Union representing senior Civil Servants call for clarity over Minister’s Israel trip

“As it would appear that civil service resources have been used to support this trip, it is vital that there is clarity over whether this was government business or party business.”

A union representing senior civil servants and policy advisers in Northern Ireland has called for the Education Minister to clarify whether he is in Israel on Government or party business.

The FDA, whose membership also includes prosecutors, diplomats and professionals working across the Government, were responding to Minister Paul Givan’s trip to Israel, including a social media post published by the Department of Education on a visit to Ofek School in the Jerusalem District.

FDA National Officer for Northern Ireland Robert Murtagh said: “It can come as no surprise to the Minister that this was going to be a politically controversial visit and there would be significant public interest in it.

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“The Ministerial Code of Conduct makes clear that ministers must ‘uphold the political impartiality of the civil service, not asking civil servants to act in any way which would conflict with the NICS Code of Ethics’.

“It is also clear that ‘ministers must ensure that official resources are not used for party political purposes’.

“As it would appear that civil service resources have been used to support this trip, it is vital that there is clarity over whether this was government business or party business.

“The longer this question goes unanswered, the greater the risk that the minister’s actions will sow seeds of doubt in the public’s mind over the appropriate use of taxpayer-funded civil service resources.

“Ministers need to ensure that they do not act in a way that threatens the impartiality of the civil service. Paul Givan must urgently answer whether his trip to Israel was undertaken in his official capacity as Minister for Education in the NI Executive or in his own personal or party capacity.”

When Belfast Live asked the Department earlier this week whether Paul Givan was in Israel in a Ministerial or party capacity, a Department of Education spokesperson said: “The Education Minister was invited to participate in an official visit as part of a delegation of representatives from Northern Ireland.

“The Department has not incurred any costs in relation to the visit and no departmental officials are participating.”