Enda McClaffertyNorthern Ireland political editor
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Paul Givan says he has been “vilified” over his trip to Israel but vowed to continue to represent his constituents
A no confidence motion in Education Minister Paul Givan is expected to be tabled at Stormont later over his recent visit to Israel.
It has been submitted by Gerry Carroll from People Before Profit (PBP) and is being backed by Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
The motion is expected to receive the 30 signatures required to reach the floor of the Northern Ireland Assembly and push it to a vote.
It will be next week, at the earliest, before a vote can take place, but the motion is already destined to fail as it requires cross-community support from unionists and nationalists.
‘Givan going nowhere,’ says DUP
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party have said they plan to join Givan’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in voting against it.
Even if it were to pass, the motion has no power to remove a DUP minister from office without the support of its leader, Gavin Robinson, who has said Givan is “going nowhere”.
Alliance assembly members (MLAs) are due to meet on Monday morning to decide if they will be supporting the no confidence motion.
Givan is likely to face questions in the chamber about the Israeli trip as some parties are planning to ask for an urgent oral question to be added to the order paper.
In a Facebook post over the weekend, the minister said he has been “vilified by those who have sought to call into question my character and commitment to the people of Northern Ireland”.
He added: “Sinn Féin, People Before Profit, the SDLP and Alliance are fooling no one. We can all see right through this smokescreen.”
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The minister was among a number of local unionists politicians who took part in the six-day trip which was organised by the Israeli government.
Others included DUP MP Sammy Wilson, Steve Aiken from the UUP and TUV councillor Ron McDowell.
Givan has faced criticism over the trip from the body which represents Northern Ireland’s main teaching unions.
Photos of the visit were shared by the Department of Education. This led to the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) saying that the department “should be politically neutral” and calling for promotion of his visit to be removed from departmental sites.
On Saturday, PBP held a rally against the minister outside Belfast City Hall.
It was attended by teachers, Gaza solidarity supporters, community groups and some politicians.
Analysis: Destined to fail but could still hurt
It is a big step to propose and support a motion of no confidence in a Stormont minister, even though it is destined to fail.
Unlike in most other government institutions, ministers do not need the support of the majority of Northern Ireland Assembly members to stay in office.
All they need is their own party to stand by them.
But such motions of confidence are potentially damaging for relations and can hamper progress around the executive table at a time when there are so many big decisions to be made.
Don’t be surprised to see more ministerial showdowns in the months ahead as we edge ever closer to the next assembly election.
Because, in truth, they play well with the respective political bases.
Protesters called for Paul Givan’s resignation during a rally in Belfast on Saturday
On 7 October 2023, about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were abducted during a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.
Israel then launched a military campaign in Gaza during which more than 68,500 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
In September, the world’s leading association of genocide scholars declared that genocide was taking place in Gaza, but Israel continues to reject that claim.
