In a world where statistics can be trotted out to the benefit of any cause, can they really be trusted? Or do we, as a community, subscribe to the old Benjamin Disraeli line of “lies, damned lies, and statistics”? Well, it seems, in NI at least, we’re a fairly trusting bunch.
How’s about stat, then?
To prove the point, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) has provided a new set of statistics.
The agency, which provides data which shapes government policy, will be delighted with its own findings that the majority of respondents (85%), who were surveyed from September to November 2023, trust the agency’s statistics “a great deal, or tend to trust them”.
The level of public trust in the statistics produced by NISRA increases to 95% for those who have heard of NISRA by name.
Trust in NISRA as the government agency which produces official statistics is also high, with 83% of respondents trusting NISRA a great deal or tending to trust NISRA.
Almost half (48%) indicated they had heard of NISRA before being contacted about the survey, while almost nine out of 10 (89%) agreed that statistics produced by NISRA are important to understand Northern Ireland.
Four-fifths (80%) of respondents believe that statistics produced by NISRA are free from political interference.
The question that remains, then, is can we trust the statistics that say we trust the statistics from the people who compile the statistics? There’s one to think about…
Hanna puts in knockout performance singing praises of south Belfast
SDLP leader Claire Hanna has been singing the praises of her constituency — and winning admirers — on Times Radio. The MP was last week’s winner of the broadcaster’s It’s A Constituency Knockout competition, demonstrating her knowledge of the area she represents at Westminster with fact-filled descriptions.
She did a fair bit of name-dropping to secure her win. Did you know, for example, as Times Radio listeners now do, that 1970s rock icons Led Zeppelin first played their hit Stairway to Heaven in the Ulster Hall in 1971? Or that Liam Neeson took his first steps into the acting world at the Lyric Theatre? Or that Belfast was the first city on the island of Ireland to give women the vote? Or that Finaghy was the site of the first purpose-built NHS facility in the UK? Ms Hanna went further back in history, telling listeners that Belfast has been continuously inhabited for over 5,000 years and that the Giant’s Ring dates back to 2800BC.
Right up to date, the historic village of Saintfield also got a mention, along with what Ms Hanna said was the most ethnically and business diverse community in Ireland.
Led Zeppelin classic Stairway to Heaven was first played to an audience in Belfast’s Ulster Hall in 1971
‘Best Place in NI’ faces rising cost of leisure
Back in 2022, the North Coast resort of Ballycastle was voted as The Sunday Times’ ‘Best Place to Live in Northern Ireland’. The only drawback, as far as those living there were concerned, was the lack of a leisure centre.
This week, however, the first diggers moved on-site to rectify that wrong.
And when completed, people living there will no longer have to travel to Coleraine or Ballymoney to visit a swimming pool.
Groundwork has now started on the Quay Road site in the town, promising to add a 25m swimming pool, community space, gym, café, outdoor pump cycle track, walking trails and play park for residents to enjoy.
It’s coming at a cost, though. Original plans priced the centre at £8.1m; the final bill is expected to reach £16.4m.
