Debate contribution: The draft Period Products (the Department for the Economy Specified Public Service Bodies) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024
Debate contribution by Mr Pádraig Delargy on .
- MLA
- Mr Pádraig Delargy
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 29 April 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- The draft Period Products (the Department for the Economy Specified Public Service Bodies) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4485926
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Period products are essentials, not luxury items. For many people and families struggling with the rising cost of living, they can be a huge financial burden. Free access to period products must be the norm in schools, universities, colleges, workplaces, football grounds and concert venues. Sinn Féin will continue to campaign in the Assembly and in councils. In 2018, my party colleague Sandra Duffy tabled a motion that helped to make Derry City and Strabane District Council the first district in Ireland to provide period products free in sporting grounds and in other public buildings. Sandra was inspired by the grassroots On the Ball campaign led by three young women who are passionate supporters of Celtic Football Club and who wanted to make the provision of period products as normal as the provision of soap and toilet roll in the stadium that they visit every other week. Not only did they achieve that, they were pivotal in sparking an important conversation and in making free availability of period products the norm in football grounds everywhere, with well over 100 football teams now getting on board. That is a powerful example of positive change. It is important that we in the Assembly work together to deliver positive change for people here by making period products the norm in public buildings.
219 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: 0.05 (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).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.88).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
- 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 | 0.05 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.04 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.88 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.01 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.70 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.29 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.01 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:02 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.