Covid bereaved families accuse Stormont leaders of ‘ignoring’ them

A group representing people who lost loved ones in Northern Ireland said four requests for a meeting went without a substantive reply last year.

(Left to right) Martina Ferguson, Chanel Gillen, Jennifer Currie, Michael Lusty, Brenda Doherty, Trevor Patterson, Briege McAvoy, Lauren Mallon, Fiona Clarke and Catroina Myles with pictures of loved ones lost during the pandemic at PA Duffy & Co Solicitors offices in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA)

Families who lost loved ones in the Covid-19 pandemic have accused Stormont’s leaders of ignoring them.

Members of the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice NI group criticised First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly for failing to meet with them prior to formulating and publishing the Executive’s formal response to the first phase of the UK-wide inquiry into the pandemic.

They revealed that four letters requesting a meeting – sent in July, September, October and November last year – went without a substantive response before January’s publication of the Executive’s response to the inquiry’s Module One recommendations.

Covid-19 pandemic inquiry — Martina Ferguson holds an image of her late mother Ursula Derry (Liam McBurney/PA)

The Module One recommendations dealt with improving civil contingencies arrangements to make sure authorities across the UK are better prepared for a similar health emergency in the future.

The group finally received a reply from the Executive Office on Tuesday afternoon accepting the request for a meeting – a response that came just hours before a planned press conference by the families on Wednesday morning to highlight the Executive’s approach to them.

A meeting is now due to take place at Stormont on Monday.

Martina Ferguson, whose mother Ursula died in the pandemic, questioned the timing of the response.

“We feel we’ve been ignored,” she said.

“I mean, we’ve made those requests as soon as the inquiry had made their recommendations, and we would have expected to be involved before now.

“That’s seven months. I mean, a lot of work from a group of people with lived experience could have helped the Executive in the last several months.”

She added: “It was just another failure – we were dismissed.”

Ms Ferguson said the group was “very, very surprised” by the timing of the meeting invite, just before the group was due to go public with its criticism of the Executive’s response.

But she said the group welcomed the fact that a meeting would now eventually take place.

Brenda Doherty, whose mother Ruth died in the pandemic, said Monday’s meeting must not be a “token” gesture.

“I see Monday as a start,” she said.

“The proof will be in the pudding as to how we move forward. This is not going to be a token gesture. We are not here for the sake of it.”

Solicitor Enda McGarrity from PA Duffy & Co Solicitors, which represents the bereaved families’ group, noted that there would be nine further module responses developed by the Executive as the inquiry progresses.

He expressed hope Stormont’s leaders would adopt a different approach with the families going forward.

“At this point, there’s still time to turn things around,” he said.

“There needs to be a U-turn in how the Executive involves these families in the process.

“Their experience gives them an insight that others do not have, and the sooner that’s recognised, the sooner we can get on with the work of implementing the recommendations that keep everyone safe.”

The Executive Office has been approached for comment.