Debate contribution: Catherine Connolly, President of Ireland
Debate contribution by Mr David Honeyford on .
- MLA
- Mr David Honeyford
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 3 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matters of the Day
- Heading
- Catherine Connolly, President of Ireland
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5212769
Read the official Assembly record
Text
On behalf of the Alliance Party, I warmly congratulate Catherine Connolly on her election as president and wish her every success as she begins a new chapter in our shared history. President-elect Connolly has long been a voice for inclusion and compassion, which are qualities that will serve her well in her role of representing all the people on the island. I will also mention Heather Humphreys. In defeat, her character was shown, even in her concession speech, which spoke to her integrity. She will always be welcome here. I will take a minute to thank President Michael D Higgins, whose years of service have been defined by his generosity of spirit, leadership and unwavering belief in the power of empathy and understanding. I had the absolute pleasure of meeting him in Dublin earlier this year. I was struck by the warmth of his engagement with us in Northern Ireland. He reminded me of the strength of this island, which lies not in what divides us but in what we share. As we look ahead, the Alliance Party believes that there is a real opportunity and a responsibility to share this place across all communities, to deepen collaboration, to deliver better for everybody across our economy and our health service, to improve the lives that people live and to build a future that reflects the best of all of us. We want to see an island that not just shares this space but replaces, with purpose and partnership, the politics of division, which we have heard this afternoon, and reconciles us to a lived space. There should be a shared now. It should not simply be spoken of as some sort of dream for the future but as something right now in which we live together and are reconciled. As President-elect Connolly begins her term, the Alliance Party offers her our full support and best wishes. May her presidency help us continue on that journey towards building reconciliation and having a truly shared island that we can all call "home".
340 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).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.75).
- Subject area: Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations.
- 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 | 0.14 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.05 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.08 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.75 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.25 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.87 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.08 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.03 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.01 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:46 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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