Debate contribution: Northern Ireland: Promotion in the USA
Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on .
- MLA
- Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 31 March 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Northern Ireland: Promotion in the USA
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4871788
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for her question. With a name like Hanna, of course, we know that there are strong Ulster-Scots links, and I commend the Member on all the work that she does to promote the rich heritage and culture of the Ulster-Scots community. It is a fantastic opportunity. It was notable, when I was in the US, how many people around the current Administration and across so many of the engagements mentioned matters such as the golf in Northern Ireland. That shows that it is not about just the economic offering and not always about the hard sell; it is also about soft diplomacy and using the unique, incredible things that we have to really get noticed in what is often a crowded market vying for investment. The 250th anniversary is a fantastic opportunity that gives us the chance to explain and explore the rich shared heritage that Northern Ireland, particularly the Ulster region, has with the US and how many Ulster Scots or Scots Irish, as they are called in America, have links to politics, business, commerce and culture; indeed, my briefing for the trip said that 11 presidents had links to the Ulster area. Gordon Lyons, our Communities Minister, who did a fantastic job at promoting this all week, said that it was 17. I am pretty sure that, by the time we get to the 250th anniversary next year, all 47 presidents will have an established link to Northern Ireland and the Ulster region. We will do everything in our power to promote that as much as possible.
263 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: 0.07 (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 (0.95).
- Subject area: Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy.
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.05 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.06 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.10 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.07 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.95 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.05 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.78 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.12 |
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.09 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:16 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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