McNarry comments on continued Maze fallout
Commenting on the continued fallout over the Maze Stadium plans this morning, UUP DCAL spokesman and DCAL Deputy Chairman David McNarry said in a statement,
“Much has been made about the architects for the site being snubbed after flying in from London. Before everybody weeps for them it should be remembered that they have currently been paid to date in the region of £3 Million for their plans. The Committee chose not to meet them yesterday because the process was, as some commentators have noted, a farce. We would be happy to welcome them again when we have all the information surrounding the project at our fingertips.
Here are the facts:
The Committee does not have the full picture, a business plan, the final costs or costed alternatives to the Maze stadium at present. This is like being asked to give an opinion on a car you are buying for someone without having seen anything other than how it looks.
The Committee felt it was being bounced. A News Conference was planned for the same time as the Committee meeting by the Minister and Architects, presumably designed to unduly influence the media and attempt to railroad the Committee into accepting a Maze or nothing outcome. This is no way to treat a Committee. Our role is to scrutinise and ensure that the public in Northern Ireland get value for Money. We are not a plaything to be used in a political game of chess by the Minister. Treating a Committee in this way is corrosive to the democratic process and makes a mockery of DUP claims of accountable Ministers.
The Committee is not in favour nor against a National Stadium at the Maze but we will not and can not make a final decision on this matter until we are properly armed with the facts, costings and a proper business plan. This is a common sense approach. We do not seek to be obstructive for obstruction’s sake but we do seek to be afforded basic courtesies and be given adequate information. The root causes of the difficulty surrounding the Maze project do not lie with the Committee. The Committee did not walk out, it was adjourned by consent and at the first opportunity apologised to the designers for circumstances which were beyond its control to which the designers replied with full understanding.”