Sinn Féin’s participation in protests that blocked an Orange Order parade on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown has triggered a major political crisis at Stormont, with unionist MLAs seeking the exclusion of four party ministers from office.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Finance Minister John O’Dowd, Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald and Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins were among Sinn Féin representatives who joined thousands of residents at the mainly nationalist road on September 27. Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald also attended the demonstrations.
The protest prevented an Orange Order parade from proceeding along a route which had been approved by the Parades Commission for the first time in almost 30 years.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has launched a large-scale criminal investigation into what it described as an unlawful protest. Ms O’Neill and her Sinn Féin colleagues have received official correspondence from the PSNI and said they would co-operate fully with the inquiry.
Ms O’Neill defended her involvement, saying she was “proud” to stand alongside local residents and that she would oppose the law when she believed it was wrong. Sinn Féin representatives described the protest as civil disobedience against what they regarded as an intimidating loyalist parade.
Unionist parties accused the ministers of breaching the law and submitting to “mob rule”. They argued that holding ministerial office did not exempt elected representatives from legal obligations.
Four motions have been tabled under section 30(1)(b) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The motions claim that the four ministers failed to uphold the rule of law and support it unequivocally in word and deed, as required by the Pledge of Office.
Each motion seeks to exclude the relevant minister from holding office as a minister or junior minister for 12 months. The proposals were signed by Timothy Gaston, Jonathan Buckley, Diane Dodds and Jon Burrows.
However, Stormont’s cross-community voting rules mean the motions cannot succeed without support from nationalist MLAs.
The dispute followed a two-week stand-off on the Garvaghy Road. Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant subsequently intervened to ban the contested parade, while an emergency legal challenge by the Orange Order was later adjourned by the High Court.
