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Category: Northern Ireland

  • John Finucane – 2022 Comments Calling for DUP to End Boycott of Executive

    John Finucane – 2022 Comments Calling for DUP to End Boycott of Executive

    The comments made by John Finucane, the Sinn Fein MP for North Belfast, on 4 October 2022.

    DUP representatives are tripping over themselves to double down on their shameful boycott of the Executive and dereliction of duty during a cost-of-living emergency.

    Inflammatory language such as what was used today is irresponsible and does nothing to help reach a resolution.

    They are also clearly having trouble respecting democracy and refusing to accept the democratic outcome of the Assembly election.

    Sabre-rattling and threats do nothing for people who are suffering on hospital waiting lists and people who are struggling to heat their homes.

    It’s time Jeffrey Donaldson’s party stopped sitting on their hands, ended its cruel boycott and turned up for work on behalf of the people who elected them.

    Sinn Féin is ready to form an Executive today, to work together with others, and put money in the pockets of workers and families. They need help now.

  • Caoimhe Archibald – 2022 Comments on State of the Economy

    Caoimhe Archibald – 2022 Comments on State of the Economy

    The comments made by Caoimhe Archibald, Sinn Fein’s economic spokesperson, on 28 September 2022.

    The Tory government’s outrageous and scandalous Budget has prioritised the super-rich at the expense of ordinary workers, families and businesses.

    Now the Bank of England has issued a stark warning of more interest hikes that will make mortgages unaffordable and leave people struggling to keep a roof over their head.

    Ordinary people and businesses are struggling to pay their bills and keep the shutters up, while the British government is driving more misery.

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF), who previously called for austerity, are now exposing the scale of the mess the Tories are creating with this Budget and calling on them to reverse this bad decision making.

    I am reiterating the call on the Tories to abandon their ideologically driven financial catastrophe stop lining the pockets of the rich and support working people who are struggling.

    What we need now is a tax break for small businesses, more funding for public services, support for workers and a Windfall Tax to cut energy companies’ eye-watering profits. Workers and families need money in their pockets now.

  • Colm Gildernew – 2022 Comments on Healthcare in Northern Ireland

    Colm Gildernew – 2022 Comments on Healthcare in Northern Ireland

    The comments made by Colm Gildernew, the Sinn Fein Health Spokesperson in Northern Ireland, on 16 September 2022.

    Reports that pressures in our health service had led to 300 more deaths than expected this year are staggering and underlines the urgent need to get the Executive up and running and for all parties to work together to make health the priority.

    How much longer will the DUP sit on the sidelines and continue to boycott government while people suffer on waiting lists and our health service continues to feel the pressure?

    We will meet the health minister next week on the urgent need to recruit more doctors and nurses, cut waiting lists and to properly invest in our cancer and mental health services.

    Sinn Féin is ready to form an Executive today, to work with others, and start to fix our health service by investing an extra £1 billion and securing a three-year Budget.

  • John Finucane – 2022 Comments on Restoring the Northern Ireland Executive

    John Finucane – 2022 Comments on Restoring the Northern Ireland Executive

    The comments made by John Finucane, the Sinn Fein MP for Belfast North, on 14 September 2022.

    With inflation still running at almost ten percent living costs remain far too high for ordinary people to cope with.

    Workers, families and small businesses are struggling to pay their bills in this cost-of-living emergency. They need help now.

    They need an Executive up and running so parties can work together to put money in people’s pockets and make people’s lives better.

    One party should not continue to block the formation of an Executive because they don’t like the outcome of the election. It’s anti-democratic and a cruel dereliction of duty.

    The DUP need to join with the rest of us, work with the rest of us, and help to deliver for people in an Executive as we face into a difficult winter.

  • Caoimhe Archibald – 2022 Comments on Reports Government Removing Bankers Bonuses Cap

    Caoimhe Archibald – 2022 Comments on Reports Government Removing Bankers Bonuses Cap

    The comments made by Caoimhe Archibald, the Sinn Fein MLA for East Londonderry, on 15 September 2022.

    Reports that the Tories are seeking to remove the cap on banker bonuses demonstrates once again that they are detached from the reality of the cost-of-living emergency facing ordinary people.

    Recent months have seen Tory ministers lambasting workers and introducing laws to undermine workers’ rights and the right to strike, while making bizarre claims that modest pay rises will deal with soaring costs and inflation.

    However, the same caution does not exist when it comes to top bankers, whose salaries are already through the roof.

    Ordinary workers and families are already facing the impossible choice between heating their homes and putting food on the table this winter.

    The British government needs to focus on real support for workers, families and businesses who are most impacted by rising costs and they need to cut people’s bills by slashing the eye-watering profits of energy giants through a Windfall Tax.

    We need an Executive formed immediately so we can work together to tackle the cost-of-living emergency and put money into people’s pockets now. The DUP should end the boycott.

  • King Charles III – 2022 Statement at Hillsborough Castle

    King Charles III – 2022 Statement at Hillsborough Castle

    The statement made by King Charles III at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland on 13 September 2022.

    My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,

    On behalf of all my family, I can only offer the most heartfelt thanks for your condolences. I am here today at a time of great personal sorrow as we mark the death of my beloved mother, after a life most faithfully dedicated to the duty to which she had been called.

    It is fitting that we should meet at Hillsborough, which my mother knew so well, and in whose beautiful rose garden she always took such pleasure.

    In the years since she began her long life of public service, my mother saw Northern Ireland pass through momentous and historic changes. Through all those years, she never ceased to pray for the best of times for this place and for its people, whose stories she knew, whose sorrows our Family had felt, and for whom she had a great affection and regard.

    My mother felt deeply, I know, the significance of the role she herself played in bringing together those whom history had separated, and in extending a hand to make possible the healing of long-held hurts.

    At the very beginning of her life of service, The Queen made a pledge to dedicate herself to her country and her people and to maintain the principles of constitutional government. This promise she kept with steadfast faith. Now, with that shining example before me, and with God’s help, I take up my new duties resolved to seek the welfare of all the inhabitants of Northern Ireland.

    During the years of my mother’s reign, it has been a privilege to bear witness to such a devoted life. May it be granted to us all to fulfil the tasks before us so well.

  • Michelle O’Neill – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Michelle O’Neill – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Michelle O’Neill, the Northern Ireland First Minister Designate, on 8 September 2022.

    It is with deep regret that I have learned of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II today.

    The British people will miss the leadership she gave throughout her 70 years as monarch.

    I would like to offer my sincere sympathies and condolences to her children, and her extended family circle as they come to terms with their grief.

    I wish to especially acknowledge the profound sorrow of our neighbours from within the unionist community here who will feel her loss deeply.

    Personally, I am grateful for Queen Elizabeth’s significant contribution and determined efforts to advancing peace and reconciliation between our two islands.

    Throughout the peace process she led by example in building relationships with those of us who are Irish, and who share a different political allegiance and aspirations to herself and her Government.

    Having met Queen Elizabeth on a number of occasions alongside my colleague, the late Martin McGuinness, I appreciated both her warmth and courtesy.

  • Mary Lou McDonald – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Mary Lou McDonald – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Mary Lou McDonald, the President of Sinn Fein, on 8 September 2022.

    I wish to extend deepest sympathy to the British Royal Family on the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

    Her passing marks the end of an era.

    Relationships between our two countries for so long marked by conflict and suffering have been recast and reimagined through the Good Friday Agreement.

    The Queen proved a powerful advocate and ally of those who believe in peace and reconciliation.

    I salute her contribution to the huge change that has evolved in recent years.

    Her death is a moment of heartbreak and pride for the British people. To them, and especially to Irish unionists, I extend on behalf of Sinn Féin and Irish Republicans sincere condolences.

  • Mary Lou McDonald – 2022 Comments on Meeting with Nancy Pelosi

    Mary Lou McDonald – 2022 Comments on Meeting with Nancy Pelosi

    The comments made by Mary Lou McDonald, the President of Sinn Fein, on 9 September 2022.

    This week I have been in San Francisco for a series of engagements with business leaders, the local Irish community, trade unions and political leaders. We have discussed the challenges and the many opportunities for both Ireland and the United States in the time ahead and the unique ties which bond our two nations.

    Yesterday I met with US Speaker Nancy Pelosi and thanked her for her steadfast commitment to protecting the Good Friday Agreement and ensuring that the Irish people do not become collateral damage to the Tories’ Brexit plans. Speaker Pelosi’s commitment to protecting peace and all elements of the Good Friday Agreement is unshakeable.

    Speaker Pelosi reiterated to me the importance that the US Administration continues to place on protecting these important rights and affirmed again that the US stands firmly with the people of Ireland. We discussed President Joe Biden’s remarks earlier this week to the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss that she must show a change of tack from previous holders of that office and engage in good faith negotiations around the implementation of the protocol.

    British Prime Minister Truss must break with the bad faith agenda of her predecessors and change direction, end the unilateral actions and respect international law. We need to see a recommitment to the Good Friday Agreement, support the restoration of the political institutions and an end to game playing around the Irish protocol.

  • Chris MacManus – 2022 Comments on Need for Brussels Belfast Engagement

    Chris MacManus – 2022 Comments on Need for Brussels Belfast Engagement

    The comments made by Chris MacManus, the Sinn Fein MEP for Midlands Northwest in The Republic of Ireland on 9 September 2022.

    I welcome the opportunity to engage with our MLA colleagues at this roundtable event. However, I do not believe it should be up to individual MEPs or political groups to organise such events. This should be an ongoing formal engagement.

    Today we have had, what were on occasions, frank exchanges between MEPs and MLAs from across the political spectrum. These exchanges were healthy and productive, that is why I believe it is important that the European Parliament and the Assembly formalise engagements such as this and that we have direct dialogue between the elected representatives of both institutions.

    I consider this to be both a practical and crucial step we can and should take, as EU legislation can often have an impact for the north of Ireland, therefore it is important elected representatives from the north and other sectoral interests are heard in the drafting of any such legislation.

    It is also worth noting that the Assembly itself has sought mechanisms for direct dialogue in the past and that the European Parliament agreed to this. Indeed, Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič referred to such a concept in his non-papers. It is now time to make formal those assurances.