‘Stormont can barely run a bath’: Five-hour debate on Covid passports abandoned ‘for legal reasons’

The unusual twist came at 9pm, when Stormont speaker Alex Maskey abruptly shut down proceedings by declaring that if they did not end the debate right away, ministers could be “hauled into courts for breaking our own rules”.

The debate had begun shortly after 4pm.

It came amid a day of big developments, with pubs and eateries adjusting to a new regime which means they must check the Covid status of their customers.

Meanwhile, a long line of patients wound its way throughout the grounds of Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital today, after the government announced that booster injections were to be made available to the over 30s without the need for appointments.

Earlier in the day, First Minister Paul Givan had warned of a brewing “storm” of Covid infections, largely due to the arrival of the omicron variant on Ulster’s shores.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill declared that “we are going to be overwhelmed with this new variant very, very soon”.

The omicron strain was detected one week ago today; at time of writing, there were understood to be 10 confirmed cases in NI.

DUP members have voiced opposition to the so-called Covid passports, but nobody got a chance to put their views to a vote.

The debate had been slated to end at 8pm, but with speaker after speaker rising to have their say in the chamber, the discussion ran over.

As 9pm drew near, DUP MLA Jim Wells called for the session to be pushed back to 9.30pm so concluding remarks from health minister Robin Swann could be heard – with Mr Swann agreeing.

Mr Swann told the chamber: “In all honesty, I’d prefer to complete this business tonight.

“I think the members want to complete this business tonight.”

Mr Maskey paused for a few minutes to see if they could indeed extend the session.

When he restarted proceedings, he had this to say: “I’ve taken advice and there is strong procedural advice given that we have already extended the meeting, and we’re now running out of time, [and] that we run the risk of a legal challenge.

“And on such an important issue such as this that we have under debate tonight, I’m not prepared to take the risk of having the minister, the department, or this Assembly hauled into courts for breaking our own rules and regulations.

“So on that basis members, the next item on the order paper is the adjournment.”

Gerry Carroll, the People Before Profit MLA, said: “Sometimes it feels like the Stormont Executive couldn’t run a bath, never mind an emergency pandemic strategy.

“Weeks ago they implemented vaccine passports in a haphazard manner, without full equality screening or advice for venues ...

“When the Assembly was finally allowed to debate the issue, they delayed a vote...

“New day, new shambles, same Executive.”

There had been calls for some time for the issue of Covid passports to be scheduled for debate.

Given they are now in force anyway, the debate is basically a retrospective one.

During the debate, both sides had sought to invoke science to buttress their arguments.

Paul Frew of the DUP for instance insisted that Robin Swann had “not produced any evidence at all, let alone scientific evidence, that these measures and this regulation will work”.

UUP MLA Alan Chambers meanwhile spoke of having received “a number of ill-informed emails ... which quoted all sorts of fanciful figures and theories” – adding that some particularly “absurd” comments had been made, comparing the passports to Nazism.

But he concluded by stressing “the legislation will not be in place for one minute longer than the medical and scientific advice suggests it’s needed”.