children has been at the forefront of that mission for the past 25 years. <BR /> <BR />Its services are diverse and far-reaching, being delivered through family support hubs, Sure Start centres, early intervention services and young carers programmes. It supports families by offering an extra little bit of help, and it does so with compassion.”
“I mark a significant milestone for a charity that has had a profound impact on the lives of children and families right across Northern Ireland, as Action for Children celebrates 25 years of delivering vital services here. That is a quarter of a century of dedication, care and advocacy being provided to some of our most vulnerable children and young people. <BR /> <BR />Action for Children was founded in London in 1869 and has grown to be one of the largest voluntary providers of children's services in the UK. In Northern Ireland since 2000, it has provided practical and emotional support to over 15,000 young people and their families every single year through more than 20 services spread across our communities.”
“Across the UK, creative services exports are worth nearly £19 billion, and 10% of all inward UK investment goes into the sector. <BR /> <BR />Where is our local picture? We do not have one. The impact survey, which the Arts Council supported, shows that the cost-of-living pressures are really hitting arts engagement hard, and we really want to see that addressed. The proposed closure of Riverside Theatre in Ulster University brings the crisis into sharp focus. That is what happens when there is little to no joined-up thinking across Departments and institutions. The arts are not just a line in a budget; they are core economic and social infrastructure. They have to be a pillar of joined-up cross-departmental growth. It is time to act.”
“Despite that impressive contribution, the creative industries are still treated as an add-on, a bonus and a flourish. My greatest concern is that the value of the arts gets lost because of where they sit in government. They are slotted into Communities, when, in reality, they should be central to our economic strategy. We have a sectoral action plan for screen but nothing equivalent for the wider arts, despite their crucial role. We are making decisions in the dark. There is a glaring absence of Northern Ireland-specific data. We do not know what people in the sector are earning by subsector. We do not measure productivity by job type. We do not track the turnover of trade or inward investment in our creative economy.”
“The Executive cannot claim to be serious about growth while they leave out a sector that continues to provide up to £1·6 billion in gross value added (GVA) and supports nearly 40,000 jobs. <BR /> <BR />As mentioned by Maurice Bradley, the arts are not just a nice-to-have; they are a must-have. I join colleagues in welcoming the motion. The numbers speak for themselves. As I said, the creative industries contributed £1·6 billion to our economy, which was 3·2% of the overall GVA in Northern Ireland. There were 3,695 creative business sites in Northern Ireland last year, which represents nearly 4% of all businesses in Northern Ireland. That sector is growing. The biggest growth was in music and performing and visual arts, which have gone up 11% year-on-year.”
“It goes without saying that, as someone who worked in the arts and as chair of the all-party group on arts, I see the arts and creative industries as vital. They are vital to our economy, our well-being and our sense of place. They are part of the fabric of who we are, and they enrich our lives, build communities and shape how the world sees us and Northern Ireland. Even with its undeniable importance, the arts sector remains stagnant as a result of a broken funding model, disjointed departmental working and repeated real-time cuts, despite the Minister's recent attempt to modestly add to the coffers. <BR /> <BR />To make matters worse, the arts and creative industries are entirely absent from the Programme for Government, as mentioned. We cannot ignore that glaring omission.”
“Minister, there is growing concern, as some Members have mentioned, that the strategy attributes no new additional funding to new child-focused interventions. The UK Government announced in the spring statement that they would extend free school meals eligibility to all families entitled to universal credit. Northern Ireland should receive the Barnett consequential from that. Will the Minister commit to ensuring or, at least, attempting to ensure that the money is solely invested in tackling rising child poverty?”
“First, I can speak for nobody other than me, but there are absolutely no party politics at play when I try to work with people on the ground, so I refute that suggestion. <BR /> <BR />There was an opportunity after the violence of last summer to apply learning and to seek independent counsel, as was done elsewhere in the UK. It was not done here, despite a motion coming before the Assembly. Will there now be a proper, comprehensive review of good relations policies and programmes, with the objective of ending violence targeted at foreign nationals and our ethnic minority communities?”
“Minister, I was involved in the evacuation, or at least the coordination of the evacuation, of the people who were brought to Larne leisure centre in the late hours of Tuesday morning. Do you regret the tone and commentary of the conversation that happened below that post, which was not moderated by you or your team and may have actually contributed to some of the ill feeling around what happened that evening?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Is he aware of any codes of practice or associated regulations that are specific to the operation of property management companies?”
“Minister, do you accept that, in this time of fiscal constraint that you just referenced, it would be prudent for you and your colleagues not to block the amendment to the North/South funding agreement that would supply additional funding to Foras na Gaeilge without a reciprocal contribution from the Northern Ireland Executive and your Department?”
“The justice system must be allowed to do its job. It is already in motion. The scenes that played out last night do absolutely nothing to ease the pain of the family. We cannot stop at condemnation; we have to call for calm. I urge every representative and community leader to call for that tonight. We cannot have a repeat of what happened last night. Please use your voice.”
“When law and order break down, it is always the most vulnerable who suffer most. To those responsible, I say this: you did not act in the name of justice. You did not protect your community; you endangered it. The same people who say that they are protecting women and girls allowed for women and young girls to be locked in an attic or barricaded into their bedrooms for fear of being burnt out of their home. It is only by the grace of God and the actions of the PSNI and the Fire and Rescue Service last night that we are not looking at something more serious. <BR /> <BR />I am not trivialising the issues that are behind this, but violence is not the answer. I understand that people are angry and that there is deep concern and pain in our community, especially following the reports of serious sexual assaults.”
“It undermines the very justice that we all claim to seek, endangers lives and destroys the peace that so many have worked tirelessly to build over years, particularly in that area of Ballymena. <BR /> <BR />I condemn, without hesitation or qualification, the violence that erupted. No matter how strong the feeling or how deep the anger or grief, violence is never the answer. Let us remember that families and children had to flee their homes last night. I spent the night on the phone to a family with three young children who had to barricade themselves into their attic, as they heard people rampage through the downstairs of their house and were in fear of being attacked.”
“I rise with an extremely heavy heart following the disturbing scenes that unfolded in Ballymena last night. First, I pay tribute to the family and the young girl who are at the heart of this. My heart goes out to her. <BR /> <BR />What began as a protest — a peaceful protest — with hundreds and hundreds of people lining the streets, sparked by a legitimate concern and by emotion, was quickly overtaken by violence, destruction and fear. Let me be clear: there is absolutely no place for that kind of behaviour in our society. The following scenes played out: homes were set alight; vehicles were overturned; missiles were thrown at police; and streets were turned into battlegrounds. The voices of those who gathered peacefully were drowned out by the chaos. That is not protest. That is not justice. Violence has no place in our society.”
“Minister, what role do independent sports governing bodies have in decisions about how their sports are played?”
“The people of Gaza need urgent humanitarian protection from genocidal acts such as the limitation of access to food. Omar's family needs a path to safety. Humanity must come first, and the death of humanity must not be seen as inevitable, as, tragically, was the death of Omar's family in Gaza.”
“Last week, another cousin was killed in an Israeli air strike, and, just yesterday, Omar's wife's cousin was killed in the south of Khan Younis when Israeli soldiers apparently opened fire on civilians who were trying to collect food. Immediate family, including children as young as two, who are trapped in Gaza are still in danger. Their lives are in danger every split second. <BR /> <BR />I will say this plainly: we have to respect humanity and international law, and we have to stand up for it. I call on our Government, on the Irish Government and on all who have influence to act.”
“Families are collecting bodies on donkey carts because ambulances cannot access the areas that are under fire. That is why I want to speak about Omar and Dalal, two valued constituents and friends of my colleague Kate Nicholl. They are well-known members of their community in South Belfast. Omar is a respected oncologist in Belfast City Hospital. On 4 December, they received the unenviable news that they had been dreading: 19 members of their family in Gaza had been killed in an Israeli air strike. They had fled their homes nine times, only to die in tents, burned alive. Three weeks ago, Omar's cousin and his cousin's two children were killed.”
“I call on the Prime Minister to uphold the UK's responsibility to defend its citizens and vessels under international law, given that the Madleen is a UK-flagged vessel. The people aboard the Madleen were acting where too many Governments have failed by attempting to deliver hope and assistance to the most vulnerable. To threaten them is to threaten the idea that humanity must always come before politics. <BR /> <BR />I will also speak about the unimaginable pain being endured by one local family amidst the crisis. In Gaza today, nowhere is safe. More than 54,000 people, overwhelmingly civilians, have been killed since October 2023. Médecins Sans Frontières reports that Nasser hospital is being overrun by gunshot and shrapnel wounds, with its blood bank nearly empty and staff donating their own blood to save lives.”
“Yet another morning, and I wake up to yet another humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza. The Madleen is a civilian vessel with 12 unarmed individuals carrying essential humanitarian aid for those in desperate need, and the eyes of the world are on it. Yet, instead of just facing the dangers of the open seas, overnight those individuals experienced the deeply troubling jamming of their communications and the despicable act of the interception of their vessel and the unlawful detention of activists on board. <BR /> <BR />Theirs was not a military operation but a humanitarian mission grounded in compassion and international law. The International Court of Justice has issued binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza. Standing by while aid is blocked, stolen or used as leverage is not neutrality; it is complicity.”
“Thank you, Minister. The proposed funding for musical instruments and local arts venues is very much appreciated. How will those initiatives be sustained in the long term? With arts organisations still waiting for confirmation of their full allocation three months into the new financial year, how quickly after your statement will allocations to your arm's-length bodies be confirmed?”
“— when we put patient outcomes before politics.”
“I want to know what the rationale is for rejecting support that could sustain the very services that border communities in particular rely on, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. <BR /> <BR />We in the Alliance Party believe in inclusion and fairness. We believe that public funding decisions should be guided by need and evidence, not political discomfort. We have to stop treating cultural identity as a zero-sum game. It is not. Fairness for one tradition should never be interpreted as a threat to another. <BR /> <BR />To conclude on a positive note, the all-island congenital heart disease network literally saves lives. It is another example of what is possible —”
“The development officer has told me that she is flat out and busy and that the figures do not represent half of the work that she is doing. <BR /> <BR />The underlying problem remains: the Irish Government have a willingness to increase their contribution, but current rules require Stormont to match that funding, and proposals to reform that arrangement have been blocked repeatedly. We have to ask why. That means that the crisis will return next January, the January after that and the January after that for those groups unless political progress is made. Why, when Departments such as the Department for Communities are under such intense financial strain, are we not doing everything possible to draw down any available cross-border funding?”
“<BR /> <BR />It is also important to highlight the unsustainable position in which this situation places the Irish language organisations. I say that as communities spokesperson for the party. In recent months, Foras na Gaeilge was forced to announce more than €800,000 in cuts; those cuts impacted on groups working across Northern Ireland. They were reversed thanks only to a one-off intervention from the Irish Government, not the Executive. As someone who engages regularly with the organisations in my constituency, which have engaged with 2,500 people this year alone through funding from Foras na Gaeilge, and whose people do the work and the outreach, I know that it is important. Furthermore, the fact is that they could do so much more.”
“Not to do so is a failure to act in the public interest. <BR /> <BR />When investment is available, at no cost to the Executive — at no cost to any constituent in any constituency — to deliver services, improve inclusion and empower communities, why would we not take it? The answer, I fear, lies not in policy but in politics. We are witnessing an ideological hesitation to engage in anything cross-border. We saw it with the delays and resistance around the North/South Ministerial Council; we see it again and again when proposals come forward that involve cooperation with Dublin; and now we are seeing it in how funding decisions are made — based not on need or equality but on optics and political comfort.”
“I put it back to the Member: if there is going to be cross-community benefit from this funding, surely that is something that you would fight for as an MLA, as any MLA in the House would do. <BR /> <BR />My colleague David Honeyford MLA asked Minister Lyons what sporting facilities in Northern Ireland would benefit from the Shared Island Fund — a significant pot of funding that has been made available by the Irish Government. The Minister's reply was that he had not corresponded with the Irish Government on the matter. That is a serious, missed opportunity. The Shared Island Fund is there to support infrastructure and connectivity across the island, sporting facilities included. Why would we not actively pursue that type of funding when Departments, such as the Department for Communities, are having to make very difficult cuts?”
“It is because we see the Good Friday Agreement not as a final destination but as something that needs to be nurtured and allowed to develop as we continue on the post-conflict journey. It is not the be-all and end-all; we know that it is a living, breathing and evolving thing. <BR /> <BR />Just weeks ago, my colleague David Honeyford MLA asked Minister Lyons what sporting facilities in Northern Ireland —.”
“We are more than happy to pursue global trade opportunities — crossing oceans without hesitation — yet, when it comes to engaging in cross-border funding on this small island, too often we either say "No" loudly or we quietly let the opportunity pass by. <BR /> <BR />This is not a question of ideology — at least, it should not be. It is a question about whether we are serious about building sustainable, inclusive services, or whether we are content to let communities shoulder the consequences of political inaction in this place. In response to Mr Kingston's comment, I say that our response to this issue does not mean that we no longer support the Good Friday Agreement.”
“We have all heard it: at a time when our public services are under immense strain, the public rightly expect the Executive to use every tool and every partnership available to them to protect what matters. That includes cooperation with the Irish Government on funding streams that would directly benefit communities in Northern Ireland. In the Chamber, we often hear the phrase "value for money" or the word "efficiency", but those principles fall flat when we fail repeatedly to accept offers of funding opportunities that could provide direct and measurable support to the people whom we represent, simply because they involve joint ventures with the Republic of Ireland.”
“OK. Thanks, Daniel. The housing crisis will not be solved with tweaks to the rules on HMOs. I agree that political instability has caused an awful lot of the issues that we face. I will not support a motion that others members of our community and uses infrastructure policy as cover. That does a disservice to the genuine concerns that people talk about. However, I will support an amendment that recognises everyone in Northern Ireland, no matter their race, faith or background, as part of our shared future. The communities that were targeted last summer are the same ones that are being blamed in the motion. We stood with them then, and I am proud to stand with them again now.”
“That pressure did not come about overnight, and it certainly will not be solved by HMO tweaks.”
“You can disagree all that you want, Mr Gaston, but they are essential to our agri-food sector and are driving our hospitality and services industries, especially in places such as Ballymena. With a declining birth rate and an ageing population, Northern Ireland as a whole cannot function without some form of inward migration. That is why we will support the SDLP amendment, which recognises the positive contribution of migrants and calls for action on integration. It rightly demands that the First Minister and the deputy First Minister publish a refugee integration strategy by September 2025. <BR /> <BR />By comparison, the motion's conclusion, with its throwaway reference to HMO planning policy, is not a serious response to housing pressures but a fig leaf. The 2021 census data shows that we have 45,000 people waiting on a housing list.”
“I just want to point out that, yes, there are issues. In places such as Ballymena in particular, however, migrants are not a burden but a necessity. They are staffing our hospitals. In fact, 900 people from North Antrim alone work in our health and social care system.”