Debate contribution: Alcohol: Drinking in Unlicensed Public Spaces
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
- Alcohol: Drinking in Unlicensed Public Spaces
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5528554
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I made clear that approval for the content of the Bills preceded the publication of the report to which the Member refers. It is hard for me to anticipate what will happen in the future and make provision on the basis of a recommendation that has not been made. To be fair, it would have been difficult for me to have included something in December that was not published until the following April. There is legislation that contains powers around drinking in public, so it is not the case that people can do nothing. However, there is a question mark over whether alcohol can be seized, and it is the power of seizure that most people focus on. There are public by-laws and broader pieces of public order legislation that allow councils to prohibit drinking in designated places. Consuming alcohol in those areas is an offence. Police can take the offenders' names and addresses, and the prosecutions can be taken forward by councils. They can also address alcohol-related public disorder via penalty notices for disorder, as provided for by the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. In addition, the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 gives the police the power to require those under 18 to surrender any alcohol in public, with refusal to do so constituting an offence. There are, therefore, some powers. The issue is the seizure of alcohol from adults. That is something that we want to see introduced, but it will require additional policy work. It is not a piece of work for just my Department. We are working in collaboration with the Department for Communities and other statutory partners to ensure that we are able to introduce such powers appropriately.
285 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 (0.84).
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.84 | 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 | 0.86 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.12 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 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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