Jim Allister has revealed, via the response to a written question tabled a year ago, that deputy First Minister O’Neill travelled to Dublin by Ministerial car when she was joined by the leaders of Alliance, the SDLP and the Greens in a meeting as part of the campaign for the rigorous implementation of the Protocol.
Jim Allister said:
“Ministerial cars are not the playthings of individuals to use as they please but paid for out of the public purse. One can dress it up whatever way you please but I believe any reasonable person would regard a trip to Dublin as a significant detour while being “between official engagements”!
“It is not the job of the taxpayer to fund travel to party political meetings and I am therefore challenging the Executive Office on what reimbursement Mrs O’Neill has made to the public purse for this trip. We also deserve to know what exactly were the official engagements on that day.
“Of course the meeting to which Mrs O’Neill was travelling was her joint jolly to Dublin with the leaders of the SDLP, Alliance and the Greens as part of their campaign for rigorous implication of the Protocol.
“Not only was this meeting explicitly party political but it took place at a time when there were strict guidance about travel and Dublin was a city in lockdown.
“Travelling to such an event in an official car was entirely inappropriate.
“Sinn Fein already get special treatment when it comes to Ministerial cars with the party using its own drivers rather than drivers drawn from the civil service pool. Now it appears that they use taxpayer funded cars to travel to party meetings. It isn’t good enough.”
Note to editors
Mr Allister’s follow up questions are as follows:
To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister further to the response to AQW 7630/17-22, what reimbursement, if any, was made in respect of the party political journey to Dublin.
To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister further to the response to AQW 7630/17-22, to list the official engagements which the deputy First Minister was between when she visited Dublin on party political business on 24 September 2020.