“Sammy Wilson is right that SF’s refusal to face reality of welfare reform is a major issue, but that doesn’t excuse the DUP’s apparent rollover on that issue, nor their agreement to choose which departments to protect on a “one for me, one for you” basis.
“As for Sinn Fein’s refusal to allow the NCA to assist the PSNI, I have frequently highlighted the impact that is having on our police service, just as I have highlighted the multi-million pound impact that the Twadell Camp, in which DUP and UUP elected representatives are involved, is having.
“And whether he has forgotten since being removed from the job of Finance Minister, or whether he just didn’t understand what he was doing at the time, Mr Wilson is simply wrong when he says that DoJ has been protected from cuts. In fact, DoJ has taken cuts of over 7% over that last three years.
“Nothing that Sammy Wilson has said in his attack on me has addressed the fundamental reality that the monitoring round proposals are based on political expediency, rather than on sound financial planning.”