Green Party leader hopes that we aren’t facing another false dawn for stable governance

Mal O’Hara said “I am concerned that once again we see a behind closed doors deal between Executive Parties and the UK Government to restore the Assembly. It is a formula that provides a sticking plaster to longer term problems and as we have repeatedly seen, does not make government sustainable. A return to the current form of devolved government is not a cure all but it’s better than the limbo we are currently in.”

Mal O’Hara continued “Let’s not pretend that a returned Executive will solve all our ills. The housing crises, obscene waiting list times, failure to properly pay public sector workers and our ongoing environmental shame did not arise overnight. The Executive parties have governed this place for over a quarter of a century and have direct blame for failing to properly address these issues. They can’t always exclusively blame the Tories” “Hopefully we will get an Executive up and running to resolve some of the immediate issues like public sector pay and supporting the most vulnerable. But, we must do something differently. It’s time to review the structures of governance here. Not by a deal cooked up between the vested interests of the Executive parties and the Governments, but rather empowering people through greater, more local, democracy, such as citizens assemblies.”

ENDS