Enough with the empty houses while people are sleeping rough!
I saw a family yesterday, two young kids, shivering outside the old Boots on Royal Avenue. They’d been moved on by the council twice already that day. It breaks your heart. Meanwhile, I know of at least three houses on my street alone that have been empty for over a year, boarded up, gardens overgrown. One of them is owned by an investor who lives in Dubai, apparently. It’s not right.
We need a much tougher stance on long-term vacant properties. The current system just isn’t working. We should be introducing much steeper council tax penalties for properties left empty for more than six months, and that money should be ring-fenced for homelessness initiatives and building genuinely affordable social housing. It’s not just about punishing owners; it’s about incentivising them to sell or rent them out properly, or at least contribute meaningfully to the community they’re neglecting.
Time to actually invest in NI businesses, not just talk about it
We need a dedicated Northern Ireland Investment Fund, managed locally and focused on sustainable growth rather than just speculative ventures. This fund would be seeded with a significant portion of the money currently allocated to various fragmented support schemes across different departments. The goal is to create a coherent, long-term strategy for economic development here, something that's been sorely lacking.
Right now, businesses in Northern Ireland often struggle to access capital for expansion or innovation because the funding landscape is confusing and the amounts available are often too small to make a real difference. It feels like we're constantly reinventing the wheel with new initiatives that don't add up to much.
Put Belfast First, Not Last in Line
I think the idea of prioritizing local needs over global ambitions is sound, but it needs to be applied with a bit more nuance, especially in a place like Northern Ireland where we're often forgotten until it's too late. We've got our own unique set of problems, from segregated education to underfunded maternity services, that need attention before we start trying to solve the world's problems.
For me, it's not just about throwing money at the NHS, although that's part of it - it's about recognizing the value of community-led healthcare, like the midwifery services I work in, and giving us the support we need to thrive. That means fewer bureaucratic hurdles and more focus on patient-centered care. And when it comes to global influence, let's be real - for a city like Belfast, that means working with our neighbors in the Republic, not just flying off to conferences in London or Brussels.
What do you think?
Vote on individual policies, adapt them, or write your own alternative. Good ideas should be tested.