The 10th of April – a significant date in my diary – 20 years ago tonight I went out on my first date with the man who was to become my husband. 16 years ago today, we married and I remember in 1998 driving off for the weekend to celebrate our first wedding anniversary listening intently to the car radio about the details of the Belfast Agreement.
Ladies & Gentlemen, as my husband and I looked forward to our future together in our personal lives, we also hoped for a better, more peaceful and prosperous Northern Ireland.
My childhood memories from the late 70’s and 80’s include stories of shootings and bombings, not just those on the news, but those of our neighbours and friends.
I can recall security checkpoints and nights without my Dad, who was a farmer by day, but also an RUC Reservist by night. He gave up his spare time, going out to help protect the people of Northern Ireland from the ravages of terrorism. This was ‘normality’ for me and my siblings. This is not the sort of ‘normal’ childhood I want for my children.
The referendum on the agreement, posed a difficult choice. As far as I was concerned, the then Labour government at Westminster were determined to bring all the political parties, whether linked to terrorists or not, into government.
I was of the view that the best that could be done in 1998 was to give those who claimed they wanted to create a shared future, the opportunity to put their money where their mouth was. By setting up the political institutions at Stormont, we could test how committed they were to creating a better Northern Ireland.
Don’t get me wrong, for me and many other Unionists, there were aspects of the Agreement that were difficult to stomach.
I was involved at that time knocking doors, talking and listening to the people of Mid-Ulster. This was a difficult step but I believed that, with enough confidence in ourselves, confidence in our strengths and in our ability to deliver, we could do just that.
As the lead unionists, the Ulster Unionist Party spent the next 4/5 years, working to ensure that others kept to the Agreement and delivered on the shared future for Northern Ireland.
I believe that the Ulster Unionists did what was right for the people of Northern Ireland - we gave leadership to the people throughout the darkest days of the troubles. It was the Ulster Unionists who demanded the decommissioning of terrorist weapons; we refused to uphold the Stormont institutions until others provided evidence of their commitment to delivering a peaceful Northern Ireland.
In the time that followed the DUP promised that they wouldn’t give any concessions to republicans. We all know what happened that promise. Instead what the DUP did was renegotiate the Belfast Agreement at St. Andrews and made things even worse!
15 years ago, as a relative newlywed I wanted a peaceful and prosperous Northern Ireland.
Fifteen years on, and my life has changed dramatically. No longer do I just dream about my future and that of my husband, but my dreams are for the future of our three children. I think of Courtney, Joshua and Nathan every day when I am working as an MLA at Stormont. They are the reason that I do what I do. Just like other parents, right across Northern Ireland.
Unfortunately, while many things have changed, many stay the same. Northern Ireland unemployment stands at the same rate today as it did 15 years ago. Similarly Northern Ireland is seeing a huge exodus of our young people to other countries in search of jobs. The Northern Ireland economy is lagging behind the rest of the UK and our standard of living is 20% lower than the UK average.
That`s not what I, my friends, family and neighbours were looking forward to in 1998.
Ulster Unionists want to deliver a better Northern Ireland where our young people are educated with the right skills to gain employment and ultimately progress to providing employment for others. We need our education system to work together with businesses and industry to develop the right skills for the future.
15 years ago our local businesses were emerging from an era of bombing and destruction. Government spend was more focused on repairing the evil deeds of terrorism. Today government must prioritise its spend to enable Northern Ireland to become an enterprising hub of excellence.
The potential game changer that the Ulster Unionists led on back in 2010, and was supported by all the other parties in the Executive has been put off for another 18 months. The devolution and subsequent lowering of Corporation Tax has yet to be delivered and once again the people and businesses of Northern Ireland have been let down by the Sinn Fein/DUP coalition.
It is now more important than ever, other changes are made in order to kick-start the economy. Increased investment in infrastructure; better focus on developing key economic sectors; improving access to finance; reducing energy costs and increasing availability of energy supply are vital components of our plan.
Northern Ireland used to be a net contributor to the United Kingdom. That should be our ambition. That should be our goal once again.
In Northern Ireland, we have the potential, and most importantly, the people, to make this country a powerhouse of productivity, whether that is through local indigenous business, new technology or foreign direct investment.
It`s about doing what`s right for Northern Ireland.
With that ambition we can create a new age of prosperity for Northern Ireland and its people. We need jobs for our young people whether that is the people sitting in this room today or my children or their children.
If you support the Ulster Unionist Party I can assure you that we will help create that opportunity through education, training, skills, research and development…..giving our young people the skills and ambition to succeed, to be proud of where they come from and to go sell our country, its people and its goods and services throughout the world.
Let`s make the next 15 years and the years following, the greatest years in Northern Ireland`s history.