Statement by TUV MLA Timothy Gaston:
“Lest anyone should be fooled by Sinn Fein’s press conference today following the publication of last week’s whitewash of a report into the Michael McMonagle scandal, I think it is worth publishing the text of a TUV motion which will be debated in the Assembly this day week. The wording of the motion was only finalised and submitted to the business office yesterday.
“Needless to say, I do not share Ms O’Neill’s claim that it was “very comprehensive” – something I will develop in the Assembly on Tuesday coming.”
The text of Mr Gaston’s motion reads:
Commitment to the Proper Use of Public Monies
That this Assembly notes the publication of the Review of the use of certain allowances under the Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) Determination (Northern Ireland) 2016 by the Assembly’s Head of Legal Services; regrets that this was a purely paper based exercise which afforded no opportunity to challenge, in person, those who provided written evidence; further regrets that the Review muddies the waters in respect of what constitutes party political work and constituency work; further notes the media reporting which conflicts with the conclusions of the report about Michael McMonagle’s role notes that if the report is to be believed, then there is an onus on the First Minister to correct the Assembly record of 7th October 2024, when she said that Michael McMonagle worked as a press officer; and calls for the Assembly Commission to ensure that, in future, there are regular and robust audits of how money is spent by MLAs and political parties under the Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) Determination and the Financial Assistance for Political Parties Scheme, including information on employees’ place and hours of work and whether they are engaged in constituency or party work.