Minutes of Proceedings
Session: Session currently unavailable
Date: 12 May 2025
The Assembly met at noon, the Principal Deputy Speaker in the Chair.
1. Prayers
Members observed two minutes’ silence.
2. Matters of the Day
2.1 Worsening Situation in Gaza
Mr Pat Sheehan, under Standing Order 24, made a statement on the Worsening Situation in Gaza. Other Members were also called to speak on the matter.
2.2 Open Water Safety: Tragedy in Donegal
Mrs Ciara Ferguson, under Standing Order 24, made a statement on Open Water Safety in light of a tragedy in Donegal. Other Members were also called to speak on the matter.
The Deputy Speaker, Mr Blair, took the Chair.
3. Members’ Statements
Under Standing Order 24A, the following Members made a statement to the Assembly:
Mr Philip McGuigan
Ms Joanne Bunting
Mr Danny Donnelly
Ms Cara Hunter
Ms Aisling Reilly
Mr Alan Robinson
Mr John Stewart
Ms Sinéad McLaughlin
Ms Claire Sugden
Ms Diane Forsythe
Mr Robbie Butler
Mr Timothy Gaston
Mr Paul Frew
4. Private Members’ Business
4.1 Motion: Tackling Unacceptable Cancer Waiting Times
Proposed:
That this Assembly expresses grave concern at Northern Ireland’s cancer waiting time statistics; believes it is deplorable that between October and December 2024, less than a third of patients were seen within 14-days following an urgent referral for breast cancer; stresses that lengthy waits for a diagnosis can negatively impact on a patient’s prognosis, available treatment options, and their mental health; notes the £215 million allocation in the Executive’s budget for 2025/2026 for addressing waiting lists; further believes this funding must be ring-fenced for initiatives which increase short-term capacity, whilst driving forward lasting improvements to efficiency within our health service; highlights, in particular, the value of elective care centres, rapid diagnosis centres, and mega clinics in addition to service reviews; welcomes the commitment in the Programme for Government to establish a Delivery Unit within the Executive Office to drive reform and transformation across the public sector; believes that the Delivery Unit can and should play a key role in supporting the Department of Health to reduce hospital waiting times; and calls on the Minister of Health, in this context, to engage proactively with his Executive colleagues on how best to apply ring-fenced funding for tackling waiting lists going forward.
Mrs Diane Dodds
Mr Alan Robinson
Amendment:
Proposed:
Leave out all after ‘hospital waiting times;’ and insert:
‘and calls on the Minister of Finance to commit to introducing ring-fenced, multi-year funding to reduce waiting times over the remainder of this Assembly mandate.’
Mr Colin McGrath
Mr Daniel McCrossan
Mr Patsy McGlone
Debate ensued.
The debate stood suspended for Question Time, the Principal Deputy Speaker took the Chair.
5. Question Time
5.1 The Executive Office
Questions were put to, and answered by, the deputy First Minister, Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly.
5.2 Education
The Deputy Speaker, Mr Blair, took the Chair.
Questions were put to, and answered by, the Minister of Education, Mr Paul Givan.
The Principal Deputy Speaker took the Chair.
6. Private Members’ Business (cont’d)
6.1 Motion: Tackling Unacceptable Cancer Waiting Times (cont’d)
Debate resumed.
The Question being put, the amendment was made.
The Question being put, the motion as amended, was carried.
6.2 Motion: International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
Proposed:
That this Assembly recognises International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia; affirms its commitment to equality, diversity and human rights; believes that every citizen should be free to live free from discrimination, violence or harm; agrees that it is unacceptable that the Sexual Orientation Strategy has not been published more than ten years after the Executive committed to it; notes the recommendation of the LGBTQI+ Strategy Expert Panel; and calls on the Minister for Communities to publish an LGBTQI+ Strategy without further delay.
Ms Kellie Armstrong
Ms Sian Mulholland
Mr Eóin Tennyson
Mrs Michelle Guy
Amendment 1:
Proposed:
Leave out all after ‘harm;’ and insert:
‘notes the recommendation of the LGBTQI+ Strategy Expert Panel; further notes the recent Supreme Court ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex; further believes that future policy development in Northern Ireland should respect this ruling; and calls on the Minister for Communities to continue the development of the Gender Equality and Sexual Orientation strategies as part of his Department's phased approach to the Executive's Social Inclusion strategies.’
Mr Brian Kingston
Mr Maurice Bradley
Amendment 2:
Proposed:
Leave out all after ‘Expert Panel;’ and insert:
‘calls on the Executive to reverse its decision to ban the sale or supply of puberty blockers to those under 18 years of age; and further calls on the Minister for Communities to publish an LGBTQI+ Strategy without further delay.’
Mr Gerry Carroll
Debate ensued.
The Question being put, amendment 1 fell (Division 1).
The Question being put, amendment 2 fell.
The Question being put, the motion was carried (Division 2).
7. Adjournment
Proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
The Speaker
The Assembly adjourned at 5.56pm.
Mr Edwin Poots
The Speaker
12 May 2025
Northern Ireland Assembly
12 May 2025 – Division 1
Amendment 1: International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
Proposed:
Leave out all after ‘harm;’ and insert:
‘notes the recommendation of the LGBTQI+ Strategy Expert Panel; further notes the recent Supreme Court ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex; further believes that future policy development in Northern Ireland should respect this ruling; and calls on the Minister for Communities to continue the development of the Gender Equality and Sexual Orientation strategies as part of his Department's phased approach to the Executive's Social Inclusion strategies.’
Mr Brian Kingston
Mr Maurice Bradley
The Question was put and the Assembly divided.
Ayes: 32
Noes: 48
AYES
Mr Allen, Ms D Armstrong, Mr Beattie, Mr Bradley, Mr Brett, Mr Brooks, Ms Brownlee, Mr K Buchanan, Mr T Buchanan, Mr Buckley, Ms Bunting, Mr Butler, Mrs Cameron, Mr Chambers, Mr Clarke, Mrs Dodds, Mr Dunne, Mrs Erskine, Ms Forsythe, Mr Frew, Mr Givan, Mr Harvey, Mr Irwin, Mr Kingston, Mrs Little-Pengelly, Mr Lyons, Miss McIlveen, Mr Martin, Mr Middleton, Mr Robinson, Mr Stewart, Ms Sugden.
Tellers for the Ayes: Mr Bradley, Mr Kingston.
NOES
Dr Archibald, Ms K Armstrong, Mr Blair, Mr Boylan, Ms Bradshaw, Miss Brogan, Mr Carroll, Mr Delargy, Mr Dickson, Mr Donnelly, Mr Durkan, Ms Egan, Mrs Ennis, Mrs Ferguson, Ms Finnegan, Mr Gaston, Mr Gildernew, Mrs Guy, Miss Hargey, Mr Honeyford, Ms Hunter, Mr Kearney, Mr Kelly, Ms Kimmins, Mr McAleer, Miss McAllister, Mr McCrossan, Mr McGlone, Mr McGrath, Mr McGuigan, Mr McHugh, Ms McLaughlin, Mr McMurray, Mr McNulty, Mr McReynolds, Mrs Mason, Mr Mathison, Mr Muir, Ms Mulholland, Miss Murphy, Ms Nicholl, Mr O'Dowd, Ms O'Neill, Mr O'Toole, Ms Reilly, Mr Sheehan, Ms Sheerin, Mr Tennyson.
Tellers for the Noes: Mr Donnelly, Mr McMurray.
Amendment 1 fell.
Votes cast by proxy:
Ms Nicholl’s vote was cast by Ms Bradshaw.
Northern Ireland Assembly
12 May 2025 – Division 2
Motion: International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
Proposed:
That this Assembly recognises International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia; affirms its commitment to equality, diversity and human rights; believes that every citizen should be free to live free from discrimination, violence or harm; agrees that it is unacceptable that the Sexual Orientation Strategy has not been published more than ten years after the Executive committed to it; notes the recommendation of the LGBTQI+ Strategy Expert Panel; and calls on the Minister for Communities to publish an LGBTQI+ Strategy without further delay.
Ms Kellie Armstrong
Ms Sian Mulholland
Mr Eóin Tennyson
Mrs Michelle Guy
The Question was put and the Assembly divided.
Ayes: 54
Noes: 26
AYES
Mr Allen, Dr Archibald, Ms D Armstrong, Ms K Armstrong, Mr Beattie, Mr Blair, Mr Boylan, Ms Bradshaw, Miss Brogan, Mr Butler, Mr Carroll, Mr Chambers, Mr Delargy, Mr Dickson, Mr Donnelly, Mr Durkan, Ms Egan, Mrs Ennis, Mrs Ferguson, Ms Finnegan, Mr Gildernew, Mrs Guy, Miss Hargey, Mr Honeyford, Ms Hunter, Mr Kearney, Mr Kelly, Ms Kimmins, Mr McAleer, Miss McAllister, Mr McCrossan, Mr McGlone, Mr McGrath, Mr McGuigan, Mr McHugh, Ms McLaughlin, Mr McMurray, Mr McNulty, Mr McReynolds, Mrs Mason, Mr Mathison, Mr Muir, Ms Mulholland, Miss Murphy, Ms Nicholl, Mr O'Dowd, Ms O'Neill, Mr O'Toole, Ms Reilly, Mr Sheehan, Ms Sheerin, Mr Stewart, Ms Sugden, Mr Tennyson.
Tellers for the Ayes: Mr Donnelly, Mr McMurray.
NOES
Mr Bradley, Mr Brett, Mr Brooks, Ms Brownlee, Mr K Buchanan, Mr T Buchanan, Mr Buckley, Ms Bunting, Mrs Cameron, Mr Clarke, Mrs Dodds, Mr Dunne, Mrs Erskine, Ms Forsythe, Mr Frew, Mr Gaston, Mr Givan, Mr Harvey, Mr Irwin, Mr Kingston, Mrs Little-Pengelly, Mr Lyons, Miss McIlveen, Mr Martin, Mr Middleton, Mr Robinson.
Tellers for the Noes: Mr Bradley, Mr Kingston.
The motion was carried.
Votes cast by proxy:
Ms Nicholl’s vote was cast by Ms Bradshaw.
Northern Ireland Assembly
Proxy Voting Notifications
In line with Standing Order 27A, Ms Kate Nicholl arranged for her vote to be exercised by a proxy (Ms Paula Bradshaw) during the period 31 March 2025 to 28 December 2025.
Northern Ireland Assembly
Papers Presented to the Assembly on 7 May 2025 to 12 May 2025.
1. Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly
2. Bills of the Northern Ireland Assembly
3. Orders in Council
4. Statutory Rules
SR 2025/80 The Electronic Monitoring Requirements (Responsible Officer) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025 (Department of Justice)
SR 2025/81 The Quality of Bathing Water (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025 (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)
For Information Only
SR 2025/61 - The Coronavirus Act 2020 (Extension of Provisions Relating to Live Links for Courts and Tribunals) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025 (Department of Justice)
5. Legislative Consent Memorandums
Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Department of Health)
Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [updated] (Department for the Economy)
6. Assembly Reports
Committee on Standards and Privileges Report on a complaint Mr Timothy Gaston MLA [NIA 73 22-27] (Committee on Standards and Privileges)
7. Written Ministerial Statements
Further Education Lecturers’ Pay Dispute and Current Pay Offer (Minister for the Economy)
8. Publications Laid in the Northern Ireland Assembly
UK Government’s Actuary Department, The Northern Ireland Assembly Members Pension Scheme, Report on the 31 March 2023 actuarial valuation (Northern Ireland Assembly)
Tourism Northern Ireland Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (Department for the Economy)
Tourism Northern Ireland Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 (Department for the Economy)
The Department for Infrastructure and the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland Memorandum of Understanding (Revised 30 April 2025) (Department for Infrastructure)
2025/26 Budget (Department of Finance)
