1. NIC ICTU Women’s Committee Austerity and the Impact on Women's Health and Wellbeing

2. What is health?  The World Health Organisation has defined health as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

3. Employment in Northern Ireland  A Northern Ireland employment rate of 65.8% compared with the UK average of 70.5%  Increasing unemployment rate with a significant increase in unemployment in 2010 – increase of 6.3% compared to an overall UK decrease of 8.1%  Women have a much higher rate of economic inactivity than males with one third (33.9%) of women of working age economically inactive in 2011 compared to one fifth (20.9%) of men.

4. Public Sector in NI  NI economy traditionally dependent on it’s uniquely large public sector  No OECD member has more than 25% of its workforce employed by the state yet the public sector accounts for more than 30% of all jobs in NI across local government, health, education and the civil service.

5. Northern Ireland Workforce  78% of all jobs are full time and 22% part time  37% of women work part time compared with 8% of men  Women account for almost two thirds of the NI public service workforce (63.4%). They are 61.3% of full time and 75.5% of part time employees.  Women therefore likely to be the biggest losers in public sector job losses and pay freezes.

6. Housing  Number of homeless single males more than doubled from 3196 in 1995/6 to 6804 in 2011/12. The number of homeless single women increased by 83% during this period from 2061 in 1995/6 reaching a peak of 3769 in 2011/12

7. Welfare reform and NI  Northern Ireland will be the worst affected region of the UK  With reforms implemented, there will be £750 million a year taken out of the local economy  That’s £650 for every adult of working age  Biggest financial loss comes from:  Incapacity benefit – 230 million a year  Tax credits – 135 million a year  1% uprating of most working age benefits  Reforms to Disability Living Allowance – 105 million

8.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3ciQhIeFR4&featur e=c4-overview&list=UUW9SnLqvf6iLMSTGcnblAfQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3ciQhIeFR4&featur e=c4-overview&list=UUW9SnLqvf6iLMSTGcnblAfQ

9. Health care and family planning  1967 abortion act does not apply to NI.  No provision for abortions to be legally carried out  CEDAW Committee recommendations

10. CEDAW Recommendations  Recommendation 52  Disability  Older women  Asylum seeking women  Traveller women  Recommendation 53  Programmes and policies  Disabled women  Reproductive treatment

11.  http://vimeo.com/68204686 http://vimeo.com/68204686

12. Childcare provision in NI (or rather lack of!)  NI is the only region of the UK not to have a childcare strategy (although this is currently being consulted on)  Only part of UK where there is no legislative requirement to ensure that parents have access to childcare services  Families in NI are paying 45% of their income for childcare for one child – the highest amount in Europe.

13. Transforming Your Care  Transforming Your Care is a major structural and policy change in the NHS in NI  Closures of:  A&E  maternity services  Threat to midwifery led services  Care of the elderly  Impact on rural areas

14. Health Equality Gaps  Alcohol related hospital admissions  alcohol related mortality  Self Harm  Hospital admissions  Drug related mental health  Behavioural disorders  Teenage births

15. Budgeting in NI Health Care  6% budget cut to the Health and Social  GDP on health and social  funding per head in Northern Ireland.  mental health of the citizens of Northern Ireland