Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“This morning DSD Minister Nelson McCausland had the opportunity, again, to apologise to the four building firms which he named and accused of being involved in an over charging scandal relating to Housing Executive contracts. The Minister under privilege last June claimed that they had received an estimated £18m in overpayments, but it is becoming increasingly clear that that figure is nonsense.
“Consider the impact of Mr McCausland’s inaccurate statement upon the businesses concerned. There was considerable risk to the reputation of the firms, with them being accused of charging for work which wasn’t carried out. Banks were also likely to gain the impression that the firms could be hit with very substantial bills which could have obviously had an extremely negative impact upon their ability to get credit.
“We often hear the Executive claim to be pro-business yet here is a Minister who made accusations against firms which could have had serious ramifications and yet he doesn’t have it in him to apologise.
“The Minister should be man enough to own up and say sorry to the contractors. He knows he got it wrong and now he is merely playing for time and looking for a good day to bury bad news.”