The former head of Northern Ireland’s Public Service, Sir David Sterling says proposed Budget cuts imposed by Westminster were undeliverable, describing the situation as “the worst that it has been”.
Sir David (pictured) said some Departments were expected to see cuts of up to 10 per cent, but with inflation sitting at around 10 per cent, the cuts in real terms would be far higher.
A leaked Government paper revealed the Northern Ireland Government was losing £700 million ($A1.3 billion) by not charging for services such as domestic water supply, prescriptions, domiciliary care, transport for the over-60s and having significantly lower university tuition fees than in England.
The Northern Ireland Secretary at Westminster, Chris Heaton-Harris said “workforce efficiencies” in the Public Service should be considered in making savings.
Sir David said public services and bureaucrats would be collateral damage in the Budget cutbacks.
“In real terms, the cuts will be very large in many areas — and as I’ve said before, and many of my former colleagues have said, this is fundamentally undemocratic, it’s fundamentally unconstitutional,” Sir David said.
“There are Public Service bodies, there are charities all over the place now, who are having to plan to lay people off; capacity will be lost; irreversible damage will be done.”
Public Servants have been running Northern Ireland for almost a year after the Assembly collapsed when the Democratic Unionist Party refused to join the power-sharing arrangement with Sinn Féin in protest against Northern Ireland Protocol which seeks to keep borders with the Irish Republic open after Brexit.
Sir David effectively ran the Province from 2017-20 during a similar political crisis.
Belfast, 26 April, 2023
