Ulster Unionists respond to Alliance withdrawal from CSI working group

Ulster Unionist MLA John McCallister has commented following the withdrawal of the Alliance Party from the Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (CSI) cross party working group.

The South Down MLA, who is his Party’s representative on the group, said:

‘The CSI group has been meeting on an almost weekly basis for the last 8 months in an effort to forge an agreement on how to move forward with a community relations strategy for Northern Ireland. Important issues such as shared housing, shared education and community safety have all been on the agenda for discussion. We have respected the confidentiality of this process throughout and have worked constructively in an attempt to gain consensus on these fundamentally important issues.’

‘Whilst the Ulster Unionist Party still have very specific concerns about the document as it stands, we would reaffirm our commitment to working towards a solution which will benefit the people of Northern Ireland. However, we must have a clear action plan to accompany any CSI strategy, the delivery mechanism must be robust and there should be a commitment to work towards a single education system in Northern Ireland.’

‘It is with great regret that I learned of the Alliance Party’s decision to withdraw from this group. Coalition government is not easy and it requires flexibility and patience – unfortunately the Alliance Party has proved capable of neither of these qualities on this occasion. I would call on the Alliance Party to attend the scheduled meeting of the working group this afternoon to explain the reasons behind their decision.

‘The people of Northern Ireland want to see their politicians deliver on a shared future and I and my Party will continue in our efforts to do so.”