Debate contribution: North/South Bodies: Funding

Debate contribution by Ms Emma Sheerin on 27 May 2025.

MLA

Ms Emma Sheerin

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

27 May 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

North/South Bodies: Funding

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4972629

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Thanks for the opportunity to make a winding-up speech on what has been a lively enough debate. As others mentioned, we had a depressing, almost predictable narrative from the same old corners in some parts of the debate. That is for Members across the House to justify to the people who elected them. We tabled the motion for a simple reason, which is that increased funding is available. It would not cost the Executive anything. It would help and support a list of agencies, all of which work for the people whom we represent. However, because of an ideological opposition that, frankly, makes no sense, we are not accessing that funding. I am yet to hear any good reason from anyone on the Benches opposite for their continued opposition to increased funding for the aforementioned agencies.

I will.

Go raibh maith agat.

I totally agree with what the Member says. It baffles me. It makes no sense. I was previously a member of the Executive Office Committee, and we took evidence from Foras na Gaeilge and tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch during a Committee meeting. On that afternoon, we heard about the important work that both agencies do in their communities. As somebody who is interested in history and in how we all came to be here, I find their work to be important and, indeed, integral to the identity of us all. Even when it comes to elements of it that I do not find to be particularly relevant to my life, I can at least identify and respect the fact that that work has value and therefore should be funded. When funding for that work is available and able to ease the pressure that those agencies are under, it is therefore completely unimaginable that any elected representative would refuse it. It is completely unimaginable that politicians who went to the people of the North for a mandate would turn it down in their face. I cannot understand it. As part of that Committee evidence session, we heard from people who work in the Irish language community and who face, as other Members outlined, incredibly difficult budgetary situations. I have worked in my constituency with parents who have been put out of pocket so that their children can be educated through the medium of Irish because of the difficulties that our public services face. Even getting access to a bus service for children across the North is no longer guaranteed. That is where our public services are at as a result of 14 years of Tory austerity, and we now have more of the same from Labour. It is therefore unjustifiable that anybody would knock back funding in that context. I do not understand it. It should be an easy decision for us all, but some Members are looking a gift horse in the mouth, and that is not acceptable. I appreciated getting some clarification on the amendment from the Member to my right. It is regrettable that, instead of placing the focus on where it should be, we have seen deflection. As my colleagues the Members for Upper Bann and South Down articulated better than I ever could, work has begun in the Department of Finance on increasing fiscal devolution to here. Sinn Féin has been completely unambiguous in our support of that.

I thank the Member for her intervention. It shows that we are arguing about semantics. The point is that we can look at the bigger picture and at what we would all like to do in the long term. I have a very clear political ideology that brought me to the House, as do others, but the reality is that there are groups on the ground that are struggling to pay their employees' wages and cover their budget at the moment, yet there is funding available —.

Absolutely. The Dublin Government are mismanaging their wealth, but we have funding available that could help us. As far as I am concerned, it is completely unjustifiable for us to refuse it. It is for the Members across the way to justify refusing it if they vote against the motion.

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

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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