‘No consequence’ for DUP ministers who boycotted North South Ministerial Council

Stormont opposition leader Matthew O’Toole (SDLP) said a report from the Ministerial Standards Commissioner in July had found that five DUP ministers had breached the ministerial code by failing to attend council meetings in 2021.

It came at a time when the DUP spoke about taking action to express its opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol after the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Mr O’Toole told MLAs: “Politics in this place is held in low esteem. People believe that parties in this Assembly, particularly the larger ones, believe they can do what they like and face minimal or no consequences, and all too often, that is true.

“There is a crisis of accountability in our politics.

“Part of our job in opposition is to effect change in that culture.”

Mr O’Toole said the motion was not about censure or an attempt to have those involved excluded but about “registering clear condemnation” as well as looking for solutions and accountability.

His motion condemned the boycott and called on the First Minister and deputy First Minister to work with the British and Irish governments to initiate a review of Strand Two of the Good Friday Agreement. It also calls for reform to secure secure and stable institutions at Stormont.

During the debate Mr O’Toole expressed disappointment that the ministers involved in the boycotts had not taken their seats in the Assembly during the debate.

DUP MLA Brian Kingston said the action of party ministers in the last Executive “are a collective demonstration that the original protocol imposed by the EU and the UK Government caused a deterioration of political and economic stability in Northern Ireland”.

“The concerns of unionists had been trampled on and the DUP makes no apology for bringing matters to a head. Only then did the EU reverse its position and return to the negotiating table, and ultimately legislative changes were made,” he said.

“We in the DUP will take no lectures from other parties which resisted bringing about a political resolution to that impasse. Instead they called for the rigorous implementation of the protocol, arrangements that were at the heart of the problem.”

First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly did not respond to the motion.

Principal deputy speaker Caral Ni Chuilin, who chaired the debate, told MLAs she had received a letter from Ms O’Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly.

She said they indicated they were not able to provide a response because there is “no shared decision across the joint office”.

After a recorded vote, the motion was passed by 50 votes to 31.