Bobby Storey funeral: No prospect of Stormont falling

No more than 30 people were allowed to gather for outside events on the day of Bobby Storey's funeral

"It cannot be business as usual". So said Arlene Foster rejecting Michelle O'Neill's non apology.

The deputy first minister expressed her sorrow if anyone felt hurt by the TV pictures of her and the rest of the Sinn Féin leadership paying farewell en masse to their friend and comrade, IRA veteran Bobby Storey.

But Ms O'Neill didn't admit to any breach of the coronavirus regulations. Other Stormont leaders don't buy that.

They continue to argue the funeral amounted to a mass gathering in defiance of the guidelines which were operable on the day it took place.

Crowds gathered in Milltown cemetery as Sinn Féin leaders made speeches

So if it isn't "business as usual", how do you describe the current state of the Northern Ireland Executive?

Maybe, as Winston Churchill would have put it, there is no alternative for the Stormont parties but to "keep plodding on" (at least that was the version he reserved for more polite company).

All sides to this row are adamant there is no threat to the existence of the institutions.

The prevailing view is that the public would not forgive our politicians if they took a fit of pique, only six months after restoring Stormont and with the Covid-19 virus temporarily dormant but still highly dangerous.

• How a republican funeral sparked a crisis at the heart of NI's government

• Foster adds to calls for O'Neill to step down

• O'Neill says criticism is 'political point-scoring'

With no prospect of Stormont falling, ministers and party leaders will go about their work just a bit more sullen and a bit more socially-distanced than before.

In the immediate future, a return to the joint Arlene and Michelle news conferences, which came to symbolise Stormont's battle against the virus, seems unlikely.

Arlene Foster would not take part in a Covid-19 press briefing with Michelle O'Neill

In the days ahead, perhaps, Health Minister Robin Swann and Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride will play an enhanced public relations role.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) won't relish being centre stage in such a highly contentious political row. Expect them to take their time reviewing the evidence.

A number of politicians have talked about referring the matter to the assembly's standards authorities.

'Frankly ridiculous'

However, the former Stormont standards commissioner, Douglas Bain, reminded BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme that no one is doing that job, because no one was appointed to replace him when his term of office ended in 2017.

Mr Bain described the delay in appointing his successor, or even someone to fill the role on an acting basis, as "inexcusable".

He said the public could make a complaint about Michelle O'Neill or any other MLA but nothing would happen to such a complaint. He regards that as "frankly ridiculous".

Asked what he guessed would happen regarding the Bobby Storey row, Mr Bain thought party politics will ensure it eventually blows over.

However, he doesn't believe it enhances public confidence in Stormont that there will be no independent investigation into the matter.

This then leaves us with whatever the parties might do themselves. TUV leader Jim Allister has drawn up a no confidence motion in the deputy first minister, demanding she resigns.

Michelle O'Neill addressed mourners at the Republican plot in the cemetery

Although the leaders of the four other executive parties have each articulated a similar view, they aren't likely to want to follow Stormont's arch critic.

Instead, the talk at the end of the week was of a less toughly-worded motion which might require Ms O'Neill to give the Northern Ireland Assembly an explanation about why she remains convinced her conduct was in line with the executive's health guidance.

It looks likely the forum encompassing the five main party leaders might play a bigger role in the future.

January's New Decade New Approach document envisaged this body would meet on a monthly basis, but Friday's session was only the second time the forum has met.

It isn't the only part of the New Decade New Approach deal which hasn't worked as planned.

Leafing through the document one is struck by the great swathes of the agreement which are yet to be implemented.

That includes all the legal changes which were intended to ensure Stormont can't ever again collapse as quickly as it did in 2017.

Given the coronavirus pandemic, it's not surprising a lot of this work had to be shelved.

But it's a wake-up call that we have hit our first post-New Decade, New Approach mini-crisis without any of the supposed new safety mechanisms in place.

My colleague Enda McClafferty is taking the helm for next week's Inside Politics Q&A, which will cover the Foyle constituency.

His guests will be Sinn Féin's Martina Anderson, the SDLP's Sinead McLaughlin and the DUP's Gary Middleton.

The programme is recorded on Monday, so please send any questions you have about the battle against coronavirus, the row over the Bobby Storey funeral or anything else you want to raise with our panel by emailing [e-mail] or tweeting using our hashtag #bbcip.

Next week's edition will be our last before we take a summer break, but we shall be back to complete our virtual tour around Northern Ireland's 18 constituencies in September.