Asking the right questions for a better-informed public

Posted on by Allan LEONARD

Asking the right questions for a better-informed public
by Allan LEONARD for FactCheckNI
28 January 2020

Representing FactCheckNI and as part of a four-person panel, I was invited to give evidence to the UK House of Lords Select Committee on Democracy and Digital Technologies. Fellow witnesses were Ed Humpherson (Director General for Regulation, Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR)), Will Moy (Chief Executive, Full Fact), and Jenni Sargent (Managing Director, First Draft). Continue reading Asking the right questions for a better-informed public

Are there more Orangemen than fluent Irish speakers?

Posted on by FactCheckNI

CLAIM: There are more Orangemen than fluent Irish speakers in Northern Ireland.

CONCLUSION: UNSUBSTANTIATED. The 2017-18 Continuous Household Survey indicates there are an estimated 35,955 persons with conversational fluency of Irish, and the current Grand Secretary of the Orange Order has said that it has “around 40,000” members. However, the Order membership figure is unverifiable. Continue reading Are there more Orangemen than fluent Irish speakers?

Are there only DUP members in the House of Lords?

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CLAIM: There are only DUP members (who are/were members of a Northern Ireland political party) in the House of Lords.

CONCLUSION: INACCURATE. There are at least 11 peers currently in the House of Lords who are, or were, members of a Northern Ireland political party. Four of those 11 are registered as DUP. Continue reading Are there only DUP members in the House of Lords?

Is Northern Ireland without funded childcare provision?

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CLAIM: Northern Ireland remains the only UK jurisdiction without funded childcare provision.

CONCLUSION: INACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION. The Northern Ireland Government funds the provision of pre-school education, which in the rest of the UK, Ireland, and wider Europe is defined as “Early Childhood Education and Care”. Residents of Northern Ireland are also eligible for some UK-wide childcare subsidy schemes. Continue reading Is Northern Ireland without funded childcare provision?

Lies and democracy: Who are the truth tellers?

Posted on by Allan LEONARD

Lies and democracy: Who are the truth tellers?
by Allan LEONARD for FactCheckNI
6 December 2019

As part of the annual general meeting of NICVA, the umbrella body of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland, there was a panel discussion on the topics of truth, trust, and how everyone engages with a bombardment of information. Entitled, “Lies and Democracy: The Fight for the Truth”, BBC Radio Ulster presenter, Seamus McKee, moderated the discussion with panellists Amanda Ferguson, John Barry, and Orna Young. Continue reading Lies and democracy: Who are the truth tellers?

Is there 51% support for Ireland unity?

Posted on by FactCheckNI

UPDATE: A previous version of this article applied a survey from Ashcroft Polls from May/June 2018. This updated version uses a more recent Ashcroft Poll from September 2019. The result is a change of conclusion from “Inaccurate” to “Accurate”.

CLAIM: There is 51% support for a united Ireland.

CONCLUSION: ACCURATE. Although the Sinn Fein manifesto didn’t declare the exclusion of “don’t knows”, this revises a 44/45/7 split to a rounded 49/51 split between staying in the UK and leaving the UK and joining the Republic of Ireland.

Continue reading Is there 51% support for Ireland unity?