THE DUP and Sinn Féin-led Stormont Executive should urgently recast its budget and programme for government to help support the economy, the SDLP has said.
Party leader Mark Durkan said more than £400 million (€445 million) in savings and the realisation of assets could and should be used to support construction, manufacturing and the retention of health service jobs.
He was severely critical of First Minister Peter Robinson for proclaiming he was powerless in the current economic crisis.
The Executive was wrong to think money could not be found to back new programmes, he added. It should establish three immediate priorities: the stimulation of economic activity, particularly in the housing sector; the preparation of business and workers for the recovery phase of the recession; and the protection of vulnerable households and individuals from the worst of the recession.
“The Executive’s budget, which the SDLP opposed, was based on a number of projections and presumptions which are no longer valid. Therefore, when economic conditions change the budget management should change too.
“But Sinn Féin and the DUP have refused to change anything, instead adopting a ‘No we can’t’ approach. They argue there is no new money but this is precisely why we must look again at the budget,” he said.
The SDLP is proposing to re-engage the Assembly in an annual review of the budget and the realisation of the full potential of devolution.
The party’s proposals were about prompting “a much needed debate” he added. “Doing nothing is not an option.”
Included in the party’s radical plans to redraw the budget are calls to offer loan support for small and medium enterprises and to establish a fund to assist the social economy sector.
Mr Durkan also proposes a wage subsidy scheme similar to those in Wales and the Netherlands in an all-out effort to minimise the risk of job losses, especially among highly trained workforces.
A skilled person’s initiative should assist those who have become unemployed and want to start their own business.
The paper also calls for capital projects to be delivered on time and for large-scale construction plans to be brought forward.
Mr Durkan also pointed to a need to develop tourism potential, extend the natural gas network, enhance electricity provision and invest in the high-speed internet network.
About £405 million from the current budget could be realised through the reduction in bureaucracy, including the freezing of Assembly members’ pay and a moratorium on civil service recruitment as well as the sale and lease-back of certain assets.
Expenditure could be redirected from Invest Northern Ireland, the inward investment agency, and new monies raised through levies on mobile phone masts and bank ATMs.
The Ulster Unionists welcomed the SDLP paper as “a start”.
MEP Jim Nicholson said: “The SDLP’s savings of £400 million, while a positive suggestion, clearly do not fill the black hole – never mind allow money to be directed towards the economy.
“I also have concerns about some of the SDLP proposals as they do not take fully into consideration the current economic reality on the ground.”
For the DUP, Simon Hamilton, who is vice-chairman of the Stormont finance committee, said any ideas on cost reduction were worthy of consideration.
“It is difficult to see what greater emphasis we could place on the economy,” he said.
“The better and more efficient use of scarce resources is something we see as a priority after years of waste under direct rule.”