DVA jobs actionplan at Stormont

Ministers in Stormont have been tasked with forming an action plan to cushion the DVA jobs blow in Coleraine and across Northern Ireland.
21 Mar 2014 DVLA protest at loss of jobs at Motor Tax office in Coleraine and centralisation to Swansea.PICTURE KEVIN MCAULEY PHOTOGRAPHY MULTIMEDIA21 Mar 2014 DVLA protest at loss of jobs at Motor Tax office in Coleraine and centralisation to Swansea.PICTURE KEVIN MCAULEY PHOTOGRAPHY MULTIMEDIA
21 Mar 2014 DVLA protest at loss of jobs at Motor Tax office in Coleraine and centralisation to Swansea.PICTURE KEVIN MCAULEY PHOTOGRAPHY MULTIMEDIA

The initiative was agreed at the latest meeting of the Executive following the shock announcement that 309 equivalent full-time jobs are likely to be lost – 240 of them based in the main Coleraine HQ and 69 across other offices in Armagh, Ballymena, Belfast.

The decision to transfer all vehicle registration work to Swansea came despite a strong campaign supported by all Assembly parties which involved lobbying in London – including a petition of over 30,000 signatures brought to Downing Street and the Department of Transport.

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A protest rally was held in Coleraine last Friday from County Hall to the town centre with over a hundred taking part.

Now Finance Minister Simon Hamilton and Environment Minister Mark H Durkan, whose department includes responsibility for the DVA, have been asked to make recommendations on how the impact of the decision can be ameliorated.

The Executive has asked them to work with the head of the Civil Service Dr Malcolm McKibben to draw up a report which should be ready for the next meeting next week.

Mr Durkan told the Assembly last Tuesday it was “disgraceful” that the announcement was made while he was out of the country.

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“I am bitterly disappointed and angered by this decision, which represents nothing more than a narrowly focused cost-cutting exercise that was made at the expense of high-quality public services and jobs and to the detriment of our local economy,”he said.