Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister:-

“It is very apparent that while there is a DUP/Sinn Fein no strike agreement between themselves over their Budget, it is open season on the other parties and ministers, particularly the Health Minister. The politics being played, especially by the DUP, is obvious. Every interview is taken as an opportunity to bash fellow unionists – indeed, even the Chief Medical Officer was the object of vitriol from the Finance Minister today on ‘Nolan’ - but never a word about the foolish, wasteful priorities of the Sinn Fein ministers.

“Take the budget of DRD. Murphy has decided to cut capital expenditure on water infrastructure – even after the winter crisis – and to cut road maintenance, so that he can prioritise the building of a cross-border motorway, the A5, which we neither need nor can afford. But, not a word of rebuke from the DUP. Nor, over his squander on peddling Irish language training and signage.

“We are stuck for money to run our health service – and face falling significantly behind GB in per capita expenditure – but, not a finger lifted to savage the waste of £100m pa on the useless, non-productive North/South bodies. Sadly, under this DUP/Sinn Fein budget these sacred cows of their Belfast Agreement are more precious than giving parity of health service provision in Northern Ireland.

“We have DETI facing a 64% cut in its capital budget, leading to the admission that they won’t have any money for new industrial development over the next 4 years. (See http://www.detini.gov.uk/2804_3_-2.doc ). Yet, under this Budget, we have over £20m ring fenced for the Maze Shrine scheme. The fact that money can be found for the Provo Project at the Maze, but no money will be available for new industrial development projects across Northern Ireland, is a shocking indictment of Stormont and the priorities of its DUP/Sinn Fein coalition.

“The truth is that so far as it can even be called a Budget - remembering a top economic commentator described it as ‘vacuous’ - the present proposals are woefully inadequate and driven by pandering to the Sinn Fein agenda, like the Maze and the A5, and the recompense and diversion for the DUP is to train their fire on another unionist minister from whom they have withheld the funds necessary to adequately maintain health provision. This is what the independent health professionals say and I suspect they are more likely to be right than the party political Minister of Finance, whose every comment seems to be driven by electoral considerations.”