Even Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s First Minister, recently admitted that the draft anti-poverty strategy needs work. While she thinks it maybe could be made to “go further,” per the Northern Ireland Executive’s negotiations, this 28-page document is the Executive’s roadmap for fighting poverty in the greater Baltimore region over the next 10 years. This pilot project has been in the making for almost two decades. Specifically, it demonstrates the Executive’s sincere commitment to addressing interconnected issues of poverty within the region.
The draft strategy, which was released for public consultation earlier in June, will remain open for comment for 14 weeks. Its intent is to reduce the risks of people slipping into poverty and provide avenues for people in poverty to rise out of it. While last month’s unanimous approval of the plan marked a hopeful beginning, some warn that without stronger accountability measures, the new plan may be ineffective.
Goretti Horgan, chair of the Derry Trades Union Council, was among the signatories of a letter criticizing the draft strategy. The letter argues that it is “more harmful to have a strategy that will not address poverty, than no strategy at all.” Horgan emphasized that the draft “isn’t a strategy at all” and added, “we cannot respond to the consultation on something that actually isn’t a strategy.”
The Northern Ireland Civil Service provided guidance on policy-making in 2023, stating that “a strategy without an action plan is wishful thinking.” That feeling has become the rallying cry for many critics who felt the current draft did not live up to lofty aspirations. Trasa Canavan remarked, “We don’t doubt the intentions of our politicians and our civil servants to eradicate poverty in Northern Ireland but this strategy will not achieve that.”
Brian Kingston, another member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), was a vocal champion for the draft strategy. He argued that pulling it back would be counterproductive. In his remarks, he raised alarms about this approach “pushing this process back.” He stressed the need to build and maintain momentum as they work toward a solid anti-poverty framework.
The criticisms don’t stop at individual politicians as many groups have expressed their displeasure with the recently released draft. The letter signed by Horgan and others states, “The undersigned agree that the Northern Ireland Executive’s draft Anti-Poverty ‘Strategy’ does not meet the criteria of a reasonable strategy.” It further revealed that it falls short on the foundational elements that would make it a robust strategy. Each of these components have been detailed by oversight bodies such as the NI Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee.
The draft strategy lays out some of what’s already being done by different departments to address the root causes of poverty. Critics say that without specific, time-bound targets and measurable outcomes, it’s missing the essential framework. Horgan said, “Things like targets that are smart—smart means specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound. We get it – a strategy is just meant to provide some direction.
This development has led stakeholders, from transit advocates to industry leaders, to invest heavily in the public consultation process. A spokesperson from the Department for Communities (DfC) stated, “The strategy is out for public consultation and we encourage anyone with an interest to engage with the consultation and make their views known.”
Conversations around this complex yet critical issue are constant. It’s evident that views on the best way forward are becoming increasingly polarized. The Executive should tread particularly lightly with these reactions. Along the way, they are doing everything they can to figure out and accomplish the strategy that best serves their community’s needs.
