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Good morning John

This week has once again brought into sharp focus a simple but important question: are all our Executive Ministers genuinely committed to making Northern Ireland work?


Power-sharing requires maturity, competence and leadership. Ministers must focus on delivering for the people of Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, the events of the past week raise serious concerns about whether that standard is being met in Sinn Fein-led departments.


The most serious example is the collapse of the proposed US investment, which would have created around 300 well-paid jobs in our financial services sector. Reports indicate the project was effectively agreed before the company met the Sinn Fein Economy Minister in New York.


Jonathan Buckley MLA raised concerns months ago that the investment appeared to unravel following that meeting.


For a project of this scale to collapse at the final hurdle raises serious questions about what happened in that meeting and what was said. At a time when Northern Ireland must be doing everything possible to attract investment, the loss of 300 high-quality jobs is deeply damaging.


Northern Ireland cannot afford a reputation where companies arrive ready to invest and leave feeling unwanted.


Alongside this, we have witnessed ongoing dysfunction within the same Department regarding the £81 million of UK Government support intended to help households with energy costs. This funding should have been a priority for the Department, yet at its most senior level there appeared to be little awareness of it. Rather than clearly setting out how families facing rising bills would be supported, confusion and delay have characterised the Department’s handling of the scheme.


Then there is the continuing A5 debacle, where the latest court judgement has again exposed serious failings in its handling. People across the west of Northern Ireland have waited long enough for progress on this road scheme and landowners have lived under a cloud of uncertainty.


They want delivery, not rhetoric – yet the only visible progress on the A5 has been roadside posters calling for it to be built.


This is not an isolated pattern. It was not long ago that Sinn Fein’s Finance Minister made a complete hash of the rates revaluation process, creating uncertainty for businesses and reinforcing concerns about amateur leadership.


Taken together, these incidents point to a worrying pattern of drift, delay and incompetence in a number of Sinn Fein-led departments.

Northern Ireland deserves better.

Leadership matters when government faces serious questions. Yet too often the First Minister’s voice is absent. No Show O’Neill is never short of commentary when it comes to political messaging, but when accountability and leadership are required, silence too often follows.


Importantly, it was the work of Phillip Brett MLA that helped secure movement this week on the £81 million energy support scheme. That funding is coming from the UK Government, and it must now be delivered quickly so that households across Northern Ireland see the benefit.


That is what effective scrutiny and accountability should look like.


That is why the DUP will continue to challenge failure and demand answers in our devolved institutions. At the same time, DUP Ministers will continue to take practical decisions that help people across Northern Ireland — such as this week’s decision to extend the NI Childcare Subsidy Scheme for another year.


This week I also met with the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, to discuss a range of issues affecting Northern Ireland including the pressures on home heating oil. It was an opportunity to press the case directly for our people and to ensure that the UK Government understands both the challenges we face and the opportunities that exist here.


But there is also a clear challenge for Sinn Fein: if they want to lead departments of government, they must start to demonstrate that they are serious about making Northern Ireland work.


Yours sincerely,

Rt. Hon. Gavin Robinson MP

DUP Leader

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