Northern Ireland Conservatives chairman, Irwin Armstrong, has hailed the resolution of the PMS issue and Conservatives’ achievement in solving it.
“They say that success has many fathers and failure is an orphan. And of course all and sundry will try to claim credit for a successful resolution to the Presbyterian Mutual Society crisis.”
“Be under no misapprehension though, this problem was solved by a government led by the Conservative prime minister, who kept his election promise to the people of Northern Ireland.”
“I first drew the PMS’s collapse to the attention of Owen Paterson, who was then the shadow secretary of state, back in April 2009. We subsequently included a commitment in our 2010 election manifesto to find a solution. Since that election he has worked tirelessly with David Cameron and other colleagues, finding a way to reimburse the 9,000 or so savers who lost their money when the society went out of business.”
“Under a Labour government there was frankly no prospect of investors getting their hard-earned savings back. David Cameron said he would resolve the issue if he became prime minister and now his government has provided £25million and a further loan of £175million to do just that.”
“It’s yet another example of the Conservative party listening to people in Northern Ireland and delivering for them.”
“I’m delighted for all the PMS savers who received their long awaited cheques this week and in particular the smaller investors who recouped 100% of their monies. They’ve been served well by local involvement in national politics and by a national party which is active in Northern Ireland and engages with local issues.”