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Stormont passes motion criticising DUP meeting boycott

PA Media A close-up image of Paul Givan, a man with short, grey hair. He is photographed from the shoulders up and is wearing a dark suit jacket, a white collared shirt and a red tie. The background is blurred.PA Media
Paul Givan, who was formerly first minister, previously defended the DUP's decision to not attend meetings of the North-South Ministerial Council

The Stormont assembly has passed a motion criticising Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) ministers for their boycott of meetings of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in 2021.

DUP ministers had refused to attend meetings of the cross-border body in protest at post-Brexit trade checks under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

NSMC meetings have since been reconvened after Stormont's devolved government was restored in February.

A majority of 50 assembly members to 31 backed a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) motion to "condemn" the boycott on Monday.

It comes after the assembly's standards commissioner found DUP ministers Paul Givan and Gordon Lyons, as well as former ministers Michelle McIlveen, Gary Middleton and Edwin Poots, had breached the ministerial code.

The withdrawal was also ruled unlawful by Belfast's High Court.

NI Protocol concerns

SDLP assembly member Matthew O'Toole, leader of the assembly's opposition, said the motion was about "registering clear condemnation".

"It isn't about scoring points. It is about accountability," he added.

DUP assembly member Brian Kingston said the actions of DUP ministers in the previous Stormont executive were due to concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

"The concerns of unionists had been trampled on and the DUP makes no apology for bringing matters to a head," he added.

During the debate, the assembly was told First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly could not provide a response because "there is no shared position across the joint office".

'Post-Brexit era'

The NSMC was set up under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and involves ministers from Dublin and Stormont working together on matters of mutual interest.

Sinn Féin assembly member Declan Kearney said that in a "post-Brexit era", north-south cooperation "has never been more important".

He said any attempts to "hollow out" any institutions of the agreement were "unacceptable".

Supporting the motion, Alliance Party assembly member Paula Bradshaw said she shared the "frustration" over the past boycott of NSMC meetings.

Former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie said the refusal to attend NSMC meetings "didn't achieve anything".

But he said he was "not sure what this motion is trying to achieve".