John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is the real tragedy behind everything with the Assembly not being up and running, not even in the recent impasse, but even over the past ten or 15 years where basic legislation that makes everybody’s lives that bit easier, that is not controversial, that is the right thing to do and that no one of any political persuasion could either agree or disagree with is just being left high and dry as a result. As a slight follow-on from that, when Ms McGahey said that even throughout her whole time with the Assembly when it has been up and running, she has found a reluctance to engage in some of those issues, despite the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland engaging with all political parties. Again, I am not asking her to name any political party, but has she found that what they are telling her when she is meeting them one to one or with their spokespersons, what they are saying to her and what they are doing at national level just does not tally? Why is there such a reluctance from political parties in the North to engage on basic legislation such as this that has been raised and makes sense?