Debate contribution: Holding Ministers to Account

Debate contribution by Mrs Sinéad Ennis on 10 November 2025.

MLA

Mrs Sinéad Ennis

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

10 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Holding Ministers to Account

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5224976

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Today's unedifying display by the Education Minister has given proof, if proof were required, of the need for reform. Earlier today, a majority in the Assembly voted that it had no confidence in the Education Minister. As it stands, the Education Minister has not just lost the confidence of the Assembly; he has lost the confidence of the public. Now we are left with a petulant, morally bankrupt Education Minister, a spent force who has lost all credibility; yet he remains in office. That is not accountability, and it shows exactly why our institutions need to be strengthened. The Education Minister's trip raises serious questions about his moral and professional judgement. It was tone deaf, politically reckless and showed a complete disregard for the feelings of many people across our community, not least of all those who work in the Minister's Department, our teaching staff and their unions. That kind of behaviour undermines confidence not only in one Minister but in these institutions themselves. Twenty-seven years on from the Good Friday Agreement, we have come a long way, but the world of 2025 is not the world of 1998. Times have changed, and our institutions must adapt with them. Sinn Féin is ready for that conversation. We want reform, but it must be serious reform that delivers accountability and strengthens power-sharing. However, if I am to be honest, too many others are treating the issue of Assembly reform as an opportunity for a headline; for the chance to outdo a political rival or to claim some quick political kudos. Rushing into reforming these institutions without the proper consideration, scrutiny and thought would be reckless. Reform must be done right, and we do it right by gathering and examining the evidence. We do it through engagement, and we do it with respect for the principles of the Good Friday Agreement, because those principles are not obstacles but the foundations for everything that we do and everything that we have achieved. That is why our amendment refers this issue to the Assembly and Executive Review Committee. The Member who moved the motion knows all too well, because he sits on that Committee alongside me, that that is the proper forum in which to take this forward. Mr O'Toole knows that the Committee is already examining important questions around how cross-community voting operates, how the Executive are formed and how accountability can be strengthened across the board. I take exception to Mr O'Toole's misrepresentation of Sinn Féin's position on AERC, because it was our party that added to that list and asked for things to be looked at, including how the Speaker is elected and the power of the Speaker. We believe that changes in that respect would fundamentally give the Assembly more credibility and more stability. The Assembly and Executive Review Committee is where the serious work is being done; it is not in the headlines of newspapers or in social media but in the detail of the work that the AERC is already undertaking. I acknowledge that my Committee colleague Michelle Guy has proposed that we enhance civic engagement in the process, and I do think that civic engagement is good. It helped to shape the Good Friday Agreement, and it must play a part in shaping the next part of its evolution. It should also be said that reform here cannot happen in isolation. Any legislative change will, ultimately, require Westminster's involvement, and that must be approached in the spirit of cooperation. Let me say clearly again that Sinn Féin is up for reform, but we are up for doing it properly. We are engaging with the evidence and with the experts and the people whom we represent. Others, including the DUP and its Ministers, need to reflect on their position on that and on their responsibility. Equally, others in the House need to approach the issue of reform with maturity and with the seriousness that it deserves, because playing party politics with reform or with the public's trust is not leadership. The people of the North deserve better than distraction and cheap political point-scoring on the issue. They deserve seriousness, accountability and a politics that delivers. That is a standard that we in Sinn Féin are intent on upholding.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:43 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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