A question of Assembly etiquette prompted some raised eyebrows on Thursday after an MLA walked in front of a fellow member as they asked a question.
The situation threw up an unlikely alliance as DUP man Jim Wells sprung to the defence of West Belfast People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll, when Sinn Fein’s Linda Dillon passed by him in the chamber as he quizzed Justice Minister Naomi Long.
The parliamentary faux pas occurred during the Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Covid-19 Response which oversees Departmental reactions to the ongoing pandemic.
Before Mr Carroll got to the crux of his question to the Minister, however, South Down MLA Mr Wells rose to his feet with a “point of order”.
Principal Deputy Speaker Christopher Stalford said that as it was a Committee and not a plenary session he was “not certain points of order are appropriate”, but he allowed the move.
Mr Wells said that “a member walked in front of him [Gerry Carroll] which is extremely off-putting and rude”.
He said: “Will you rule that this is not acceptable?” Mr Stalford replied: “Yes, I will”.
He added: “That is not acceptable. Members should not walk in front of other members when they’re speaking. Mr Wells is quite right and the rules are quite clear on that.”
There was some laughter among the limited numbers of MLAs in the chamber when Mr Carroll rose to ask his question then, but began by saying “I didn’t even notice, I was asking my question to be completely frank”.
Later, when Health Minister Robin Swann was taking questions at the Committee, Mid Ulster MLA Ms Dillon offered an apology for her digression, adding that she was sure Mr Carroll was “delighted to have Mr Wells jump to your defence”.
She explained that she had been at the door of the chamber and began to walk to her seat just as Mr Carroll started his question.
