Member's statement: Anti-poverty Strategy
Member's statement by Mr Colm Gildernew on .
- MLA
- Mr Colm Gildernew
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 11 March 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Anti-poverty Strategy
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4854935
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Last Wednesday, the High Court in Belfast ruled that the Executive were in breach of their legal duty to adopt an anti-poverty strategy. The ruling came on the back of a judicial review taken by anti-poverty activists, led by the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ). I thank the CAJ for bringing the legal case and congratulate it on its successful outcome. It is the second time the Executive have been found to be in breach of their legal duty to adopt an anti-poverty strategy, as activists also brought a judicial review in 2015. The activists should not have had to take such drastic action, as we should have adopted an anti-poverty strategy before now. An anti-poverty strategy for the North was a commitment first made in the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and it was later made a legal requirement in the St Andrews Agreement of 2007. The Minister for Communities is responsible for producing an anti-poverty strategy and presenting it to the Executive for agreement. As I understand it, Minister Lyons has, so far, failed to present a final draft to his Executive colleagues for consideration. It is unacceptable that, over one year since the return of the Executive, all that we seem to be getting from the Minister is shifting deadlines and further delays. It should be pointed out that the strategy was largely completed under the previous Minister, Deirdre Hargey, so there is no excuse for this length of a delay. Anti-poverty activists across the North are becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of urgency with which Minister Lyons seems to treat the issue. They are also becoming concerned that the reason for the delay is that Minister Lyons has substantially watered down the draft strategy that he inherited from his predecessor. The Minister has committed to presenting a strategy to the Executive by 31 March, and he must meet that deadline, which he himself set. It is equally important, however, that the strategy that the Minister produces be ambitious and robust enough to make a real impact on tackling poverty. Crucially, it must also have the support of the activists who are on the front line every single day dealing with the consequences of poverty in our society.
374 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 (0.94).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- 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 | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.94 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | 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 |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.92 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.05 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.02 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:12 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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