When pressed today at the Assembly's Environment Committee by Ulster Unionist Roy Beggs MLA, the Minister responsible for the Planning Service effectively blamed his predecessor, multi jobbing Sammy Wilson MP, MLA, for the staffing difficulties that he inherited.

Roy Beggs said: "Edwin Poots, the current Environment Minister, and his senior staff effectively blamed Sammy Wilson MP, MLA the previous Environment Minister, for the dramatic plan to cut staff that he has had to adopt.

Initially it was blamed on the reduction in planning fee income. But this has been known about since the property crash of 2007. Then they advised me of the new more efficient planning software, the EPIC system. When I questioned why they were proposing such dramatic cuts and asked why their workforce planning had not taken these issues into account at an earlier stage, I was advised by Minister Poots that he had identified the problem in August 2009, on coming into office."

"The Question is therefore why had the then Multi jobbing Minister of the Environment, Cllr Sammy Wilson, MP, MLA not effectively managed the Planning service staff requirements? Why were new planning service staff being taken on as late as June/July 2009 when it was clear that the department could not sustain their employment and one third of planning service staff will now have to be transferred out of the department or face redundancy"

Rodney McCune, Conservatives and Unionists candidate for East Antrim has accused successive DUP Environment Ministers of mismanaging the Planning Service. In a statement Rodney said: "The question must be asked why was a general civil service recruitment freeze in the Department only imposed 2 months ago.

"Yes there has been a dramatic reduction in planning applications and fee income that has led to an £8m unplanned overspend in the planning service during 2009/2010. But why is the DUP Minister proposing such a dramatic reduction effecting 1/3 of staff at the 11th hour? The significant drop in planning fee income should have been predicted at the end of the property boom in the summer of 2007.

"Professional and administrative staff have been recruited until relatively recently. With the widespread recruitment freeze on civil service recruitment only imposed 2 months ago there will be limited local opportunities for administrative staff.

"In the past 3 years there have been 3 DUP Environment Ministers. This has included the Multi Jobbing Sammy Wilson. As a former Environment Minister, and now Minister for Finance and Personnel, with responsibility for Civil Service Staffing, he cannot claim to have been unaware of this problem. Edwin Poots made it clear today that if Sammy was not aware of the problem he should have been. "As a triple jobbing politician, it appears Sammy took his eye off the ball. This is now having a very negative impact on peoples' lives.

" If elected I will be carrying out only one role as a full time MP."