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I agree with that, but does the Member agree that, at the same time, we need to be honest about the impact that immigration is having? I agree that we need to tackle misinformation, as I said in my closing remarks. Does the Member agree, however, that, when people claim that immigration and the actions of Mears, for…
A sincere word of thanks to my colleague Kellie Armstrong for proposing the motion, and, indeed, to all the Members in the Chamber tonight who spoke on this very difficult subject. I thank them for the fact that I can genuinely say that we have coalesced around all the discussions and areas. As the Minister has just…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I thank the Members who tabled the motion. I welcome the opportunity to speak to it and to unequivocally condemn the sectarian and racist intimidation of individuals and attacks on their homes. I have said, and I will repeat it today, that the attacks on individuals and on their homes…
I agree with the Member. As he will know, some of that temporary accommodation in hotels has no access to kitchens and has shared bathrooms, so there is a security issue for those people as well.
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for extending the time. I thank the Members for tabling this important motion. We have heard a lot about honest conversations and legitimate concerns, but honest conversations about migration do not always happen, especially with some of the politicians who are further to the right than…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. First they came for the migrants, and I did not speak out, because I was not a migrant. Members may be aware of the famous poem 'First They Came' by Martin Niemöller. Although I changed the group, the point stands. Niemöller was a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany who originally…
The Member is correct: we often hear that condemnation, which, of course, is to be welcomed, but we need to move beyond condemnation. We need to see action. What actions does the Member think that we need to see taken?
I thank the signatories to the motion for tabling it. Like many across the Chamber have done, I have witnessed with horror the rise of sectarian and racist attacks, not just here but across these islands. We are witnessing a very disturbing trend. Anti-immigrant rhetoric and parties that amplify it — once thought to…
It is with anger and frustration that I stand to speak to the motion today. There have been a lot of comments around the racist attacks that have been ongoing over the past few months and the ones that we saw last summer. However, I will focus this evening on the attacks that have taken place in my constituency of…
I thank the Member very much for giving way. Going forward, I hope that we will never have to use the police for hate crimes because we will not have hate crimes. I agree with you. It is a pity that the Justice Minister does not receive enough money to appropriately fund our police. We heard earlier today from another…
It is good to support the motion, and it is good to hear unequivocal support for it from across the Chamber. Any conversation on the issue should begin with unequivocal and unreserved condemnation of violence. I will use a phrase that the Members for Foyle will be familiar with, because we used to use it when I worked…
I am glad that you raised the issue of Felden, because that was a disgrace. At the time, Sinn Féin councillor Michael Goodman condemned it, and I know that Stewart Dickson also did so at the time. The one thing that we have called for is that housing be allocated on the basis of need and in an open and fair way. I…
I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. I associate myself with the remarks made by the proposer of the motion. Ms Armstrong eloquently articulated the views and concerns of Members right across the House that sectarianism, racism, Islamophobia and — I add this as a North Belfast representative —…
I thank the Members who tabled this important motion. We have seen a stark increase in the number of racist and sectarian attacks on homes and families over the past year. The past year saw the highest number of racially motivated attacks since records on the issue began 21 years ago, so that puts it in context. Last…
I thank the Member for giving way. Does the Member agree that a person's community background, ethnicity or race is absolutely irrelevant to their inappropriate behaviour or whether they are a perpetrator of sexual violence?
We tabled the motion, as my colleague Kellie Armstrong outlined, because no one in this place should ever be attacked in their home because of who they are or things that they cannot control. Sadly, we have seen too many racist and sectarian attacks in recent months. In my constituency, I have worked with pregnant…
I will not take up too much of your time. Does the Member agree that the actions of vigilantes who are going out and asking people for paperwork to prove where they are from are wrong? I do not know anybody who carries paperwork to prove where they are from. Does the Member agree that that has to stop?