Social Democratic and Labour Party Leader Colum Eastwood has urged the DUP to do the right thing for people in the North and support the nomination of a Speaker.

He was speaking ahead of the Assembly being recalled on Monday.

Mr Eastwood urged the DUP to support the nomination of Patsy McGlone as Speaker and said the SDLP would introduce emergency legislation on the first sitting day of the Assembly to get support to people dealing with rising costs.

Foyle MP Mr Eastwood said:

“The DUP need to do the right thing tomorrow and support the nomination of Patsy McGlone as Speaker. Their decision to stop the Assembly from sitting has left us powerless to get support to people dealing with the costs crisis. While I would prefer to see our institutions functioning as normal, if we can get a Speaker in place the SDLP will introduce emergency legislation to allow Ministers to access the over £300m sitting in Stormont’s bank accounts and use it to help the people who need it most.

“This week the British government announced long overdue support for people who are struggling. The DUP’s refusal to do their jobs has created confusion and uncertainty around a £400 discount on energy bills for households here. This is the reality of the DUP’s boycott, it is hurting families across the North. The money is there to support these people, but the problem is the DUP’s MLAs aren’t."