Don’t use civil servants as scapegoats for overspend in Northern Ireland

FDA National Officer for Northern Ireland Robert Murtagh has challenged claims that senior civil servants were to blame for a projected £2.45 billion overspend in major capital projects.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Murtagh outlined the instability civil servants have faced, with it being just a year since the restoration of the Assembly and the Executive, and there being a four party coalition in government.

Murtagh also pointed to there still not being a programme for government a year on from the restoration, saying it was “another example of how difficult it is for the civil service to plan”.

The National Officer said:

“Putting the blame for this overspend at the foot of civil servants rather than ministers and the Executive who haven’t been in place for five of the last eight years, isn’t about tackling the root cause, and that’s what we need to do. We need value for taxpayers’ money. Let’s look at the root cause, let’s not use civil servants as scapegoats.”

Murtagh continued:

“It is ministers who are elected by the public to deliver on these projects. So I think there’s a wide range of systemic issues here… I think that it is a disservice to look at the root causes of this overspend and not to think about the political instability, the near permanent crisis that has defined our politics for the last eight years.”

Murtagh’s appearance on BBC Radio Ulster was also reported on by Civil Service World.