Debate contribution: Illegal Immigration: Impact in Northern Ireland

Debate contribution by Mrs Deborah Erskine on 20 May 2025.

MLA

Mrs Deborah Erskine

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

20 May 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Illegal Immigration: Impact in Northern Ireland

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4964291

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I rise to speak on this important motion, in which there is a lot of public interest. Many of our constituents have always shown generosity to those who play by the rules, yet that goodwill is being stretched to breaking point because His Majesty's Government have allowed an uncontrolled system of illegal immigration to flourish while focusing on curbing legal routes. That ultimately pushes people into illegal and unsafe practices, and that is at the heart of the motion. A policy that squeezes a nurse recruited by the NHS while people-smuggling gangs sail on undisturbed is the very definition of a misplaced priority. At the outset, I will say that it is important that we have a measured tone, that we differentiate between illegal and legal immigration and that there is an understanding of the concerns of the people in the communities that we all serve. The people whom I am representing by speaking on the motion are not far-right extremists. They are not racist. They have concerns about our ability to deliver services in Northern Ireland and how they are impacted.

Yes.

Absolutely. Politics is the answer to all of this. It is about debating the issues in the likes of this Chamber and raising the concerns that people bring to us. According to the National Audit Office, the annual cost of accommodating asylum seekers in Northern Ireland has exploded to £400 million. Every pound spent on emergency accommodation is a pound not spent on cancer drugs, potholes or special educational needs classrooms. Today, I will focus on the houses of multiple occupancy. In town after town, the rapid conversion of homes into HMOs is often substandard, frequently unchecked and utterly unsuited to the character of neighbourhoods. They are no longer confined to student areas; they are appearing in established working-class and rural communities, driving up rents and hollowing out the very fabric of what, the Government say, they want to protect. There is a direct line from uncontrolled illegal immigration to unsustainable pressure on housing stock and, from that pressure, the proliferation of HMOs. It is something that I see in my constituency, particularly in Dungannon. The difficulties are manifold, with unscrupulous landlords profiting from people via the Government, opportunity rife for illness with poor quality housing and over-occupancy, increased housing costs and antisocial behaviour. That is not a society that we should advocate. The Assembly cannot solve the small boat crisis — that rests with Westminster — but we can insist that, within our devolved competence, planning policy protects local people. The strategic planning policy statement (SPPS) is one such lever. Right now, it is far too permissive. Councils feel compelled to green-light HMO applications because of the SPPS, which gives them no firm footing to refuse. The approach to such planning controls also varies between councils, leading to inconsistencies and, at times, a failure to guard against the over-provision of HMOs and the corresponding impacts on community cohesion. That is why we call on the Infrastructure Minister to urgently revisit the strategic planning policy statement, give councils more direction and define the parameters for the over-proliferation of HMOs. The answers to deal with this are in politics. That is why I say clearly that violence should not be on the table. Those who are acting as judges and jurors and taking the law into their own hands in communities are wrong to do so. That is why the DUP is fronting up and bringing this to the Assembly Chamber today. It is incumbent on us to act. People use the excuse of violence because they are frustrated with politics and feel that they are being let down. There is anger in communities when illegal practices happen under their nose. Many people whom I speak to are compassionate, but they are not fools. They know the difference between a refugee fleeing persecution and an opportunist who is coached to destroy documentation crossing the Channel. They also know when Westminster is asking ratepayers to foot the bill for their policy failures. The DUP will not be silent while our health service, schools and communities are eroded through illegal practices. An immigration system should be firm, fair and, crucially, legal. I urge every Member to support the motion and to back our councils with stronger planning tools.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

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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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