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McHugh addresses Tory conference
04.10.11
DONEGAL North East TD,
Joe McHugh, is calling for a pooling of public
services on both sides of the border.
Deputy McHugh, who is co-chair of the British-Irish
Parliamentary Assembly, will raise the issue when he
addresses the Conservative party conference in
Manchester this morning.
“The Conservative Government in Britain is working
with the DUP First Minister and the Sinn Féin Deputy
First Minister at Stormont to drive a severe
austerity programme in Northern Ireland. That
austerity agenda is focused on eliminating the
duplication of public facilities which developed in
the second half of the 20th century to service
separate sides of a divided Northern community,"
said the Fine Gael deputy. |
“The British Government
and the Stormont Executive should also work with the
Irish Government to cut out the waste and
duplication at a North-South level on this island.
"There is a huge amount of unnecessary duplication
on this island. At a time of financial crisis it
makes sense for Northern Ireland and the Republic of
Ireland to pool resources and to share services.
“There are many cases where this kind of North-South
co-operation is already working. Major health and
road projects are being co-funded by the Governments
on both sides of the border. |
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Joe McHugh, TD. |
"We should now be
looking at how we can extend this principle, to
ensure the most efficient and cost effective
provision of services.” |
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