People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll has condemned what he calls a coordinated assault on working class communities as multiple funding crises collide.
Carroll said: "What we are witnessing is a new era of calculated austerity, and it is the most vulnerable in our society who are paying the price.
"From Wednesday, Westminster will reduce funding for community support programmes by a staggering 64%. This will leave 11,000 people without employment support, and equates to roughly 400 job losses in the sector. It's particularly cruel that on the same day hundreds of charity workers are handed redundancy notices, a £14,000 pay increase for MLAs will come into effect.”
“Rather than begging Westminster for help that clearly isn’t coming, the Executive must step in today. It is entirely within their remit to provide the £15.8 million to keep these services afloat. The five big parties found £1.2 million for a 27% pay hike and handed over £76 million in rates breaks for the likes of Moy Park and Coca Cola last year alone. It's time they cough up for people who need it most.”
"At the same time, the Education Minister is overseeing a slow-motion collapse of youth services. The £37 million that kept 165,000 young people connected to clubs and support has been un-ringfenced, with funding only guaranteed until June and youth workers are being shown the door. It’s simply not good enough for the Minister to point the finger at the Education Authority. The responsibility for this disastrous decision sits squarely with the Minister - as does last week’s SEN summer schools fiasco, which threw thousands of parents of children with additional needs into unnecessary panic.”
"Working class communities did not create this crisis and they should not be made to pay for it."