SDLP Ballyarnett councillor Rory Farrell
Addressing January’s Full Council meeting, the Ballyarnett representative said: “It’s one year since the New Decade, New Approach document was published.
“It’s one year since the Executive committed to bringing forward proposals on the expansion of Magee. And one year on, we’ve had no proposals.
“We’ve written to the First Ministers three times in the last ten months about the commitment to expand Magee, and we’ve had nothing back.
“We’ve had no feedback. We’ve had no response. We’ve had no acknowledgement. We’ve had nothing whatsoever.”
Added Cllr Farrell: “They’re ignoring our Council. They’re ignoring the 150,000 people who live in this council area and they’re ignoring the issue of Magee expansion.
“I am aware that this was raised at a recent Executive Committee and a civil servant said that it was within ‘territory’ of the Department for the Economy and that they were still waiting for a finalised business case from Ulster University.
“And while I accept that, I don’t accept that we’ve written to the First Ministers repeatedly and that they have ignored us repeatedly.
Magee Campus in Derry
“If we put this into context, we first wrote to the First Ministers in March of last year and since then they have responded to 100 written Assembly questions from Jim Allister and they haven’t responded to any of our letters about Magee expansion.
“And I hope that doesn’t mean that Jim and the issues he raises are of more importance than our Council, the 150,000 people we represent or the wider issue of Magee expansion.”
