Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
There are a couple of things. First, I am aware that a number of people who have approached their solicitor about the waiver for legal aid in domestic violence cases have been advised that it was not available or sent down a different track. We engaged with the Law Society, asking it to provide its practitioners with…
The Department provides funding for the Probation Board for Northern Ireland's promoting positive relationships programme, which is aimed at adult males who have demonstrated the potential to be abusive in intimate partner relationships and at cases in which children are assessed by social services as being at risk. A…
I would like to, but, unfortunately, non-molestation orders fall under the Department of Finance's remit. However, we have raised the level of protection that the non-molestation orders offer to people who have an order that has been breached. The breach of a non-molestation order is a criminal offence. Therefore, a…
Thank you, Minister. A number of victims and survivors groups have raised with me breaches of non-molestation orders. Will you detail what steps are being taken to ensure that victims are adequately protected following repeated breaches of non-molestation orders?
Significant support and provision have already been made available under the seven-year domestic and sexual abuse strategy for 2024 to 2031, which my Department leads in partnership with the Department of Health. The support and provision pillar of the strategy is intended to ensure that all victims of domestic and/or…
First, I condemn the attack on the Islamic Centre in Belfast at the weekend. It has caused distress and alarm not only among those who were at prayer when it happened but among those who regularly use the centre and other members of the community. We in DOJ are committed to playing our part in trying to deliver a…
Minister, after the attack on the Belfast Islamic Centre, there was swift follow-up action and a person appeared in court yesterday. Will you ensure that there will also be swift follow-up responses to and accountability for those who have carried out attacks across the North recently?
First, providing guidance and practical assistance in the aftermath of hate crimes offers vital support at a critical time. Enhanced protections for victims are available through a range of mechanisms. Direct support is provided through the Hate Crime Advocacy Service, which is jointly funded by DOJ and the PSNI. That…
I will move on to a question that the Minister can answer because the topic is within her Department's portfolio and remit. Victims are at the heart of a lot of the assaults that have occurred over the past few weeks. Will the Minister outline a little more the work that her Department has undertaken to support…
There is, of course, a salty retort that I could make about those who seek offence, but I will set that aside and be more ministerial in my approach to the Member's question. As the Speaker has acknowledged, I am not here to answer questions on behalf of the Alliance Party. The Member knows that. However, what I can…
Minister, there are those in society who seek out offence, even where none exists. One of your former Alliance Party colleagues on Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council called for the removal of a completely inoffensive biblical verse from a wall in Portstewart. Will the Minister guarantee that neither…
I agree that it is vital that hate expressions be removed from public display. Their remaining in place normalises and makes acceptable the expression of sentiments and violent thoughts that are not acceptable in a civilised society. We need to acknowledge that. The issue is how we take that forward. The Commission on…
I thank the Minister for her answer. During the past number of weeks, McLaughlin and Harvey has been contracted to remove hate graffiti from bridges in the Newry area. That is very positive. Minister, recommendation 15 states: "There should be a clear and unambiguous statutory duty on ... public authorities ... to…
In recent days, we have seen how the use of threatening and abusive words and materials targeted at the most vulnerable in society can spread fear and division in communities and incite hatred. I continue to prioritise actions to deliver support for victims of hate crime, including those who are the target of hate…
I start by recognising that, at the very heart of the Bill, for my party and me, are the victims and survivors and their families, who are watching the debate. The Bill is long overdue, but it finally sets in motion a statutory inquiry into what happened in mother-and-baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and…
I thank the Member for his intervention. Yes, I totally agree. I appreciate that. Thank you. There is tremendous hurt and anger around the issue. We must acknowledge that. The Committee has been alive to the lived realities and experiences of so many victims and survivors. We have all heard accounts from those who…
I thank the Member for giving way. I thank him and many other Members, particularly the Member for North Belfast who spoke just before him, for their contributions to the debate. I want to pay tribute to the work of the Executive Office. I am not on the Executive Office Committee this time round, but I was during the…
I welcome progress on the matter by way of the Inquiry and Redress Scheme Bill and the opportunity to contribute to the debate at Second Reading. The magnitude of historical institutional abuse has been a blight on our shared societal history and the history of the institutions that were directly involved. It is…
Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis na hAirí as an Bhille seo. Lá róthábhachtach atá ann. This legislation is very important, and, as other Members have said, this is a momentous day. No doubt, it is a day that many individuals and their families have been waiting for, for their whole life. In my time here — I…
As a DUP member of the Committee for the Executive Office, I welcome the introduction of the Bill to legislate for an inquiry into the practice of mother-and-baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses and to create a redress scheme for those affected by the poor practice in those institutions. This is an…
I welcome the fact that we have finally got to a point at which we have legislation before the Assembly to provide for an inquiry and redress for the victims and survivors of mother-and-baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses. It is a testament to the mothers and adoptees who have campaigned over many…