NI Conservatives’ chairman, Irwin Armstrong, has described the result of talks between the five executive parties’ leaders yesterday as “laughable”.
“They met for 7 hours and produced a pathetic, pointless ‘holding statement’”, Irwin pointed out. “Is that really the best that our so called leaders can do, in the circumstances? Can they not meet again during the Christmas break and at least show some urgency in the current situation? There is certainly no sign yet of the Cohesion, Sharing and Integration document which the people of Northern Ireland were promised in 2011, by the Alliance Party when they joined the executive.”
“If we had a meaningful strategy for a shared future, it would have covered issues around flags and emblems avoiding the current problems. Yet the current set of parties in the executive is more concerned with looking out for their own interests, and playing politics, than looking for real solutions to Northern Ireland’s problems.”
“Is it any wonder that, with the lack of progress on serious issues, people on the streets believe that politicians are failing? Instead of a bland statement we urgently need a shared future document with timetables and targets, addressing problems around identity, symbols and marching and taking meaningful steps to increase integration in schools and housing.”