NI Budget misses an open goal on social integration

8.26.03am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 26th Oct 2005

North Down Alliance Councillor Ian James Parsley has hit out at the Government for failing to challenge segregation as part of its budget, and failing to make social integration central to economic strategy.

The Young Alliance Chairman said:

"The Secretary of State talks about 'cutting out waste' and efficiency, yet we see nothing about the nonsense of throwing away £1 billion on segregated services, and nothing about tackling administrative costs for each Northern Ireland department which continue to rise.

"We spend the equivalent of our entire education budget, according the Secretary of State himself, on dividing up our leisure centres, splitting up our schoolchildren, and carving up our health services. It is truly farcical stuff, yet despite the rhetoric of the Government's 'Shared Future' document, we see nothing specifically about tackling this within our economic strategy. Instead, families will be left to struggle to get by paying higher rates just to promote the abnormality of segregation. The Government has missed an open goal on promoting social integration.

"We have to get serious about our economy. Unfortunately other parties and other organizations such as the Institute of Directors focus on reduction of corporation tax for businesses to match the policy in the Republic, but for as long as we are part of the UK this is simply not political reality. What we can tackle is the poor relationship between Invest NI and other

enterprise bodies, the over-emphasis on getting people to start up businesses straight out of University rather than focusing on getting our best people to work in existing businesses, and the need to improve our infrastructure so that goods and services can be moved around more efficiently. Yet none of that is considered in the Budget either.

"No one denies Northern Ireland must pay its way. But this Budget is simplistic stuff, failing to tackle the real need to boost our private sector, and failing most of all to tackle the scourge of segregation which is the single biggest blight to our society -- both politically and economically."

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Cllr Parsley is himself Managing Director of Ultonia Communications, a business he set up straight after University. He is therefore fully aware of the real challenges of going straight into business after academic studies.