The leader of the Opposition in Northern Ireland has described the "lack of delivery" from Stormont as "toxic". Matthew O'Toole, of the SDLP, gave evidence to Westminster's Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on Wednesday, stating that the public has lost faith in the devolved institutions.
Call for Reform and Cultural Shift
Mr O'Toole argued that both reform of the institutions and a cultural shift within the Executive are necessary. He emphasised that the people of Northern Ireland "can't really see the benefit of devolved government".
"It's very, very difficult in Northern Ireland for people to see what meaningful improvement Stormont makes to their lives, and that's really pernicious, particularly in a society where democracy, where basic governance has been so challenged for so much of our history," he told MPs.
He added: "For people to just not believe that there's really much point, or it's achieving very much, is really, really toxic, whatever your preference on the constitution."
Budget Concerns and Dysfunctionality
Mr O'Toole highlighted that a Stormont budget for the current financial year remains unagreed. He warned that civil servants can only authorise 95% of last year's budget, effectively resulting in a 5% cut.
"There's a very specific frustration that people rightly have, which is the dysfunctionality and the repeated collapses at Stormont… it self-evidently cannot go on like this indefinitely, because the public have completely lost faith in devolution, which is a tragedy when you think of a society that came out of conflict when so much hope was invested in those institutions," he said.
Political Dynamics
Mr O'Toole pointed to the structural challenges posed by Sinn Féin and the DUP, who are in permanent opposition to each other while being in permanent government together. He stressed that structural changes are important but a cultural shift and leadership are also needed.
"So structural changes are important, and they can move you in that direction, but you do need a cultural shift too, and you need people to want to lead, and to want to lead people in the right direction," he added.
Alliance deputy leader Eoin Tennyson, UUP leader Jon Burrows, and DUP leader Gavin Robinson are also scheduled to give evidence to the committee on Wednesday.
