Unionist Parties Use Veto to Block Raising Minimum Criminal Age
Unionist parties at Stormont have successfully used a veto mechanism to block a proposal to raise the minimum age at which a child can be prosecuted for a crime in Northern Ireland.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) tabled a petition of concern, which requires at least 30 signatures from a minimum of two parties to be valid.
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) signed the petition, but it was initially unclear if enough Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MLAs would support it.
On Monday evening, it was confirmed in the assembly that the petition had reached the required threshold after four UUP MLAs signed it: leader Jon Burrows, Diana Armstrong, Alan Chambers, and Robbie Butler.
The proposal to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) from 10 to 14 was put forward by Sinn Féin, Alliance, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). It was being debated as part of amendments to the Justice Bill currently progressing through the assembly.
After several hours of debate on Monday night, MLAs were informed that the petition threshold had been met, triggering a 14-day "consideration period" before any amendments related to the MACR could be voted on.
The valid petition of concern means that any vote on this issue now requires cross-community support, with a majority of both unionist and nationalist MLAs backing it.
During the ongoing debate, Sinn Féin MLAs walked out of the chamber in protest.
SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole, leader of the opposition at Stormont, described the move as an
"utter farce".
DUP MLA Paul Givan rejected claims that unionist parties had
"abused"the petition of concern mechanism.
UUP leader Jon Burrows stated that the amendments were
"flawed"and argued they needed to be fundamentally rewritten and introduced as separate legislation before he would consider supporting any increase in the age of criminal responsibility.
The joint amendment from Sinn Féin, Alliance, and the SDLP proposed raising the age from 10 to 14, with
"clear exceptions"for the most serious offences such as murder, where the age would be set at 12.
Later in the debate, Sinn Féin MLA Emma Sheerin accused Burrows of allowing himself to be
"used as a pawn in the DUP's game".
Sheerin described the cross-party amendment as
"progressive"and noted it was based on advice from the United Nations, which had previously recommended raising the age.
Burrows responded by saying he
"lived in the real world"and that UN advice
"does not cut it with victims".
Alliance deputy leader Eoin Tennyson criticized the move on social media, calling it
"grubby, stroke politics at its worst"and stating it was
"a further blow to public confidence in the assembly's ability to deliver".
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll issued a statement condemning the petition of concern as
"weaponised".
He highlighted that the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Northern Ireland is currently just 10 years old, one of the lowest worldwide. Carroll emphasized that children criminalized often come from deprived backgrounds with multiple adverse childhood experiences and that exposing them to the criminal justice system causes significant harm and increases the likelihood of reoffending.
What is MACR?
MACR stands for the minimum age of criminal responsibility, which is the youngest age at which a person can be arrested and charged with committing a crime.
At 10 years old, Northern Ireland has one of the lowest MACRs globally. England and Wales also set the age at 10.
In Scotland, the age is 12, the same as in the Republic of Ireland, although provisions exist for exceptional cases where criminal responsibility for the most serious offences is set at 10.
The United Nations body responsible for monitoring the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has urged countries to raise their MACRs to at least 14.
In 2023, the Department of Justice found there was
"strong support"for raising the age from 10 to 14.
Previous attempts to amend the legislation failed to gain sufficient political backing.
