Stormount ministers urged to start delivering

The honeymoon is over for Stormont’s power-sharing ministers, it was claimed today.

With the Northern Assembly facing key decisions in the New Year on the final Budget and programme for government, the cross community Alliance Party’s leader David Ford said devolved ministers had yet to prove they were better than their direct-rule predecessors.

Mr Ford also said they would have to start delivering on issues like ending segregation, improving the health service and creating more affordable and social housing.

“The Executive took power eight months ago, on a promise of governing the North better than direct-rule ministers had done,” the South Antrim MLA said.

“So far, ministers have not lived up to that promise.

“The New Year is meant to herald a fresh start but I fear that this Executive has no fresh ideas.

“Ministers have talked about making efficiencies in the budget, yet have totally failed to do anything to tackle segregation.

“Over one billion pounds is wasted every year on managing a divided society. If the Executive provided more mixed housing, integrated schools and shared services, they could unlock this massive amount of currently wasted cash.

“The honeymoon is over for this Executive and they must now deliver real positive changes to people’s lives. It is time they stopped pretending that chuckling together was a substitute for delivery.”

A new power-sharing executive was formed last May in the North, headed jointly by Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley as First Minister and Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister.

The DUP has four cabinet posts, Sinn Féin three, the Ulster Unionists two and the nationalist SDLP one.

However in recent months some cracks have been apparent in the Executive, with the two smaller parties clashing with the DUP and Sinn Fein over budget allocations to the Departments of Health and Social Development.

There was also a bitter row between the SDLP Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie and DUP Finance Minister Peter Robinson over the two larger parties’ criticism of how she axed a £1.2m (€1.6m) fund for regenerating loyalist communities.

Ulster Unionists have publicly begun to debate whether the party’s interests would be better served on the Opposition benches.

Mr Ford claimed the end-of-year report for the executive in 2007 read “must do much better”.

“Back in March, I pledged that Alliance, with our allies in the United Community Group (the Green Party and Independent Health Coalition), would provide an effective Opposition,” he said.

“I said it was up to the Executive parties to provide an effective government. Whether the Executive is capable of governing effectively and collectively is becoming a real worry for many local people.”