THE DUP has accused Sinn Féin of "hypocrisy" over its response to breaches of Covid-19 restrictions that led to the resignation of the Republic's agriculture minister.
Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart claimed the DUP's partners in government are a "partitionist party when it comes to irony".
She was speaking after Fianna Fáil's Dara Calleary resigned as agriculture minister and Fine Gael's Jerry Buttimer as deputy chair of the Seanad when it emerged they were among 80 people at an Oireachtas Golf Society dinner in Clifden, Co Galway this week.
EU commissioner Phil Hogan and Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Seamus Woulfe also faced calls to consider their positions.
While the controversy surrounding breaches of coronavirus restrictions at Bobby Storey's funeral in June is thought to have tempered reaction by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, the party's Waterford TD David Cullinane called for the heads of Mr Hogan and Justice Woulf.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio, the Waterford TD said the episode "smacks of arrogance" and shows there is "confusion, chaos and dysfunction at the heart of the government".
Ms McDonald criticised Taoiseach Micheál Martin for refusing her request to recall the Dáil.
But Ms Lockhart questioned why Sinn Féin ministers north of the border had not resigned when they breached Covid-19 restrictions.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said last month said she was "sorry for grieving families experiencing more hurt" after large crowds lined the streets at Mr Storey's funeral in west Belfast.
However, she resisted calls from other Executive parties to step aside over her attendance, claiming she had observed lockdown guidelines.
Ms Lockhart said: "That Sinn Féin now demand resignations of those who like them breached the guidelines is quite remarkable – it is utter hypocrisy and the public see it as such."
SDLP MLA Colin McGrath also said Mr Cullinane should "speak to his party president and ministers in the executive about their breach of guidelines earlier in the summer".
"He is right to suggest that during pandemic conditions public health guidance is critical and those who make the rules must be held to the highest standards including expecting their resignation if they breach the guidelines they’ve been involved in creating," he said.
TUV leader Jim Allister also described Mr Cullinane’s remarks as "breathtakingly hypocritical".
"Northern Ireland has been reminded by Mr Cullinane that when it comes to his party it is a case of do as we say not as we do," he said.
