MLAs debated alleged ministerial breaches of Covid-19 Regulations
Disability support and family carer support was debated in the chamber
The Executive Office and Health Minister Robin Swann answered MLAs' questions
MLAs debated a motion on Covid-19 guidance and financial support to industry sectors
The Pension Schemes Bill reached its second stage
That’s all from us today, but do join us again tomorrow when we’ll be covering sittings of the Infrastructure and Communities committees.
Both sessions will see ministers in attendance.
It’s sure to be another busy day.
We’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning at 10:00.
Jim Wells, the temporary speaker, thanks all members for the “tenor and moderation that was shown” during the debate.
He says it “could have been a blood-letting session” adding that it could have “stoked up difficult emotions leading up to the period ahead of us”.
“Everyone in my opinion put their views forcibly but in a way that was responsible”.
He moves the chamber to an oral vote on the motion and it passes.
Image source, NI AssemblyGordon Lyons of the DUP then raises a point of order.
He says before members entered the house or could take their seats, they had to sign the undertaking, “to support the rule of law, in word and in deed, and to support all efforts to uphold it”.
He says he doesn’t believe the “glorification of terrorism is in keeping with that undertaking” and refers to comments made by Pat Sheehan during his submission to the debate.
Mr Wells says “it isn’t technically a point of order” but that his views are now on record.
Mr Lyons asks for the speaker to rule on this as he says it is “very, very serious”.
Jonathan Buckley of the DUP also makes a point of order.
He wants the speakers' office to make a ruling to be forwarded to the incoming commissioner for standards of the house.
It’s not the role of the speaker to do so, but a member or private individual can do so says Mr Wells.
The temporary speaker the adjourns the sitting.
Image source, NI AssemblyThe SDLP's Colin McGrath winds for the motion.
He says it's an "incredibly sensitive" matter and that it's not about point scoring.
Mr McGrath says the ministers who attended the funeral have "critically undermined their own authority".
He says those who brought the motion have not come to the house "to tear down the institutions", but to call on the ministers to acknowledge the pain that their actions have caused and to seek an apology.
The SDLP MLA says it is no longer credible for the deputy first minister to deny that she has breached the public health guidance, "that is beyond doubt".
He says that since no apology has been forthcoming from the minister he wants to apologise on belhalf of the assembly to those who have been hurt.
"You have been badly let down by the people who asked you to make unimaginable, difficult sacrifices," Mr McGrath says.
The temporary speaker, Jim Wells alerts members that Michelle O’Neill has five minutes to respond to the debate as she has clarified that she is speaking in her capacity as an MLA, not as deputy first minister.
She begins by stating that “a lot has been said over the past week since the untimely death of Bobby Storey” and her attendance at his funeral.
“I have taken every opportunity to set out my position,” she says.
“At the forefront of my mind are all the families who are grieving, all those who have lost loved ones throughout the course of the pandemic,” says the Sinn Féin vice-president.
“All grief is the same” she says, adding that she is concerned that many families “have had their heartache compounded by necessary restrictions which were in place at points in time over the past few months”.
“Their grief has been hugely, hugely, difficult,” she adds.
Image source, NI AssemblyMichelle O’Neill continues, “with hand on heart, I can say, I would always apologise for any unintended hurt that was caused”.
“I was invited to the funeral in my capacity as deputy leader of Sinn Féin,” she says.
“I’m satisfied that I did act responsibly in the church as part of a limited group of no more than 30 people as part of the cortege,” she adds.
“At no stage did I seek to give offence to anyone, including this chamber, nor would I ever seek to do so.”
She says it’s “unfortunate that this matter has divided the executive and the assembly that many of us have worked so hard to restore”.
Ms O’Neill says the response to the pandemic has been the executive’s key focus.
“Covid-19 is still with us and I will continue to lead us through this and into the recovery where we are looking beyond the response phase,” she says.
At the end of her speech, Jim Allister shouts "resign".
The temporary speaker jokingly responds, "I have no intention of reigning Mr Allister I can assure you".
The DUP's Alex Easton says he's "ashamed to be part of this assembly to today, having to debate what is the biggest scandal involving multiple members of this assembly".
He lists a number of instances when, he says, regulations were broken, including the issuing of information on funeral timings and routes on social media by Sinn Féin members, including Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey.
"No family or person should be treated in any different way", he says, before calling on the deputy first minister to resign until all investigations are completed.
Image source, NI AssemblyThe TUV's Jim Allister says that "by their actions, Sinn Féin have been laughing in the faces of grieving families".
He says the regulation in place at the time was clear that "you could not attend the funerals of your friends".
Mr Allister says the Sinn Féin MLAs' "first call of loyalty" is to the republican movement.
He says the party is also laughing in the face of the assembly as the assembly is not prepared to do anything about it.
Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit says the deputy first minister revealed yesterday that she has not been contacted by the PSNI, but he says those who participated in a Black Lives Matter protest on 6 June have been fined.
He asks if Michelle O’Neill accepts that “one rule exists for her and another for Black Lives Matter protesters? The hypocrisy is shocking”.
Mr Carroll adds at least “eight families were treated differently to those who attended a cremation at Roselawn last week”, something he says compounded their grief.
He says he believes it was right that Belfast City Council apologised and calls for the deputy first minister to do the same.
Image source, NI AssemblyUUP MLA Alan Chambers says there were “clearly deliberate breaches” at Bobby Storey’s funeral.
He says the actions of the deputy first minister showed a “ a clear lack of integrity and undermined her moral authority and that of the whole Executive Office”.
Mr Chambers says those who “should’ve known better” didn’t follow the same sacrifices as others in burying their loved ones.
Image source, NI AssemblyThe DUP's Jonathan Buckley quotes from a statement made by Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill on 9 April.
"The rules are there for a reason. Everybody needs to follow them. Nobody is exempt," he quotes.
He says that throughout the pandemic people have been asked to make life-altering sacrifices and yet Sinn Féin "believe that the standards that apply to ordinary people in this country should not apply to them".
Image source, NI AssemblySinn Féins John O'Dowd says he welcomes the "belated" acceptance in the house that there is grief in the Storey family.
He says the motion is an attempt to score political points.
Mr O'Dowd refers to "the blatant hypocrisy" of some of those who have signed the motion and have themselves breached the regulations at large funerals.
The DUP’s Mervyn Storey says he rises to speak with awareness that there is a family grieving.
He quotes from the Bible: “it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgement”.
The MLA adds “we will one day, when we pass this scene of time, not be held accountable to this assembly, but to the judge of all the earth”.
Mr Storey says the debate is about the actions of the deputy first mister and others.
“Did this come as a shock to the people of Northern Ireland?" he asks.
He says the actions of the “deputy first minister and others” at the funeral last week “said to the people of Northern Ireland, and wider afield, our republicanism, its ideology and all that it is to us, is more important than the law, it’s more important than doing what we had said for weeks previously”.
Image source, NI AssemblySinn Féin’s Pat Sheehan declares an interest when he rises to speak, as he says Bobby Storey was “a very good friend of mine and I am very, very proud to say that here tonight”.
He says he is conscious that other families, as well as Bobby Storey’s are also grieving.
Mr Sheehan says a number of his friends have died during the pandemic and that each of their funerals was different due to the changes in Covid regulations.
“Sometimes I think people are trying to compare apples with pears and that’s not fair, and I wonder sometimes are some representatives exploiting the emotions of some people,” he asks.
Image source, NI AssemblySteve Aiken of the UUP says he rises in “regret” to speak on the motion.
“It’s not a matter of orange and green,” he adds, but one which “goes to the core of how we deal with this challenge”.
Mr Aiken says the executive, until last Tuesday, had achieved “hard-won acceptance and support” which is “now gone”.
“It is you who made the rules,” Mr Aiken says to the deputy first minster and finance minister.
He adds, they “sold these rules and now have indisputably broken these rules”.
“In any other democracy, both of you would have done the decent thing and resigned,” he adds.
Image source, NI AssemblyAlliance’s Kellie Armstrong is up next, and she says she will be the only speaker from her party during this debate.
She passes on her condolences to the Storey family.
“Many of us have made sacrifices throughout lockdown,” says the Strangford MLA.
“The rules are difficult but the public took on board those regulations and guidelines keeping the R number down and the spread of Covid-19 limited,” and she thanks those who have complied with the rules.
“It’s been really hard, your actions have saved lives,” she says to the public.
Ms Armstrong says her party understands why there has been “such public outrage and anger” at last week’s funeral.
"Everyone was looking to government here to lead us out of this crisis," she adds, and says the executive's message was working until 30 June 2020.
Image source, NI AssemblyÓrlaithí Flynn of Sinn Féin rises to oppose the motion.
She says she recognises how difficult and how challenging the past few months have been "particularly for those who have lost a loved one to Covid-19".
Ms Flynn offers her "sincere condolences to every single family who have lost a loved one during this time".
She says Booby Storey "was a very dear friend of mine", who was "a mentor, a champion, always in my corner".
Turning to the motion, she says there has been little consideration in the chamber for the pain being experienced by Mr Storey's family.
She says their pain is "real and heartfelt".
Image source, NI AssemblyThe SDLP's Daniel McCrossan says he "absolutely" acknowledges that there is a grieving family, but he also acknowledges that there are many grieving families "whose grief has been compounded by their inability to have a traditional wake and funeral".
He says the debate is about the assembly "practising what we preach".
"It just seems to many out there that there's a hierarchy of pain that ministers and Sinn Féin have created," he says.
He calls on Mrs O'Neill to apologise.
Eventually, Christopher Stalford of the DUP gets to open the debate.
“In a fashion that would shame the Trump administration, the deputy first minister asks us to shut our eyes to what we call can see and to stuff our ears, to drown out what we all can hear,” he says.
The South Belfast MLA runs through the contents of the regulations.
Referring to the recent funeral of veteran republican Bobby Storey attended by the deputy first minister, Mr Stalford says that “there were clearly more than 30 people walking in the cortege, there were hundreds more walking behind them and in close proximity, and there were thousands in Milltown cemetery”.
“This clearly and openly constitutes a breach of the regulations,” he adds.
He asks the deputy first minister to clarify whether her party submitted an application to the Parades Commission about the event, adding if not, “that constitutes a further breach in the law and one which I suspect that the deputy first minister’s party would be very quick to seize upon”.
Mr Stalford questions why there was a need for a “public address system” at Mr Storey’s funeral if it was intended that 30 people would be addressed.
Image source, NI AssemblyHe says if it was separate from the funeral, then “it didn’t constitute part of his funeral, it constituted a Sinn Féin rally in a cemetery”.
Mr Stalford says after a period of three years without devolution “we were making progress in how people feel about the assembly” but adds, the “deputy first minister’s credibility is shot to bits”.
“I don’t say that to be cruel or to be unpleasant, it’s simply a statement of fact.”
Mr Stalford refers to the minister’s attendance at the funeral as a case of “do as I say, not as I do.”
He also says he’s asking the chair of the Executive Office Committee, Colin McGrath, to consider a “committee-led inquiry into these events in order to establish, on the record of this house, the scale of the breaches that occurred”.
The DUP's Christopher Stalford is to start the debate but Jim Allister (below) of the TUV is on his feet with a point of order.
In response to his query, Temporary Speaker Jim Wells says Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill will have 15 minutes to speak.
Mr Allister wants to know if Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill will be speaking in her role as deputy first minister, which means she will also be speaking on behalf of the first minister.
Image source, NI AssemblyTemporary speaker Jim Wells says he's simply acting on the information received by the business office.
He says it will be up to Mrs O'Neill to address the point.
Junior Minister Gordon Lyons rises to say it will not be a joint statement by the Executive Office.
Ultimately, Mrs O'Neill stands to confirm that she will be speaking as an MLA.
Mr Wells rules that she will have five minutes.
Jim Wells takes the speaker's chair and the clerk reads the motion
That this Assembly acknowledges the immense sacrifices that people, families and communities have made during the COVID-19 emergency; pays tribute to those who selflessly prioritised the need to keep each other safe above their own personal needs, particularly during times of trauma, loss and grief; expresses disappointment in the actions of those in ministerial office who breached public guidance and failed to share in the sacrifice that we have asked of others; implores members of the public to stay with us and to continue acting in accordance with the regulations in order to keep each other safe and prevent further deaths; recommits to upholding the spirit and the letter of the COVID-19 regulations and the related public health guidance; and calls on the deputy First Minister and the Minister of Finance to apologise for their actions, which have caused immense hurt.
It's brought by MLAs from the DUP, Alliance, UUP and SDLP.
The Principal Deputy Speaker, Christopher Stalford, informs the chamber that he is proposing the next item for debate and so cannot chair proceedings.
He says Deputy Speaker Roy Beggs is unavailable and also unable to chair the debate.
As a result, the sitting will be chaired by a temporary speaker, “defined as the member present at the sitting who has served at the assembly the longest number of days and in the case of a tie, the oldest”, explains Mr Stalford.
Jim Wells, the DUP MLA who has had the party whip removed, has therefore been asked to chair the sitting.
The assembly is suspended until 18:00.
Colm Gildernew of Sinn Féin is invited to wind on the debate.
He says Covid-19 has left many carers “further isolated” adding that he would have “been delighted” if the motion had included financial recognition of the additional costs carers have faced due to the pandemic.
“The entire health and social care system relies heavily on the input those carers bring,” he says, adding “if they get burned out, we’re in serious trouble”.
There is a need to “engage with them in a very realistic way,” says Mr Gildernew.
He says the trusts have a responsibility to identify carers. He says the register of carers is “patchy, incomplete”.
“We cannot overlook the essential need of core services which have been stopped,” says the Sinn Féin MLA.
Image source, NI AssemblyMembers take an oral vote on the motion and it is passed.
Image source, NI AssemblyReplying to the debate, Health Minister Robin Swann says the pandemic "has changed all our lives".
He says he's acutely aware of families being unable to visit their loved ones because they are in a residential setting or having to take on caring duties on a full-time basis.
"There is no doubt that the toll that the pandemic has taken on our carers is tangible," Mr Swann says.
The minister turns to the question of the closure of HSE day centres and schools.
He says closure of the centres "was considered necessary at that time to minimise the transmission of the virus among adults with learning disabilities".
The minister says the process of rebuilding will be on an incremental basis and that plans will be debveloped for a regionally consistent approach.
Rachel Woods of the Green Party is up next. She says a significant amount of people have become carers during the Covid pandemic.
“The impact on family carers cannot be underestimated,” she tells members.
She calls for the minister to continue to engage with the sector and pursue co-design.
“Many feel they are not been listened to,” says Ms Woods, referencing conversations she has had with carers.
Image source, NI AssemblyPeople Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll says the current arrangements highlight the need for respite care for carers.
“Family members stepped in and stepped up,” says Mr Carroll.
He adds, “we have to remember many family carers are facing burnout and we have to recognise that we have to act accordingly to support them”.
Image source, NI AssemblyThe DUP's Alex Easton says it's been estimated that up to 310,000 people in Northern Ireland may be providing unpaid care to a family member or loved one, and that 98,000 have become carers since the Covid-19 outbreak began.
He lists many of the statutory services that have been closed down since the beginning of the pandemic.
Mr Easton says family carers must be involved in all future long-term solutions.
Image source, NI AssemblyPaula Bradshaw of Alliance says she has been contacted by parents who have had to ask their other children to provide support due to the absence of care workers coming to the house, "essentially making them unpaid carers".
She says the carers had told her of their "acute stress and guilt at this" especially since the children were already suffering stress from their absence from school and having to do homework.
Colin McGrath of the SDLP says “we need and needed our carers” during the pandemic.
“They gave comfort, they lived and they breathed compassion and they helped to save lives,” adds the MLA.
Mr McGrath calls for a new normal and not a return to what was before.
“We need to repurpose our health service” he adds, and urges the health minister to put in place three things including, “flexible funding to be available to family carers”, to ensure family carers are “given discretion to use individual budgets immediately for managing their family members support and needs, and for families to be “fully involved in any and all of future long term solutions”.
Image source, NI AssemblyThe UUP’s Robbie Butler says it’s good to talk about a motion relating to the most vulnerable in the community.
He says the motion is “a powerful motion”.
“A carer today in 2020 can be a child, an adult, a family member, a friend,” he says.
“Carers are champions and we shouldn't be afraid to put them on the pedestal that they deserve to be.”
Image source, NI AssemblyPam Cameron of the DUP says she welcomes the motion before the house.
She says “those with disabilities should not be left behind in conversations” about recovery from Covid-19.
Mrs Cameron says “equal access must be at the heart of this process”.
“It’s about valuing carers,” says the DUP MLA, adding that unpaid carers have played a significant role during the pandemic.
“Even amidst the upheaval of Covid-19 there are opportunities to be identified,” says Mrs Cameron.
Image source, NI AssemblySinn Féin’s Emma Sheerin says “during lockdown life changed for everyone but the needs of those who required care remained the same”.
She says “this pandemic, the consequent lockdown and everything that has gone with it are causes for significant anxiety for us all”.