ELECTION 2022: Sir Jeffrey Donaldson under fire over Executive’s unspent £300m in UTV debate

Alliance and Sinn Fein leaders labelled Sir Jeffrey Donaldson as “dishonest” and “scurillous” during a heated exchange on UTV’s leaders election debate about £300 million the Executive failed to spend before the Assembly was dissolved.
The main party leaders (from left) Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (DUP), Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein), Naomi Long (Alliance), Colum Eastwood (SDLP) and Doug Beattie (UUP) with presenter Marc Mallett (far right) before the UTV leaders debate at the Queen's Film Theatre in south BelfastThe main party leaders (from left) Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (DUP), Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein), Naomi Long (Alliance), Colum Eastwood (SDLP) and Doug Beattie (UUP) with presenter Marc Mallett (far right) before the UTV leaders debate at the Queen's Film Theatre in south Belfast
The main party leaders (from left) Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (DUP), Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein), Naomi Long (Alliance), Colum Eastwood (SDLP) and Doug Beattie (UUP) with presenter Marc Mallett (far right) before the UTV leaders debate at the Queen's Film Theatre in south Belfast

The DUP leader came under fire from Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill and Alliance’s Naomi Long over his claims that the sum could have been spent to help households cope with soaring energy costs even after DUP first minister Paul Givan resigned from office.

Sir Jeffrey told the programme: “Let’s not forget there is an Executive and there are ministers remaining in place even if the Executive isn’t meeting at the moment. The £300m has been carried over into this year’s budget and it will be spent. We have already delivered an energy payments support scheme. I want to see that extended to help working families.

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“We put forward a proposal and we were the only party who put forward a proposal at the last of the party leaders meetings and I did not get a response from the others, which was to provide a rates rebate for those families who pay rates and to extend the energy payments support to scheme to those who don’t pay rates.”

Asked about Sir Jeffrey’s claim that there was a solution to unlock the £300m, Ms O’Neill said: “Jeffrey is absolutely dishonest. There is no Executive because the DUP walked away and you can’t bring pretence to this conversation. There is no Executive in place. What we did have was a finance minister (Conor Murphy) who brought forward proposals that we could put money in people’s pockets, put on their table, heat their homes, put fuel in their car. There are things that an Executive can do, that’s why as we sit here today Jeffrey is not telling the public if he is going to come in with the rest of us and actually put money into people’s pockets, invest in the health, do the things the public want us do.”

Sir Jeffrey responded: “Absolutely not. We are very clear and we sought legal advice on this. It is possible and already decisions have been made in the Executive after the first minister withdrew. Those decisions have been made. They have been made by getting the agreement of other ministers. We believe this can be done but the other parties are playing politics with it.”

This provoked the Alliance leader to intervene with Mrs Long saying: “That is an absolutely scurrilous allegation to make because all of us want to see money in people’s pockets and want to help people with problems in this crisis. It’s been very clear in terms of the advice that we have received as ministers we cannot make decisions that are cross-cutting, that are significant and that are novel ... the law on that is clear.”