Firefighters accross Northern Ireland are this week coming to terms with the most swingeing fire service budget cuts in living memory, amounting to some £3.3 million.

Direct rule Minister Angela Smith, the architect of the current debate, will no doubt be preparing to return to Essex to face her local electors. Sadly the Northern Ireland public will have no opportunity to pass judgement on Smith and her fellow cronies, Spellar, Pearson and Gardiner. But regardless of the individuals who we can expect to have inflicted on us post 5 May, the campaign to defend public services, whether it be the fire service, schools and education or elsewhere must urgently be stepped up.

The current cuts planned in the fire service budget can only have a seriously debilitating effect on the service's ability to protect public safety. They will mean fewer firefighters on front line fire engines. Clearly the implications are grave and it is not premature to begin talking of an imminent crisis.

The Fire Brigades Union, for its part, remain committed to maintaining the fire service as a properly funded first class service. Industrial action remains a real possibility.

"If these cuts are implemented children will lose their lives." These are the stark words of a senior manager in one of Northern Ireland's education Boards.

Only a few weeks after this was said our local councillors voted the cuts through. The scene has been set for a melt down of our education system.

Across Northern Ireland these cuts mean that children will be put directly at risk of injury and accidents. In the words of the cuts document issued by the South Eastern Education Board, the impact of cuts on children will be "increased risk of accidents".

School crossing patrols, school transport, libraries and even parts of the curriculum all face the chop. Disgracefully, children with special educational needs are a particular target. Not only will these children be directly affected when their classroom support is withdrawn, other children in their class will suffer as teachers spend more time looking after those with special needs.

Hundreds of teaching and non teaching jobs will go if the cuts are not stopped. The future of education will be devastated and children in education, or those about to enter it, will face an enormous disadvantage for the rest of their lives.

The government has tried to do the usual New Labour spin by blaming everyone but themselves for the financial crisis. They have even said that if we pay the water tax there would be more money for education! The truth is that the government has systematically cut education over the years and the crisis has now come to a head.

The education trade unions have reacted to the cuts with a campaign including strike action. A date for a co-ordinated strike by all education unions must be set and built for now.

The local communities must also be mobilised behind this campaign. Parents need to be involved in the fight to save their children's education demanding that the cuts be stopped. Under this pressure local politicians can be forced to backtrack on the cuts they are trying to introduce and central government can be forced to release more money for education.

As part of the cuts agreed by the Belfast Education and Library Board, the English as an Additional Language Unit (ELA), based in Botanic Primary School, is to be axed.

The ELA provides assistance to children of ethnic minorities with English language skills. The staff currently works in around twenty schools in the Belfast area, providing specialist backup to teachers.

The demand for this service is mushrooming. At the moment the Unit is working with 220 pupils, an increase of 80% over the past two years. Now the nine staff are to be made redundant and the service withdrawn.

Jim Barbour, Laganbank Socialist Party candidate, condemned the closure decision: "This cut nails the government lie that their cuts will not affect frontline services. Ethnic minorities have suffered from the huge increase in racist attacks. Now the government and the Belfast Board have joined in the attack by cutting this essential service.

"We need to build for a one day strike of all education workers as the first step in a mass campaign to stop the cuts, keep this Unit open and save these jobs".