NI Assembly: Alex Maskey says tone of debate 'concerning' at times

The tone of debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly has at times been concerning in recent weeks, Speaker Alex Maskey has said.

Opening assembly business on Monday, Mr Maskey said a number of matters have been raised with him by members.

He said this possibly reflected wider political tensions.

Mr Maskey said the absence of the assembly for three years, coupled with the turnaround in MLAs, may have reduced awareness of standards.

He said all MLAs have been written to reminding them of the standards expected.

He also said MLAs Linda Dillon, Pat Sheehan, Emma Sheerin and Martina Anderson, all of Sinn Féin, and Trevor Clarke, of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), had been written to in the past week "to draw points to their attention for the future", but did not elaborate further.

'Wider political tensions'

Mr Maskey said that since the assembly had returned after Christmas, he was pleased that the "vast majority" of debates had been constructive, if robust.

"In recent weeks, the tone of the debate has been concerning at times and a number of matters have been raised with myself," Mr Maskey said on Monday.

"In my view, the fact that all of these matters arose is probably a symptom of our wider political tensions.

"In the past week, there has also been very welcome recognition that what happens in the assembly chamber can also set a positive tone for the wider community."

Mr Maskey said there are realities that come from the fact that the assembly holds diverse political views.

"Heated language, or a confrontational or adversarial tone in debate, is only likely to exacerbate the situation rather than help the assembly perform its role in finding resolution to these very difficult issues," Mr Maskey said.