Debate contribution: Valuing the Arts
Debate contribution by Mr David Honeyford on .
- MLA
- Mr David Honeyford
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 17 June 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Opposition Business
- Heading
- Valuing the Arts
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5014000
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to look at this from an economic point of view. The arts enable and create local culture, and that is totally accurate. As was said, it is about us telling our story, but it is not just about that. It is about jobs, skills, innovation and global competitiveness. We are trying to build a vibrant region to move forward with, and the pathway for careers and opportunities for people to excel and grow is massively important. Our screen industry is a shining example of local success. Initially it was through international investment looking for locations, but that has mushroomed into something much bigger and provides many opportunities. Belfast now has Titanic, Belfast harbour and the new Studio Ulster, which the Economy Committee visited a few weeks back. It is hard to put into words the scale of Studio Ulster and its potential for the region with its leading technology, to be able, for the first time in the world, to deliver services here for not only film and TV but also for the growing gaming industry. One of the really exciting things is the opportunity that it is opening up for young people from disadvantaged areas and backgrounds who are getting into gaming through a youth club setting, and Studio Ulster is able to engage with kids who are, maybe, at the edge of our schooling system and not fully engaged in the classroom. Once they came out of that and were engaged through a youth club setting, it created opportunities for them to develop skills and see opportunities and a future where they could grow and develop the skills that could transform their lives. It opens doors and creates opportunity for people right across Northern Ireland, and that is to be welcomed. The industry supports an ecosystem of freelancers and small businesses. A manufacturing company that the Committee was with recently was the Deluxe Group, which started making shop fittings and now makes sets for the film industry and rides in theme parks in the States. That is a small, local company that has grown through the arts, creating jobs and bringing investment here. That is what we need to see scaled up. We want to see investment in the arts. When you have something that is working, rather than pat it on the back, we need to put investment in it to see it grow. That is where the need is, and we support the motion.
410 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 (1.00).
- Subject area: Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies.
- 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 | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.82 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.49 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.38 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.05 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.04 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.02 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:48 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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