Mr Brett said:
“Northern Ireland’s aerospace and defence sector contributes an estimated £2.2 billion to our local economy and supports thousands of highly skilled jobs. The Government’s Strategic Defence Review currently underway offers an enormous opportunity to expand this contribution further, bringing in millions of pounds of investment and creating new employment across the Province.
Yet when I asked the Sinn Fein Economy Minister how she was engaging with this vital review, she could only offer a one-line response. That level of disengagement is not only disappointing, but a dereliction of her duty to take every opportunity to bolster Northern Ireland’s economy.
The Minister’s standard reply is that money spent on defence should instead be diverted to public services. Of course, we all want to see our health service and schools properly funded. But to suggest the UK should abandon defence investment entirely is wildly out of step with both domestic and international opinion.
World leaders are increasingly aligning with the NATO target to spend 5% of GDP on defence. Sinn Fein’s outdated ideological opposition risks holding Northern Ireland back from investment, growth, and job creation.”