Committee on Standards confirms complaint against Carál Ní Chuilín MLA is resolved without sanction

The Northern Ireland Assembly's standards body has published its findings after concluding that the Derry MLA breached the Code of Conduct by failing to declare a relevant interest, but no penalty was recommended following her written apology.

By Rachel Graham1 min read

The Committee on Standards released its report today regarding allegations that Ms Carál Ní Chuilín had violated the Assembly Members' Code of Conduct.

An investigation led by the Assembly Commissioner for Standards, Mr Stephen Wright, determined that she had breached Rule 5 of the rules when she did not disclose a relevant interest during a meeting of the Committee for the Executive Office on 26 November 2025.

The committee agreed with these conclusions and upheld the specific allegations made against her.

Ms Ní Chuilín has stated that she remains committed to upholding the high standards expected of Members and has promised such a breach will not happen again.

She also offered an apology directly to the standards committee for her actions.

Because the member provided this written apology, the matter has been treated as resolved and no sanction was recommended by the adjudicators.

Consequently, the report will not be brought before the Assembly for debate or further consideration.

The commissioner noted that while the breach of Rule 5 was confirmed, he also considered that she had failed to fully uphold the Principles of Openness and Leadership.