Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan’s ‘chocolate fireguard’ test and trace jibe ‘arrogant and hypocritical’

Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan told Public Health Agency chiefs at the Stormont health committee yesterday: “All of you in the room there are very well paid, you were tasked to put in place a rigorous and robust contact tracing system – you have failed abysmally.

“The contact tracing system that is there at the minute is as useful as a chocolate fireguard.”

His claim was firmly rejected by the PHA officials, but Mr Sheehan refused to apologise for his comments when challenged by other MLAs.

UUP health spokesperson Alan Chambers MLA last night condemned what he described as the “hypocrisy” of Mr Sheehan.

“His behaviour was uncalled for and as a member of the health committee I publicly disassociate myself from his comments,” he said.

“I will be reporting Pat Sheehan to the commissioner for standards.

“He behaved just as most people have come to expect from a party that has been so arrogant that it has yet to apologise for its members breaking coronavirus regulations and guidelines at the funeral of Bobby Storey.”

He said Mr Sheehan “doesn’t need to look any further than the leadership of his own party to find evidence of chocolate fireguards” in relation to the fight against the virus.

Challenged by the News Letter’s Sam McBride at yesterday’s Executive press conference, Sinn Fein Finance Minister Conor Murphy, who attended the funeral, committed not to break the rules again, but didn’t apologise for having done so.

Yesterday there were four more Covid-related NI deaths, 201 patients in hospital and 24 in intensive care.