Debate contribution: Education Inspections Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Paul Givan on 1 June 2026.

MLA

Mr Paul Givan

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

1 June 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Education Inspections Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5582242

Read the official Assembly record

Text

The Member had the chance to make a lengthy speech earlier. He is now trying to reframe it. On restrictive practices, has he not been following the comments that one of the parents involved in this debate has been making about his position? She is against it. She does not support your position. That is somebody who suffered restrictive practices. I suspect that the Member has heard directly from the individual, who is actively saying that Sinn Féin has got it wrong. Whose voice are you listening to? I trust that you will listen to that individual, who wants you to support the Bill. On restrictive practices, we are working through all the issues, but the trade unions are in conflict with the Royal College of Nursing. There is not an agreed position between the teaching profession and the RCN's position. It is in dispute what the RCN believes should happen in schools and what many teachers and classroom assistants say they have to deal with in our schools. Whose side is the Member now on when it comes to that issue?

It is the tried and trusted tactic, particularly from the three Sinn Féin members of the Education Committee. Mr O'Toole referred to it in a previous debate. Let us make the Minister the bogeyman. Let us make him the problem. That avoids the difficult issues, you see. It is too easy to pin it on the Minister and say, "You're to blame, you're to blame". That is why I need broad shoulders and to take responsibility and be alert. We know the tactics that are being deployed. I could not believe it when Mr Sheehan referred in his earlier comments to unionist majority rule. That was unbelievable. He said that he would not stand for unionist majority rule and that those days are gone. My goodness, when we are talking about such an important issue, that is where Sinn Féin had to go to.

I am always happy to be corrected by Mr Sheehan.

I do not want the debate to descend to point at which it did before we broke, but this is not the place to have that conversation when we are discussing inspection and child safeguarding. I say to the Member that his party is the biggest party in the Executive, much as that pains me. You are the biggest party. Your party holds the position of First Minister of Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin has a veto. It put the Bill on the agenda, and it approved it at the Executive. That is what the biggest party in the Executive did, and now it has U-turned in the Assembly. A couple of Members commented on the actual substance of the Bill. I think that I have addressed most of the concerns that were raised. Mr Mathison spoke about the question of RE inspections being a part of the Bill. I think that the Bill is the most appropriate vehicle for dealing with that issue in as timely a fashion as possible. I appreciate that the Education Committee has a heavy workload. Mr Sheehan said that there were multiple Bills, and he is correct.

However, I trust that the Committee will be able to navigate through a Bill that includes RE inspections. Mr Mathison mentioned that things are fragile on the issue of inspection, but there is not going to be a perfect time to do this. In my view, this legislation should have been dealt with over a decade ago. We should not have had nearly a decade of action short of strike, which frustrated inspection. That would have been the best time to have this Bill. I suspect that there is never a good time to manage something like this through the legislative programme, but, ultimately, it is the right thing to do because the intent behind it is important, and that is where we need to remain focused. I appeal to Members to use whatever influence they have with the trade unions. If, as part of their collective action, they prevented inspection in all areas, I think that most Members would agree that that would be debilitating for the school system. I ask Members to appeal to the trade unions to take inspection off the table voluntarily. This legislation would not be necessary if they were to make an agreement. I asked them to make an agreement with me. Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party asked me at the Executive table to engage with the unions. I did engage with them, and they did not provide a response. If the trade unions were to step forward and announce that they would no longer use inspection as part of industrial action, we would not need clause 3. They have not said that. Maybe they will, and maybe that could be a justification for some Members taking the approach that they have argued for. Encourage the unions to step forward to do that. I would certainly welcome their doing that. I recognise the sincerity with which Mr Mathison and Michelle Guy raised their issues. I have given an assurance that I will work with them to seek a way to address those concerns and ensure that there are appropriate guard rails around what a referral to the professional body would look like. There should be scope to amend the Bill to reflect that in a way that would be helpful. That is the approach that I intend to take, and I will work with the Committee to do that. Ultimately, though, this is Assembly legislation, and this is the point at which I agree with the Chairman of the Education Committee. I cannot prevent a single Member from tabling an amendment. I cannot prevent any Member from tabling an amendment that states, "Clause 3 does not stand part of the Bill". I cannot prevent any Member from doing that, and the vote will happen accordingly. This is now an Assembly Bill. It was approved at the Executive by Sinn Féin and the DUP.

The Chief Whip of Sinn Féin says, "Tell the truth." The truth is that the Bill was agreed at the Executive, it was endorsed by Sinn Féin, and the First Minister put it on the agenda. I do not know how many times I need to say that. The facts speak for themselves.

I see no Ministers here. Sinn Féin did not object.

Sinn Féin did not object.

Sinn Féin did not object.

Sorry, if the Member wants to stand up and call me a liar, she should feel free to stand up and say, "The Minister's telling lies", and I will happily correct her.

That is not the truth. I am nearly finished because I know that Members want to vote. It is nearly 9.00 pm, and this is the start of many a long night as we approach the end of the mandate. I have outlined the truth, and it is an uncomfortable truth for Sinn Féin. It did not support the Bill at the start. Sinn Féin engaged with me directly. It authorised Caoimhe Archibald to sit with me in a room, which I did, and we worked through the Bill. The First Minister asked me, "Can you remove these elements of the Bill?", and I removed the elements that Sinn Féin did not want and replaced them with an alternative, which Sinn Féin supported. Not only did it then support it, but after that direct engagement with Sinn Féin, the First Minister approved it on the agenda, and it went through the Executive unopposed. That is the truth. It may be an uncomfortable truth for Sinn Féin, but that is exactly what happened.

This is focused and proportionate legislation. It closes a long-standing gap in our legal framework, brings us more closely in line with other jurisdictions, supports improvement and, most importantly, protects children. Every parent whom I have ever met wants to know whether their child is likely to get a good education at their school. The question before us is simple: are we prepared to ensure that a fundamental safeguard in our education system can operate consistently, effectively and without obstruction? I believe that we should be. We should never forget that the ETI's primary purpose is to champion the right of every child to a decent education. Above all else, the inspectorate is a champion for children. We want to see high standards and positive outcomes for all children. As a society, we start to tackle disadvantage by opening new doors and creating new opportunities and better life chances, but we will not do so without regular, consistent external inspection. We can always do better, and we should never stop striving to do better, especially for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable. This is an area where we can and must do better. Our children deserve nothing less. I commend the Bill to the House.

1,489 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification