Debate contribution: Victims and Survivors: Memorial
Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on .
- MLA
- Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 10 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Victims and Survivors: Memorial
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5224456
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for her important question. Those schemes are so meaningful to so many people. They are long overdue. It is recognition of a wrong that was done in the past. That wrong was not done by anyone in this place — indeed, it was done by very few people, if any, in those institutions or organisations today — but it was a wrong that was done, and that needs to be acknowledged and addressed. We do not just have the HIA redress scheme. We are about to commence our mother-and-baby homes redress scheme. We also have our pension scheme for people who were severely injured. I have talked to people who are going through that process. It can be a re-traumatising and frustrating process. Just over the past week, I spoke to people who have applied on the basis of post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly those who served in our armed forces and the then RUC. It was an incredible thing to step forward in those most difficult of circumstances. People saw their friends, colleagues and family members killed in very difficult circumstances. They have suffered psychological injury. Experts connect that directly to what they experienced. Often, however, they are unable, at the moment, to get help from that scheme. That needs to be addressed. Our understanding of the nature of mental health issues and how they come about has evolved significantly. I do not believe that, at the moment, that scheme takes that into account. However, that does not mean that people should not get that help and support. Of course, I would urge the panel to use maximum flexibility in order to reflect the reality of how mental ill health can happen as a result of those traumatic events.
293 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: 0.05 (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 (0.90).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.04 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.90 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.74 |
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.25 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:41 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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