Debate contribution: Exclusion of the First Minister from Office under Section 30 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998
Debate contribution by Mr John O'Dowd on .
- MLA
- Mr John O'Dowd
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 12 October 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Assembly Business
- Heading
- Exclusion of the First Minister from Office under Section 30 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5786612
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I did not hear the start of Mr Gaston's speech, but I heard the end of it. The end of it told us what this is all about. Mr Gaston and his party are completely opposed to power-sharing in any of its forms; they are completely opposed to the Good Friday Agreement; and they want to bring this place down. Did events of a fortnight ago change any of that? No, they did not. Did events of a fortnight ago bring Mr Gaston any closer to changing his mind about his republican and Irish neighbours being his equals? No, they did not. Here is a message for Mr Gaston and those who choose to follow him or Mr Bryson, Mrs Lockhart or any of the rest of them: there is no going back. Republicans and nationalists will never ever again be beaten off the streets to satisfy the needs of regressive political unionism. Those days are over — over. Mr Gaston and others may hanker after those days, but they are not coming back. They are not coming back. Over the past fortnight, those who claim that they want respect for neighbours and that they want community cohesion have used some the most disgraceful, disgusting and vile language about the community that lives on the Garvaghy Road. Disgusting is what it is. What have we heard from them over the past week or more? We have heard that the community of the Garvaghy Road needs to be "sanitised". How disgusting and vile is that? We have heard that the community of the Garvaghy Road needs to be sterilised. That is racist, supremacist language. We have heard that they are a "rabble", that they are a "mob" and that they are "henchmen". All those words have come out of the mouths of political unionism's representatives about the people of the Garvaghy Road. The use of those words is disgusting, vile, supremacist and racist, and it shows everything that is wrong with those who demand that the Orange Order should march down the Garvaghy Road. Everything that you need to know is in those words. Despite all that, the community of the Garvaghy Road has shown great dignity, resilience and respect. They want a future in Portadown that involves everyone. They want to reach out. They want to continue the community growth and cohesion that was being built in Portadown before those who came in and decided to wreck it wrecked it. They want to work with their Protestant and unionist neighbours. They facilitate an Orange march — they facilitate a march out to the church. It goes past without any hindrance or interference, and that route is available for the Orangemen to take back. It was the unspoken and unwritten compromise that some could not abide and decided to wreck and destroy. I and others stood with the community of the Garvaghy Road. I am proud to say that I stood with them. I have stood with them all my political life, and I will continue to stand with them because what was being done to them was wrong. Civil disobedience and disobedience is part of any democratic framework. There are many, many lawyers nowadays — everybody is a lawyer. Mr Gaston is now a lawyer, a prosecutor and a judge. May I remind you that nobody on these Benches has been found guilty of anything? No one has been found guilty of anything. We will continue to engage with the relevant agencies etc around these matters — and we will cooperate. We have not sent out a message, like the Orange Order has done, to Members of this Chamber not to cooperate with the police. Are Orange Order Members in this Chamber —?
I will not. Are Orange Order Members in this Chamber now saying, under direction of the Orange Order, that they will no longer cooperate with the police? That is the direction that you have been given. I will end on this. The most remarkable and brave people of the past fortnight are the 1,500 members of the Protestant community who signed a letter urging the Orange Order not to march down the Garvaghy Road. That, to me, gives hope. It is an inspiration to me. It shows that there are brave people in every section of this community and that the current cohort of political unionism does not speak for the entirety of the unionist community. It certainly does not speak for the entirety of the Protestant community. The Orange Order, while an important part of the unionist/Protestant community, does not represent the unionist/Protestant community. It shows that there are people out there who want to continue to move this society forward, and I will continue to back them as well.
794 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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