People Before Profit Councillors have welcomed Belfast City Council’s decision to shut a number of council buildings to the public in order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, adding only that they do not yet go far enough.
Speaking after the meeting, North Belfast representative and Party Group Leader Fiona Ferguson said:
‘We have been pushing for Belfast City Council to take action and I am glad we have begun to do that tonight. We made a specific proposal to write to the Executive, urging them to ensure all workers who aren’t eligible for statutory sick pay are given financial support, and I’m pleased this will go ahead.’
‘We are somewhat frustrated, however, that stronger measures like closing leisure centres are not being taken – they have already been closed in Dublin and Derry and we called for this in Belfast tonight. We urge the big parties who do not support urgently closing leisure centres to reconsider now that we have proof of community transmission of the virus.’
‘We will continue to engage with council officials over the coming days to ensure the concerns of council staff and our constituents are being heard.’
