Robin Newton MBE MLA

Thank you Noel for your kind introduction. And thank you to the Lord Mayor and Belfast City Council for letting us use this great venue today to hold this very important event. I would also like to welcome everyone here today.  We are all here for the same reason - to make 2010 the year we tackle poverty and social exclusion head on.

As Junior Ministers within the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister we take very seriously the challenges that poverty and social exclusion present.

Over the course of the last 50 years we have seen significant improvements in the lives of individuals and families across Europe.  In absolute terms our communities are better off with higher standards of living, better prospects and a more comfortable existence.  However, relative poverty still exists and continues to blight the lives of thousands of people.  Poverty leads to worse outcomes in so many areas including health and wellbeing.  

The Executive is working to target poverty here, through main spending programmes in Health, Education, Housing, Employment and Urban and Rural Development.  But the downturn in the economic climate and resulting job losses and increased unemployment has undoubtedly impacted the work of such programmes.  

So it is even more important that we continue to strengthen our focus on fighting poverty.

It remains a fact that the best way out of poverty is a job with a reasonable wage.  We must continue to strive to provide better employment opportunities, to equip people with the right skills and training to enable them to obtain employment and we must work towards removing the barriers to employment faced by those such as lone parents and the disabled.  Making progress on these issues is vital.  

Tax Credits and benefits only go part of the way in addressing this problem and realistically we can’t expect benefits, important as they are, to be the whole solution.  
We need instead to see how we can encourage economic investment in Northern Ireland bringing with it better opportunities; improve public services and better target resources towards those in greatest need.  

The Executive is totally committed to tackling social exclusion.  We will for example, during the course of the year, consult on Government’s response to around 80 recommendations made by a Working Group on Disability.  These were presented, as some of you may recall, to the First Minister and deputy First Minister in December of last year in the City Hall.  The recommendations aimed to remove the barriers faced by people with disabilities in every day life.  

But today is not about what we are already doing.  It is about hearing from those most affected by poverty.  What are your issues? What are your experiences? What do we as Ministers, and as an Executive, need to concentrate on? How can we tackle poverty more effectively?

Today is all about you and we would encourage you to participate as fully as possible in the discussions. This is your opportunity to tell your Executive your views, thoughts and ideas on the issues affecting you.

EY 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the commitments made under the Lisbon Treaty.
Progress has been made in the intervening years and in difficult circumstances but we now need to concentrate on the future.

Most immediately to ensure quick recovery from the economic downturn but in the longer term to ensure that the public services that the Executive delivers on your behalf enable us to give greater opportunities for everyone to benefit from further economic growth and prosperity.  

Thank you