Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The joint Government paper included a proposal on water charges in the North and ending protection for welfare recipients. The Government's negotiators seem happy to push this agenda. Sinn Féin was steadfast in our opposition to the agenda and we were able to defeat these efforts. Instead of the Tories filleting welfare and social services in the North, the agreement now contains revised financial proposals from the British Government amounting to almost £2 billion, or double what was originally offered. Crucially, there will be no reductions in welfare payments under the control of the Executive and anti-poverty measures will be retained. We need unity on this front. We need all parties and both Governments to support measures to tackle poverty rather than take resources away from communities. Inclusive community investment needs to be focused on need and not subject to political battles. As a legacy of the conflict in the North, the number of those who are reliant on welfare is higher than elsewhere on these islands. This has meant an increased need for State supports and investments.

The £2 billion financial package on offer includes £650 million in new and additional funding. The Minister for Education, Sinn Féin’s John O'Dowd, MLA, has secured up to £500 million worth of new capital over ten years to support shared and integrated education. Yesterday’s budget also demonstrated Sinn Féin’s continued commitment to front-line public services. Reference was made to 20,000 jobs being cut. There is no way I would stand up here to support the agreement if I believed it would result in 20,000 jobs being cut in public services. More than £200 million extra will be invested in the health service and almost £100 million extra was announced for education and higher education compared to what was proposed in the draft budget. There were also increases for a number of other Departments, including £20 million for justice. Despite the Tory austerity cuts agenda Sinn Féin has continued to support public services and there will be no compulsory redundancies in either the Stormont House Agreement or the subsequent budget announcement.

While the agreement provides for a fund of up to £700 million over four years for workers choosing to retire or leave the public service, this scheme will be demand driven and balanced by the need to protect public services. Public sector workers will have the option to take part in the scheme if they so wish and it is completely at their discretion. It will not be willy nilly; it is part of a package. Sinn Féin will also work to ensure that the design and operation of any such scheme will not adversely impact on front-line services. There is general acknowledgement that the peace process must not be taken for granted. The Stormont House Agreement represents progress even if it is not comprehensive. There are difficulties in the agreement but the most important element of it is that it brings progress. People may say now that we should have done this or that but very few people were coming forward with options during the negotiations. At least we had a plan for the negotiations, and we delivered on the best part of that plan.

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