Debate contribution: Appointment of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
Debate contribution by Mr Matthew O'Toole on .
- MLA
- Mr Matthew O'Toole
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 3 February 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Assembly Business
- Heading
- Appointment of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4255121
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As we walked down the stairs into the Great Hall, we passed the figure of James Craig, Northern Ireland's first Prime Minister — the man who built this Building and this state in his image. Whatever one's view of him, Craig was a far-sighted strategist, but even he was unlikely to have foreseen today's events. The state that he constructed was not meant to have people like Michelle O'Neill in charge, but here she is — a republican woman taking the First Minister's office. On behalf of the SDLP, I offer warm congratulations to you, First Minister. I offer congratulations to you, deputy First Minister. We sincerely wish you both well.
First Minister, you have waited with patience and good grace to take up a post to which you were freely elected two years ago but which you have been blocked from taking up ever since. It is, as you said, a profoundly symbolic moment that we should all acknowledge.
It is also true to say that this place — Northern Ireland; the North of Ireland — has had many symbolic moments: firsts, lasts, handshakes, ceremonies and milestones. What our people need now is delivery. Symbolism will not pay teachers or nurses; selfies will not cut waiting lists. We need an Executive to be focused on resuscitating collapsed public services and helping our demoralised workers. We need an Executive to address ecological catastrophe in our greatest natural resource, to help exhausted parents with the crippling cost of childcare and to take economic advantage of our unique trading position, but, to do any of that, we need to be here. Today's restoration comes after two years of chaos. In 2020, the restoration came after three years. First Minister and deputy First Minister, I have congratulated you both, but your parties have both collapsed the institutions in the past seven years. I do not think that, if they are collapsed again, they will ever restart, but only two people have the power to stop that happening: both of you. My first act in leading the SDLP Opposition in this reformed Assembly is to ask both of you to add to the Pledge of Office that you have just taken. Will you both now, in the Chamber, pledge to all the people of the North that, for the duration of this mandate, you will not use your power under the Northern Ireland Act to collapse devolution by resigning your office? I am happy to give way to the First Minister or deputy First Minister. I will follow up in writing, Mr Speaker. I will give way to the First Minister.
I thank the First Minister honestly for her answer. I asked that neither party choose to collapse the institutions. People out there want to know that that will not happen again. This place has changed. We are a plural society, but we have struggled to combine inclusive governance with effective governance. This is the last chance that we have to get it right for the people whom we serve. The SDLP's job as a constructive Opposition is not, as some have said, to tear lumps out of anyone; it is to bring long-awaited accountability to lift up our democracy, to lift up our people and to deliver hope, change and ambition in equal measure. Our collective job is to finally prove that this place can work, so, once we have finished with the ceremony today, let us get down to that work.
579 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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: 0.16 (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 (0.86).
- Subject area: Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty.
- 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 | 0.14 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.06 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.05 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.13 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.20 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.59 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.16 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.86 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.05 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.08 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.34 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.25 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.16 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.09 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.08 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:33 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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