16 June 2026

SDLP Leader of the Opposition Matthew O’Toole MLA has slammed the First Ministers' response to racist disorder across Northern Ireland as woefully inadequate.

He challenged the First Minister in the Assembly on Tuesday.

South Belfast MLA Matthew O’Toole said:

“The failure of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to produce a coherent Executive Office policy response to racist disorder that engulfed our streets last week is inexcusable. I had to challenge the Minister during an update on the work of the North South Ministerial Council – because they did not even provide their own statement to the Assembly.

“Far from providing reassurance to our migrant community or setting out a plan to provide support to people displaced from their homes, afraid to go to work or send their children to school, we got platitudes with no specific practical actions. Given the scale of the violence, the high risk of repeat incidents this summer and the wider impact of two days where large parts of everyday life and public services were shut down, it is shocking that there has is still no practical meaningful response from the Executive, from the First Ministers down.

“This is now the third summer in a row that we have seen racist disorder on our streets. Sympathetic words are simply not good enough. Each time we are told lessons will be learned, yet we continue to see the same scenes repeated and the same communities living in fear. 

“There are longer-term issues that need to be addressed around integration, tackling racism and strengthening hate crime legislation, but people also want to know what is being done right now to support those affected and prevent a repeat of these attacks. Once again there has been a leadership vacuum and our Executive has failed to rise to what the moment demands.”