Concerns over cuts

It is expected that the Northern Ireland Executive will have to find savings of around 4bn over the next four years.

Upper Bann MP David Simpson said the cuts were “worrying”, but urged politicians to show leadership.

He said: “These cuts are especially potentially damaging when it comes to capital investment. This has been cut by some 40%. This would have been earmarked for roads, hospitals, schools and other public projects.”

“The construction industry has suffered major setbacks in recent times. This has resulted in real hardship for families employed directly by building contractors. It has also severely impacted upon people who are self-employed or small family run businesses who were sub-contracted onto projects or who serviced those works.”

“On top of this when we take the welfare cuts and VAT increases into account there are almost a further 1 billion in cuts coming down the tracks to Northern Ireland. As well as this there are the significant cuts in defence and counter-terrorism.”

“What we now need is for all members of the Executive to approach this next period in a realistic manner and to not waste any time in agreeing a budget. It is vital that we have some level of certainty as we seek to move forward. There should be no games played and no petty politics employed. This is a time for Northern Ireland politicians to show leadership.”

Ulster Unionist MLA Sam Gardiner said the Executive must step up to the mark to protect health funding in Northern Ireland.

Speaking in the wake of the Comprehensive Spending Review, Mr Gardiner said: “Health has been protected in England and Wales. The Ulster Unionist Party welcome this announcement and stresses that the same principal must be the case in Northern Ireland. This is imperative.

"The Department of Health is already underfunded in comparison to England to the tune of 600m and the reality is that to secure key life saving services the health budget needs protected.

“Health is the number one priority for the public in Northern Ireland, we all want to see cradle to grave care for every citizen here. It is up to the Executive to step up to the mark and ensure its budget is protected.”

Nationalist representatives condemned the Spending Review, saying there is an alternative to the Coalition Government’s Spending Review.

Sinn Fin MLA John O’Dowd described the Government’s plans as “deeply flawed”.

Speaking after the emergency Assembly debate held on Monday to discuss the cuts, Mr O’Dowd said: “Sinn Fin want to build a consensus to protect jobs, public services and the most vulnerable in our society, from these planned cuts. There is an alternative and Sinn Fin has argued for an alliance between political parties, the Trade Unions, communities, and business to build that alternative.

“Our document, ‘There is a Better Way’ sets out the Party’s alternative strategy and puts forward our ideas and proposals for dealing with the current economic crisis. Sinn Fin’s proposals are about tackling waste, saving money, raising revenue, and investing this to create jobs, build the economic infrastructure and protect public services. Our proposition would bring in almost 1.9 billion in combined savings and new revenue.”

Mr O’Dowd added: “We have proposed the introduction of tax varying and borrowing powers to enable the Executive to generate income and stimulate development. The introduction of a phone mast tax, which would tax phone companies to the tune of 24,000 per year per mast, would generate 160 million over the next four years. Sinn Fin also proposed a reduction in Ministerial and MLAs salaries and expenses by 15%, which would save 7.5 million over the next four years.”

SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly said she was concerned about the amount of job losses.

She said: “We can now expect to see even more people out of work. The SDLP will be fighting to ensure the most vulnerable in society will not be adversely affected by these cuts. We want to ensure that waste in the public sector is cut down, but we certainly do not want to see even more people out of work.”