Debate contribution: UK COVID-19 Inquiry: Institutional Reform

Debate contribution by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on 9 December 2025.

MLA

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

9 December 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

UK COVID-19 Inquiry: Institutional Reform

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5295877

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. If ever a debate personified the dysfunctionality of these institutions, it is the debate that we have heard over the past hour. People deserve better. As we close the debate, I bring the focus back to the people who lived through the worst days of the pandemic. Too often, discussions like this become abstract. For many families, the COVID inquiry's findings go to the heart of their personal grief. They are people across the North who have lost loved ones, without being able to hold their hand or sit beside their bed; families who said goodbye through windows; people who were denied the chance to give their relatives a proper funeral, while others in positions of power ignored the rules. It was disgusting. Those wounds have not healed, and they may never fully heal. The inquiry has put in writing what so many already knew: the Executive did not function as they should have. Divisions, delays and political disputes shaped decisions at a time when leadership should have been steady, united and dignified. That failure had consequences. It caused confusion, weakened public confidence and left people more vulnerable than they ever should have been. We cannot talk about moving forward unless we are honest about what went wrong, and we must also be honest about where things stand today. The dysfunction that was highlighted by the inquiry did not vanish when the pandemic ended. We continue to see gridlock on issues that should command agreement. The childcare strategy has sat unresolved for almost a month in the Executive, and, repeatedly, key strategies on investment, climate and public services struggle to get through the Executive. Even Ministers are acknowledging the extent of that backlog. Those delays have real effects. Families who are waiting for childcare support cannot put their lives on pause, workers need certainty, businesses need decisions and communities need a Government that set priorities and follow through. The public can see that the system is still under strain. Nothing has changed. "Negative vetoes" was even given an outing this week. Many feel that this place is not delivering what was promised and, when frustration builds, confidence in the institutions weakens further. Our amendment simply recognises the obvious: reform was not placed at the centre of the Programme for Government, and avoiding it has contributed to continued instability. This is not about pointing fingers. It is about accepting that, without meaningful, structural change, the problems highlighted by the inquiry will not go away. Reform is not an academic exercise. It is about making sure that the decision-making is dependable, that crisis responses do not collapse under political tension and that the Executive can work collectively on challenges that affect every family. To be honest, the public do not trust us. The two main parties — Sinn Féin and the DUP — lost the changing room during COVID.

Yes.

Furthermore, if the institutions had not been collapsed for the two years prior to COVID, maybe we would have been more prepared. The institutions need reform. The inquiry, and what it outlined in its report, said that very clearly. Does anybody here believe that, if it happened tomorrow, we would be any more prepared? We would not. We have a duty to every constituent whom we serve. We are their servants. We have a duty to reform these institutions and to take the inquiry as seriously as possible.

The SDLP has put forward proposals to equalise the titles of First Minister and deputy First Minister, improve how the Speaker is selected and create stronger requirements for Departments to cooperate. Those modest but important changes will help to create more stability and reduce the opportunities for political brinkmanship. At its core, it is about restoring trust. People need to know that their Government can act together when it matters most. They need confidence that the lessons have been taken seriously, and they deserve institutions that are built around the needs of the public not the internal politics of one party. The inquiry has given us a clear picture of what happens when systems fail and leadership falters.

We have a responsibility to learn from and act on that. Mr Buckley, I have heard enough from you today and yesterday.

If reform is pushed aside again, we should not be surprised if instability continues and public confidence continues to drift.

I support the motion and our amendment, which will strengthen it. More importantly, I support the people who lived through the consequences of the failures that are outlined in the report. They deserve a Government that have learned from the past and are willing to make the changes needed to prevent it from happening in the future.

did it today and yesterday.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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