DUP MLA asks: 'Why a blank cheque for GAA stadium - but a budget squeeze for everyone else?'

​DUP South Down MLA and spokesperson on Childcare Diane Forsythe said it appeared that Chris Heaton-Harris is willing to cut a “blank cheque” for the GAA ground amid constricting budgets for public services.

The ground in west Belfast has long fallen into dilapidation, and plans to rebuild it have run into major cost over-runs.

It is thought that a new stadium could cost upwards of £110m.

But last month Mr Heaton-Harris was insistent that funding will be found, telling the BBC: "We'll get the money, don't you worry.”

In the absence of a regional government, the Tories passed a budget in April on Northern Ireland’s behalf, very slightly reducing the amount of money available.

But with NHS demand growing, parties have said that this more-or-less flat budget amounts to a real-terms major cut.

Mr Heaton-Harris recently asked top NI civil servants to come up with new ways of raising revenue, like water charges.

Ms Forsythe said: “If the Secretary of State can write a blank cheque for a GAA stadium, then he can find funding to invest in critical services.

"Or does the NIO believe a controversial GAA stadium is more important than new schools, hospitals, or childcare support? The NIO seem more focused on announcing cuts and suggesting tax rises for political purposes than in considering the consequences for families across NI.”

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