Debate contribution: Illegal Immigration: Impact in Northern Ireland
Debate contribution by Mr Peter McReynolds on .
- MLA
- Mr Peter McReynolds
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 20 May 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Illegal Immigration: Impact in Northern Ireland
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4964249
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Last August, the Assembly was recalled because so-called protesters were emboldened enough to walk through Belfast and other areas of Northern Ireland attacking our infrastructure, disturbing the peace, attacking businesses and putting £2 million of additional pressure on our Police Service. Around that time, in the Chamber, we heard of "legitimate concerns" about immigration, with the use of deliberate and divisive rhetoric that ignores the systemic and structural pressures on our public services. Members in the Chamber who have contributed to those pressures in the past through inaction and collapsing the Assembly then lay the blame on people who come here from other countries because they are fleeing persecution or war or are, as we have heard, simply seeking a better life. Today's disjointed and confused motion tries to do the same thing. I think of friends and colleagues, who have a different skin colour or accent from me, who, last summer, were fearful for their safety while walking on our streets. I think of someone else whose partner had stones thrown at her as she left work at a hospital in south Belfast. I distinctly remember the update that we received at the Policing Board on violence in Larne and healthcare workers living in fear after attacks on their homes. There are numerous other disgraceful examples from the past year, which Amnesty International recently labelled as "a year of hate", with 1,300 hate incidents reported during that time. Some of those people will hear today's debate and experience that fear and trauma all over again. Today's motion raises concerns and issues about education, health and dentistry, but let us get real here: those issues are not because of so-called illegal immigration or asylum seekers. They are a consequence of the Assembly's dysfunction. One minute, we are outraged that we cannot have nice things because of our inconsistent politics, and, the next, we collapse the place as a bargaining tactic. I have seen HMOs work well, and I have seen them work not so well, but it is a stretch to suggest that amending the strategic planning policy statement will reduce pressure on our systems across Northern Ireland when the numbers are miniscule by comparison. Moreover, if the Members who tabled the motion are so concerned about HMO policy, have they spoken to their colleagues in local government who have operational responsibility for and licensing powers over them? Have they spoken to the Communities Minister, who sits on their Benches and has responsibility? I enjoyed Mr Buckley's contribution, as he has come on board with having stable and "sensible government". I am glad that he is now supportive of reforming the institutions and giving Northern Ireland the stable and un-collapsed government that people here deserve, all year round.
No, I will not. We need debate here to take place on the basis of evidence, of which I have seen and heard none today, rather than ideology. That is how we improve the working of the Assembly, the Executive and our public services. That is how we better integrate people who have chosen to settle in Northern Ireland and how we avoid a repeat of the violence that we saw on our streets last year. Alliance opposes the motion on the basis of human rights, the rule of law and evidence-based policymaking, and we support the Opposition's amendment. Let us set the bar higher on the standards that the Assembly should reach for. Let us be an Assembly for all and show leadership on these issues based on human rights, equality and a Northern Ireland for all rather than on dog-whistle politics for social media clips.
605 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.18 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.65).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.99).
- Subject area: Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.17 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.08 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.11 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.65 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.18 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.01 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.99 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.01 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:33 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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