The Northern Ireland Executive has a “typically slap-dash approach to its borrowing commitments”, according to NI Conservatives’ spokesman, mark Brotherston.
“The Auditor General has issued a worrying paper which indicates that the Executive’s reporting of long-term borrowings is not transparent enough”, Mark explained. “Our ministers can use Private Finance Initiatives in order to develop infrastructure, like roads or hospitals, and pay for improvements to public services. That is a vital tool, when it’s used responsibly and well, but there’s evidence that the Stormont Executive is not ensuring its arrangements offer value for money and it’s not being open about the impact on budgets, into the future.”
“The repayments for these types of initiatives have doubled in the past 5 years, to £100 million, according to the Audit Office. The cost will rise to £140 million per year by 2016. Northern Ireland does sorely need infrastructure improvements, but it’s critical that PFI is used efficiently and transparently. The Executive has a history of wasting huge amounts of money and while other UK regions are examining PFIs closely to save money, there is no such programme here. Our ministers need to be held to account for their failure to spend tax-payers money carefully and efficiently.”