Debate contribution: Supporting Service Leavers, Veterans and their Families

Debate contribution by Miss Deirdre Hargey on 4 November 2025.

MLA

Miss Deirdre Hargey

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

4 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Supporting Service Leavers, Veterans and their Families

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5217035

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you to those who have spoken. Emma highlighted that we will oppose the motion. I had not intended to speak, but I have been listening intently to all the contributions. As Matthew touched on, we are a society that is emerging from decades or, going back, centuries of conflict. As a result, although people have spoken passionately about veterans and the British Army being their army, that is not reflective of all of society here. It is important to say that. We have a complex and layered history, which means that these things do not run in straight lines. I had a great-grandfather who fought with the British Army in the First World War. He joined the British Army in Ireland as a young person. My father was tortured in Palace Barracks, not too far from here, in the early 1970s. He was arrested under the Special Powers Act and then interned and tortured. We are still grappling with the impact of the conflict here and with how to resolve those issues.

Yes, of course.

That is your perspective, Steve. I never mentioned two communities. I spoke about there being different perspectives and narratives in the community here. We have a conflicted history. It may be your army, but it certainly is not mine, albeit my history does not run in straight lines, as I have shared. Even though my father was tortured by the British Army and died early as a result of those injuries, I do not agree that anybody in our community or across society should be discriminated against, whether that is in housing or health. Such inequalities have to be addressed on the basis of objective need. Another Member mentioned changing the protected characteristics in section 75. If there was to be any change to that, the biggest issue to address in order to have an impact on inequality would be social class. When we look at issues affecting those in working-class communities, whether they are a working-class British Army soldier, a working-class republican or a working-class migrant, we see that they are discriminated against not because of those characteristics or backgrounds but because of where they were born and their social class. That has a bigger impact on inequalities in health, education, childcare, where people live and how long they will live. I would much prefer to have a conversation about social class, because that would have a bigger impact and address those issues on the basis of objective need, rather than lifting one need above another.

My point is that, if you looked at social class, you would pick up not only those people but everybody else. You would not elevate one over the other; again, it would be done on the basis of objective need. That is the core theme of our point and, unfortunately, our opposition to the motion.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:45 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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