Debate contribution: First Minister — Pledge of Office

Debate contribution by Ms Michelle O'Neill on 5 October 2026.

MLA

Ms Michelle O'Neill

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

5 October 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Questions for Urgent Oral Answer

Heading

First Minister — Pledge of Office

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5774444

Read the official Assembly record

Text

As First Minister, I am fully committed to the Good Friday Agreement and everything that flows from that seminal agreement, including the ministerial code and the Pledge of Office. I am also fully committed to the right, set out explicitly in the Good Friday Agreement, to freedom from sectarian harassment, and I stand resolutely with the residents of the Garvaghy Road in defending those rights. I welcome the fact that more than 1,000 people from Protestant backgrounds have spoken out also in their defence. I also welcome the fact that bipartisan members of the US Friends of Ireland Caucus have intervened to underline the importance of protecting the progress made under the Good Friday Agreement. Elected representatives from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Social Democrats, People before Profit, Aontú and Labour stood alongside the community and independent voices in support of the Garvaghy Road residents, and did so proudly. The Garvaghy Road community has suffered generations of sectarianism, domination, intimidation and violence. They are again experiencing sectarian intimidation as a result of the reckless demand for an unwanted, sectarian and triumphalist march through that peaceful community. Only two weeks ago, we were reminded here in the House of the brutal sectarian murder of Robert Hamill, kicked to death by unionist bigots in Portadown right in the midst of the so-called Drumcree dispute. Today, I am thinking about Marie Therese Murray, who lost her son Darren at the height of the previous stand-off on the road. Again, it was as a direct result of sectarian intimidation in Portadown. I am thinking about Rosemary Nelson, who was murdered for defending the rights of the community that we speak of today. I am thinking about the family of Michael McGoldrick, who was murdered by the UVF in 1996. I am thinking about the three beautiful Quinn children and the many others that my colleague read into the public record this morning. They all lost their lives as a direct result of the sectarian demand to walk over the rights of the Garvaghy Road community. Folks, there is no going back to those dark days. My party unequivocally supports the people of the Garvaghy Road in their total opposition to that sectarian, triumphalist march —

— through their community. As leas-uachtarán

of Sinn Féin, I am incredibly proud and privileged to stand alongside my party colleagues with —

— the strong, resilient and concerned community of the Garvaghy Road.

Catch yourself on. That is where I will start with that one. I will continue to turn up for the people of the Garvaghy Road. I am proud to stand with them, and I will continue to stand with them.

I am the First Minister of what is right.

I will continue to be the First Minister of what is right. That includes standing up for the residents of the Garvaghy Road, and we will not need to use AI for it.

Thank you for that, and I concur with you. This is absolutely about protecting the peace and progress of the past 28 years. Any right-minded person across society would want us to do that. For our part, the work that we are doing in the Executive Office to support community relations will be pivotal. It has been thus far, but we need to double down on that, particularly in the aftermath of what is now being foisted back upon that community. In particular, I am mindful of the need to be vigilant to the needs of the wider Portadown community in the aftermath of what is currently happening. I will look forward to coming back to the House to talk about the next stage of our T:BUC work and moving on to the next iteration of that. We will all need to work on that together, because community relations have been damaged. One thing that I would say is this: those in the Garvaghy community did not ask for this. It has been foisted upon them. They did not ask for it.

I can assure the Member, as I do every time that he asks me that question, that I intend to continue to turn up for people, including the people on the Garvaghy Road. I want us to get a Budget. We were in the midst of that process when a small minority of people out there decided to try to pull us backwards. We need to fight back against that and protect the peace and progress of the past 28 years. We need to get a Budget; one that is right and allows us to invest in our public services. I think that we all share that collective view.

Of course, those residents did not ask for that to be foisted upon them, but your party has been the cheerleader of it since day 1. Your party has been cheerleading for the Orange Order in trying to drag that community back and to railroad and trample over the rights of the Garvaghy Road residents. We will not allow you to do that. I will continue to turn up for those residents every day.

Yes, absolutely, I do. I fear that we are hearing a lot of noise here because they are uncomfortable with that statement. Yes, it is one rule for the DUP and one for others.

When the law is wrong, I will stand firmly against it. It is morally wrong what is happening to the people on the Garvaghy Road.

No, I do not.

There is no question.

The widespread support for the Garvaghy Road residents not to be plunged into the days of old is clear. No right-minded person wants to go into reverse; they do not want to be where we were at the end of the 1990s. I think that the vast majority of people will want us to continue to build on the peace and prosperity of the last 28 years. I will work with others who share that aspiration, as, I know, you and your party do. All of us who have that spirit and that vision for a more hopeful future for people will work together. I hear a lot in the Chamber about equality: equality does not mean putting your rights above someone else's. Equality is about fairness across the board, not domination or supremacy.

You see, you are trying to pit one section of the community against the other. You are trying to pit the maternity services that the women in that area are absolutely entitled to have against the Garvaghy Road residents' rights. That is a decent community that has lived in peace for 28 years and had an issue resolved that has now been reopened, and it has been reopened with the support of your party. People can see you for what you are.

Do you know who wants to move forward? The Garvaghy Road residents. Do you know who has had this foisted upon them? The Garvaghy Road residents. I will stand with that community. I have stood with that community over the last week, and I will continue to stand with that community. That community deserves to live free from fear and intimidation. Your party has championed this. You certainly have; you can shake your head all you want. You have been a champion of this. Shame on you.

Everything that I have been doing is about trying to calm tensions. Everything that I have been doing is about supporting a community that is under siege. I make no apology for that.

That is your opinion.

You are not the police, of course, Trevor, but let me tell you that, no, I have not been approached. I own my choices.

I agree with you. I have met many families over the past week whose kids are asking them questions. They had never imagined they would have be having those conversations with them. I met a family whose child had walked up a Portadown street and been called a "Fenian". On coming home, he had to ask, "What is that, Mummy?". I have met families whose children have come home and asked, "Am I a Catholic or a Protestant?". Is that not a disgrace? That is what the whole debacle has reopened. That is the trauma that is being visited on that community, which did not ask for it. All that those people are asking for is the chance to live free from hatred and intimidation. All that they are asking for is to get on with their lives, and I will back them on that every step of the way. None of us wants to see this. I want us to build a more prosperous and better future for every child. I want every child, be they Catholic, Protestant or from whatever background, to be able to go to their school. They should be able to have opportunities in life. They should not have to live in a society in which they are told that they are second-class citizens and that someone else can trample all over their rights. I will not tolerate that. It is 2026. We are 28 years into the Good Friday Agreement. In two years' time, we will celebrate its 30th anniversary. There is a lot to celebrate in that. We have made an awful lot of progress, but there is a small minority against that, championed by the DUP. The DUP is the cheerleader, and it is doing so for electoral reasons and for electoral reasons only.

I did not call you such names. I do not speak for anybody else. I speak for myself. On this occasion, I am speaking for what is right, what is morally right. The residents did not ask for this to be brought upon them. You should give your head a big shake as to why you thought that it was a good idea. Maybe Carla took you there without even asking you.

I understand the law. I have said publicly that I understand the law. I understand the choices that I am making, and I choose to stand with the residents of the Garvaghy Road.

As I have said, we need to fight really hard to protect everything that we have achieved over the past 28 years. We need to build on it and do more. That is my determination. That is why, despite the challenges of this arrangement, I turn up every day to try to do my very best to improve people's lives.

I am glad that some of your colleagues decided to stand with the Garvaghy Road residents; that was the right thing to do. I very much welcome that, because that community asked us for our backing. You cannot build a society that is about trampling over someone else's rights. You do not build fairness and equality across the board by saying that some have more rights than others. This can be seen for what it is. Those who have opened up this wound have an awful lot of head-shaking to do in terms of why they have brought us back to this spot. Let us not allow that to be the case. Let us fight for peace and equality. Let us fight for progress. Let us fight for all the progress that has been made over the last 28 years and build on it.

Pam, I think you will find that you made a joke with me, but let us not let the truth get in the way of a good story.

1,922 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Uncertain: close call Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:22 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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