Debate contribution: Further and Higher Education: Budget Pressures

Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on 5 October 2026.

MLA: Dr Caoimhe Archibald
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 5 October 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Oral Answers to Questions
Heading: Further and Higher Education: Budget Pressures
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5774305

Text

I thank the Member for her question. I am on record as saying that I could not sign up to the Executive Budget that was on the table because it would have put our further and higher education institutions, in particular, in significant difficulty and limit the opportunity for wider economic development. I, along with my Executive colleagues, continue to make the case that we need to have a fair funding settlement and that we need to be able to invest in our public services, including our further and higher education institutions. I recognise the pressures that both are under. I recognise that our universities have faced pretty much flat-cash budget settlements for the past number of years and that that has had an impact. I will be making the case for them to my Executive colleagues. My paper on higher education funding was discussed at the Executive. I tabled it to make my Executive colleagues aware of the significant pressures that our higher education institutions are under. We all need to continue the work of trying to get a better Budget settlement.

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

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