MLA calls for "disgusting" policy to be scrapped after protest in Belfast

by Gráinne Connolly

Yesterday protesters took the streets of Belfast and Derry to fight against the controversial 'two-child' benefits policy and associated 'rape clause'. 

The protests were organised by Northern Ireland charity Women's Aid. 

Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA, Jemma Dolan, accompanied by local councillor Debbie Coyle were among those in protest.  

Mrs Dolan has branded the policies as "disgusting" and called for them to be scrapped immediately. 

Speaking after the protest she said: 

"The two child tax credit cap is a direct attack on low-income families being pursued by Theresa May's government, aided and abetted by the DUP.

"Not satisfied with its onslaught on people with disabilities, the poor, single parents and young people through austerity policies and previous benefit cuts, the Tory government has now sunk to a new low, even by their standards, with this crude attempt at social engineering and its associated rape clause. 

"Under this abhorrent clause, women can be exempted from the cap if they can prove their third or subsequent child was conceived as a result of rape. 

"This involves going through a dehumanising and degrading process, which is a gross violation of their civil and human right to privacy. 

"This disgusting clause and the two child cap fundamentally undermine the protections which the benefits system is supposed to provide. 

"They should be scrapped immediately."