'Titanic Catalogue' Of Failures Criticised

Ulster Unionists (UUP) have slammed the Stormont Executive over today's news that the Titanic Signature Building may not qualify for £20m of funding from Europe as expected.

UUP spokesperson Mike Nesbitt said he was shocked the application may be rejected, suggesting problems with the tendering process and submission.

Mr Nesbitt said there has been "a growing pattern of failure to handle process".

This week has already seen severe criticism of Department of Agriculture officials over the mishandling of the land valuation at Crossnacreevy, which cost the taxpayer in excess of £120 million," he said.

He continued to slam the Executive for being overly concerned with red-tape bureaucracy and not with the goal, ultimately wasting time and resources on pointless procedure.

"At this critical time for our economy, when we claim to be 'Open for Business' and determined to grow the private sector, this is highly regrettable, to say the least. I have often criticised our devolved administration for being obsessed with process over outcomes. It now appears we are not even that good at the process."

Mr Nesbitt backed up his statement, outlining obstacles currently being faced by the Go For It programme, where participants will now be denied access to the full suite of support services for the next six months, due to avoidable 'legal challenges'.

He concluded by calling on the new Head of the Civil Service, Malcolm McKibben to take up the challenge and get the public sector up to speed before it grinds to a crippling halt.

"We need to foster a spirit of entrepreneurship among key civil servants, and encourage them to be less risk-averse. Whether the Executive gets its European money for the Titanic Signature Building or not, the speculation over possible bad process will only serve to make the public sector even slower and more cautious. This is a huge challenge for Malcolm McKibben…and a bad day for Northern Ireland plc."

(HMcE/CD)