McNulty: Programme for Government ‘day late and dollar short’
SDLP Newry & Armagh MLA Justin McNulty has said the Executive’s Programme for Government totally fails to offer the kind of clear plan the people of the North deserve.
He said the Programme for Government has the DUP’s fingerprints all over it.
Mr. McNulty said that the Executive’s Programme for Government falls abysmally short of targets, timelines, and urgency for the people of the North.
He said: “Having a Programme for Government in place is welcome, but it shows how pathetically low the bar is, when the mere publication of a Programme for Government is deemed by the Executive to be a cause for celebration. While there are modest changes for the better in this document, overall the Programme for Government lacks the clarity or ambition to deal with the big issues facing people and communities.
“For those on waiting lists, or with children awaiting special educational needs support to which they are legally entitled, this Programme for Government is still woefully short of clear actions and targets. Moreover, the fingerprints of the DUP are much more obvious than their Executive partners in Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party. There is very little on stabilising funding for Foras na Gaeilge, very little on cross-border partnerships, and despite the repeated public calls from Sinn Féin for a Citizens’ Assembly and preparations for constitutional change, this Sinn Féin led Executive has produced nothing at all on building support for a new united Ireland.
“Given the clear shortcomings in the Programme for Government and the absence of clarity, the SDLP’s role as a constructive opposition is ever more important in delivering clear accountability rather than blame shifting.”