Debate contribution: Rates (Regional Rates) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025
Debate contribution by Miss Jemma Dolan on .
- MLA
- Miss Jemma Dolan
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 10 March 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Rates (Regional Rates) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4840929
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Minister for bringing the Rates (Regional Rates) Order to the House. As the only major tax over which the Executive have control, the regional rate is a vital source of income that supports the delivery of our public services. In setting rates annually, it is important that a balance be achieved between recognising the circumstances that local businesses and households are experiencing and providing funding that will help sustain the front-line services on which people rely every day. An increase of 3% for businesses and 5% for domestic rates, when combined with the district rate, will raise over £1·6 billion, which will be used to invest in areas such as the health service, education, support for parents with childcare costs and programmes that help tackle serious issues in our society, including ending violence against women and girls. Recent decisions that the British Government have taken, such as raising employers' National Insurance contributions, have put an additional strain on businesses. The lower increase for them recognises that fact and will help mitigate the impact that another rise in operating costs would have on businesses that also suffered through the pandemic and that have suffered from high levels of inflation in recent years. Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our economy, providing jobs and services. I am therefore pleased that other measures to support them with meeting the cost of rates, such as the small business rate relief and the Back in Business scheme, are due to continue.
As an MLA for a large rural constituency, I recognise the value that the rates exemption for rural ATMs has had in my community. It has helped that community to retain access to cash at a time when we see banks abandoning our high streets and villages. I am also conscious of the fact that many households continue to struggle with the cost of daily living, so maintaining measures that help protect the most vulnerable in society is welcome, as is keeping the domestic rate at a level that is sustainable and recognises the need to raise revenue to provide for our public services. I support the order.
359 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).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.82).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.96).
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.82 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.96 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.04 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.46 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.32 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.21 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:02 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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