SINN Fein president Gerry Adams has slammed the DUP and Tory government deal as a ‘blank cheque’ for Tory Brexit cheerleaders saying it “threatens the peace agreement”.
The DUP has agreed a total package of £1.5 billion.
£1 billion of it is new funding for infrastructure and health spending, along with enhanced flexibility on almost £500m of previously allocated cash, to support Theresa May’s minority Conservative government.
Tory Prime Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster hailed the agreement between the two parties after they finalised the deal on Monday morning at Downing Street.
Under a “supply and confidence” arrangement intended to last for the full Parliament, the DUP guarantees that its 10 MPs will vote with the Government on the Queen’s Speech, the Budget, and legislation relating to Brexit and national security.
The DUP’s support in votes which are not covered by the confidence and supply arrangements will be agreed “on a case-by-case basis”.
The Prime Minister said the DUP and the Tories “share many values” and the agreement was “a very good one” and that she looked forward to working with them.
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said while the deal’s additional funds could help “ease the enormous pressure our public services”, he said that the “devil is in the detail”.
Mr Adams said there is now a “limited time” to get a deal to restore Stormont’s power-sharing Executive.
In a lengthy statement Mr Adams said: “The price of today’s DUP-Tory deal is DUP support for continued Tory Austerity and cuts to public services.
“The DUP have agreed to support the Tory Government on all motions of confidence; and on the Queen’s speech; the Budget; finance bills; money bills, supply and appropriation legislation and estimates and all legislation pertaining to British national security and Brexit.
“The Tory government has slashed more than £1bn from the block grant over the last seven years.
“The allocation of additional funds could help to ease the enormous pressure on our public services. The devil is in the detail.”
Mr Adams added: “Sinn Fein will continue to prioritise the establishment of a credible, sustainable Executive which deals with all the challenges facing our society, including the failure to implement previous agreements.”
Mr Adams added: “Sinn Fein will vigorously pursue the rights of citizens currently being denied by the DUP and the British government.
“We are committed to equality. Sinn Fein will resolutely oppose any attempt to give preferential treatment to British forces, either in terms of legacy or the provision of public services.
“If as they claim in today’s agreement, both the Tories and the DUP will fully adhere fully to the Good Friday Agreement and its successors, they need to deliver on this for the political institutions can be restored.
“So there is work to be done by the DUP and only limited time to do this.
“As they return to Ireland to meet with Sinn Féin and the other parties, the DUP should be minded of the words of Edward Carson speaking in 1921 on the Tory intrigues that had led him on a course that would partition Ireland: ‘What a fool I was. I was only a puppet, and so was Ulster, and so was Ireland, in that political game that was to get the Conservative party into power’.”
Speaking in the House of Commons DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said the agreement was “good” for the “people of Northern Ireland”, as well as those in the United Kingdom.
“In particular the money for mental health and in terms of hard to reach areas all of the money that has been outlined is for every section of the community in Northern Ireland.
“This is a deal that delivers for all of the people of Northern Ireland.”
Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry said while additional money for Northern Ireland must be welcomed, it is “important the DUP-Conservative deal does not become a missed opportunity”.
He said: “Any additional resources for Northern Ireland must be welcomed, particularly in the short-term. But while we must be mindful of the detail and implications of what has been made public today, we must also be vigilant around any side deals which may have also been struck.
The UUP has welcomed funding for the York Street Interchange and other infrastructure projects, along with increased spending in mental health.
Ulster Unionist Chief Whip, Steve Aiken MLA, said: “It would be churlish not to welcome extra spending in Northern Ireland as part of this deal.”
He added: “We need to see effective management of the funding to ensure the money is spent on time and that the public can have confidence in how it is being distributed. We need locally accountable ministers in place to make best use of the provisions made in the Tory-DUP deal.
“It’s now over to Sinn Fein.
“They’ve seen the detail of the Tory-DUP deal, they now need to knuckle down and strike a deal with their DUP counterparts.
“Time is running out.”
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