NI Conservatives’ finance spokesman, Harry Cullen, has questioned whether over £91million of planned spending remaining unused by Executive departments should be spun as ‘good news’ and asked the public to “remember the figures behind the headlines” generated by the June monitoring round.
“At this time of year Sammy Wilson likes to masquerade as Santa Claus and pretend he’s providing handouts to various executive ministers”, Harry explained. “But we need to remember that this is largely not new money. It has remained unspent by other government departments for various reasons, some of which are decidedly bad news for Northern Ireland”.
“Look at the £8million or so which Invest NI was forced to hand back last year. It couldn’t be invested as intended in creating new jobs and companies, because the private sector is losing confidence and shrinking, thanks to the Executive’s business unfriendly policies. Likewise, DCAL is behind on its sports stadium project, which accounts for another £12.4 million. That is bad news for the construction companies who are waiting for work to start, sports’ fans and the tourist industry. It also means that the final cost of the facilities will eventually cost the taxpayer more.”
“Certainly the June monitoring round is a boost for the beneficiaries of redistributed spending. There are some welcome announcements in terms of capital spend and training opportunities. However we shouldn’t lose sight of the failures and slippages which make a large part of the money available. And where is the boost for manufacturers and exporters at a time when that sector is contracting? If we peer behind Sammy Wilson’s spin, these figures reveal some matters of grave concern for Northern Ireland and its economy”.