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Ms Michelle O'Neill: Assembly records
All of Ms Michelle O'Neill’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
Thanks for the question. Yes, I can confirm that the Bill is at the policy development stage. There is ongoing engagement with the Office of the Legislative Counsel, and it is on track for introduction. We want to make sure that the legislation is fit for purpose in 2026 and beyond and to ensure that equality and…
No. What is most important is that we have good legislation. It was touched on earlier as part of the debate that a number of Bills have been introduced and some more will come very shortly. Some are going through the scrutiny process in the Committees and rightly so. Perhaps there will even be amendments where…
Our statement of 3 October 2025 on the Executive’s legislative programme listed the 21 Bills that Ministers intended to bring forward for introduction in the Assembly before the beginning of the summer recess in July. That is in addition to the 19 Bills from the 2024-25 programme that have either been enacted or are…
On the latter part of your question, I absolutely agree that the institutions need to pay up and make reparation for their role in the harrowing circumstances that so many people have come through. The Committee is actively looking at that issue in the legislation. We are obliged to chase every institution down, and…
I will get that information to the Member in writing, because I do not want to give her any misinformation. There are transparent processes. Every case is complex, as the Member will know. The Victims' Payments Board has to navigate its way through that, and that sometimes leads to the delays that have been raised in…
Yes. I mentioned some of the figures. The Executive Office has also provided funding of over £7 million to victims and survivors through the representative groups, including through the Victims and Survivors Service to assist applicants with the application process. It is also about additional funding for health and…
As you know, the heart of our victims and survivors strategy is about being trauma-informed and about being mindful of the needs of victims. It is very much victim-centred. It is about dealing with the past, but it is also about supporting victims in the here and now. Equally, it is about building a shared future. I…
Funding for victims' groups is a key element of the Executive's strategy for victims and survivors. As Ministers, we are committed to continuing to ensure that victims and survivors are supported and that their needs are met. The Victims and Survivors Service is responsible for providing support for individuals and…
I do not speak for Stonewall. I refer you to what I said earlier. Stonewall's role in our being a diversity champion is about inclusive workspaces. I am better placed than you to speak about who is a mother: I am one.
I absolutely do. We live in a rich and diverse society, and we should celebrate, respect and nurture it. We need to learn from one another, understand one another a lot better and create a tone, particularly in the political sphere, that allows conversations to be inclusive and people to have healthy exchanges, not…
It is a matter for the organisation itself if it finds itself in some sort of financial difficulty. We have no remit for it. As far as I am concerned, the Executive Office does not provide any direct funding to Stonewall. As a member of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme, however, the Civil Service does, via…
The Executive Office has no ongoing financial relationship with Stonewall. Our arm's-length bodies operate with statutory and operational independence. Decisions on engagement with external organisations, including Stonewall, are a matter for those bodies.
Therein lies the problem. If we were able to look at the issue through a different lens and come at it with the mindset of wanting to get something done and of dealing with the fact that it is a historical site with reconciliation potential and the potential to have immense economic benefit, we might find a way to…
I will build on my previous answer. The site's potential is immense. There is a genuine opportunity for us to invest in it, but we have to view investment in the round. I would like to think that we will continue to work together to get to the point at which we can have housing on the site as well as provide economic…
The Member will, perhaps, have heard me say in answer to a previous question that I see the enormous potential of the site from an economic, historical and reconciliation perspective. It is important that we reach for the huge opportunity that we have with that huge potential, of which I know the Member is only too…
We have been clear that we want to realise the immense potential of the site for the benefit of all and that decisions are needed on the overall way forward for the site. The Committee for the Executive Office visited the site on 5 November and received a briefing from the development corporation staff. We understand…
As I said earlier, the strategy's success depends on our collaboration and cooperation. I mentioned a number of other strategies, such as the domestic and sexual abuse strategy, that run across other Departments. Every Department has a remit to monitor how successful its strategy has been, but we have oversight at…
As the Member will know, there are many threads to the programme. The beauty of the change fund work is that projects are coming organically from local community groups and sports organisations. They know best how to reach young people, particularly our boys, and they know best how to engage with them and get messages…
Yes. Again, it is so important that we do everything that we can. We all were alarmed when we saw what was reported last week and even this week about how some pupils may be using it against other pupils in a school setting. That is so detrimental to the people who will be negatively and horribly impacted on by it.…
I concur with the Member's concerns, which we all expressed last week, about what we now see as a norm. Such issues are increasingly coming to the fore, even in a school scenario, as reported today. We all need to do our due diligence and work together on the issue. It will be a combined effort. It is about the…
Ending violence against women and girls is a Programme for Government priority, and "working better together" is one of the six outcomes of the ending violence against women and girls strategic framework. We are working collaboratively with Executive colleagues in a number of key work areas in the delivery plan,…
Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle , for your condolences. It was with deep sadness that we learned on Friday evening of the untimely death of our dear friend and party colleague Mickey Brady. Mickey was, of course, a former Member of the Assembly, and then a proud abstentionist MP for Newry and Armagh, until his recent…
One of the areas that we can be so pleased with in the work on Together: Building a United Community has been how it has brought people together. It has had a really positive impact, and that is why we are now looking at future iterations of it. The good relations programme is match funded, delivering £2·8 million in…
On 22 October last year, I made a statement in the Assembly as Sinn Féin vice president. The events in Belfast City Hall on 19 October 2024 have been fully investigated by the PSNI. The PPS has made its decision, and that is the appropriate course of action. Given that there was a criminal investigation, the actions…
Yes, I agree with that. The Member will be aware, but I refer to the comment from the artist himself at that time on his view around all that. You are absolutely right that we have a serious problem with misogyny and violence against women and girls in our society. We have serious work to do in this institution, and I…