Member's statement: Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility

Member's statement by Ms Sian Mulholland on 30 June 2026.

MLA

Ms Sian Mulholland

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

30 June 2026

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5652720

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I will use my final Member's statement before recess to reflect on the work of the Ten is Too Young Coalition and all those who have worked so passionately to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR), including Voice of Young People in Care, the Children's Law Centre, NIACRO, the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, Children in Northern Ireland and Include Youth, alongside 70 other organisations, and the social workers, the youth practitioners, the Youth Justice Agency and all who have worked to create a better justice system that will continue to have victims and young people at its heart. The debate on MACR in the Chamber demonstrated something really significant, which is that there is now a substantial body of support across the Assembly for that type of youth justice reform. Members from different parties recognised that our justice system must continue to evolve and continue to have children, young people and victims at its heart. What, we know, works to reduce offending and create safer communities has that support. Not every contribution reflected that approach. Some Members chose to sensationalise the issue rather than engage with the evidence. Instead of grappling with decades of research and professional expertise, they dismissed it. They ignored the voices of those who work day in, day out with vulnerable children and young people. Even more disappointingly, organisations such as the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, respected children's organisations, youth justice professionals and others were belittled in the Chamber simply because their evidence challenged established views. We so often hear calls in the Chamber for legislation that is evidence-led, data-driven and compliant with our human rights obligations. Those are principles that I wholeheartedly support, but they cannot be principles that are applied only when they are convenient. Children's rights are human rights too. They do not become optional just because they are politically uncomfortable or do not grab the headlines. The reality is that our youth justice system has changed remarkably over the past number of years. Through the dedication of those who work in it, there is now a greater emphasis on prevention, diversion and rehabilitation. In practice, most children who come into contact with the system are already diverted away from formal criminalisation, so the law must reflect that reality. The triggering of the petition of concern mechanism was a misuse of a mechanism that was designed to protect minority rights. Here it is, blocking change designed to protect those who are most vulnerable. None of the proposed reforms diminishes the impact of crime on victims; they recognise that the best way to prevent future victims is to intervene early. The system can change, and I believe that it will. I thank those who have fought the fight, and I pledge that I will continue that fight with them in the years ahead.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:08 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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