Stormont minister reveals he was offered a lift in civil service chief's private car - on a trip where ministers used public transport
A Stormont minister has said he was offered a lift by the Head of the Civil Service in her private car during St Patrick’s Day events in Washington, on a trip where he used taxis and public transport.
The bizarre scenario arose because Northern Ireland’s top civil servant Jayne Brady was ferried around events in the US capital by a driver in a car for her own use, while communities minister Gordon Lyons and health minister Mike Nesbitt used taxis and public transport.
“I walked, I used the metro and I used Uber where necessary as well”, the DUP minister told the BBC’s Nolan Show on Tuesday.
Asked by Mr Nolan if Jayne Brady offered to give him a lift in her private car, Mr Lyons said: “Well, she did actually between one journey and another. But we had different schedules”.
He said the car “certainly wasn’t a limo” but said that he wouldn’t get into the details, which are a matter for the civil service.
It is unclear why Ms Brady did not travel with the deputy First Minister and officials from the Executive Office department, who also had a private car for the trip.
The civil service said transport arrangements on trips to the USA “are always organised” by the NI Bureau (part of the civil service) and are “in line with NICS policy”.
Mr Lyons’s department said that during the Washington visit “the Minister walked, used public transport, taxis or shared transport.” The department of health said Mr Nesbitt and his officials used the Uber taxi service, public transport and where possible walked between locations. “They did not have nor use a private car or driver”, an official said.
Ms Brady has made a number of trips to the United States. In March 2023, she travelled to promote the the NICS 'Our Giant Ambition' policy in the absence of an Executive. That policy caused tensions with unionists given it extolled the benefits of “dual market access” under the Irish Sea border – an arrangement which had caused the collapse of the institutions.
A NICS spokesperson said: “Transport arrangements in the USA for the Head of the NI Civil Service are always organised by the NI Bureau”
They added: “All transport arrangements are in line with NICS policy.”