Hilary Benn defends £50 million NI defence deal after Michelle O’Neill criticism

By Claudia Savage (Press Association)

The Northern Ireland Secretary has responded to the First Minister’s criticism of a £50 million deal for Northern Ireland’s defence sector, saying it is the “responsibility” of Government is to ensure the safety of the nation.

Hilary Benn said the funding boost will be invested “into skills and apprenticeships” in the region.

The Northern Ireland Defence Growth Deal, launched by the UK Government, will see money invested in tech companies and start-ups to make it easier for them to enter the defence supply chain.

The Government said the initiative will support hundreds of jobs.

Michelle O’Neill said she and party colleague Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald did not attend the launch of the deal because they do not support the “militarisation agenda”.

The First Minister said the funding should have been spent in areas that are “really crying out for support” in tackling the cost of living crisis.

Asked what he made of Ms O’Neill’s comments in relation to Northern Ireland’s funding, Mr Benn told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster: “This is £50 million for Northern Ireland, going to go into skills and apprenticeships and help for SMEs to be able to access defence work.

“Why is this so important?

“Because the Government is currently in the process of investing £270 billion over this Parliament and delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence expenditure since the Cold War, because we are living in a changed world.

“That is the first responsibility of governance, to ensure the safety of nation.”

He said it “is a matter for the First Minister to decide” whether or not she attends defence-related events.

“An example of one of things we are supporting is building three new support ships for the navy at Harland and Wolff.

“That was a hugely important step that was taken, been there, met the apprentices.

“This is about jobs and opportunities and re-establishing that ship building capacity in Northern Ireland.”

The Northern Ireland Secretary reiterated the Government’s view that the region is funded “above its level of need”.

“The level of need has been independently assessed so for every pound spent in England, £1.24 is spent in NI,” he said.

“Secondly, we gave the Northern Ireland Executive a record settlement over three years last summer.

“Since then, we provided an extra £370 million in budget, an extra £270 million in the statement which was last month… we agreed a reserve claim of £400 million to help balance the budget for last year.

“In return, we’re making considerable contributions in the form of the budget in NI.

“But in return, I think most people will recognise that it is entirely reasonable to say to the Executive, are you going to come forward with a detailed plan for how you are going to make public finances in NI sustainable?

“The reason we agreed to the open book exercise in return for the reserve claim that we agreed was to be able to show that there are things the Executive can do if it wishes to take those steps to balance the budget because we need to do this.

“I am here to play my part, I am the biggest advocate for Northern Ireland in the UK Government, I argue Northern Ireland’s corner but I need the help of the Executive in doing that.”