DUP Leader Urges Govt To Financially Support NI's Public Services

DUP Leader and East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson has urged the new Government to enhance financial support for public services and reform in Northern Ireland.

Speaking during Questions to the Northern Ireland Secretary of State in the House of Commons, Mr Robinson has highlighted that the delivery of effective public services is a priority of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Speaking from Westminster, Gavin Robinson MP said: "We see across our health service, our schools, and our infrastructure the consequences of prolonged underfunding. Our people deserve better. "The Government must grasp the depth and breadth of the challenges we face if we are to make progress on the pathway to improvement. The fiscal framework announced last December on an interim basis fell well short of what was needed and does not solve the problems that we have. Indeed, the stabilisation money agreed upon in December is forecast as necessary to sustain public sector pay in Northern Ireland. It will not enable either the immediate sustainability of public services or the much-needed transformation agenda across health and other public services.

"The DUP will continue to lead the campaign for reaching an agreement on a new, responsible, long-term fiscal framework that equitably funds our public services. A new Government offers a new opportunity for earnest engagement on these issues, and I trust we can make the progress needed to deliver better for the people of Northern Ireland."