Long-awaited Stormont anti-poverty plan criticised as ‘underwhelming'
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons launched an extended 14-week public consultation on the Executive's Anti-Poverty Strategy 2025-35 on Tuesday.
He described it as being based on three pillars of minimising risks of falling into poverty, minimising the impact of poverty on people's lives and working to help people get out of poverty.
Figures indicated that around 18% of those in Northern Ireland live in relative poverty, and 15% live in absolute poverty, with 25% of children living in relative poverty and 21% of children living in absolute poverty.
The strategic commitments from across departments include continuing the Extended Schools Programme, working with partners to scope out an NI Debt Relief Scheme, a commitment to develop an Executive Disability Strategy and a Fuel Poverty Strategy.
Speaking in the Assembly, Mr Lyons described a 'legacy of delay' in taking forward an anti-poverty strategy.
'When I took office, I made it clear that one of my priorities would be tackling poverty,' he told MLAs.
'After a legacy of delay in taking this work forward, I wanted to work at pace to develop a strategy which could help make a meaningful difference to those experiencing socio-economic disadvantage in our society.
'I and my Executive colleagues have worked to develop a strategy which we will make progress against and can and will make a difference to people's lives.
'This strategy is the culmination of considerable hard work, collaboration and co-design, and I want to thank all those stakeholders, in particular the members of the anti-poverty co-design group, who have worked with my department in providing their input.
'We often hear about the silo approach in government, but I know that ministers and officials across the executive departments have worked together on the draft in a spirit of co-operation and collective ownership.'
He added that targets will come later with an action plan.
SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan described the strategy as 'underwhelming' (Liam McBurney/PA)
Mark H Durkan from the official Opposition at Stormont described the document as 'underwhelming'.
He contended it didn't just 'call into question the Executive's ability to tackle poverty', but also their appetite and ambition to do so.
Mr Lyons hit back, claiming Mr Durkan was 'wrong on every point that he made'.
'It has been 17 years that we have been waiting for this document, and after 17 months in office, I have been able to bring this forward,' he said.
Save the Children NI head Peter Bryson also criticised the strategy.
'This document raises serious questions about the Executive's commitment to children, families and communities impacted by poverty,' he said.
'It has no clear priorities, budget, action plan, milestones, or accountability for its delivery. It recycles existing commitments, with no real clear link drawn to a deeply flawed description of the current drivers of poverty.'
He said the Executive could have 'opted for a big, bold move like introducing a child payment to lift thousands of children out of poverty'.
'Or strengthened an existing policy like the Childcare Subsidy Scheme to help more families with the cost of childcare access work,' he said.
'Or it could simply have committed to bring together departments, local councils and trusts, organisations working to combat poverty, and children, families and communities experiencing poverty, to work together to address poverty.
'Again, we have to ask, how has a document with no measures to reach its ambition been signed off?'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Assisted dying: One NI MP backs law change in England and Wales
Only one of Northern Ireland's MPs has supported controversial new assisted dying legislation in a key vote in the House of Eastwood, of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), backed the bill, which would allow terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to get medical assistance to end their own legislation will only apply in England and was voted through the final stage in the commons by 314 to 291 - a majority of 23. The Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP) five MPs voted against the legislation, along with Ulster Unionist MP Robin Swann, Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood, Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister and Independent MP Alex leader Claire Hanna was absent from Westminster but has abstained in previous MPs narrowly back legalising assisted dying in England and WalesOpposing the legislation, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said it was a not a bill which offered "light or hope or dignity".He added: "It is not a safeguard for the dying, but it is the removable of protections for the vulnerable." 'More comfort' But Eastwood said it was right that people "get the opportunity in a very limited and very protected circumstances to die a in a way which gives them more comfort than we are doing now"."We all know these things are happening, people with lots of money can go to Switzerland," he added."We need to ensure that it is available to more people, and it is important that a legal framework is put around this."Swann said the bill "seriously lacks" any safeguards for those with disabilities."This now means doctors can raise ending a patient's life, no matter how vulnerable the patient is, including those with learning disabilities and doctors only need to be 51% sure the patient is not being coerced," he said the bill was "unsafe" and did not provide safeguards for vulnerable people as he called for more funding for palliative described the vote as a "sad day for our nation"."For the first time since the abolition of capital punishment, the state is set to be involved in facilitating the death of its own citizens," he said. Assisted dying drugs While the legislation will not apply in Northern Ireland, MPs passed an amendment which will allow the lethal drugs used in assisted dying to be manufactured in Northern the amendment, Swann said that, unlike elsewhere in the UK, workers will not be able to decline working on those drugs for personal beliefs."The conscious clause has been extended to England, Scotland and Wales but not to Northern Ireland," he added.A ban on adverts promoting assisted dying will also be extended to Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin's seven MPs do not take their seats in the House of Commons but a spokesperson said the party supported assisted dying under "limited grounds"."Given the sensitivity and complexity of this issue it would be most appropriate that the health minister would bring forward legislation on assisted dying," the spokesperson in a statement the Northern Ireland Department of Health said it had "no plans to bring forward legislation on assisted dying"."In Northern Ireland, assisting or encouraging suicide or killing someone on compassionate grounds remains a criminal offence," the statement said.
ITV News
a day ago
- ITV News
Guernsey Election 2025: Lindsay de Sausmarez tops Guernsey vote as Ferbrache misses out by 21 votes
The people of Guernsey have voted in their next set of 38 Deputies, with the previous Environment and Infrastructure President, Lindsay de Sausmarez, topping the poll. She received 10,721 votes, getting the backing of around 44% of those who cast their ballots. Speaking to ITV News shortly after the announcement, she said: "I'm still absolutely stunned, I have not managed to get my head around it yet. I wasn't expecting it at all. "My thoughts are all over the shop because I have not had a chance to really sit down and even have a look at who my colleagues are going to be. I know that we've lost some real talent from the Assembly, a lot of experience, and I'm sad to see some colleagues go. "But I think we have had some really strong new candidates come through, so I'm excited about what they can bring to the Assembly as well." Also in the top three, Yvonne Burford with 9,427 votes and Charles Parkinson receiving 9,294. Turnout was just over 72%, lower than last time but still high when compared to other elections across the British Isles. There were 116 rejected ballots, with 43 blank papers and 73 spoiled papers. 72.13% Turnout 19,686 Number of voters 116 Rejected ballots Former Chief Minister Peter Ferbrache, who was ousted from the top job in late 2023, stood for re-election but missed out by just 21 votes. The island's only political party, Forward Guernsey, put forward six candidates - three were elected, including former Chief Minister Gavin St Pier with 8,577 votes. There will be around a 50-50 split of new and returning Deputies, with 18 politicians re-elected and 20 who are not currently in the States. Just under a third of the successful candidates are women. The full list of 38 elected candidates is as follows: Lindsay de Sausmarez - 10,721 Yvonne Burford - 9,427 Charles Parkinson - 9,294 Steve Falla - 9,017 Paul Montague - 8,884 Sasha Kazantseva-Miller - 8,794 Gavin St Pier - 8,577 Tina Bury - 8,496 Jonathan Le Tocq - 8,002 Chris Blin - 7,664 George Oswald - 7,613 Marc Laine - 7,556 Aidan Matthews - 7,312 Marc Leadbeater - 7,292 Andy Cameron - 7,177 Sally Rochester - 7,119 Adrian Gabriel - 7,069 Lee Van Katwyk - 7,063 Liam McKenna - 7,040 Mark Helyar - 6,980 Steve Williams - 6,950 John Gollop - 6,860 David Goy - 6,703 Tom Rylatt - 6,689 Jennifer Strachan - 6,683 Simon Vermeulen - 6,228 Munazza Malik - 6,215 Jayne Ozanne - 6,197 Dr Andy Sloan - 6,081 Bruno Kay-Mouat - 6,051 Haley Camp - 5,886 Garry Collins - 5,876 Andrew Niles - 5,846 Rob Curgenven - 5,738 Neil Inder - 5,651 David Dorrity - 5,644 Rhona Humphreys - 5,630 Sarah Hansmann Rouxel - 5,458 Follow our live blog below: Want the inside track on the key issues that will shape Guernsey's Election this June? Listen to Guernsey Votes, an ITV Channel podcast packed with expert guests, local insight and analysis you can trust...
ITV News
a day ago
- ITV News
First climate action plan targets increase in electricity from renewable sources in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland's first draft Climate Action Plan sets a target that 80% of the region's electricity should come from renewable sources by 2030. The roadmap also proposes reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill to 10% by 2035 and planting 9,000 hectares of new woodland by the end of the decade. Launching a 16-week consultation on the plan, Environment Minister Andrew Muir described it as a 'milestone moment'. The action plan is a legal requirement of the Climate Change Act that was passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2022. It sets out the proposed path that Northern Ireland will take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 as well as achieving a carbon budget target of a 33% average annual reduction in emissions between 2023 and 2027. Mr Muir said: 'I am fully committed to delivering Northern Ireland's first Climate Action Plan – one that is grounded in robust science and evidence, shaped by stakeholder voices, necessarily ambitious and aligned with our pledge to a just transition. 'This isn't just a plan, it's a roadmap towards a more sustainable future. 'The publication of the draft Climate Action Plan is a milestone moment that will inform how we reduce our emissions, grow our green economy, protect our environment and improve our health and wellbeing.' The minister said the collapse of the powersharing Executive in 2022 meant that some pace on creating the plan had been lost, adding 'we can ill afford to delay or defer action'. During the 16-week consultation period, a series of consultation events, including sector-specific sessions, will be held across Northern Ireland. The plan sets out a number of policies and proposals to reduce emissions, affecting several Stormont departments. These include the proposals to increase the proportion of electricity produced from renewable sources with an 80% target by 2030. The plan also sets a policy direction of switching vehicle fuels to low-emission alternatives, improving energy efficiency in residential buildings, including through better insulation and reducing energy consumption in the government estate. It targets an increase in household recycling, increasing municipal waste recycling to 65% and reducing waste to landfill to 10% by 2035. The plan includes a policy of reducing nitrogen fertiliser use in agriculture, creating 9,000 hectares of new woodland by 2030 and restoring 10,000 hectares of peatland by 2027. Mr Muir said: 'We have seen the damaging and costly impacts of climate change around the world and closer to home from flash flooding, wildfires and more frequent and severe storms. 'No section of society is immune. 'It is essential we take action and I would encourage everyone to take part in this 16-week consultation.' Met Office chief scientist, Professor Stephen Belcher, said: 'We can see our climate is rapidly changing in our observations. 'We have a responsibility to future generations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to net zero to stabilise the climate. 'And we also have a responsibility to citizens now and to future generations to accelerate our efforts to adapt to the extreme weather events we are seeing now in our changing climate. 'Action plans such as this are a vital step in this journey and the consultation on this plan is a valuable opportunity for the public to engage with this process.' Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.
