Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister:-
“After the RHI debacle and the unedifying evidence and actions of senior civil servants, the NICS desperately needs strong leadership. Instead, we are presented with an impasse because the First Ministers can’t agree on a new Head of the Civil Service.
“Such a debilitating outcome was almost inevitable once the dysfunctional Executive Office took control of the process. Subjecting the choice to political control, particularly political control as hopelessly divided as that of the First Ministers, both undermined the supposed independence of the role and almost guaranteed such an outcome. Maybe, now we’ll move to Joint Heads of the Civil Service! Nothing would surprise!
“This appointment should never have been in the gift of our dysfunctional First Ministers. The Civil Service is supposed to be independent. So, too, should be the process of appointing its Head.”