Member's statement: Peanut Allergy: Palforzia
Member's statement by Mr Peter McReynolds on .
- MLA
- Mr Peter McReynolds
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 26 February 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Peanut Allergy: Palforzia
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4230511
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I rise to speak on a medical treatment that, I am sure, some Members may already be aware of: Palforzia. It was brought to my attention a few years ago by Tierna Byrne, a mother from East Belfast who was concerned about the impact that lack of access to the drug could have on the future of her now five-year-old son, Matthew, who, sadly, lives with a severe peanut allergy. In her initial email to me, she described the fear and worry that she and her husband live with daily; how her son has experienced swollen eyes and lips or his face covered in blotches; how he has been hospitalised due to anaphylactic shock; and her heartbreak that he has had to grow up a lot faster than his classmates by having to immediately tell new people that he cannot eat nuts. I was shocked to learn than one in 50 children in the UK live with a nut allergy. In 2021, NHS England approved access to the drug. In Northern Ireland, it has been approved since February 2022. The Belfast Trust has committed to introducing Palforzia as it knows that it will help to reduce risk further down the line.
The reason that I raise the issue in the Chamber today, however, is that children in Northern Ireland living with nut allergies are missing out when compared with children in the rest of the UK and many other children across the globe, as Palforzia is regarded as being too resource-intensive to distribute fully here; instead, it is distributed on a case-by-case basis by consultants. That is done despite parents' rightful concerns, the evidence confirming Palforzia's efficacy, the support that I have seen in the medical sector and from consultants, and the acknowledgement that I had from permanent secretaries during the most recent Assembly collapse. Everyone knows about Palforzia and that it works. They know the benefits that it brings and that its full introduction is needed in Northern Ireland. I was working on this when these institutions' hands were tied through the lack of a Minister, but Northern Ireland is now in a better place. I call on the Minister of Health to do what he can to make Palforzia more widely available for the families and children who so desperately need it.
384 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.95).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-qualifying 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 | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.95 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-qualifying threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.69 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.30 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:38 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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