Carla Lockhart said:

“For some time I have been waiting for the NIO to outline their budget to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement. Having asked for details before and being given an evasive answer, with no figures, I persisted to get proper answers. Having received the details, revealing the staggering budget of almost £600,000, I can understand the Minister of State being so reluctant to providing me with answers.

Such an excessive sum is hard to justify in a climate where the Government is continuing to threaten severe budget cuts in Northern Ireland. Demands have been made to cut our schools budget for example, that would have devastating consequences of the education of our children, including those with special educational needs. £600,000 would help cut waiting lists, or help to address the plethora of potholes across our road network.

I am conscious there are some in our society for whom celebrating the Agreement will be important. They are entitled to do so. However, making it into the most expensive birthday party this side of Los Angeles and the A-list celebrity circuit in unjustifiable.

I would urge the NIO to reconsider their priorities. First amongst those priorities must be to restore the foundation blocks of the Agreement they clearly want to celebrate in style, by restoring the principle of cross community consent that has been trashed by the Protocol. If they fail to do so, they will have contributed to the end of the Belfast Agreement. The clock is ticking.”