Reacting to the news that the DUP tabled a Petition of Concern today in a bid to block the progress of the legislation, the Upper Bann representative said:

"These petty swipes and petulant stunts are walking the Assembly to the brink.

“It’s hard to imagine how fragile Gavin Robinson’s sense of identity must be if he is threatened by children being educated through the medium of Irish.

“This Bill is simply about requiring the Department to plan properly to address workforce shortages. Children and schools should not be punished for the DUP’s internal wrangling and foolishness.

“People have had enough of this chaos and dysfunction. We should be building a society based on equality, mutual respect and a shared future. This latest abuse again underlines the urgent need to reform Stormont, fix our broken politics and ensure no single party can hold progress to ransom."