The DUP MP said, "The funding for the scheme taken forward at Westminster in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy eventually amounted to £3.5billion. The 'Barnett consequential' of that for Northern Ireland could have been up to £105million. Whilst the Finance Minister announced a £1million scheme it is vital this is enlarged to deal with the scale of the issues identified.
Whilst DoF may have only been aware of one development that was impacted, residents in the Arc apartments were notified recently that issues had been identified there. This is is certainly the largest scheme identified to date, and may well be the biggest in Northern Ireland with 464 apartments affected. The costs indicated to residents mean that the £1 million scheme would not even come close to dealing with this problem. It is vital therefore that the scale of funding matches the scale of the issue.
I am thankful to Conor Murphy for agreeing to meet me alongside the management company of Arc apartments. When they are being faced with potential bills of up to £30,000 per apartment it is obviously causing a huge amount of distress for an issue that has arisen through no fault of theirs or through any fault of the developers or management company.
I would hope the Finance Minister will provide clarity and certainty for those residents soon because he will have received the allocation from Westminster which now must be used to help local people facing this problem."