Northern Ireland’s First Minister has defended her absence from a major investment announcement in Belfast saying she is “very comfortable” with her decision.
Michelle O’Neill said she wanted to see the economy grow and develop but said she could not agree with the UK Government’s “policy choice” for prioritising “weapons of war over people,” saying the money could be better spent.
Michelle O’Neill spoke to UTV ahead of Sinn Féin’s Ard Fheis at the weekend.
In the wide ranging interview, the MLA also discussed Stormont finances, the long-delay Casement Park stadium project and the climate change legislation which has impacted the building of the A5 road in the west of Northern Ireland.
Defence minister Luke Pollard visited Belfast on Wednesday with Northern Ireland Office minister Matthew Patrick to meet representatives from local industry and research, to launch the Northern Ireland Defence Growth Deal.Officials said the deal – part of the UK Government’s Defence Industrial Strategy, will create a targeted programme to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups in Northern Ireland by making it easier for them to enter the defence supply chain.It will also focus on supporting SMEs in developing technology that can be used for military and civilian purposes, ensuring new technologies benefit UK national security and the wider economy.Alongside the £50million investment, the UK Government has said it will provide additional funding for a skills initiative in Northern Ireland.
DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly attended the event.
Sinn Féin’s Vice President said she doesn’t agree with the government’s policy choice.
“I’m very comfortable that, of course, any business here, whenever London makes a policy choice, as they have done, to invest £50m in the militarisation agenda for the companies here, they’ll want to take advantage of that, and I wouldn’t blame them for that.“We do want to grow our economy and create opportunities and we’ve seen really good advances right across our economy, but where we do have a difference with London and particularly the British Government, is the fact that they are prioritising weapons of war over people, and they’re prioritising weapons of war over investment in health, education, childcare, or any other public services.
“So I don’t agree with this as a policy choice. However, I do want to grow our economy, so I think you can hold both of those positions at one time. I don’t agree with this decision being taken in London. This money could be much better spent.”
When asked about Stormont’s financial landscape, Ms O’Neill branded a Treasury analysis of Stormont’s finances as ‘nonsense’.
The Open Book Review of the Northern Ireland Executive Budget concluded that Stormont ministers could make decisions which would unlock up to £3.3 billion in additional spending power each year.
The review also said if power-sharing ministers had taken forward “even an eighth” of options available to them, they might have avoided a budget overspend in the last financial year.
Ms O’Neill said: “I think it is nonsense, to be quite frank, I think it’s lazy. We participated in that open book review for a reason, because we think we have a strong case to make. When you look at how we’re funded in comparison to Scotland and Wales, there’s a direct inequality.
“If we were funded to the same tune above the level of need that’s been identified in Wales, we would have an additional £1.1bn. If we’re funded in the same tune as Scotland, we would have an additional £3bn. All parties of the Executive are united in this. It’s impossible to agree a budget based on what we have right now.”
Ms O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly have previously called for a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer to discuss budget challenges in Northern Ireland.However, she rejected the argument that the Executive is continually going to the UK Government “with a begging bowl”.
“Why should the public here pay more than their counterparts whenever they pay their taxes, and businesses here pay their VAT. We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re asking for fairness and equality, and we’re underfunded in comparison to both Scotland and Wales. So if that’s your starting point, you’re off to a really, really sticky start. We’re prepared to do our part in terms of reform.
“We’re prepared to do our part in terms of trying to deliver public services in a more efficient way, be innovative, use technology. We will do all of those things. We will weed out inefficiency.
“But we’re not prepared to ask the public to pay more at a time whenever they are really getting it tight because of all the volatility internationally, and wars, the cost of living crisis, we’re not going to ask them to pay more for decimated public services, and we’re not going to ask them to pay more whenever the public services are continuing to decline because of lack of investment.”
Ms O’Neill also reaffirmed her commitment to the Casement Park and A5 road projects, both of which are key priorities for Sinn Féin in the Executive.
Some demolition work began at Casement Park earlier this year where plans for a 34,000-capacity stadium at the site have been delayed because of a major funding shortfall.Sinn Féin Finance Minister John O’Dowd has pledged more than £100million for the redevelopment in his draft budget that is currently out for consultation, but has not been agreed by other Executive parties.
Ms O’Neill said: “Casement Park will be built. Casement Park will be in progress whenever we go to the election, because diggers are already in the ground at Casement Park. They’ll need to move on to the next stage of all the remedial works, and then we need to get the project built.”
Last year, a High Court judgement quashed the Stormont Executive’s move to approve the £1.2 billion A5 road scheme, after a legal challenge from a group including residents, farmers and landowners.The judge said the proposals breached sections of Northern Ireland’s Climate Change Act as they did not demonstrate how they would comply with the commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Sinn Féin Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins is appealing the High Court judgment.
Following a meeting between Minister Kimmins and the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) on Monday, the UFU welcomed a commitment from the Minister that construction on the A5 will not begin before 1 January 2027.Ms O’Neill said: “The A5 has been caught up in a legal challenge, unfortunately, and that is to the regret of everybody, because I think the political will is there to build that road, and it will be built, but we need to work our way through the legal challenges.
“The reality is that the court case is yet to be heard. It’s going to be heard in June. We’re expecting to get a judgment in September. So realistically, we can’t get diggers on the ground again until January, at the earliest. I’m hopeful that that will be the case, because I think that common sense needs prevail in the court. We need to get this project built. And I think the case that’s been mounted against it actually should successfully be defeated, because this is a road that’s led to over 50 people losing their lives. This is a strategic project that we need to see delivered.
“There is still a lot more time in which to deliver, but I will stand very firmly on our ministerial achievements to date, on what collectively, we’ve been able to achieve as an Executive. I will not be complacent, because I do think it’s important to say we’ve had two years with another year to go. I think very much it’s about laying foundations for what we can do in the next mandate.”
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