Michelle O'Neill being grilled at the Covid inquiry, May 14, 2024

Transcript

00:00You were jointly responsible for leading the response of the government in

00:05Northern Ireland to the pandemic. That's correct. And leading is the critical

00:12descriptor, isn't it? And do you accept that that's all the more so during a

00:18period of national emergency or during a pandemic? Of course. And do you consider

00:25that you and the ministers of Northern Ireland provided the leadership to the

00:30people of Northern Ireland that they deserved during the pandemic? Yes, I do.

00:35And if you want to elaborate further on that, that's okay. I think it's fair to

00:42say that no government had faced this type of global emergency before and we

00:47were all in new territory. But I genuinely believe that the public here

00:50were best served by having those locally elected ministers in place. Well, the

00:54question wasn't about whether or not they were best served. Miss O'Neill, it was

00:58whether or not you and the ministers of Northern Ireland provided people in

01:03Northern Ireland with the leadership that they deserved. That was the question.

01:08Yes, I believe that we did. And do you think that you provided them with the

01:12leadership that they deserved during the pandemic? Yes, I do. Perhaps we'll look at

01:18that a little bit more closely.