COMMITTEE OF THE CENTRE VISITS THE MAZE / LONG KESH REGENERATION SITE

The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee of the Centre will visit the Maze / Long Kesh regeneration site on Wednesday 13 June 2007. Members will be briefed by senior officials from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister on the proposals for regeneration at the site and about timing for major decisions in relation to the development of the site.

Chairperson, Mr Danny Kennedy, said “ Decisions on the regeneration of the site will be made in the near future by the First Minister and deputy First Minister. The Ministers will need to appraise the Committee of the Centre of these decisions as part of our scrutiny role in the Assembly. For our part, we are going to the site to see for ourselves the scale of the land which was made available through the reinvestment and reform package and where the component parts of the Maze / Long Kesh project are proposed in relation to transport infrastructure.

“As I have said before - we hope to work constructively with the First Minister and deputy First Minister to develop and deliver our shared goal of improving life for everyone in the community – and this project has the potential to contribute to that goal.

“We will expect to see an economic appraisal on the project which demonstrates that the cost to the Northern Ireland public is minimised and we will remain open minded about the merits of the overall development until we receive more information”.

Notes for editors

The Committee of the Centre is one of the statutory committees established by the Northern Ireland Assembly on 9 May 2007.

A motion will be considered in the Assembly on Tuesday 12 June 2007 proposing that the committee’s name be changed to the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

The role of the Committee as set out in Standing Orders for the Northern Ireland Assembly is “to advise and assist the First Minister and the deputy First Minister in the formulation of policy with respect to matters within their responsibilities as Ministers jointly in charge of the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister.”

Committee Membership:-

Danny Kennedy, Chairperson
Naomi Long, Deputy Chairperson
Martina Anderson
Tom Elliott
Dolores Kelly
Barry McElduff
Francie Molloy
Stephen Moutray
Jim Shannon
Jimmy Spratt
Jim Wells

Requests for interviews with the Chairperson or members of the Committee should be directed to the Committee Clerk: -

Damien Martin
Room 406, Parliament Buildings
Tel: 028 9052 1448