Debate contribution: Catherine Connolly, President of Ireland
Debate contribution by Dr Steve Aiken OBE on .
- MLA
- Dr Steve Aiken OBE
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 3 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matters of the Day
- Heading
- Catherine Connolly, President of Ireland
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5212771
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The Ulster Unionist Party recognises that President-elect Catherine Connolly is the choice of the Irish people, given at the ballot box, and has been duly elected. As a party, we respect the choice of the Irish people and will treat her, as we do all democratically elected heads of state, with the due respect that that office holder has. Be it the head of state of Ireland, the United States, the Ukraine or wherever, we treat them all with that respect. We note with some concern, however, the president-elect's approach to Europe, particularly to peace in Europe. First, there are her comments on being ashamed at being part of the European Union led by Ursula von der Leyen. There is then the fact that she voted against virtually every EU treaty that has come through. This is quite a strange one. President-elect Connolly spoke in support of former MEPs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly when they refused to vote in favour of a tribunal to prosecute Vladimir Putin. She also refused to join in and clap Vlodymyr Zelenskyy in Dáil Éireann when he was there. That seems to be very partial. In her recent election campaign, she agreed with People Before Profit that NATO was warmongering and that Germany's move towards rearmament was equivalent to that in the 1930s, a clear reference to Germany's long-gone fascist past.
We also need to reflect on her remarks about defence spending in Ireland. We know that the Irish Republic is freeloading on its defence. Everybody from the United States and Europe — everywhere — has been saying the same thing. However, when Catherine Connolly says that Ireland does not need an army, navy or air force, just who, does she propose, will defend the Irish state?
Indeed. Who will defend it from the drug smugglers, the narco-terrorists, the terrorists and just about everybody else? It is refreshing to see that some of her views are not necessarily followed by all the people who voted in her support, and there has been a degree of concern raised across the piece. It is the Irish people's choice, and we recognise that. When she comes to Northern Ireland as the head of state, we will recognise that role and will bear it in mind that she is here in what is supposed to be a politically neutral position to represent the people of Ireland and is not here to be like President Higgins and interfere with the political process.
413 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: 0.27 (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 (0.80).
- 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 | 0.15 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.13 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.04 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.39 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.43 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.32 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.27 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.80 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.02 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.18 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.63 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.32 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.02 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.02 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 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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