Member's statement: Energy Prices
Member's statement by Mr David Honeyford on .
- MLA
- Mr David Honeyford
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 9 March 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Energy Prices
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5452839
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Last week, I raised the issue of the real impact that the sharp rise in energy prices is having on households across Northern Ireland. I also raised the issue of the lack of regulation of heating oil. Over the past number of days, those concerns have only grown.
For many families here, energy prices affect practically every bill that lands on their kitchen table, from the cost of filling the oil tank so that they can heat their home and the cost of filling their car to get to work to the increased food prices for the weekly shop. We hear people's concerns: they are working hard, yet they are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. I again call for the Department of the Economy and the Department for Communities to work together urgently to engage with the UK Government to examine what support can be provided for households if prices continue to rise. We have seen support schemes during periods of extreme energy volatility before, and, as energy prices continue to rise, we need to know what protections will be in place for the most vulnerable and for working families that are already under pressure. We are particularly exposed on this island due to our continued reliance on oil and gas. We cannot control global conflicts or geopolitical shocks, but people here should not pay the price for wars elsewhere. We can control our exposure to those factors. Today, only 43% of our electricity is generated from renewable sources, and that must increase quickly. The cost of transition is now being felt directly in people's pockets. In Norway, 95% of the electricity is generated from renewable sources, and the people there pay significantly less for energy — about half the price that we pay. We live on an island in the Atlantic Ocean with enormous natural energy resources, and we should use them to produce our own energy to lower the bills and protect households from global shocks. That means moving at pace. It means that all of us in the Chamber should unite behind the Executive and the Ministers to bring about change at pace and work with the Irish Government to deliver energy security for everybody here, North and South. It is about two things: protecting people and their energy bills right now and building an energy system that protects them in the long term. Families in Northern Ireland deserve to know that the Assembly has their backs and that we are focused on delivering for them.
423 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).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.94).
- 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 | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.94 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | 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 | 0.94 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.04 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.01 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:03 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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