Debate contribution: The Coronavirus Act 2020 (Registration of Deaths and Still-Births) (Extension) (No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024
Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on .
- MLA
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 22 April 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- The Coronavirus Act 2020 (Registration of Deaths and Still-Births) (Extension) (No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4484084
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank those who have commented on the order. I welcome their remarks, their support for the motion and their desire to limit the administrative burden on grieving loved ones. I also thank the Chair and members of the Finance Committee, who carried out scrutiny of the order and agreed to support it. As Members have reflected in their comments today, our objective in bringing in the order is to continue to provide a registration service that meets the needs of the public and to allow time to develop permanent legislation to replace the existing Coronavirus Act provisions. I will pick up on a couple of points that Members made. It is absolutely my intention that this will be the last extension to this legislation. As Members reflected, the SL1s are in process. It is not ideal that we have them as part of the Coronavirus Act at this time, but it would have been difficult to progress them over the last couple of years while we had no Assembly. This is the first opportunity that we have had to progress them, and it is important that we take time to allow the legislation to be developed and to be properly scrutinised by the Committee and others. I reflect on Mr O'Toole's comments about the baby loss certificates scheme. Work on that is ongoing in my Department. My officials are engaging with the Department of Health on how we can bring that forward as soon as possible. I hope that the Assembly will support the order, which would limit the administrative burden on those mourning a loved one at a time when they are primarily focused on their grief. The powers it contains have enabled us to provide a modern, efficient and empathetic registration service during a critical time. By extending those powers today, we can sustain the service while creating the opportunity to embed the provisions permanently. I ask Members to approve the Coronavirus Act 2020 (Registration of Deaths and Still-Births) (Extension) (No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024.
339 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: 0.02 (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 (1.00).
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.59 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging 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 |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.96 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.04 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:00 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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