Rt. Hon. Peter Robinson MP said:
“The Hillsborough Castle Agreement represents a fair deal for Northern Ireland. Devolution of Policing and justice: an objective which every single party in the Assembly is committed to, can occur in a stable and safe environment.
We have ensured through our negotiating efforts with the government that an additional £800million has been made available to allow policing priorities to be properly addressed. I would remind the community that I was being urged to settle for much less than that. I held on and got the best financial package possible for Northern Ireland. It would be deeply irresponsible and destructive therefore for any party to play party politics around such a major issue.
Every single party in the Assembly is committed to the devolution of policing and justice powers. Every single party therefore should stand over their commitments made to the public. I believe that the people of Northern Ireland are tired of political point-scoring and party positioning. They deserve to see devolution working better.
The people of Northern Ireland want to see this issue put to bed and dealt with. I believe they will react very badly to any party that tries to stop Northern Ireland moving forward. The people are looking to all of us to show leadership. Everyone in the Assembly must step up and do so.”
