From Unity, 28 February 2009

Target social need

by Pearse McKenna

The First Minister and the Deputy First Minister will meet the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, at Downing Street on Wednesday, amid fears that the British subvention under the Barnett formula might be cut.
     Martin McGuiness said that if that were to be the case, or if that were to be threatened, he would be very concerned about it. But, “like Peter Robinson, I very much remember the meeting that we attended prior to the restoration of the institutions, where the British government made it clear what our budget was going to be over a period of some ten years.”
     Mr Robinson said: “The sort of figures that are being talked about would require Northern Ireland to make efficiencies of £200 million or more.”
     Robinson and McGuiness may have a contingency plan, from a local economic think tank. The report of the Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland says that “indeterminate subsidies should be phased out and replaced by more targeted and effective measures.”
     The advice in their report, called “Mitigating the Recession,” recommends that the Executive should reconsider freezing rates or offering free prescriptions. Other Stormont policies it questions include the deferral of water charges and free travel for the elderly.
     Martin McGuiness is not the only one who can “very much remember things.” I recall voting for the Good Friday Agreement. I don’t remember any mention of the Economic Research Institute. The only consultative body mentioned was the Civic Forum. The Good Friday Agreement states: “A consultative Civic Forum will be established. It will act as a consultative mechanism on social, economic and cultural issues.”
     The Civic Forum was to comprise representatives of the business, trade union and voluntary sectors. Along with the trade unions, pensioners and the unemployed were represented on the Civic Forum. The groups know only too well what “more targeted and effective measures” means: another way of saying “means test.”
     If anyone needs to be targeted it is the bankers, stockbrokers and fat cats who have done absolutely nothing that is useful and have amassed fortunes of hundreds of billions of pounds. These people need to be effectively targeted, with a view to prosecution. This privileged clique must not be allowed to retire with golden handshakes or gain bonuses.
     The victims—workers who have lost their jobs through this clique’s corruption and incompetence—should not have to pay.

Home page  >  Publications  >  Unity  >  Target social need
Baile  >  Foilseacháin  >  Unity  >  Target social need