Today the Assembly debated an SDLP motion which read:
Motion: Enhancing Accountability and Trust in Government
That this Assembly acknowledges that the Executive has lasted for one year, but affirms that simply existing is not enough; notes with regret the findings of the Life in the UK Report 2024, that Northern Ireland experiences the lowest levels of democratic wellbeing across the UK; further notes that people’s low level of trust in our institutions is compounded by repeated institutional collapse, the failure of the Executive to deliver on its promised legislative programme or improve public services; calls on the First Minister and deputy First Minister to initiate a programme to rebuild trust and accountability in our politics by each making a clear and specific commitment not to resign their respective offices during this mandate under any circumstances; and further calls on the First Minister and deputy First Minister to write to the UK and Irish Governments to commence a programme of reform, including an amendment to the Pledge of Office, so no party can veto the operation of Government.
TUV MLA Timothy Gaston used the motion to raise points directly related to trust and accountability in government citing the Sinn Fein expenses scandal and the farcical scenes which have been seen in the Executive Office Committee. Although the comments were directly related to the motion, he was cut off by the Sinn Fein principal deputy speaker, Carál Ní Chuilín.
Having raised the matter with speaker Edwin Poots later in the day, we look forward to the Speaker responding to Mr Gaston’s points.
The text of Mr Gaston’s comments which were interrupted in the Assembly are reproduced in full below. A recording of what happened in the Assembly is online here.
Mr Gaston’s point of order and the Speaker’s response is online here.
I couldn’t agree more with some aspects of the motion before us today. It is particularly welcome that it notes the lack of “trust and accountability in our politics”.
Last week this House debated a motion which lambasted the report produced into the Michael McMonagle scandal. Without a vote it was passed. We all agreed that the conclusions drawn in what was supposedly a robust prob into the abuse of public money in this building simply was not credible. What now? Will there be a fresh report? Will the First Minister – whose party provided the only voice to say the report was sound – return to this House and correct the record? If Ms O’Neill believes we should accept the report she accepts that on 7th October she mislead the House – something which should be a resigning matter Will the other parties insist that, as called for in that motion, a robust audit system is put in place to ensure that Sinn Féin creaming off public money to fund their press operation doesn’t continue? Or will they put the process before “trust and accountability”?
Moving outside of this chamber, have we seen efforts to ensure “trust and accountability” were paramount in our committees? No. We saw a junior minister shielded by a committee chair, Ms Bradshaw, when asked if she had seen a paedophile enter this building. Ms Bradshaw ensured that to this day Junior Minister Reilly hasn’t answered that question. We saw MLAs submit questions in advance to the First Minister so that she had pre-prepared questions before appearing before what laughably passes for a scrutiny committee in this place. What sort of accountability is that? We had a private meeting between the chair of the Executive Office committee and the First Minister before the Minister gave evidence so that she could get assurances that the chair could be relied upon to rule difficult questions out of order. Is that how one goes about securing “trust and accountability”?
Having made those points I do want to explain why I will be abstaining on this motion. It laments the lack of accountability and yet calls for an assurance that neither Ms O’Neill nor Ms Pengelly resign. As far as I am concerned, the First Minister’s conduct in relation to the McMonagle scandal means she should be already gone.