Northern Ireland has cost the UK dear at a time of regional tensions within the nation

Unionists believed that it would be economically detrimental for Ulster to be separated from the rest of the UK in terms of markets and business. They were also concerned about higher taxation under a Dublin parliament, fearing that, since Ulster was so industrialised, she would have to pay higher taxes to upkeep the rest of Ireland.

Ulster saw herself as potentially pay-rolling the rest of Ireland at the time.

These viewpoints are no different to modern views on economic issues.

It is difficult for me to understand why unionist politicians would not understand that, from an economic viewpoint, we should be concerned that people in the rest of the UK would now be looking aghast and counting the cost of having NI as part of the UK because of two unbelievable economic scandals in recent years.

The RHI scheme has cost the UK taxpayer dearly — £500 million — and it appears that alarm bells at Stormont about it only started to ring when it became clear that there was no further subsidy from London for the scheme; up to that point it seems that some politicians here were content to milk the exchequer on the basis that London (not Belfast) was picking up the tabs. The subtext to this was ‘so why worry?’

The RHI scandal was bad enough, but now we have the latest scandal over wind turbines where, officials and politicians in Northern Ireland once again defied the norm to keep us out of line with the scheme in the rest of the UK. The outcome of this was a subsidy which dwarfs the benefit renewable energy produced. It is estimated that this action has led to £71 million a year cost to UK consumers.

These two scandals have been seen by some as incompetence, by others as outworkings of an economic nationalism of not only Sinn Fein but also the DUP.

Tellingly, no minister has fallen on their sword over these scandals which, had they occurred elsewhere in the UK would have undoubtedly been the case. Nor has any civil servant ever had to account for them.

I do not believe these economic disasters for the UK will be forgotten. As a small region we have cost the nation dearly and amidst a rising tide of regional sentiment in England, Scotland and Wales, the DUP may well have presided over the fracturing of the Union as we know it. The lack of contrition speaks volumes.

Thomas Robinson JP, Larne

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