'Wheels coming off' Sinn Féin messaging on powersharing, says Paul Givan

By Claudia Savage, Press Association

DUP minister Paul Givan has said the “wheels are coming off” Sinn Féin’s messaging in regard to powersharing.

Givan said the party had “made over-commitments” to projects including the A5 and Casement Park and were trying to create “instability and distraction”.

At the end of July, Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy warned that powersharing at Stormont is in a “precarious place”, stating that the DUP “don’t have the political will to make it work”.

This led to speculation about the resilience of the devolved institutions, with the largest unionist party accusing Sinn Féin of “inserting instability” into the powersharing government arrangements.

Sinn Féin vice-president and the North's first minister Michelle O’Neill later said she has “no intention” of bringing down Stormont.

On Thursday, the Education Minister told the Press Association that the Sinn Féin’s record in the Executive does not “stand up to scrutiny”.

“Sinn Féin have been inconsistent when it comes to their messaging, and the wheels are coming off that public messaging, and that’s not helpful because that can bleed into confidence around the institutions,” he said.

“I can speak for the DUP, and my party leader Gavin Robinson has been very clear that we are committed to devolution, and our ministers are committed to making sure we can make improvements.

“That’s why I have embarked upon reforming our education system, why Gordon Lyons is involved in delivering for his communities, but I think as you approach this election, Sinn Féin’s track record in government hasn’t been one that I think will stand up to scrutiny.

“We look at the challenges around the A5, they made over-commitments when it came to Casement Park, built up huge expectations despite all of the different challenges that they were aware of in the background, and what do they have to take to their electorate?

“So now they play grievance politics. They create instability and distraction. That’s what Sinn Féin do when they don’t have a record of delivery.

“Whereas the DUP, we have delivered in our two years in government.

“My job is to stay focused, though, irrespective of what’s going on in Sinn Féin.

“For the next year, we’re going to continue that work around delivery, and we’ll ensure that, for our part, we want the institutions to work because they need to work for the people of Northern Ireland.”

With MLAs due to return to Stormont in September for the final term of its current mandate, Givan said he has a “huge amount of work to take forward”  including “making sure that we have formal education and training for young people up until the age of 18”.

“There are other pieces of legislation that I want to take forward, but Sinn Féin are frustrating the processes,” he said.

“They need to step up and be more effective when it comes to their role within the Executive.

“The DUP, we are committed to doing that, and we want to make sure that ultimately politics isn’t about political parties; it’s about how you serve the people, and that’s what our focus should be on.

“And if every party puts the people first, then we’ll continue to deliver as best we can in the Executive.”