East Derry MLA Gerry Mullan
AT an emergency meeting of the Finance Committee toda, East SDLP Committee Member Gerry Mullan MLA called on the Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir to appear before them to respond to a number of questions that remain around his involvement in the NAMA coaching scandal that emerged last week.
The SDLP also supported a joint call from the Committee for the Minister to step down from his position while these questions remain unanswered.
Gerry Mullan said: “The Joint First Minister Martin McGuinness has consistently stated that he is confident that this was a lone wolf operation. He has failed to recognise that the only confidence that matters is that of the public.
“The public do not believe that Daithí McKay, who had nothing to gain and everything to lose, would embark on such a drastic and subversive course of action without prompting and sanction from the highest authority in Sinn Féin.
“Today the SDLP supported the call for the Finance Minister to step aside while we attempt to restore public confidence in our committee system and all doubt around Máirtín Ó Muilleoir’s involvement in this debacle is removed.
“If Minister has nothing to hide then he must publish all communications between himself and Daithí McKay and Thomas O’Hara in relation to this issue.
“He must also appear before this committee so he can unambiguously respond to the hurricane of questions that remain unanswered, namely;
- Was he prepped to ask certain questions?
- Was he prompted to ensure Jamie Bryson’s evidence was heard in open session
- Did he receive any communication from McKay or O’Hara or other Sinn Fein staff with regard to the appearance of any other witnesses?
“We are also calling for the Chair of the Finance Committee to step aside for any future Committee investigation into this matter and for the investigation into the sale of NAMA’s northern property portfolio given her personal and party interest into a number of lines of inquiry that the committee may follow.
“The decision to step aside is for the Finance Minister to make, but he must recognise that if he clings on while these questions remain, public confidence in his office cannot be restored.”
