Latest Fact Checks

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Europe

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Law

Are over 80% of new asylum seekers in Ireland arriving there from over the land border with NI?

2 May 2024

CLAIM: More than 80% of all new asylum seekers in Ireland travelled to the country over the land border with Northern Ireland.

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UNSUBSTANTIATED

On 23 April in a meeting of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, Ireland’s Minister for Justice Helen McEntee told the committee that over 80% of all

Articles

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Environment

Are almost one in eight of all species in NI at risk, amidst an ongoing decline in local woodland?

CLAIM: 12% of all animal, plant and fungus species in Northern Ireland are at risk of extinction, while the area of certified woodland has declined despite increases in other parts of the UK.

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ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION/INACCURATE

On 9 April in a debate in the Assembly, Alliance Party MLA John Blair claimed: “…12% of our species are being threatened with extinction and

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Economy

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Health

Are UK child poverty rates over seven times higher than those in Scandinavia?

23 April 2024

CLAIM: Child poverty rates in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland are between 2.4% and 3.6% – while in the UK they are 28.3%.

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INACCURATE

On 26 March in a post on social media, BBC NI journalist Mandy McAuley made a claim about recent child poverty figures in the UK

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Economy

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Health

Are unpaid carers worth hundreds of millions of pounds per year to Northern Ireland?

19 April 2024

CLAIM: Unpaid carers provide the equivalent of hundreds of millions of pounds of work every year, while the Department of Communities spends only 2% of its budget on Carer’s Allowance.

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ACCURATE

On 28 February in a post on social media, Carers NI public affairs manager Craig Harrison claimed: “2%… That’s the amount of DfC’s budget spent

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Law

Does NI’s criminal justice system have the biggest backlog in the UK?

11 April 2024

CLAIM: Northern Ireland is the worst place in the UK for logjams in the justice system.

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ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION

On 14 November, an article in the Belfast Telegraph claimed that: “Northern Ireland’s Crown Court is now backlogged until the autumn of 2024, with no

Articles

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Education

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Health

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Law

Have 75% of 16-year-old girls in NI been harassed on the street?

4 April 2024

CLAIM: Three quarters of all 16-year-old girls in Northern Ireland have experienced on-street harassment.

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ACCURATE

On 26 February, during a debate in the Assembly, Sinn Féin MLA Emma Sheerin said: “One of the statistics that really shocked me was in