Member's statement: Northern Ireland Civil Service: Pride
Member's statement by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on .
- MLA
- Ms Sinéad McLaughlin
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 29 June 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Northern Ireland Civil Service: Pride
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5644567
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to speak about a deeply disappointing and completely unnecessary decision. Last weekend, Dublin celebrated Pride with the participation of every Irish government Department. More remarkably, last weekend, Pride was celebrated in Hungary. They celebrated diversity, equality and inclusion in the face of growing challenges, yet in Belfast — in Northern Ireland — the Civil Service has quietly withdrawn from Pride without discussion or debate. That sends an entirely wrong message at the wrong moment in time. I want to make three points. First, the legal justification simply does not stand up to scrutiny. The Civil Service has pointed to what it describes as:
"the current legal and case law context".
However, that appears to rest largely on a High Court judgement in England involving Northumbria Police. That judgement is not binding here. Northern Ireland has its own legal framework and its own equality obligations. For years, the Northern Ireland Civil Service took part in Pride because it recognised that it was an inclusive employer, committed to supporting all its staff and demonstrating those values publicly. Nothing has changed fundamentally in Northern Ireland to justify abandoning that position. Secondly, accountability matters, as we know. The Civil Service does not decide government policy; Ministers do. The Minister of Finance has responsibility for the Northern Ireland Civil Service. This is ultimately a policy decision and, with that, comes political responsibility. I ask Minister O'Dowd to look at that decision again and, please, reverse it. Finally, this is about the kind of society that we want to build. Government should never be used to impose a particular moral or religious world view on everyone else. Our role is to serve citizens equally regardless of who they are or whom they love. Too often, in this place, we have seen equality treated as something to be resisted rather than embraced. We should have moved beyond that by now. LGBTQ+ people are part of every community across Northern Ireland. They contribute to our economy, our public services and our civic life. They deserve to know that their Civil Service stands with them, not that it steps back when doing so becomes politically difficult. Pride has always been about visibility, dignity and inclusion. The Northern Ireland Civil Service should be there, proudly demonstrating that those values matter. I hope that the Minister shows leadership, reverses that action and ensures that the Civil Service once again stands alongside our communities, whom it exists to serve.
409 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Awaiting analysis
This record has not been analysed yet. It is not counted in any total until it has been assessed.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reviews every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.