O’Neill challenges NI Secretary to do more to restore Stormont institutions

Michelle O’Neill has challenged Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to do more to restore the Stormont institutions.

The Sinn Fein vice president was speaking as legislation to extend the time period for parties to return to powersharing was being fast-tracked through Parliament.

The Executive Formation Bill will also allow Mr Heaton-Harris to cut MLAs pay.

The Stormont institutions collapsed earlier this year when the DUP withdrew support as part of its protest against the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol.

Speaking in Co Tyrone, Ms O’Neill said: “There is no legislation which is any substitute for a fully-functioning Executive, that is where we need to be, on the people’s behalf, locally elected ministers taking decisions.

“Chris Heaton-Harris has a number of questions he needs to answer. He bought time, he prolonged the period in which he can call an election, for what purpose?

“What has he done to restore the Executive? What progress has been made on the protocol to make the executive work?”

Ms O’Neill also asked Mr Heaton-Harris when energy support payments would be made to people in Northern Ireland.

Households in the region are due to be credited with a £400 payment automatically, to help with energy costs this winter as part of a UK-wide scheme.

But the Utility Regulator said the payments may not arrive until January.

It is also not clear if the payments in Northern Ireland will be made as one lump sum or in smaller instalments.

Elsewhere in the UK, gas and electricity customers are receiving the payment in the form of six monthly payments of £67.

In his autumn statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said all households in Northern Ireland would receive an additional £200 payment.

Ms O’Neill said: “Where is the money for struggling households and families. Where is the £400 and the £200 which should have been in people’s pockets long before now.

“The people in England have this payment yet the people here are still left without this money in their pockets.

“Tomorrow is the 1st of December and it is just not good enough that people don’t have that money.”

She added: “Finally, what is he doing to deal with the issue of public sector pay?

“Where is the money to fund our nurses to get a fair day’s pay for their work? Where is the money for our teachers? Where is the money for public sector pay?

“These are the things I think Chris Heaton-Harris should be focusing on, rather than the things he is doing today.

“He has failed in terms of restoring the Executive, he has failed in terms of pandering to the DUP.

“I want his efforts to be focused on restoring that Executive.”

The Northern Ireland Office has been approached for comment.