Member's statement: Political Instability: Generational Impact

Member's statement by Ms Kate Nicholl on 28 September 2026.

MLA: Ms Kate Nicholl
Party at the time: Alliance Party
Date: 28 September 2026
Type: Member's statement
Business: Members' Statements
Heading: Political Instability: Generational Impact
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5761959

Text

I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on the birth of your granddaughter Esther last week. I want to talk about children. I spent last week in the children's hospital at the Royal with my son, and I thank everyone for their comments and good wishes. There is nothing quite as humbling as being in the children's ward and seeing what the staff and doctors do every day.
It is heroic work, and it is underfunded. It is unbelievable that the children's hospital sits under the umbrella of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust when it is clearly a regional service with the best in each department. It creates a sanctuary for the most vulnerable children.
Thankfully, my son is fine, but, while I was sitting on the ward with him when he was on a ventilator, I looked at the other children who came on to the ward. What I noticed was that we are all the same: the other mothers were exhausted and worried; the other families were worried about what was going to happen to their children. I thought about them again over the weekend. I thought about the Quinn children — those precious children who died — and the people not just in Portadown but across Northern Ireland who were genuinely afraid that something was going to happen to their children. I then thought about how we do not see our issues through the lens of children enough. I speak out about what is happening in Gaza and Sudan because I care about children, just as I speak about allergies and about SEN. There is genuine fear in society right now. I agree that the rule of law and process must be followed, but I also acknowledge that people are in pain and are genuinely afraid. It is one thing to have the right to do something and another to choose to do it, and I wonder about what happens next. I am really worried that this is a 'Sliding Doors' moment for Northern Ireland and worried about the ramifications of what we do next for the next generation. I am really worried about the children on the ward who are really sick. They need the health service to work for them. I am really worried about children with special educational needs, who need the Assembly to function because they need support. The public have become so disillusioned with us that they do not think that we matter any more, but we matter and this place matters in creating conditions for every child in our society to thrive and to have the opportunities that they deserve. I am really worried that this place will collapse because we will have moved to a point where we do not have the grace or the dignity to see what is best. If we looked through the lens of our children, this place would be a lot better.

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

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