Debate contribution: Justice Bill: Consideration Stage

Debate contribution by Ms Sian Mulholland on 15 June 2026.

MLA

Ms Sian Mulholland

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

15 June 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Justice Bill: Consideration Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5614461

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you very much. I referenced some of the points that were made, and I will reference the final point later in my speech. I will address the idea that the minimum age of criminal responsibility's being raised is somehow a fringe, soft, lefty ideological proposal — I am looking at the other Member for North Antrim — that is disconnected from public concern, professional evidence and the realities facing our communities. The 10 is Too Young Coalition brings together organisations with deep expertise in children's rights, youth justice, care experience and community support: Children in Northern Ireland, the Children's Law Centre, Include Youth, NIACRO, the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, and Voice of Young People in Care (VOYPIC). Those organisations are not detached from reality; they work with children in care, children in conflict with the law, families under pressure, victims of systems failure, and communities living with the consequences of harm. Their joint briefing is incredibly clear: Northern Ireland's age of criminal responsibility is unacceptable, the Justice Bill is a critical opportunity to deliver lasting change, and reform is necessary to align Northern Ireland with international children's rights standards. It argues that every day that the age remains unchanged is another day that a child as young as 10 can be criminalised, causing ongoing harm while failing — this is the most important point — to invest in responses that would have a more constructive outcome. That is not the view of just one campaign; a Department of Justice consultation in 2022 showed really strong support for raising the age beyond 10. That involved stakeholders from right across civic society that all, in different ways, pointed away from routine early criminalisation and towards earlier intervention, family support, diversion, restorative practice and, importantly, trauma-informed responses. The 10 is Too Young Coalition's comparative analysis shows that Northern Ireland has one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility in the entire world, and the lowest in Europe. Of the 51 European countries listed in its briefing, the average MACR is 14. Only 12 have an age of 13 or under, while the age in the majority — over 75% — sits somewhere between 14 and 18. Scotland has already raised its age from eight to 12. The Republic has a general higher age, with exceptions for serious offences. Most comparable jurisdictions have moved far beyond where Northern Ireland remains today. The youth justice review that was commissioned in 2011 recommended that the age be raised to 12 immediately, with consideration given to raising it to 14 within three years. That was 15 years ago. Members say that reform is difficult. I do not disagree, but difficulty cannot be a reason to leave the law unchanged, year after year. If we move only to 12 now or move to 12 with broad exceptions that leave the door open to criminalise 10-year-olds and 11-year-olds, we are not leading on reform. With the system that we have, we should be. Instead, we are catching up with where we should have been more than a decade ago. Another argument that I have heard repeatedly, especially after the week that we have just had, is that, because of child criminal exploitation (CCE), we should not raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility. It is said that paramilitaries, organised crime groups and drug gangs may exploit children should the law change. Of course we should be worried about child criminal exploitation. If Members have not been worried before now, catch up. It is already happening. I do not accept the logic that the answer to the issue of exploited children is to keep them criminalised. That is not good law. It is not good public protection.

When I think about it, if a 12-year-old is burning down a house, I want to know why. I want to know why a 12-year-old is out on the street burning down a house. If a child is 13 years and 364 days old and is doing that, I also want to know why. If adults are grooming, threatening, coercing or using children to commit offences, the answer is not to punish those children more quickly so that adults will not take advantage of them. The answer is to identify exploitation. The answer is to protect the child and disrupt the adults, and I am really pleased to see that the Minister of Justice has been progressing that in other areas of the Bill.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:53 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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