Debate contribution: Fireworks Legislation

Debate contribution by Ms Connie Egan on 18 November 2025.

MLA

Ms Connie Egan

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

18 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Fireworks Legislation

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5244585

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I propose the Alliance Party amendment to the motion on the misuse of fireworks across Northern Ireland and record our position on suitable and appropriate next steps to make real, tangible progress on the issue. I really welcome the chance to speak on the topic, on which many of my North Down constituents have written to me with concerns, particularly about animal welfare during the recent Halloween period. To be clear, the illegal purchasing and use of fireworks can cause serious harm and create real danger not just for those igniting the fuse of those fireworks without the appropriate knowledge or safety equipment but for our wider communities. As the motion notes, the misuse of fireworks can lead to huge distress to:

"animals, wildlife and people, including those living with trauma or heightened sensitivity to noise".

It is so important that we strike the balance between those who enjoy fireworks safely and considerately and those who do not. Fireworks, when licensed and used appropriately with notification, are meant to be about celebration and excitement and not about creating fear and anxiety. Too often, however, that is what we see in our communities. Our existing regulatory frameworks require display operators to have a licence when igniting fireworks. It does not matter whether the application is for residential use by a member of the public or for professional displays by community groups, councils or private venues: it is essential to have a licence for legal use in Northern Ireland. Those licences, where appropriate, can have conditions to notify neighbours and animal owners, including farmers, in advance of the use of fireworks to ensure responsible and considerate displays. The usage of fireworks becomes an issue when those processes and conditions are not adhered to. We saw that in particular at the end of October this year, when fireworks that were often procured without a licence were used unexpectedly in parks, gardens, alleys, residential streets and other places in our communities. Sudden and unpredicted loud noises can create great fear and challenge for those who are nearby. I think particularly of those with sensory processing issues, those with trauma and PTSD and, of course, beloved pets, who are often left terrified and panicked in their homes. The licensing process for firework displays and the conditions that are set are the powers that we have as that intervention point and to prevent harms coming to people and animals. To note, Northern Ireland is the only region across these islands where that regulation is in place. The legal frameworks governing fireworks in our Explosive (Fireworks) Regulations 2002 are some of the most robust that exist. Given what we can control and set the direction for, there is no evidence to suggest that the issues that we seek to deal with lie within our existing legal frameworks. The Alliance amendment seeks to reflect that. Prioritising an extensive and urgent review of the regulations will not solve the problems at hand but will instead incur potentially lofty costs to the public purse in an already challenging financial landscape. Alliance believes that that approach is not the best use of our limited public funds. More important, it will not produce the results that everybody across the Chamber wants to see. Instead, we call on our Justice Minister to consider changes to the penalties available for the illegal use and sale of fireworks in the pending review of sentencing issues. That approach, which focuses on the enforcement of legislation, explores potentially different and harsher penalties than those that already exist.

Yes, I am happy to give way.

I thank the Member for his intervention. The Justice Minister has raised and addressed that point with you before. I will get back to the response that the Justice Minister gave to me when I raised it with her. However, I would like to make progress on the issue at hand. The current licensing system supports the PSNI and other partners to identify unlicensed and illegal firework use. A review of the penalties in the sentencing review could better support and equip them to deal with misuse and create improved, long-lasting outcomes, effectively giving them better tools. With the time that we have left in the mandate and in the financial context, we believe that the pending sentencing review is the most appropriate vehicle through which to achieve progress. I welcome that Minister Long has already committed to that in a response to a question that I submitted this week. Alliance is committed to the fair and safe use of fireworks. It is pertinent to state for clarity that noise limits for fireworks are a reserved matter for the UK Government, rather than being the responsibility of any devolved Department. Many people, including concerned North Down residents, have reached out to my office on the topic of noise as its relates to the regulation of fireworks and bangers, highlighting the distress caused to animals and the loss of local beloved pets due to the stress and vulnerability that it inflicts. Whilst, at a devolved level, we are restricted in what can be progressed regarding the noise of fireworks, specifically, my colleague Andrew Muir, the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, is taking steps to engage on the animal welfare concerns. Fireworks, when used legally and safely, can be exciting displays of celebration to mark special occasions, but the misuse of fireworks can present serious dangers and potential harm to animals, vulnerable individuals and communities, as well as those using them. The Alliance amendment sets out what, we believe, are the best and most tangible next steps to progress further minimalisation of the distress that fireworks can cause. I urge all in the Chamber —

I am just wrapping up; thank you. I urge all in the Chamber to support the Alliance amendment and let us tackle the misuse of fireworks.

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

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:58 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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