Eastwood: Medical School commitment welcome but we need detail

Speaking after Joint First Minister Michelle O’Neill made the announcement yesterday that the project will now go ahead, Mr Eastwood said that what’s needed now is more than warm words but a detailed plan and the resource needed to lift the project off the ground.

Colum Eastwood MP said: “During the negotiations to restore power sharing, I made it a personal priority to secure not just a political commitment to the expansion of Magee but resource for developing the medical school. That was critical to SDLP support for the Executive. I welcome the statement from the First Ministers recommitting to university expansion in Derry today.

“What people here need is more than warm words or restated promises. We need a guarantee from the Executive and from Ulster University that the first students will enrol starting in September 2021 and we need to see a plan for university expansion beyond that. The medical school is the first step, not the end product.

“I will work constructively with all parties to deliver on the potential of our university. Providing young people with the opportunity to study, work and make a life for themselves here is a priority for me. Today’s news must be something genuinely new, rehashing previous commitments or announcements will not be enough.”