Stormont Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has accused First Minister Michelle O'Neill of choosing “electioneering over her ministerial responsibilities” amid tensions over the Drumcree parading dispute.
Ms Little-Pengelly told the Assembly that she asked Ms O'Neill to issue a statement calling for calm during the impasse at the former flashpoint in Portadown, which has exasperated divisions between the DUP and Sinn Féin.
Unionist Criticism Over Garvaghy Road Presence
Unionists have criticised Ms O'Neill for her presence on the Garvaghy Road across the last week, where crowds gathered have meant a Parades Commission ruling to allow an Orange Order parade along the road for the first time in almost 30 years has not been able to be carried out.
Ms O'Neill has said she is standing with the residents against the parade, and said “the right thing is to stand here with these residents”.
Assembly Remarks on Law and Order
Speaking in the Assembly during questions for the Executive Office on Monday, Ms Little-Pengelly claimed Sinn Féin has “done significant damage to the position of First Minister”, which she said “at the very heart of it has to be about upholding the law”.
She also insisted that “nobody is going to be treated like a second-class citizen just because they’re asked to give a modicum of respect, a modicum of tolerance” in terms of the parade passing.
Call for Calm and Criticism of Actions
Ms Little-Pengelly told MLAs that Sinn Féin “flooded the area for sheer electioneering”, and suggested she asked Ms O'Neill to “stand with me” to call for calm.
“I reached out to the First Minister and I asked her to put out a statement to call for calm. I reached out to the First Minister and asked her to stand with me to call people off the streets, and in terms of moving forward together, and this is the reality, she chose to follow the law of the mob instead of the law of the land,” she said.
“She chose Sinn Féin politics over her responsibilities as minister, and that is shameful.”
Ms Little-Pengelly described feeling “deeply frustrated” at what she has seen over the course of the last week.
“I’ve been out and about speaking to so many people who are genuinely appalled, and I do think that the First Minister and Sinn Féin need a wake-up call if you think that your actions have not landed really, really badly with the vast majority of people,” she said.
“Nobody was asking the First Minister to embrace the decision of the Parades Commission or of the courts, but what they were asking her to do was to fulfil her responsibilities as First Minister, and that must mean working together on core principles and values, and that must include upholding the rule of law.
“It’s so basic to what we are doing, supporting the police.
“We have big challenges ahead, trying to fight for a budget for the people of Northern Ireland, trying to drive forward transformation and progress.
“That’s what I am prepared to do. It’s why I’m in this post. That is responsible leadership, and I have been despairing at the recklessness and the disregard shown by the First Minister to these institutions, to these posts, and our reputation. It has been absolutely appalling.”
