Topical question AQT 2211/22-27
Topical question by Mr Matthew O'Toole on .
- MLA
- Mr Matthew O'Toole
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 13 April 2026
- Type
- Topical question
- Assembly reference
- AQT 2211/22-27
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5483338
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Mr O'Toole asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister, in light of the fact that working families, farmers, small businesses and pensioners struggling to fill their oil tank are all bearing the brunt of the crisis in energy costs and that, late on Friday afternoon, after weeks of silence, they finally issued a statement, quite predictably, calling on the UK Government to do something about it — that statement represents one third of the number of statements that the Executive Office issued celebrating the deputy First Minister's visit to see Donald Trump, who caused the crisis in the first place — to name a single, practical action that they and the Executive more broadly have taken to support the public who face an energy crisis.
126 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Follow-ups by the same MLA in the Chamber
These were assessed together with this record:
- 13 April 2026 – Deputy First Minister, I did not hear a single specific action that the Executive have led on. I will leave aside for…
- 13 April 2026 – — one another and then shift responsibility to London.
- 13 April 2026 – Finally, on behalf of the ordinary people of Northern Ireland, I ask this: will the Executive take some responsibility?
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 (0.71).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.93).
- 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 | 0.07 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.06 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.20 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.25 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.71 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.29 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.93 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.07 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.81 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.06 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.05 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.03 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.03 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:17 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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