Debate contribution: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers

Debate contribution by Mr Matthew O'Toole on 13 May 2022.

MLA: Mr Matthew O'Toole
Party at the time: Social Democratic and Labour Party
Date: 13 May 2022
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Speaker's Business
Heading: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4139973

Text

First of all, on behalf of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, I welcome all newly elected MLAs to the Chamber. I also thank you, Mr Speaker, for your work over the past two and a half years. I hope that you are able to finish it soon, because you worked hard for all of us over the past two and a half years and deserve your retirement. The choice for us today is whether we allow you to retire and elect a successor. There is nothing more profound in public life than being entrusted with the responsibility of service by the electorate. My first act in the new Assembly is to proudly nominate our colleague and friend Patsy McGlone for the role of Speaker. The role of Speaker is one of enormous importance to the functioning of the Assembly. As well as overseeing the Chamber, including the Executive and private Members' business, the Speaker acts as a representative for the whole institution in all our diversity. We believe that Patsy is uniquely qualified to act as our Speaker at this moment. I have lots in my speech about why Patsy is qualified, and everyone in the Chamber and everyone who has served with Patsy knows how qualified he is.
Over the past three decades, he has embodied social democratic politics and constitutional Irish nationalism but also, critically, cross-community politics. He is a fluent Gaeilgeoir, he has been a Member of the Assembly for nearly 20 years and he is a former Chair of Cookstown council.
In a sense, however, all of my words today are largely in vain because the DUP, a party that has the word "Democratic" in its name, has decided to thwart democracy today. Not only is it thwarting democracy; it is demeaning democracy. It is demeaning the entire process that all of us have spent the past six weeks engaging in — all of us who knocked on a door, went to a hustings and made our case to our constituents. During the six weeks of campaigning, I had countless people from all backgrounds telling me that they were considering not voting. They had become so alienated from politics here and were so tired of gridlock and dysfunction that they simply did not want to hear about politics or the democratic process. A woman in Carryduff who described herself to me as a small "u" unionist told me that she would not vote because the DUP in particular had destroyed her trust. She also told me the story of her 90-year-old mother who had waited for hours in an ambulance. I urged her, if she wanted something done about it, to please take the time to vote for people who wanted to do something about the state of the health service. Like others in the Chamber, I am sure, when people tell me that they are not going to vote, I always take the time to convince them to cast that vote. That woman is now not just a voter but my constituent. What do I tell her about the shameful spectacle that the DUP is inflicting on her and all of us today? I would like to ask the leader of the DUP — a man who sought election to this place but now has not taken his seat — but I cannot. In stifling not just the creation of an Executive but even the appointment of a Speaker to allow us to have basic debates and hold caretaker Ministers to account, the DUP has demeaned the entire democratic process. Shame on them. I say this to the DUP: "Do not blame the protocol. Do not blame the EU, the Irish Government or Remain-supporting parties. This is your doing and your responsibility". I designated today as a social democrat and a nationalist, because my party has always been more than just a constitutional party. There are many people whose view on the constitution has evolved. Many of them simply want to live in a society that is at peace with itself and with a functioning Government delivering on their needs. If the DUP seeks the constitutional status quo, as, it says, it does, I say to it, "Why are you so determined to make the status quo so unappealing?". When we finally have a functioning Assembly, I hope to nominate again the outstanding candidate for the job, Mr Patsy McGlone MLA, when the DUP decides to finally stop holding the people of Northern Ireland to ransom.

752 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Awaiting analysis

This record has not been analysed yet. It is not counted in any total until it has been assessed.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reviews every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification