All of Mr John O'Dowd’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
The draft Legal Complaints and Regulation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (Appeals) Regulations 2025 That the draft Legal Complaints and Regulation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (Appeals) Regulations 2025 be approved.
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I welcome the opportunity to participate in the debate on additional funding for North/South bodies. As it is a cross-cutting issue and an alternative funding proposal requires Executive approval, I have pressed, and will continue to press, for it to make it on to the…
Supply Resolution for the Northern Ireland Main Estimates 2025-26 That this Assembly approves that a sum, not exceeding £27,431,599,000, be granted out of the Consolidated Fund, for or towards defraying the charges for the Northern Ireland Departments, the Food Standards Agency, the Northern Ireland Assembly…
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. We have had an extensive debate, with, I think, 27 Members speaking on the Budget. As is perhaps understandable, it has gone back and forth on what the Executive's priorities should be, what the Executive have prioritised, what Members would like to see prioritised and…
I have been sitting for the past two or three hours listening to the Opposition tell us what the Executive are not doing. Here is an opportunity for you: what would the Opposition do on that point? I am intrigued.
They have to complement each other for them to work and be useful. As I said earlier, I want the multi-year Budget to be transformational and used in a strategic way rather than be a one-year Budget that is multiplied by three.
The Budget sustainability team in the Department of Finance is engaging and working with other Departments on the development of each Department's sustainability plan.
It is another good example of how NISRA is assisting Departments beyond my own in detailing how and why we deliver public policy and assessing what impact, positive and negative, it may have on citizens. NISRA is engaging with the Department of Education to conduct a childcare survey of households, which is the first…
As stated earlier, we are providing £55 million to childcare this year. That is more than double the support that was provided last year and allowed the Education Minister to make his announcement last week. The number of children who will benefit from the discount is estimated to increase by 60%, from 15,000 to…
It certainly is. One of the advantages of this place is that there is an opportunity for the public to have direct interaction with MLAs, Ministers and others at places like the show. I spent a bit of time at the Land and Property Services (LPS) stall, which provided information to guests on how to get help with their…
I had the opportunity to visit the show last week. It was a great spectacle and great entertainment, and the weather added to it. The 2025-26 Budget supports agriculture, agrienvironment, fisheries and rural development with ring-fenced funding of £332·5 million, which recognises the importance of the sector to our…
I am content at this stage that Stonewall remain part of a broader range of organisations that provide training and support to the Civil Service. I have answered that question numerous times, both verbally in the Chamber and in writing, and my position remains the same.
I was not aware of that. The Member will appreciate that an organisation's being referred to a body is not the same as an organisation's being found guilty of wrongdoing by a body. If there is to be a report, I look forward to reading it.
NISRA is ideally placed to assist the Department for the Economy, and other Departments, in collecting and understanding data in a timely fashion. That will ensure that our policies and procedures are targeted in a timely fashion to respond to such data. Although we have, in a way, relied on ONS and others for that…
NISRA is working alongside the Department for the Economy to explore the development of improved productivity statistics. NISRA is in the process of setting up a new team to develop a suite of productivity metrics to facilitate greater understanding of business productivity and to provide policymakers with more timely…
If staff are given the opportunity to be trained so that they fully understand the paperwork in front of them, I believe that they will. Sometimes, the difficulty is finding the time and space in which to provide that training. The changes mean that procuring goods and services of between £5,000 and £10,000 requires…
The increase in procurement control limits is about simplifying the process. Ministers, colleagues and MLAs will be aware that the issue of the process increasing costs in the public sector has been raised many times. There is too much red tape and bureaucracy in how we procure materials and other goods for our…
That question is best posed to the Infrastructure Minister. All Ministers will bring forward five-year sustainability plans, as the Member will be aware, and we have the three-year spending plan and four-year capital budgets. Your question is best posed to the Minister for Infrastructure. All Ministers will have to…
I thought that I had welcomed the fact that you were moving beyond partitionism. If I did not say that, that is what I meant to say. You and I have this repetitive conversation every time we meet in the Chamber. I place this on the record so that it is clear: my focus is on getting the Department of Finance and the…