Ulster Unionist MLA for South Antrim, Danny Kinahan, has accused the DUP of blatant hypocrisy after the Finance Minister produced a final budget for 2015-16 which allocated £50m for the arc21 incinerator at Mallusk; a project which the Party claims to be opposed to.
Danny Kinahan said;
“The local community in Mallusk have put up a superb campaign against the proposed arc21 incinerator. Around 3,000 objections have formally been lodged against it being granted planning permission and at one stage it appeared that the required level of political opposition had also been secured.
“Worryingly it has now been confirmed to me that whilst certain local politicians were boasting of their Party’s opposition to the incinerator, their own Party colleagues were setting the 2015/16 Budget which explicitly allocated £50m for the scheme to go ahead.
“Immediately last year when I spotted a discreet, but hugely significant, reference to this money in the draft Budget proposals I contacted the Finance Minister – the DUPs Simon Hamilton – in order to ascertain exactly what this money was intended for. In his response he told me the £50m capital funding was ‘intended to allow the proposed arc21 Waste Treatment and Incineration Plant to commence...’.
“Only weeks ago, in front of a packed audience of local residents in the Academy Sports Club, William McCrea MP urged all political parties to contact the Planning Minister again to reaffirm their opposition to the arc21 plan. The reason I know this was because I was on the same panel as him.
“The decision of his Party colleagues in the Executive to provide this funding, oblivious to the Environment Minister, unfortunately goes to show that neither he or his Party were true to their word. If the DUP truly objected to the project then it could have as easily allocated this money on other more sensible projects."
“I had previously tried to get the funding removed when the draft spending proposals were first produced last year. In our formal consultation response my Party also called for the funding to be taken out, especially considering the project has not even secured planning permission.
“There now remains only one more chance for this funding to be withdrawn; whilst it has got the support of the Executive, it still needs to be voted upon by the 108 MLAs. My Party will still be seeking changes to it, including removing the £50m for the incinerator, and if these are not secured we will once again be voting against it. I would urge everyone opposed to this incinerator to contact the DUP and Sinn Fein MLAs to challenge them on their blatant betrayal."