Member's statement: Boys' Brigade and Girls' Brigade
Member's statement by Mr Harry Harvey on .
- MLA
- Mr Harry Harvey
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 21 April 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Boys' Brigade and Girls' Brigade
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5497508
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I highlight the important role played by our uniformed youth organisations across Northern Ireland, particularly the Boys' Brigade (BB) and the Girls' Brigade (GB). BB and GB displays are taking place across Northern Ireland as another season comes to a close. I am sure that many Members will have attended those events. Indeed, anyone who has attended a display will have seen at first hand the teamwork, friendship, discipline and respect demonstrated by the young people involved. Those qualities are the fruit of dedicated volunteer leaders' work week in, week out to support young people, providing them with much-needed structure and purpose and a sense of belonging that is grounded in a solid, faith-based context. The BB and GB teach boys and girls to be responsible, respectful and community-minded, qualities that are becoming rarer in a culture that often prioritises individualism. It is regrettable that, all too often, government and external funders have been reluctant to support such organisations and unwilling to acknowledge the immense contribution that they make to the fabric of our society and the betterment of our people, simply because they operate with a faith-based perspective. I welcome the work being undertaken by the Communities Minister and others to rectify inequality and discrimination in that regard. In an age of rising social isolation and social difficulties among children and young people, the opportunity for engagement and interaction in a social setting with peers, enjoying activities across sport, music and community service, continues to be vital to families and their boys and girls across the country.
Some Members will have attended the recent "Lost Boys" briefing by the Centre for Social Justice. Some of the figures for underachievement among young boys that were presented at that briefing were stark. The work of the BB is one of the best antidotes available to many of the problems being experienced across society. I trust that the House will make every effort to support not only our uniformed youth organisations but all those who volunteer to make a difference for the next generations.
342 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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