THE DUP has been accused of "politicking" after its members boycotted the assembly for the second day running.
During much of yesterday's assembly proceedings the DUP benches in the chamber were bare as the party continues in its bid to disrupt the workings of Stormont.
The party has yet to confirm an official boycott although DUP leader Peter Robinson previously warned that IRA links to last month's murder of Kevin McGuigan meant it "would not be business as usual".
But after former health minister Simon Hamilton or any of his DUP colleagues failed to appear for a debate on hospital waiting times, the SDLP's Fearghal McKinney accused them of putting their "own narrow interests" ahead of public concern.
"It is unfortunate that the DUP have allowed politicking around the talk’s process and rivalry with the UUP to come before the needs of hundreds of thousands of people in the north," the South Belfast MLA said.
"The public has spoken and it is the responsibility of the absentee Health Minister to underpin this in taking immediate action followed by a strategic plan to meet current and future demand for elective care."
But Mr Hamilton, who last week resigned from the executive along with three of his colleagues, said SDLP and Sinn Féin were to blame for the present crisis.
"The reason why we need a talks process is because both nationalists and republicans have failed to live up to commitments they previously made," he said.
"Whether it is Provisional IRA activity or the non-implementation of welfare reform, both the SDLP and Sinn Féin have questions to answer – no amount of grandstanding in the assembly chamber can change that."
Mr Hamilton said he accepted that disrupting assembly business was "ugly".
"We wanted a better mechanism but the government declined the suspension option and the other parties voted against adjournment," he said.
"However, with a man murdered and previous made commitments being broken, we stand by our policy that it cannot be business as usual."
