FOR many students and prospective students the threatened closure of St Mary's Univeristy College is a doomsday scenario, will see a cut in the number of students but also west Belfast will lose a beacon of opportunity on the Falls Road.
For 20 years west Belfast has been the most socially deprived constituency in the UK and had one of the highest unemployment rates in the UK. The development of west Belfast is subject to the hard work of our representatives and in recent weeks we saw Sinn Féin support a budget of cuts then Paul Maskey MP campaigns against the effects of cuts, including the threatened closure of St Mary's. For the past 20 years Sinn Féin has claimed to progress west Belfast. The evidence of unemployment, levels of chronic illness and low aspirations of young people seem to prove to the contrary. I look forward to hearing Paul Maskey's response particularly to his party supporting a budget of cuts.
GERARD McDONALD
Belfast BT13
