Statement by TUV MP Jim Allister:
“I wish to place on record my thanks to Danny Kinahan for his service as Veterans’ Commissioner. He performed the role in very challenging circumstances and now is an opportunity for the Government to address fundamental issues before appointing a successor.
“The role of Veterans’ Commissioner must be put into a statutory basis and Government must provide proper resources and a structure. Something not widely known is that the post of Veterans’ Commissioner is currently only a part time role with just two staff. By way of contrast, the Victims’ Commissioner role is full time with a staff of seven.
“Many veteran issues in Northern Ireland still need to be resolved. The previous government had a draft bill to align all the veterans’ commissioners across the UK and put the posts on a statutory basis but the legislation was not introduced in time. The new Labour Government needs to take this forward as a matter of urgency.”