Brown Visits Stormont

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Brown Visits Stormont

By Barry McCaffrey

GORDON Brown made his first visit to the North on Monday since being named British prime minister last month as leaders from the British Isles convened for the British-Irish Council meeting to meet on issues such as terrorism and economic matters.

Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness hosted the meeting at Stormont, which also included the leader of the Scottish and Welsh assemblies, as well as Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern.

“Anything we can do about harmonizing rules and regulations that make that more efficient all the better. In Europe generally more effort has to be put in,” Ahern said.

Brown pledged to support the new devolved government in the North through a series of economic packages aimed at boosting the economy.

“I believe that we have entered into a new historic time for Northern Ireland,” he said, adding that, come the autumn, an investment package of £51.5 billion will be unveiled by the British government.

“The financial package is very big indeed — £51.5 billion over the next few years,” Brown said. “It is to make possible the current expenditures of the Northern Ireland Assembly and to make possible a big program of investment in the future.”

Paisley told Brown that previous British administrations had left the North’s economy in a “mess,” and was insistent that change is needed.

“The south of Ireland used the monies they got very well indeed but we did not get the money, it was used to pay the ordinary government expenses of Northern Ireland,” he said.

McGuinness said, “All of this is a work in progress, but the prime minister was at pains to say that he is here to help and that he recognizes the economy is of critical importance.”

Another milestone took place on Tuesday at the fifth meeting of the North South Ministerial Council in Armagh, which for the first time was attended by a Unionist delegation led by Paisley.

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