Eastwood urges London to recommit to 10,000 Magee College target

The SDLP leader raised the matter with British Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris MP during the second reading of the Identity and Language (NI) Bill in the British House of Commons.

The language bill is intended to fulfil language commitments contained in the ‘New Decade New Approach’ agreement of 2020.

NDNA also contained pledges by the British and Irish governments to support the Executive to achieve a 10,000 student campus target in Derry.

Speaking in Westminster this afternoon, he said: “I’m glad to see that the Secretary of State is implementing some key parts of the New Decade New Approach agreement. Of course, there are other commitments within that agreement that haven’t been delivered, even by the previous Executive- when we actually had an Executive.

“One of those key commitments is to the people of Derry for 10,000 students at Magee University in that city. The Member for Skipton and Ripon (Former NISOS Julian Smith MP) agreed with me that we could have a medical school for Magee and that now has been delivered, but the real prize is a full-scale university for the people of Derry.

“Will he (the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland) commit to getting that done?”

Mr. Heaton-Harris said: “The government is committed to delivering on NDNA and all its commitments and they have come forward at different stages as he well knows and this is why we are celebrating, hopefully celebrating, today the second reading of this particular Bill.”