Debate contribution: Programme for Government 2024-27
Debate contribution by Miss Deirdre Hargey on .
- MLA
- Miss Deirdre Hargey
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 3 March 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Programme for Government 2024-27
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4825788
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the First Minister and deputy First Minister for tabling the motion. The publication of the Executive's Programme for Government is a welcome step. It represents a commitment by the four-party Executive to work together in the interests of everyone in our society. We are all too aware that we are working within an extremely tight financial situation that has been exacerbated by 15 years of austerity Budgets from the British Government. That fact has been acknowledged across the Chamber, highlighting the impact of austerity on our Budgets and the deficiencies in the level-of-need funding. Despite those challenging fiscal environments, having the Programme for Government is a good step forward in setting out Executive priorities and delivering better public services and outcomes for our people. It is good to see key outcomes on ending violence against women and girls and on safer communities. Feeling safe is an essential part of how we feel in our communities, in our places of work and when socialising. It is a key quality of life factor for all of us. I am glad that those important issues are highlighted in the Programme for Government. Violence against women and girls is a critical area that has a devastating impact across our communities, and we have seen more than 20 women killed since 2020 and many more cases where women and girls are being harassed, intimidated, beaten and threatened daily. The collective effort to prioritise that and to tackle its root causes is important. A minimum of 100,000 participants will be engaged throughout the programme, and there will be a change fund through which funding is being directed through our 11 councils into our local communities, with grassroots engagement and participation ensuring that there is impact at a local level. The ongoing work of the ending violence against women and girls strategy, domestic abuse strategy, the Power to Change campaign and the establishment of sectoral groups all contribute to ending violence against women and girls and creating safer communities for all of us. Speeding up access to justice and creating safer communities are essential in determining how people feel and the impact that that has on their quality of life. It is good to see that expanding the use of out-of-court disposals and community resolution notices are priorities. They will be an essential part of the work and are welcomed, along with the business case, in advancing and looking at sufficient policing numbers. Dealing with trauma, tackling hate and prejudice and reducing offending and reoffending are important areas of work that I am glad to see in the programme for work. Early intervention and prevention are critical in tackling those issues. The commitment to joined-up, integrated working and investment in digital capabilities is also critical in the transformation that we need to see. That work also needs to be underpinned by an anti-poverty and equality lens, as we know that those who are most impacted on are from working-class and minority backgrounds. We know that the programme for work is not the final or exhaustive list of priorities for the Executive or individual Ministers, and nor should it be. We will work to have scrutiny of Ministers to ensure that we see delivery on the ground. However, the programme provides an important framework and a commitment to working collectively to deliver positive change and outcomes in the interests of our whole community.
567 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: 0.03 (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 (0.74).
- 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 | 0.05 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.82 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.74 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.26 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.53 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.46 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.01 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:03 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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