Ulster Unionist Leader, Mike Nesbitt MLA, says OFMdDFM’s flagship programme ‘Together: Building a United Community’, is no nearer being allocated a budget than it was when the initiative was announced six months ago.
Mr Nesbitt said:
“It was very telling that when asked the direct question in the Northern Ireland Assembly today, Junior Minister Jennifer McCann MLA told me she had no idea what the budget would be. Equally tellingly, she twice chose to say she would not offer ‘a ballpark figure’, which I take to be a direct reference to her Junior Ministerial colleague, Jonathan Bell MLA, who appeared to pluck the figure of half a billion pounds out of the air when discussing T:BUC when it was first announced six months ago.
“What is clear is that the great majority of the money for T:BUC programmes is not new funding, but the recycling of existing budgets, originally allocated to other government departments, but being vested by OFMDFM to make the heart of government look good.
“The T:BUC initiative made huge promises to our society, particularly our youth. It is not reassuring to hear that six months on, a budget has not been defined, nor any delivery mechanisms agreed.”