Debate contribution: Executive Legislation Programme 2025-26: Update
Debate contribution by Ms Michelle O'Neill on .
- MLA
- Ms Michelle O'Neill
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 19 January 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Executive Legislation Programme 2025-26: Update
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5322190
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Our statement of 3 October 2025 on the Executive’s legislative programme listed the 21 Bills that Ministers intended to bring forward for introduction in the Assembly before the beginning of the summer recess in July. That is in addition to the 19 Bills from the 2024-25 programme that have either been enacted or are currently in Committee. The current position is that, of those 21 Bills, two have been introduced and four are currently the subject of consultation within the Executive Committee. The other Bills are either progressing through the policy development stage or are the subject of instructions to the Office of the Legislative Counsel (OLC). We acknowledge the small number of Bills that have been introduced to date. However, to place those figures in their proper context, it is important to emphasise that the introduction of a Bill is possible only at the end of a detailed and lengthy process of policy development and legislative drafting to ensure that it is good legislation and will achieve the desired policy aims. All Bills must also have the agreement of the Executive in relation both to the underlying policy and the provisions in the Bill itself. Departments are working through those processes and remain committed to introducing their Bills before the summer recess.
213 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: 0.02 (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 | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.26 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | 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 | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:16 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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