Debate contribution: Committee for Standards and Privileges Report: Ministerial Response
Debate contribution by Mr Danny Donnelly on .
- MLA
- Mr Danny Donnelly
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 26 January 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Questions for Urgent Oral Answer
- Heading
- Committee for Standards and Privileges Report: Ministerial Response
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5340969
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Like Steve Aiken, I declare an interest: I was present at Larne Leisure Centre with members of the swimming club, local families and staff on the night that it was attacked and burned. It is a miracle that nobody was injured or killed. It was an incredibly serious incident, and, regardless of his intention, the Minister's Facebook post formed part of the wider public rhetoric in the period leading up to what occurred. Following the attack on the leisure centre, what steps has the Minister taken to ensure that his future public communications are unambiguous, responsible and fully compliant with the ministerial code and actively support de-escalation for everyone in our community? Why did he not ask people not to go to the protest?
No, it was not.
128 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: 0.29 (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 (0.66).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.54).
- 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 | 0.11 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.05 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.10 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.14 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.20 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.66 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.29 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.42 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.03 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.54 |
| Adopts it | 0.01 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.66 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.15 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.15 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.03 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:31 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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