Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“For months, and particularly during the recent European election, the DUP vowed opposition to Northern Ireland being treated as a single region in respect of the distribution of Single Farm Payments, insisting that such would cripple the most productive farms. At one point the DUP was even advocating three regions.
“Today, they rolled over and meekly accepted the Sinn Fein agenda for a single region, though with a seven year transition period. Transition or not, the end result will be a severe cut in income on our most productive farms.
“Whether this Sinn Fein/DUP deal is part of a wider trade off remains to be seen, but one thing is clear many farmers have been sold out.”