Speaking afterwards Mr Robinson said,
“Whilst City Deals were talked about for many years, it was through the Democratic Unionist Party in 2017 that secured a commitment from Government to make it a reality. We sought to secure those deals that would bring benefits to communities across every corner of Northern Ireland.
It makes no sense to pause these reals because of a lack of finance when they had not advanced sufficiently to be at a point where they had identified full financial commitments, let alone commence any spending. Allowing them to proceed to that point would not have placed any burden on the public purse at this stage.
This decision places in jeopardy match funding from private investors and risks significant projects such as the Food and Drug development centre in Coleraine and the Enniskillen bypass. The Government needs to inject confidence by recognising their value and demonstrating a determination to deliver on the aspiration of these key economic drivers.
It is disappointing that the Secretary of State did not recognise that the decision to pause these region deals was foolish, but we will continue to press Government to make real the vision outlined in 2017.”