Debate contribution: Programme for Government

Debate contribution by Mr Daniel McCrossan on 13 May 2024.

MLA

Mr Daniel McCrossan

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

13 May 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Programme for Government

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4488678

Read the official Assembly record

Text

My colleague has rightly articulated the challenges faced by people across Northern Ireland and the continuous wishful thinking by some of the Executive parties in the House. There has been a litany of promises made to the public time and again, and one crisis or another — all manufactured by this place, of course — has distracted from the fact that the Executive have continually failed to deliver on priorities for the people across our communities. We know the state of the health service. We know the challenges that exist and the huge impact they have on people across our communities. There is real human suffering as a consequence of the political failures of this place. Following the return of the institutions after two years of collapse, without any proper justification for an absence of government in this place, there is still no sight of a Programme for Government or any indication of the direction of travel for the Executive. What is happening? Simple conversations, photo shoots, motions and wish lists — all the things that make people look good on videos — but no substance whatever. There is more huge frustration playing out in the community. The Executive may think that they can continue bluffing the electorate that they are working hard to deliver on their needs, when, in reality, nothing is changing on the ground. Poverty is a massive challenge for our community. It has touched many families in my constituency and, indeed, in the constituency of every Member. Yet we see no meaningful action whatever and no clear plan, indication or otherwise for how we will resolve the most simple of demands: the need to ensure that our children can be fed, live in a good, warm home and have the necessary support to meet their basic needs in society. The reality is that the Executive are not interested in those things, because, if they are not fighting with themselves and causing continuous crisis and collapse, they are finding excuses or someone to blame for the absence of delivery. Colleagues in the House are quick to blame the Tories and have been for 10 years. Yes, there is the issue relating to how this place is financed, and there is a huge shortfall that affects how we tackle some of the challenges that we face in the health service, education and housing. Those arguments are well rehearsed. However, a basic necessity is the existence of a Government working in tandem to resolve, not create, problems. The cost of collapse has been astronomical, and it has worsened an already serious situation in Northern Ireland. It has worsened the levels of child poverty. It has worsened the impact on special educational needs children. It has worsened the situation for dementia patients across Northern Ireland, as we have heard in the House today. It has worsened the housing lists. We hear about the First Minister tweeting instead of talking to Executive colleagues about the challenges that exist in education. That is petty.

I will in a second. The Executive are a coalition of four parties that are there to work together to resolve problems. Instead, what we have had in the first 100 days is the First Minister tweeting another Executive Minister about a failure to deliver on a issue. Then we see the most senior Ministers in the Executive tweeting about what they would like to see happen. They have the power to deliver on those promises and priorities. Let us get a reality check, folks: not everything can be a priority, strange as that may seem. We need to ensure that the basic needs of our society are met and that we put an end to the continuous suffering of our people. Nobody from the Executive parties can sit in the House today and honestly outline what they have delivered for the benefit of the people of Northern Ireland since the Assembly was re-established. It is not good enough simply to be here. It is not good enough simply to be seen to be working together. People expect more. They deserve more and must have more from the Executive.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:27 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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