First Minister Michelle O’Neill has described a UK government deal for a Belfast factory to supply air defence missiles to Ukraine as “incredulous”.
The Sinn Féin vice-president said that “rather than buying weapons of war, I would rather see the money invested in public services”.
The Thales missile factory is to supply 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth up to £1.6bn, the UK government announced on Sunday.
It will involve recruiting 200 additional staff.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the order as he laid out a four-point plan to “reach peace and defend Ukraine”.
Michelle O’Neill made the comments in the Stormont chamber on Monday [PA Media]
In the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday, O’Neill was asked by independent assembly member (MLA) Claire Sugden whether she supports the deal.
The first minister said she found it “incredulous” at a time when “public services are being cut left, right and centre”.
She added: “At a time when we’ve endured 14 years of austerity, at a time whenever winter fuel payments are being cut from older people, at a time when lots of small local businesses are going to go to the wall because they can’t afford the national insurance hikes.
“At a time whenever our farmers are worried because of the inheritance tax, I think at a time like that, rather than buying weapons of war, I would rather see the money invested in public services.”
O’Neill said she believed “the focus of the international community should always be to work towards negotiation and peace settlements”.
“That’s my approach to these things,” she added.
