Responding to the comments from Billy Armstrong, Seán Neeson MLA stated: “It is quite incredible that an Ulster Unionist MLA would accuse the Executive of doing nothing to tackle rising unemployment, when his own Party Leader is the Employment Minister.
“This ridiculous gaffe shows how clueless some of the Executive parties are on tackling the ongoing job losses across Northern Ireland.
“It is Sir Reg Empey who has responsibility for employment issues – if one of his own MLAs wishes to accuse him of inaction, he should lift the phone, not put out a press release!
“It is embarrassing that at this time of severe economic downturn when people are turning to their MLAs for leadership, those same MLAs do not even seem to understand which Ministers are responsible for what. If ever anything were proof of the need for fewer departments and less bureaucracy in government, this is it.”
ENDS