FactCheckNI articles: fact checks, explainers, and how-tos
CLAIM: Vegans cannot take COVID-19 vaccines because they contain animal products.
CONCLUSION: INACCURATE. No COVID-19 vaccine currently in use contains animal products. Continue reading Do COVID-19 vaccines contain animal products?
CLAIM: Northern Ireland has some of the worst insulated houses in Western Europe.
CONCLUSION: UNSUBSTANTIATED. There are unknown data for home insulation measures across Europe. A manufacturer’s survey suggests that houses in Great Britain perform poorly in retaining heating temperatures. Continue reading Does Northern Ireland have some of the worst insulated houses?
CLAIM: Northern Ireland is the only part of Europe that does not have climate change legislation.
CONCLUSION: ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION. The Northern Ireland Assembly has not yet passed its own legislation, unlike the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. However, there is UK climate-related legislation that extends to Northern Ireland. Elsewhere in Europe, Azerbaijan has no national climate legislation. Continue reading Is Northern Ireland the only part of Europe without climate change legislation?
CLAIM: Northern Ireland produces enough to feed 10 million people (annually).
CONCLUSION: ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION. The Northern Ireland agricultural sector produces enough protein to meet the needs of 10m adults. However, production is only sufficient to meet the energy requirements of 4.7m adults. Continue reading Does Northern Ireland produce enough to feed 10 million people?
CLAIM: Three-quarters of non-voters in Northern Ireland are pro-Union.
CONCLUSION: ACCURATE. The claim that three-quarters of non-voters in Northern Ireland are pro-Union is based on evidence from a research survey commissioned on behalf of the University of Liverpool. It found that 76.9% of respondents who did not vote in the 2009 General election and who stated a constitutional preference chose “to remain part of the UK”.
UPDATE: This article was updated on 16 November 2021. A section that compared the percentage of non-voters identified across four different organisations’ polls was removed. We made this simplification after further discussions with polling organisations. This clarification did not affect FactCheckNI’s original conclusion about the claim. Continue reading Are 75% of non-voters in Northern Ireland pro-Union?
CLAIM: Northern Ireland spends less on each school pupil’s education than any other part of the UK.
CONCLUSION: ACCURATE. Spending on schools per head of population in Northern Ireland is similar to England, Scotland, and Wales. However, Northern Ireland’s comparatively large school age population means that spending per pupil is lower than elsewhere in the UK. Continue reading Does Northern Ireland spend least per pupil?