Debate contribution: Racially Motivated Riots

Debate contribution by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on 15 June 2026.

MLA: Ms Sinéad McLaughlin
Party at the time: Social Democratic and Labour Party
Date: 15 June 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Matter of the Day
Heading: Racially Motivated Riots
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5613221

Text

First, our thoughts and prayers are with Stephen Ogilvie and his family. The scenes that we have witnessed on our streets in recent days have been utterly shameful, and I think we can all agree on that. Families have been forced from their homes; businesses have been attacked; communities are living in fear; and people have been targeted simply because of who they are, where they come from and the colour of their skin. There can be no excuses or equivocation: racism has no place in our society. Many of us have spoken about the need for political leadership, particularly when there are those who stand in the House and spout deliberate lies about immigration policy. I am sorry that Timothy Gaston has left the House. That is disgusting and irresponsible, and not all unionists feel like that. He had only to listen to the words, a few minutes later, of Claire Sugden, who stood up in the House and gave leadership for the unionist community and all our communities. However, political leadership alone will not solve the problem. We also need leadership from our communities, and we have seen the best of it over recent days. I am proud to call them part of all of our communities. The uncomfortable truth is that, in too many places, individuals and paramilitary organisations continue to exert control over our communities. They thrive on division, suspicion and fear. The vast majority of people want nothing to do with violence or hatred. The vast majority want safe streets, good jobs and opportunities for their children, yet we continue to see young people drawn into disorder and criminality. Those young people have no experience of the conflict. They should be looking to their future but, instead, are being taught to fear and resent their neighbours. That should be a concern for every one of us. If a generation born after the Good Friday Agreement is still being taught division, serious questions must be asked. We must ask whether enough progress has been made in tackling paramilitarism and whether programmes such as Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC) and Communities in Transition are delivering transformation as promised. They are not. It is plain to see in those communities that there is no delivery of transformation at all. The public are entitled to know what impact those programmes are having and whether they are achieving lasting change, because what we have witnessed this week suggests that many communities remain divided and too many people remain vulnerable to —
— the influence of those who profit from fear and mistrust.

433 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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