Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“It is significant that the first act of the Sinn Fein Speaker was to deliver a studied kick in the teeth to the unionist community in Fermanagh.
“The decision by the Sinn Fein education minister to force the closure of the Collegiate Grammar School in Enniskillen rightly caused dismay among many in County Fermanagh. In pledging to force reconsideration of the decision the DUP – the party which assured the electorate that at St. Andrews they had ended solo runs by ministers – tabled a petition, under Standing Order 29, to require the Speaker to refer the decision to the full Executive.
“Today, in his first action as Speaker, Mr McLaughlin threw it back in the DUP’s face and refused to refer the matter to the Executive. Thereby, he underwrote the scandalous closure decision of his Sinn Fein colleague, O’Dowd. What do the DUP say now about the actions of the man they voted for as Speaker?
“This is the first indication of how Sinn Fein will use the office of Speaker.”