Funding Cutbacks Will Cost Jobs: Attwood

Proposed cuts in public spending will hit both traders and jobs with some of Northern Ireland's town centres being put at risk of virtual closure because of a shortage of funds.

That's according to the Stormont Social Development Minister, Alex Attwood (pictured) who has said: "I feel let down but the people who are really let down are the traders and community leaders in those 20 areas who have produced regeneration plans and who now see the Executive not giving it the priority and protection it deserves."

He said the regeneration budget had been £60 million over the last two years and this year it was only £5 million.

He also noted that a total of £110 million was handed back from the Department for Social Development (DSD) to the Finance Department because the Royal Exchange plan to rebuild part of Belfast city centre was delayed.

However, while Mr Attwood said he had hoped millions of that would be returned for regeneration projects elsewhere in Northern Ireland, he said that an agreement on how the budget should be allocated had not been followed at last Thursday's Executive meeting at Stormont Castle.

He said the bid for the £35 million from the Department for Finance and Personnel (DFP) and was only allocated £10 million for urban regeneration as the DFP is struggling to save money as part of UK-wide cutbacks.

He said this would lead to further decline in town centres and the loss of jobs.

Also commenting on how more than £1bn will be slashed from public spending in Northern Ireland between now and 2015, the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) has warned of major challenges.

Launching a major report on the challenges facing the economy, NICVA Chief Executive Seamus McAleavey warned frontline services could be at risk if the wrong approach was taken.

He said: "This is the most detailed external analysis yet of what is coming down the track and it makes for painful reading.

"It presents a significant test for our Executive and it is vital that the correct decisions are made.

"The choices made now will shape our economy and society for a generation," he said today.

Elsewhere, an assembly member has slammed funding for an Executive taskforce - which was set up to look into 2009's floods in Fermanagh - as a 'half-hearted gesture.'

The Fermanagh flooding taskforce was set up in December 2009 in response to the worst flooding in the area in living memory.

SDLP MLA Tommy Gallagher said the Executive funding - which totals around £1.5m - is 'many months too late.'

"The floods in Fermanagh occurred eight months ago. The SDLP warned at the time we were sleepwalking into a flooding crisis unless immediate action was taken," he said.

"The Taskforce have identified a range of urgent problems that have to be tackled but the money that has been allocated will not be sufficient to deal with these problems," Mr Gallagher added.

Other news on the economy means that 40 convenience store workers have lost their jobs in Larne after the closure of a local grocers.

The former owner of the store says that business has dropped off since the opening of a massive out-of-town Asda in June.

(BMcC/KMcA)