10 February 2026
SDLP Opposition Communities Spokesperson Mark H Durkan MLA has said the Communities Minister should focus on addressing real social needs rather than demonising welfare recipients.
He was speaking after the Minister announced a new advertising campaign and additional measures to tackle welfare fraud.
Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan said:
“Of course wrongdoing should be investigated and dealt with, but the small number of prosecutions makes clear that the vast majority of benefit claimants are genuine people who rely on this support. While there will always be people out there who abuse the system, they are far outnumbered by those who the system abuses.
“If anything, there are many people across the North who are not receiving the welfare support they are entitled to. Many more have found themselves in thousands of pounds of debt, accrued over years, due to overpayments that have been made in error. Instead of addressing that problem, the Minister is pouring scarce resources into advertising campaigns and punching down by turning welfare claimants into scapegoats.
“I think the public would rather see the Minister and the Executive focus on their failures to tackle housing stress, poverty and the lack of support for vulnerable people, instead of engaging in distraction politics that does nothing to improve lives.”