Ulster Unionist Leader, Mike Nesbitt MLA, has expressed surprise at the apparent complacency of the Economy Minister Arlene Foster over Northern Ireland’s drawdown of European funds for economic development.
Mr Nesbitt said:
“Mrs Foster pronounced herself satisfied with the drawdown of the so-called FP7 programme, the EU’s main source of funding for research and technological development, in a session in the NI Assembly today.
“Yet the Assembly’s own Research Department has shown that not only did Northern Ireland draw down less per head of population than England, Scotland or Wales, the comparison with the Republic of Ireland is eye-wateringly, staggeringly, stark. While Northern Ireland secured 35 Euro 33 Cent per capita, the equivalent in the Republic was 590 Euro 26 Cent.
“It is all very well the Minister pointing out that the Republic is a sovereign state, whereas we are a region of the United Kingdom, with all the implications for governance, but it is equally important to point out that her Ministerial colleagues in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister have failed over a number of years to identify an appropriate region of the EU against which we could benchmark our performance in drawing down competitive EU funds such as FP7.
“Until that happens, our inability to match the engagement of Dublin for the benefit of our people remains as a political embarrassment.”