Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“I am pleased to have secured a place on Stormont’s Scrutiny Committee for the Department of Finance for two reasons.
“First, to keep under constant examination the spendthrift tendency of the new minister, who is already talking about foolishly extending our borrowing. We are the most overdrawn of all the devolved regions, with a staggering debt of £2.1 billion. Talk about digging us deeper into debt is irresponsible madness, though no surprise from profligate Sinn Fein. It will be interesting to observe if the current rapprochement between DUP and Sinn Fein will cause the DUP to let their partner off the lease on borrowing.
“I will certainly not be giving the minister a by-ball on anything.
“Second, I will be anxious to ensure the NAMA inquiry is resumed and the many unanswered issues fully addressed. Whether under the new regime Sinn Fein’s enthusiasm for thorough investigation will have waned will be an important point of interest. But, I don’t intend to make anyone’s life easy on this matter.”