SDLP Leader of the Opposition Matthew O’Toole MLA has said the party will challenge Education Minister Paul Givan over his use of departmental resources to publicise a trip to Israel.
He has written to the Head of the Civil Service and the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Education to establish what role the civil service played in the trip and whether the Northern Ireland Civil Service Code of Ethics has been compromised.
Mr O’Toole committed to working with other parties to use every mechanism, including Official Opposition Assembly time and an Urgent Oral Question, to hold the Minister accountable.
South Belfast MLA Matthew O’Toole said:
“There is real public outrage at the Education Minister’s decision to not only visit Israel, but to use departmental resources to publicise his trip and help peddle Israeli propaganda. The civil service and department must urgently outline what involvement they had in the Minister’s trip, and the departmental resources used to herald a visit to a school sitting on occupied Palestinian land.
“This visit took place as the Israeli Government continues to kill innocent civilians in Gaza, with 20,000 children among the dead. The SDLP Opposition is willing to work with any other party to ensure that the Minister is held accountable. We will use every Assembly mechanism, including Official Opposition time and submitting an Urgent Oral Question, to force the Minister to justify these decisions to the public.
“This trip and the use of department branding is the latest in a long line of questionable decisions from the Education Minister. He has installed someone with links to his party as the Chair of the Education Authority, saw a Permanent Secretary depart with an investigation ongoing and used Assembly statements to settle scores with other parties. It is beginning to look like the Minister is using his office to pursue his own political agenda, rather than to improve the education system across Northern Ireland.”
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