Debate contribution: Executive Budget

Debate contribution by Miss Jemma Dolan on 22 June 2026.

MLA: Miss Jemma Dolan
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 22 June 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Opposition Business
Heading: Executive Budget
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5637902

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
The failure to agree a multi-year Budget is a matter of deep concern. I welcome the first part of the motion that calls on the British Government to engage with the Executive in order to get a financial agreement that will ensure:
"our public services are properly funded".
However, the second part of the motion is profoundly flawed and contradictory. On the one hand, it welcomes the efforts of local Ministers to press for more funding for public services, while, on the other hand, it states that the Executive are purposely deciding to "impose further austerity" by not agreeing to a Budget. That is why we have tabled our amendment. If Mr O'Toole supports the need to put maximum pressure on the British Government, he should join others in the Chamber in presenting a united front to challenge Westminster, rather than taking another opportunity for political point-scoring. The fiscal pressures facing the Executive did not emerge overnight. They are the result of years of chronic underfunding by successive British Governments and a funding model that has consistently failed to recognise the real needs of people here. That is the root cause of the problem. Public services cannot be expected to plan effectively, invest strategically or deliver long-term transformation when they are forced to operate on a year-to-year basis and under the constant threat of financial uncertainty. Last week's Fiscal Council sustainability report reinforces what Sinn Féin has been saying for years. The report highlights the scale of the challenge facing our institutions and points clearly to the fact that the Executive are operating from a lower funding base than comparable Administrations in Scotland and Wales. That reality cannot be ignored. Our public services are under immense pressure. Health workers, teachers and community organisations are all being asked to do more with less. Communities that have already endured years of austerity continue to feel the impact. That is why I support the Finance Minister in his efforts to continue to press the British Government for a fair financial settlement and to develop a long-term funding strategy that reflects the realities facing our communities. The Executive must be provided with the resources necessary to meet the needs of workers, families, businesses and communities. Funding arrangements must be based on objective need, not political convenience. The people of the North deserve the same opportunity to access quality public services as citizens elsewhere on these islands. There is an onus on us as elected representatives to deliver better front-line services. However, we cannot get away from the fact that we are a devolved region with limited fiscal powers. Almost all our funding comes through the block grant. The British Government must therefore recognise their responsibility as those with the taxation powers and provide the resources required to address need, drive transformation and support economic growth. The current Budget situation further vindicates why more people are questioning the constitutional status quo. Irish reunification would mean people here having locally elected representatives who would have more control over how public money is raised and distributed, instead of being negatively impacted on by tax decisions taken in London that are often used to benefit the wealthy or to fund militarisation. That context also needs to form the basis of our discussions when it comes to debates on our public finances and public services. I look forward to continuing that debate in the time ahead. I urge Members to support the amendment.

581 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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