Member's statement: Emergency Services Day
Member's statement by Mr Jon Burrows on .
- MLA
- Mr Jon Burrows
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 9 September 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Emergency Services Day
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5085702
Read the official Assembly record
Text
On Emergency Services Day, I pay tribute to all the men and women of the emergency services across Northern Ireland. Today, I am proud to wear my Police Federation tie, which was a gift from the federation. Our emergency services do tremendous work for all the people of Northern Ireland. They put themselves in harm's way, and that comes with a great sacrifice. The things that they see, hear and smell cannot be unseen and unheard, and they live with the memories of those human beings for their entire life. The brain never forgets trauma, and it is often triggered in the most unexpected circumstances when you come across something in daily life that suddenly takes you back. I am reminded of a colleague who was at the scene of the Omagh bomb — I know that he was very touched by the inquiry recently — and who shared with me the fact that body parts went past him that day. He saw a watch on a deceased person's arm. His child then asked for that same type of watch, and he did everything that he could not to buy it as a Christmas present, because it would remind him every day of the sights that he had seen. It is vital that we support our emergency services. They need to be properly resourced. They need fair pay. Also, they need our support. One of the reasons that motivated me to come to this place was that too many of its Members are involved in making instant judgements based on a clip on social media about the conduct of our police officers in particular. They see a 10-second clip and come to an instant judgement. Members of the House have condemned officers when they had no context — judge, jury and executioner. We had the debacle on the Ormeau Road, with senior members of Sinn Féin demanding that a young constable be thrown under the bus. That act really should have resulted in more consequences, not just for the Chief Constable who bent the knee to that demand. I am glad that we have a stronger Chief Constable now. We have an Alliance Party whose Minister, I am afraid, has been disastrous in her leadership of Justice. I will say this: you cannot stand up and say today that you support the members of our emergency services, who are being assaulted and spat at, when you are the Minister who has proposed a consultation on downgrading the penalty for an assault on a police officer from a prosecution to a ticket. It would be like a speeding ticket.
Shameful. That will only increase the attacks on our Police Service. I will always stand for the gallant men and women of the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross who served before. I will not allow history to be rewritten or unwritten. I want to look forward and pay tribute to all those who are out today serving the people of Northern Ireland without fear, favour or distinction. I pay tribute to them today.
511 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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