Ministers’ input led to army base retention
THE decision to retain the former Shackleton army barracks in Ballykelly was the only “decision with spending implications” in six years made as the result of “ministerial directions” by the Office of First and Deputy First Minister.
TUV MLA Jim Allister has been quizzing Peter Robinson and Martin McGuiness’s office, challenging the leaders of the Stormont Executive to detail the number of decisions with spending implications since 2007 made as a result of their direct input.
An answer to Mr Allister’s questioning, issued jointly by Mr Robinson and Mr McGuiness, stated: “The Ministerial Direction requested officials to retain ownership and minimise the running costs of the Shackleton site, rather than dispose of the site at that time.
“We were not satisfied with the short timescales imposed by the Ministry of Defence or that the proposed selling price would maximise the return to government.”