£50m defence investment 'could have been better spent', says O'Neill

First Minister Michelle O'Neill has questioned the need for a £50m government investment in Northern Ireland's defence sector.

She said the money "could have been better spent" .

"I would prefer if the £50m was invested in a different way," she said.

But the first minister denied she was turning her nose up at the jobs being created as part of an investment announced on Wednesday by Defence Minister Luke Pollard.

"I want to create employment here," she said.

"It is at the heart of our economic policy, growing jobs."

The Northern Ireland Defence Growth deal, launched by the UK government, will result in extra money being invested in tech companies and start ups.

It is a collaboration between the Ministry of Defence, local companies and Queen's University Belfast and is also aimed at helping students develop skills in engineering and technology.

O'Neill was criticised by unionists for failing to attend the launch of the new Growth Deal in Belfast.

At the time, the first minister was engaged in a series of media interviews ahead of the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in Belfast at the weekend.

"I don't agree with this policy choice in London - choosing weapons of war over people and investing in people - but I do not blame any company here for wanting to have their share or creating jobs or employment," she said.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, said O'Neill's non-attendance at the launch was "a matter for the first minister".

He told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme that the "first responsibility of government is to ensure the safety and security of the nation".

He said the government was "delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence expenditure since the Cold War because we are living in a changed world".

Benn explained Northern Ireland's £50m allocation would be invested in "skills and apprenticeships and help for small and medium-sized enterprises to be able to access defence work".

"An example of one of the things we're supporting is building three new support ships for the Royal Navy at Harland and Wolff," he added.

"This is about jobs and opportunities and re-establishing that shipbuilding capacity in Northern Ireland which I hope everybody would welcome."

O'Neill also challenged the findings of a Treasury report which suggested the Stormont Executive could raise more than £3bn every year through revenue raising and cutting the size of the public sector.

The open book review of Stormont's finances was conducted after the Executive overspent by £400m last year.

O'Neill said the findings were "lazy" and lacked any proper scrutiny.

She said the focus should remain on the underfunding of Northern Ireland compared to other parts of the UK.

She suggested that if Northern Ireland had the same funding model as Wales and Scotland it would receive an extra £1.1bn and £3bn respectively to spend on public services.

The first minister added the executive was united in seeking to secure extra funding from the UK government and was hopeful the Treasury would step up.

However, Benn said the government was "funding Northern Ireland above its level of need".

"The level of need has been independently assessed, so for every pound spent in England, in Northern Ireland there is £1.24," the secretary of state explained.

"Secondly we gave the Northern Ireland Executive a record settlement over three years last summer.

"Since then we've provided an extra £370m in the budget, an extra £228m in the Spring Statement which was last month."

Benn added that in return it was "entirely reasonable" for the government to ask local ministers how they planned to make Stormont's finances sustainable

A spokesperson for the Treasury said the report "was developed by HM Treasury in collaboration with the Northern Ireland Department of Finance, at pace and using NIE data.

"The government is clear that the executive needs to come forward with a detailed plan for how they will manage their finances and move towards sustainability."

According to O'Neill, Northern Ireland is lagging behind Scotland and Wales when it comes to funding above its needs and believes she has the figures to prove it.

She has based her calculations on the spending review which, she says, gives Wales an extra 8% above its needs and Scotland an extra 20%.

But her figures have been disputed by the Treasury which insists Northern Ireland is not under funded as it gets a 24% needs-based top-up which is "more substantial" than the 5-15% Wales receives.

The Treasury also insists there has never been a formal assessment of relative need in Scotland and "so you can't argue they're funded 20% above".

Whatever way it breaks down, expect the claims and counter claims to continue as both sides are engaged in a high stakes battle over finances.