Taxpayers left to mop up: Gaston slams Stormont’s deliberate toilet flooding fiasco

It seems the leaks at Stormont aren’t just political.

TUV MLA Timothy Gaston has condemned what he described as a “disgraceful” spate of deliberate toilet flooding incidents inside Parliament Buildings, warning that taxpayers are footing the bill for the clean-up.

In a statement, Mr Gaston said he had personally encountered the problem, explaining:

“I first became aware of this when I went to use a toilet, only to discover that the taps had been left running and the sink deliberately blocked. As a result, the floor was flooded.”

After speaking with cleaning staff, the North Antrim MLA said he learned the issue was far from isolated.

“Deliberate flooding — particularly in male toilets — has become commonplace in some parts of the building. In one case, the same toilet was flooded a number of times in the same day.”

The TUV representative noted that the vandalism appeared to be occurring in staff-only areas, meaning members of the public could not be responsible.

“These incidents are happening in areas that are only open to Assembly pass holders — that means MLAs, MLA staff, and Assembly staff. Significantly, the public cannot access these areas.”

Calling it “beyond belief” that such behaviour could happen in the seat of government, Mr Gaston said the acts showed a “total lack of respect” for both the institution and the cleaning staff left to mop up.

“Parliament Buildings is supposed to be the seat of government in Northern Ireland, not a playground for vandalism. The idea that people who work here could be responsible for this sort of behaviour is beyond belief.

“I also want to speak up for the cleaning staff. They are hardworking people doing an honest day’s work, and they are the ones left to mop up after this behaviour.”

An email circulated to MLAs and Assembly staff this week by the Director of Corporate Services confirmed that there had been “a number of incidents” and that surveillance across all floors would be increased to prevent further damage.

The message warned:

“There have been a number of incidents in relation to deliberate flooding within toilets over the last few months. This is a serious matter that could compromise the safety and operational use of Parliament Buildings.”

Mr Gaston has since tabled a written question to the Assembly Commission, seeking to find out how often the incidents have occurred and what steps are being taken to stop them.

“If this sort of behaviour occurred in any other workplace, it would be treated as gross misconduct — and Stormont should be no different. I very much hope that the guilty party — be they a member of Assembly staff or even an MLA — is brought to book for this vandalism.”

The MLA said the flooding was not just childish but costly — both financially and reputationally.

“Every time this happens, it costs public money. At a time when services are under pressure, that is completely unacceptable.”

As Stormont continues to deal with leaks of a different kind, it seems the only thing flowing freely these days might be the water in its corridors of power.