MEMBERS of the committee tasked with scrutinising Communities Minister Gordon Lyons have admitted they had no idea he was jetting off on a lengthy trip to the USA and Canada.
The DUP minister hasn’t responded to contact from at least one committee member who tried to contact him after he flew off following the furore over his meeting with representatives of loyalist paramilitaries.
Mr Lyons has been unavailable for an “extraordinary length” of time, according to one committee member.
Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong said the committee plans to question the minister next Thursday about his October 8 meeting with the Loyalist Communities Council - and his unexpected and publicly unannounced trip to the US which began on October 10.
Members of committees are normally able to directly communicate with ministers via email.
Mr Lyons’ email indicated he was out of office and not available from the day he met representatives of the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando.
It is normal for ministers to make themselves unavailable at the weekend, while on holiday or if they are ill.
The minister flew out of Dublin to Washington DC on Thursday October 10. His department did not dispute he took a flight on that day or that he flew business class when asked by The Irish News.
Following two days of seeking comment from the department, a spokesperson on Friday said: “Minister Lyons was in Washington DC, Toronto and Bethlehem PA attending a series of events, meetings and engagements relating to his departmental responsibilities.
“The minister looks forward to announcing the outcomes and actions that will be delivered from this trip shortly.”
Mr Lyons on Wednesday met with members of the White House Historical Association and on Thursday attended an event in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to mark four Moravian Church settlements being designated as a UNESCO transnational Cultural World Heritage Site.
Gracehill in Co Antrim is one of the settlements along with others in Germany and Denmark. Bethlehem is the administrative centre of the church.
There was no further information on when and why the minister will be in Toronto.
The department on Wednesday would not even confirm he was in the US nor give any details on his itinerary, though Mr Lyons later in the day announced on social media he was in the country, almost a week after his departure.
Ms Armstrong said members of the committee had no idea he was leaving the country.
“We do not know what he was there for...but we do know he has done quite a lot of work on the Ulster-Scots” and their impact on the US,” the Strangford MLA said.
The assembly member said she had tried to contact the minister to ask for the release of the minutes of the meeting with the LCC.
His email stated he was not available thought she was subsequently sent the minutes by his private office.
DUP Education Minister Paul Givan stood in for Mr Lyons during questions before the full Assembly earlier this week. Both Mr Lyons and Mr Givan have been criticised for meeting with representatives of loyalist paramilitaries recently.
The LCC said of the meeting with the communities minister that it wanted inform him “on where scarce resources should be targeted to best address these problems (in loyalist/unionist areas).”
“The delegation also asked the minister to urgently look at how best new social housing can be provided in areas like the Shankill, Sandy Row, and Suffolk where large sites have been available for years but remain unbuilt.”
The SDLP described the decision to meet the LCC as “ridiculous”.
“He is supposed to be the communities minister but is meeting the representatives of organisations which keep communities under coercive control,” the party said.
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