This is a excerpt from the Women’s Policy Group Response to the Department of Infrastructure Consultation on Water & Sewerage Charges.
Northern Ireland is facing a difficult financial environment. Although the Assembly has returned and this is welcome, we know that a lot of work has to be done to ensure financial stability beyond the financial package. The budget we are currently operating under further contributed to the decimation of public services we have seen over more than a decade.
The 2023 budget cuts have already had a devastating impact on organisations and communities in Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State has argued that the cuts had to be made in order to repay public debt, but the impact of the cuts will not save money. Instead, they will worsen people’s quality of life and their health and, in turn, increase dependence on the public purse.
Cutting government spending and implementing revenue raising measures during a financial crisis will not save the government money, it will cost the government more in the long term and have disproportionate impacts on the most vulnerable communities. Asking Northern Ireland to generate additional revenue at a time when our public services are on their knees will not lead to economic prosperity, it will simply plunge the most vulnerable communities further into poverty. Savings to the public purse should not be made on the backs of people in Northern Ireland who are already struggling to make ends meet.
We are calling on Ministers and Departments to resist the implementation of revenue raising measures and listen to the voices of communities in Northern Ireland who will bear the brunt of the financial hardship that will come with reducing funding for public services. To find out more about the need for common sense to be applied in regards to the NI budget, you can read the ‘Where’s Our Democracy?’ Campaign’s ‘Common Sense Budget (2023) here.
This is a excerpt from the Women’s Policy Group Response to the Department of Infrastructure Consultation on Water & Sewerage Charges.
