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.
The UK and Irish Governments may believe that they are working towards peace by engaging with so-called paramilitaries — every paramilitary is illegal; for anybody who has belonged to a proscribed organisation, in the past or now, if they still hold membership, that is illegal — but, in their naivety, they will be…
Thank you. I will pick up on your point that you cannot believe that people voted for you and elected you to here. We have a mandate, and the people who voted for us very much stand behind us on our policy and our attitude to this. So I do not think that you should be dismissing that in the Chamber.
I am conscious that tomorrow is international day for the remembrance of innocent victims. My party has always and will always put victims — innocent victims — at the centre of how we approach the legacy of our troubled past. As a representative of North Belfast, I see daily the destruction that was caused to the…
FlaggedLegacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarismCriteria met: Identity framing.
I thank the Member for giving way. What is the Member's opinion of the recently published research, commissioned by the Department of Justice, on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the impact of the existing paramilitary presence on the future of young people?
I support my party's motion calling for the Assembly's opposition to proposals from the UK and Irish Governments to appoint an independent expert to scope out a new process of engagement to bring about paramilitary group transition and disbandment, which have come about following recommendations in the seventh report…
I declare that I am a member of the political advisory group to the Executive programme on paramilitarism and organised crime (EPPOC). I commend the sterling work that is done through EPPOC's projects, as well as its knowledge, statistical evidence gathering and world-leading approach to trauma-informed practice, all…
It sometimes feels that this place is not progressing at all. It can feel a bit bewildering and head-scratching at times for people who are watching from the outside when they are told that armed paramilitary gangs continue to exist and that many of those armed paramilitary gangs are not engaged in active, as it were,…
I will come on to engagement with paramilitary-linked groups later. When we look back at the past conduct of the Alliance Party, you may say that it was done for the right reasons, but others will see hypocrisy in your position now. Let me be clear: paramilitaries have no place in our society. The Democratic Unionist…
I thank the Member for giving way. I agree with his remarks so far. When his party's Ministers met the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), which purports to represent active paramilitary organisations, did they ask the LCC to hand over any details of those who were involved to the PSNI?
The Democratic Unionist Party recognises that political parties in the Assembly, Departments and, in particular, the criminal justice system all have a collective responsibility to challenge robustly the existence of paramilitary organisations. It remains our position that, where there is evidence that any individual…
Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I, along with other colleagues, took part in the Fresh Start negotiations in 2015. The tackling paramilitarism, criminality and organised crime programme emerged from those negotiations. Since then, on behalf of Sinn Féin, I have been a member — this…
I agree absolutely with the Member that those transitional works have to be done in communities. However, there is absolutely no reporting of outcomes or of any achievements from any of those. I sit on the Committee for Communities, and I have looked and looked, and I see no outcomes. We know the bums on seats who…
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. As I stand here, I am conscious that every person in every corner of the Chamber is united on one thing: there is no place for paramilitary crime gangs. There never was, and they should go now. They must disband immediately. They have no credibility, but they have a negative, coercive…
I beg to move We are here to discuss an issue that should have been consigned to history a long time ago. More than a quarter of a century after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland should be free from the shadow of paramilitarism. It should be free from the fear and intimidation that…
OK. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I very much appreciate all the contributions, and I thank everyone who contributed. I thank the proposer of the Alliance amendment, which focuses on recommendations that remain outstanding from the 'A Fair Start' report and the independent review of education. As was said earlier, we…