NI Conservatives’ spokesman, Trevor Ringland, has accused the DUP and Sinn Féin of “failing to address their responsibilities”, after the parties reacted to the Secretary of State’s remarks linking a government economic package to progress on creating a shared future in Northern Ireland.
“The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State are working hard to boost Northern Ireland’s economy, but, so far, the DUP and Sinn Féin refuse to take responsibility and do their bit”, Trevor observed. “The government has made an exceptional offer to provide economic help which can create jobs and bring investment to Northern Ireland. However it’s absolutely clear that the economy cannot flourish while society here remains seriously divided.”
”We only need to look at the scenes of disorder which have taken place on our streets over the past number of months to see how jobs, businesses and investment are adversely affected. That’s why the Secretary of State has stressed that the executive must do its bit to tackle division and create a shared society, if things like infrastructure projects, enterprise zones and better access to finance are to make a real difference."
“The government has offered to work with the executive to give Northern Ireland a better future. It would be a tragedy if the executive wasted the help which is on offer, simply because it doesn’t have the will or ambition to change society here for the better”.