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Education Minister Paul Givan will be facing a no-confidence vote at Stormont due to his recent visit to Israel. The motion was proposed by Gerry Carroll from People Before Profit and is supported by Sinn Féin, Alliance, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). However, the motion is likely to fail as it needs cross-community support from unionists and nationalists in the assembly. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) have already stated that they will not support the motion, considering it to be “performative.”
Those in favor of the motion argue that the minister should not have utilized departmental resources to share pictures of his visit to a school in Jerusalem. Teaching unions have also criticized the move, calling for the removal of a press release regarding the issue from the department’s website. The motion that assembly members will vote on states that the education minister no longer has the confidence of the assembly due to alleged breaches of the Pledge of Office and the Ministerial Code of Conduct, proposing his exclusion from office for 12 months. Independent unionist Claire Sugden is the only unionist representative confirming support for the motion.
Givan defended his actions by stating that a review conducted by his department’s permanent secretary and senior officials found his engagements during the visit to be appropriate. Sinn Féin assembly member Pat Sheehan criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza and called for the minister’s resignation. The Stormont education committee is actively investigating the matter and has requested the department’s permanent secretary to testify. Givan emphasized on BBC’s The Nolan Show that the trip to Israel incurred no cost to the taxpayer and was organized by the Israeli government.
The visit to Israel by Education Minister Paul Givan was fully declared on the Stormont register of interests. The trip, funded by the Israeli embassy in London, amounted to nearly £4,000, covering flights, accommodation, food, and transport. Givan described the trip as a fact-finding tour, emphasizing interactions with various religious and ethnic groups in Israel. The on-register details were also disclosed by his DUP colleague David Brooks and Ulster Unionist assembly member Steve Aiken, who were part of the delegation. In the backdrop of the visit, a Hamas-led attack in southern Israel led to significant casualties, followed by an Israeli military campaign in Gaza, sparking controversy and debates regarding the situation in the region
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