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12/04/2006
Lord Rooker defends increase in rate bills
Finance Minister Jeff Rooker has today defended the increase in rate bills, as the 19% price hike takes effect this week.
The Minister said that the governments decision to raise the amount that Northern Ireland householders pay, would allow the level and quality of public services to be improved.
Lord Rooker was speaking as rate bills for 2006/07 are being delivered to householders across Northern Ireland.
Speaking earlier, the Minister said: “Last year, on publication of the Budget we announced an increase of 19% in the Regional Rate. This level of increase is needed to support the improvements in public services that everyone wants to happen. All the money raised from the rates in Northern Ireland stays here to help pay for public services that bring benefit to everyone in the community."
He continued by saying that everyone wants and deserves better public services, but no one likes paying taxes, therefore it is up to the government to strike the right balance those two factors.
The Minister added: "We have announced a substantial investment strategy for Northern Ireland, we have launched new funds for Children and Young People, Skills and Science, and Environment and Renewable Energy and we have just announced increased funding for new drugs used in the treatment of cancer. All these are worthy and need to be properly funded. At the same time we have ensured that those households on low incomes are protected and almost 175,000 households receive help with their rates and 20% of all households do not have to pay any rates at all.”
The Minister also highlighted the importance of reforming public services to make them more efficient. He said: “We are also determined to use public money wisely to invest in the services that make real differences to people’s lives and to remove waste, inefficiency and duplication of service provision wherever it occurs.
He concluded that the reason why the Secretary of State has announced a radical reform programme to cut the number of public bodies in Northern Ireland from 154 to 75 is so that ratepayer's money is spent where it should be, on front line service delivery – and not on wasteful bureaucracy.
(EF/SP)
The Minister said that the governments decision to raise the amount that Northern Ireland householders pay, would allow the level and quality of public services to be improved.
Lord Rooker was speaking as rate bills for 2006/07 are being delivered to householders across Northern Ireland.
Speaking earlier, the Minister said: “Last year, on publication of the Budget we announced an increase of 19% in the Regional Rate. This level of increase is needed to support the improvements in public services that everyone wants to happen. All the money raised from the rates in Northern Ireland stays here to help pay for public services that bring benefit to everyone in the community."
He continued by saying that everyone wants and deserves better public services, but no one likes paying taxes, therefore it is up to the government to strike the right balance those two factors.
The Minister added: "We have announced a substantial investment strategy for Northern Ireland, we have launched new funds for Children and Young People, Skills and Science, and Environment and Renewable Energy and we have just announced increased funding for new drugs used in the treatment of cancer. All these are worthy and need to be properly funded. At the same time we have ensured that those households on low incomes are protected and almost 175,000 households receive help with their rates and 20% of all households do not have to pay any rates at all.”
The Minister also highlighted the importance of reforming public services to make them more efficient. He said: “We are also determined to use public money wisely to invest in the services that make real differences to people’s lives and to remove waste, inefficiency and duplication of service provision wherever it occurs.
He concluded that the reason why the Secretary of State has announced a radical reform programme to cut the number of public bodies in Northern Ireland from 154 to 75 is so that ratepayer's money is spent where it should be, on front line service delivery – and not on wasteful bureaucracy.
(EF/SP)
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