NI Conservatives’ spokesman, Bill Manwaring, has described the planned Stormont debate on an argument between Jim Wells and Caral Ni Chuilin as ‘farcical’.
“Voters have a right to wonder about the Stormont’s priorities, when a matter like this reaches the Assembly floor”, Bill pointed out. “Today it is confirmed that jobless figures in Northern Ireland are getting no better while in the rest of the United Kingdom unemployment is going down, countless reports point to a culture of waste and inefficiency within the Executive, there is no agreement on the way forward for schools or hospitals and the strategy for a shared future is going nowhere.”
“Yet the Executive parties seem to think a more pressing issue is a spat in the corridors of Stormont, rather than providing jobs for our young people, 1 in 5 of whom are out of work. Their attitude is arrogant, detached and shows complete contempt for the voting public. NI Conservatives call for this unnecessary debate to be cancelled and implore the Assembly and the Executive to get on with tackling the issues which really matter to the people of Northern Ireland.”