TUV tables No Confidence motion in Ford
05 September 2011
On the first day back at Stormont, TUV Leader Jim Allister, in response to the debacle over the Police Reserve Gratuity Scheme, which saw many deserving former officers refused payment, has tabled a 'No Confidence' motion in Justice Minister David Ford over his handling of the issue and, in particular, his inflexibility over the application date.Commenting the North Antrim MLA said, "One of the scandals of the summer was the disgraceful rejection of several applications for payments under the gratuity scheme from reservists who knew nothing about the arrangements because of the woeful inadequacy of the Department of Justice's advertising campaign, compounded by the intansigence of the minister in refusing to face up to the mess he had created. Minister Ford then added to the shambles by overseeing the dispatch of letters which compromised recipient's security by revealing, through the envelope window, that they were former police officers.
"All in all this was a woeful episode of bad government which the Assembly, if it is worth anything, must now address. Hence, today I have tabled this motion:-
That this Assembly, being dismayed by the failure of many deserving police reservists to benefit from the recent Gratuity scheme, expresses no confidence in the Justice Minister over his handling of this issue; and calls on the Department of Justice to reopen the application process.
“Of course, whether it is ever debated depends on the DUP/Sinn Fein controlled Business Committee and on past performance they are likely to bury the issue, because embarrassment to the regime must be avoided at all costs. I will, therefore, watch with interest their response, but I suspect it will mirror what they did with my motion on the appointment of Mary McArdle - they ran away, because it was too difficult to handle."
