‘Draft budget reflects Executive’s commitment to supporting public services most in need’ – Brogan
Sinn Féin MLA Nicola Brogan welcomes the Executive's agreement on the draft budget, crediting Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald's negotiations with London for an extra £248 million. She says funding favours the most needed public services, with health prioritised, and backs the minister's call…
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UUP Finance Spokesperson Dr Steve Aiken OBE MLA welcomes the draft 2025/26 budget going to public consultation but says it fails to tackle Health waiting lists after a £34m allocation was removed. He also says Education, Policing, Agriculture and infrastructure lack sufficient funding.
DUP MLA Gordon Lyons, after an all-party meeting with the Stormont Head of the Civil Service, says Sinn Fein's failure to bring forward a draft budget caused a departmental overspend. He calls on Government to let that overspend be repaid over a longer period.
Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood says the October 2024 Budget highlights the need for political reform and public service transformation, citing unresolved long-term finances, unclear Shared Prosperity Fund funding and calls for a relative needs review and removal of the two-child benefit limit.
SDLP leader Claire Hanna welcomes the scrapping of the two-child welfare limit and a £370m boost for Northern Ireland in the Budget, but calls on Executive Ministers to act on health, housing, justice and childcare rather than blaming Westminster.
UUP Finance Spokesperson Dr Steve Aiken welcomes the extra £1.5bn for Northern Ireland and the City and Growth Deals in the Autumn Budget, but calls the exclusion from green hydrogen projects disappointing. He urges the funding be prioritised for health, education and policing.
SDLP South Down MLA Colin McGrath says the Executive's final 2025/26 budget, signed off at Thursday's meeting, lacks the resources to tackle Northern Ireland's problems and calls for multi-year budgeting. He criticises the Executive for blaming the UK Government.