Where’s the cash we were promised? It’s time to end the Stormont carve-up

Again we hear on Good Morning Ulster on Friday of failure to deliver on DUP’s £1bn extra expenditure for Northern Ireland as part of the confidence and supply agreement, and in particular the failure to deliver on the £150m promised two years ago on rolling out high speed broadband.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Jun 2019, 20:15 BST
Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

Most of the money has been ring fenced on stalled infrastructure projects, reform of health service as well as integration projects.

Granted we have had some limited expenditure on mental health and on alleviating pressures in education and health which are welcome but in the context of the £1bn promised this has been minimal as we wait for results from the new talks to bring back an Executive.

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The restoration of a functioning executive is imperative. With the recent changes in the political landscape following the recent local and euro elections the talks must include a full review of the failed institutions with no vetoes. It is time to deliver on the principles of the Good Friday Agreement, allow the creaking institutions to mature, end the failed carve up and ensure effective devolved government with proper accountability and more effective scrutiny.

Without action Northern Ireland’s institutions will continue to ossify and our myriad problems will continue to fester indefinitely.

Aaron Rankin, Chairman of the South Belfast Conservative Association

Related topics:Northern IrelandDUP