Member's statement: Department of Education Capital Works Programme: Dunclug College
Member's statement by Mr Paul Frew on .
- MLA
- Mr Paul Frew
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 5 May 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Department of Education Capital Works Programme: Dunclug College
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5524338
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Last week, the Education Minister, Paul Givan, announced that four new-build major works projects and nine school enhancement projects would progress to construction stage. The four major works projects are Enniskillen Royal Grammar School; Priory Integrated College, Holywood; St Malachy's Primary School, Armagh; and Dunclug College, Ballymena. Those projects have been in planning for a significant number of years, and I am so glad that the Education Minister, Paul Givan — a Minister who continually delivers — was able to advance them. Knowing where we sat with regard to Dunclug College, I knew that it was vital to get the Education Minister to Dunclug to see for himself the excellent facility that is Dunclug and the talented pupils who are educated at that school in Ballymena. Irrespective of my really good lobbying skills, the school sold itself. The pupils put on a display for the Education Minister that was second to none. I know that the Minister went away knowing that he made the right decision in progressing Dunclug College in Ballymena through the major works programme. It is vital for Dunclug — for that area, Ballymena — and for pupils, families, parents and everyone connected with education that the school builds progress. However, we should not stop there. I am glad to say that the Education Minister is not content to stop there: he wants to push on. He wants more capital in order to bring forward more school-build projects across the Province. The Finance Minister, the Executive and the Assembly should support the Education Minister, who is delivering for education, for our children and for Dunclug. I have a list of schools that the Education Minister should go to throughout North Antrim that need new builds and better facilities, but we have made a start. I am glad that the Education Minister is from my party and that we are able to progress those projects. I wish that the Executive and the Assembly would support him more, because we have in him a Minister who is delivering, who set down a marker by saying that he would progress education in this country and who has done so. I thank Paul Givan, the Education Minister, for his work on Dunclug, for coming to see the talent on display in that school and for the new build that Dunclug will surely get now.
393 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: 0.03 (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 | 0.03 | 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 | 0.48 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | 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 | 0.50 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.43 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.03 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.02 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.02 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:35 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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