Timothy Gaston made the remark at a Stormont committee during an exchange with an Alliance Party assembly member.
Jon Burrows joins Ulster Unionist assembly members which include former soldiers and a retired submarine commander.
He is replacing North Antrim MLA Colin Crawford, who is stepping down after less than a year in the role.
The Stormont assembly member announced he was stepping down after less than a year in the role.
Ruth Anne Jennings and her then partner Brian McMaster were both sentenced to six months in prison.
A Sheffield Hallam University report estimates this year's event will generate £213 million for the economy.
A complaint had been lodged by Age NI after some of its staff appeared before the committee last October.
Some MLAs are considering leaving elected politics over the abuse they and their families face, BBC News NI understands.
Amanda Fulton and her husband Christopher are charged with four offences, alleged to have been committed in 2019.
