Member's statement: Storm Éowyn
Member's statement by Mr Stephen Dunne on .
- MLA
- Mr Stephen Dunne
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 27 January 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Storm Éowyn
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4758632
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Storm Éowyn struck Northern Ireland with unprecedented force on Friday. It has left a trail of destruction and had an impact on every corner of our country. As the clear-up operation and work to restore power continue, I commend and pay tribute to the front-line and essential workers who were at the coalface of the storm. Although we are not out of the woods yet, we have made significant progress, and we should pay tribute to all those who have spent the past three days working very hard for us in some treacherous conditions indeed. To the Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) teams, the various agencies, DFI engineers, healthcare providers or carers, the PSNI, the emergency services, local farmers, council staff and local community volunteers, we say, "Thank you". The storm, which was described by the Met Office as potentially the strongest to hit our United Kingdom in well over a decade, bringing winds in excess of 90 mph, left thousands of homes and businesses without power.
At its height, power to 220,000 properties and 30% of premises here was disconnected, which showed the scale of the challenge that we faced. The logistical support from the rest of our United Kingdom, and, indeed, from Europe, is very welcome. Progress has been made on that, and I think that more support is coming. My constituency of North Down was not spared. Two schools have had to close their doors today — Donaghadee Primary School and Clifton School — but, thankfully, they will be able to reopen tomorrow. The storm has had an impact on people of every age. Many homeowners, businesses and farms are still without power, including in the Craigantlet hills, just two miles behind this very Building. We need to see urgent progress on getting full restoration. Many roads were blocked over the weekend, and communities faced significant challenges, including structural damage to homes and businesses, uprooted trees blocking roads and disruption to many essential services. Through the storm, we saw community spirit at its best, with communities coming together, standing shoulder to shoulder in every corner of Northern Ireland. Churches opened their doors, local businesses provided food, community groups supported the most vulnerable and farmers cleared roads, to name but a few. Many vulnerable people were hit hardest. Our elderly population, those who are ill, newborn babies and young families have been greatly impacted on by the long power outages. As we move forward, we must remain vigilant and be prepared for future weather events. Lessons that need to be learned as a result of this storm include the need for robust and clear emergency preparedness. There is also a need for coordination and support for those most impacted on. Also, NIE has a role to play in compensating with goodwill payments those most impacted on.
467 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).
- Subject area: Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups.
- 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 | 0.46 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.43 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.40 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.14 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.01 |
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:46 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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