Debate contribution: Firearms: Appeals
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 12 May 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Firearms: Appeals
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5528466
Read the official Assembly record
Text
There are two separate issues. The PSNI's firearms and explosives branch is the licensing authority in Northern Ireland, and it processes applications on behalf of the Chief Constable. The licensing service has to be appropriately funded for the PSNI to be able to safeguard the public. At the moment, it is not a full cost-recovery model, with the result that, last year, around £2 million was taken from wider PSNI resources to subsidise the firearms branch. That is not a sustainable position, given the limited revenue that the PSNI has with which to deliver front-line policing. Ultimately, having a firearm is a responsibility that comes with a cost. For example, appeals are completely unfunded. We have not consulted on charging for appeals, but they can cost anything from £2,000 to £4,000 for my officers to process, yet no cost is attached to them. No jeopardy is involved for people, which incentivises them to submit appeals. I am therefore aware of the concerns that people have about the increase in cost, but I remind them that, when we spend money to subsidise firearms licence applications, we are taking that money away from front-line policing services.
194 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).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.93).
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.93 | Yes |
| 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 | 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 15:36 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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