Member's statement: Night Buses
Member's statement by Mr Matthew O'Toole on .
- MLA
- Mr Matthew O'Toole
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 22 September 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Night Buses
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5123345
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, I do not know whether you have ever got a night bus home, and I am not sure whether that is even an appropriate question to ask the Chair. I do not know how, after a night out, people here get themselves home, whether they use taxis or walk, if they are lucky enough to live close enough to where they are going out. Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, you and I represent the great city of Belfast, along with others in the Chamber, but everybody in the region has an interest in it, because people from across the North travel into Belfast for nights out and weekends away. On Friday, we had the terrific and triumphant return of Culture Night Belfast to our streets. However, one thing that we have been lacking is safe, secure and reliable public transport home for all those revellers of all ages. There is a serious point, which is particularly about the safety of young people, especially young women. Having the confidence to travel safely is a critical part of being able to enjoy a night out safely. However, unlike other parts of these islands, we have failed historically to give proper options for public transport home for the people of all ages who are socialising in the centre of Belfast. We now have a thriving nightlife. Mr Brett opposite has worked alongside me and others on building policy support for the brilliant offer that we have. I am pleased to say that Belfast City Council, in conjunction with the Department for Infrastructure, after campaigning by my party, including my colleague Councillor Séamas de Faoite, has moved to a pilot for night buses in Belfast. That is hugely welcome news for people who enjoy the centre of the city and our amazing offer, whether that is theatre, nightlife, pubs, restaurants or amazing one-off events such as Culture Night Belfast on Friday night. We want people to come and enjoy our terrific city centre. We also want to restore derelict areas, including the Tribeca area. We will be debating that again in the not-too-distant future. Safe, reliable public transport is hugely important. The Belfast night tsar, Michael Stewart, has talked about that. It is a huge driver for our hospitality industry, which is struggling in many ways with additional costs. Unlocking public transport from the city will be really important. A pilot has been agreed in principle, but, now, we need the Infrastructure Minister to step up with the funding. I hope that the Economy Minister and, indeed, others in the Executive will see the huge potential that can arise from greater use of night buses and public transport in general coming out of the city. It is a huge opportunity for our terrific city. Anybody who was in Belfast on Friday night will have seen the amazing range of things that we had during Culture Night Belfast. There was even wrestling at Grand Central station, which is the biggest transport hub in Ireland. There was all sorts in the train station. There was band music, choirs and an opera singer.
The only thing that we are missing —
— is safe, secure night buses. We are going to keep fighting for those.
541 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: 0.04 (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 (0.92).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- 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 | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.92 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.74 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.14 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.12 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:11 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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