The North's Social Development Minister, Mr Maurice Morrow, has been criticised for not attending the first meeting of ministers on the drugs issue on Tuesday. An Ulster Unionist MLA described the DUP Minister's absence as "selfish" and accused him of "failing to take his ministerial role seriously".
The meeting was chaired by the Sinn Fein Health Minister, Ms Bairbre de Brun, and was attended by her party colleague, the Education Minister, Mr Martin McGuinness, the SDLP Minister for Further and Higher Education, Mr Sean Farren, and the Northern Ireland Office Security Minister, Mr Adam Ingram.
While attending ministers said they "regretted" Mr Morrow's absence, the DUP Minister said his boycott was in line with his party's policy of refusing to sit alongside Sinn Fein in government.
"They [the attending ministers] are being cynical when they say that they regretted it, knowing perfectly well that I would not be there if Bairbre de Brun of Sinn Fein/IRA would be chairing proceedings," he added.
"The Minister [Ms de Brun] has excluded the RUC who would be playing a leading role in the drive against drugs . . . We take the drugs problem very seriously and unlike Fred Cobain, we don't want to make a political issue out of it. He is trying to deflect attention away from his somersaulting from [his party's] no guns no government policy," Mr Morrow said.
Mr Cobain, however, said in the face of the North's growing drugs problem it was "amazing" Mr Morrow had refused to attend. "In my own constituency of north Belfast, urgent action is required from the authorities if this problem is to be nipped in the bud. This can only be done effectively if all government departments are liaising and working together. Evidently, this Minister chooses to adopt to a lazy and disingenuous attitude," he added.
A Sinn Fein councillor, Mr Michael Browne, described Mr Morrow's absence as "hypocritical" and claimed he had sat with DUP members on a Belfast City Council committee on the drugs issue.
"It is imperative that all people with influence unite against a growing problem in terms of drug misuse related crime . . . It is about time the DUP developed a sense of consistency at Executive level and placed the needs of their constituents before their seemingly insatiable appetite for games of silly beggars," he said.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Minister, Ms Brid Rodgers, has written to the British farming minister, Mr Nick Brown, to lobby for an end to delays in the introduction of a pig industry restructuring scheme. After meeting representatives from the Ulster Farmers' Union's executive committee Ms Rodgers said she shared the pigs producers' frustration at European Commission delays at approving the vital scheme.
In other Assembly business, the Enterprise, Trade and Investment committee was told Northern Ireland could have a direct rail link with mainland Europe under a £300 million plan to privatise the North's train system.
According to the chairman of Eurotrack Ireland, Mr Bob Pue, trains would travel from Belfast to London in 5 3/4 hours and passengers travelling on to Europe would be transferred to the connecting Eurostar service.