Debate contribution: Coronavirus Act 2020 (Registration of Deaths and Still-Births) (Extension) (No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025
Debate contribution by Mr John O'Dowd on .
- MLA
- Mr John O'Dowd
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 7 October 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Coronavirus Act 2020 (Registration of Deaths and Still-Births) (Extension) (No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5164571
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Members who commented on the order, and I welcome their remarks. I also thank the Chairman and the members of the Finance Committee for scrutinising the order. As Members reflected, our objective in bringing forward the order is to continue to provide a registration service that meets the needs of the public and allows time for the permanent legislation, in the form of the Deaths, Still-Births and Baby Loss Bill, to replace existing Coronavirus Act provisions. The Chair asked when the Bill's next stage will take place. I expect Consideration Stage to take place later this month. How we move forward will then be in the hands of the Assembly, but, with a fair wind behind us, I hope that the Bill's legislative journey in the Assembly will be completed around December. As many Members commented, it is fitting that, as we enter Baby Loss Awareness Week, we are moving forward with legislation that will help families in those awful times to mark the loss of their baby.
I thank the Member for her intervention. Yes, that will be part of the legislation. It is only right and proper that we do that. In conclusion, a number of Committee members thanked Mr Frew. I thought that you were going to say that you were thankful that he had moved on.
Maybe you were just thinking it. I also thank Mr Frew for his contribution to the Committee. He always had clear views on the use of the Coronavirus Act. I share some of those views. We have to move beyond the Coronavirus Act in that regard, and the legislation is now in place to do so. I commend the order to the House.
286 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).
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.05 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.06 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.43 | No |
| 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 | 0.62 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.33 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.01 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.01 |
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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