Debate contribution: Good Relations: Leadership
Debate contribution by Ms Michelle O'Neill on .
- MLA
- Ms Michelle O'Neill
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 20 January 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Good Relations: Leadership
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4744580
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I have made the point that we should be sensitive to the fact that, when we talk about individuals who were killed in the course of the conflict, regardless of how or by whom, it is important to be respectful of the fact that they are individuals with a family: a mother and a father, siblings and perhaps children. We should be sensitive to the fact that everybody has a right to remember their dead and to do so in a dignified way. My job, as I have said, is to try to deal with the past in a way that allows us to be as comprehensive as we can and that brings truth and justice to as many families as possible, but I also want to be somebody who looks to the future — the next 10 or 20 years — and who tries to make this a better place and to create a better society: one that is inclusive and free from sectarianism and racism. That would be a better prize for everybody whom we collectively serve.
179 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).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.59).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- 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 | 0.08 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.10 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.06 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.33 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.59 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.41 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.55 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.45 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:48 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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