Topical question AQT 2591/22-27
Topical question by Mr Matthew O'Toole on .
- MLA
- Mr Matthew O'Toole
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 21 September 2026
- Type
- Topical question
- Assembly reference
- AQT 2591/22-27
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5742150
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Mr O'Toole asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister, given that the First Minister said last week that the proposed additional pay rise for MLAs is "grotesque", and given that it is true to say that the public are appalled by proposed pay rises for this place when they are facing huge increases in the cost of living and particularly when the delivery record of the Executive that she leads is so poor, pointing out that, with all due respect, the First Minister is jointly the best-paid person in the building and the longest-serving Minister in the Executive by some margin, whether, notwithstanding the desire of Ministers in the Executive, and particularly those from her party, to shift blame for the collapse in public trust on to everyone but themselves, she personally takes any responsibility for collapsing public trust in Stormont?
142 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Follow-ups by the same MLA in the Chamber
These were assessed together with this record:
- 21 September 2026 – I am not being negative. I am not deflecting from the obstruction by the DUP, which does exist, or the financial…
- 21 September 2026 – People expect the Sinn Féin First Minister —
- 21 September 2026 – — to deliver for them.
- 21 September 2026 – First Minister, what do they —
- 21 September 2026 – — have to show for it?
- 21 September 2026 – It is.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.13 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.98).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.06 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.04 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.10 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.08 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.26 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.13 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.98 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.02 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.81 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.09 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.05 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.02 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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