Drumcree: Michelle O’Neill clashes with committee members over Garvaghy Road

Deborah Erskine said the first minister had treated the committee with “absolute contempt”, but O’Neill’s party colleague Sinéad Ennis said the first minister had informed the committee she had other commitments and would be unable to stay beyond an hour.

Committee chair, Alliance’s Paula Bradshaw, said there appeared to be a “relationship breakdown” between the parties that needed repaired if progress is to be made on a range of issues before the next assembly election.

O’Neill said the parties did have “wide gaps” in terms of their approaches to issues, while Little-Pengelly said it was “not an easy relationship”.

She said she believed the events of the Drumcree dispute had “fractured political relationships within the executive office, within the executive and indeed within the assembly”, adding that she had been “appalled” by the behaviour of Sinn Fein ministers.