Mr. Colin McGrath:

Looking back at recent years in the North, we had three years with no institutions and then, within about six weeks of coming back, we had Covid. After the challenges of managing Covid, we were, towards the end of last year, focused firmly on the end of the transition period and the issues resulting from Brexit. The unfortunate thing is it always feels in politics in the North that there are all the real bread-and-butter issues to deal with but we never seem to get the time to address them. This past week in the assembly, we have managed to have private member-led motions to discuss issues such as autism and climate and environmental problems. We are not getting the chance to look at those issues with a more executive-based approach because of Brexit, which has consumed our time and deals with so many issues, and because of the dispute within our Executive Office, which means it is difficult to get other matters cleared.

I find it hugely frustrating that there are nearly 200 parliamentary questions tabled to the Executive Office which have not been answered. We know there is a requirement for them to be signed off by both parties but issues such as Brexit cause problems that mean the normal day-to-day operation of democracy does not take place. Some fundamental issues are not being dealt with. In any other democracy, people would be aghast that one cannot ask a minister a question, but has to wait six months for a written answer. Sometimes when the written answer comes through, it has two or three lines and directs one to a website. The issues are not necessarily state secrets. They are just general democratic principles and issues that people ask their representatives to raise but we do not have the space to deal with them. If we can take the pragmatic and practical approach and keep geopolitics out of what impacts people on a daily basis, then we will start to address the daily issues and help citizens see real change taking place in their communities. At the moment, much of that is frustrated because of the perspectives on Brexit preventing the daily work from taking place.