McKevitt reports on one year in Stormont
SDLP South Down MLA Karen McKevitt has said her first year in the Assembly has been a mixture of progress in constituency work and frustration at the slow pace of legislation in Stormont.
Speaking to Newry Times, she said, “We are getting substantial numbers of people through the constituency office in Warrenpoint, and in fact the numbers are picking up because of the recession and concerns about cuts under the Tory programme of welfare reform. But the pace of things at Stormont would drive you to tears. The Executive is controlled by Sinn Fein and the DUP and it seems the only thing they can agree on is photo opportunities.”
“It took them eight months,” she continued, “To come forward with a Programme of Government and even then it was more of a programme of promises with no sign of the legislation needed to put it into action. So far they have only managed to get three bills through. There is not enough being done about the really big problems we face, whether it be healing our divided society, protecting vulnerable people from cuts or trying to generate some economic growth.”
McKevitt added, “We have built up a constituency team which can tackle many of the issues facing South Down, but real solutions can only come through the Assembly and we just need more to happen there.”
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