Debate contribution: Programme for Government 2024-27

Debate contribution by Ms Cara Hunter on 3 March 2025.

MLA

Ms Cara Hunter

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

3 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Programme for Government 2024-27

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4826323

Read the official Assembly record

Text

As a member of the Opposition, I welcome the opportunity to raise the aspects of the Programme for Government that I welcome and to highlight where the Executive have fallen short. I feel strongly that the document lacks the ambition that the public would have liked to see. The Programme for Government agreed by the Executive this week is the first since the Government of 2011-15, but that is no cause for celebration. Many people of my age, including me, can reflect on the years when the institutions collapsed and on the lack of trust between the public and people like us — politicians — and the lack of faith in our institutions that that created. The previous draft Programme for Government, which was agreed in 2016, was never even delivered. With this Programme for Government, I am deeply saddened that reform to prevent another collapse has not been included or mentioned. If you do not reform how a Government function, can you really properly fix our public services? Can you really say that this place will not collapse yet again? One of the key pillars in the document is the mission of "Peace", but how can you have peace if you do not have political stability? I am disappointed, but, like the public listening today, I am, sadly, not surprised. We have had significant discussion at length in the Chamber about the realities of things such as Lough Neagh, which is an environmental disaster that closed businesses in my constituency of East Derry due to pollution. The pollution interrupted entire ecosystems, but, judging by the document, all we see coming forward is yet another plan with no tangible action. Reading through the document as a member of the Education Committee, I welcomed the fact that there was a conversation and movement on a SEN reform agenda, but many parents of children with special educational needs will feel frustrated today. While that agenda is welcome, it is sad that it may take up to two years to complete. The Programme for Government took 13 months to be made, so I am bewildered by the lack of emphasis on supporting our young people with special educational needs. I would have liked to see further detail on the workforce, which is, undoubtedly, stressed out, overworked and under-resourced, and there is no further detail on addressing ongoing waiting lists for our young people with ADHD and those with autism. To be honest, I found it an unbelievably vague document that will fail to bring confidence in our system, especially for those who have children with special educational needs. I agree with Michelle's comments about how admirable Alma White is with her campaign, Caleb's Cause. She has put at the front of all our minds what happens to our young people with special educational needs, who are full of promise, when they transition out of school post 19. I thank her for her incredible dedication and commitment to that cause, and I hope that we can see more on that issue. One thing that I welcomed in the document is the emphasis on being trauma-informed. In our jobs, we all impact on people who have endured trauma, whether they are rape survivors or have been affected by the Troubles. Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes. Our society is diverse and so is the trauma that our constituents have experienced. We have a particularly high level of adverse childhood experiences in the North of Ireland, so I welcome the fact that page 87 of the Programme for Government refers to upskilling our public-sector staff and making them more trauma-informed. It really struck me that the document, which is nearly 100 pages long, mentions the word "suicide" only once. I am so disheartened. I am extremely passionate about suicide prevention. It is unfathomable to me that, even though the incidence of mental illness is 25% higher here than it is in the rest of these islands, suicide and suicide prevention are mentioned only once. There are roughly 200 suicide deaths every year in this place. It is incredible that that is not mentioned. Mental health is mentioned on page 72. A lot of the emphasis in the Programme for Government is on pushing mental health support services back into the community. We all need community support. Mental health support in a community setting is a great thing, but there is no word on how it will be funded. That is similar to the discussion of ending violence against women and girls. Page 35 refers to a joined-up approach and a challenge fund. Where will that go? What will it look like? Whom will it help, how quickly and where? Those are some of the details that I and, I know, the public would love to see. I find it strange that £2 million is mentioned in the Programme for Government for ending violence against women and girls, yet, just last year, we saw massive slashes of up to 50% in government funding to the likes of Women's Aid. I do not think that £2 million is anywhere near what we need to have an impact on ending violence against women and girls in the North of Ireland. The document mentions that the Executive want to have 100,000 programme participants: with £2 million of investment, that is £20 a participant. That is not a realistic amount of money. I have previously highlighted the lack of inclusion of spiking in the ending violence against women and girls strategy. That was a missed opportunity, and I am disappointed that it is not even alluded to in the document. I welcome the inclusion of tackling poverty, after it was absent from the initial list of priorities, despite the lack of an anti-poverty strategy. Poverty is not going away; it is only worsening in our communities. It has a detrimental impact on the health and well-being of our constituents, disproportionately affecting women. It is madness that tackling poverty was not included in the initial proposals. As a passionate Irish nationalist, I am genuinely surprised at the lack of cross-border engagement included in the Programme for Government. I am bewildered that the Irish language is mentioned only twice. That is disappointing, particularly for a sector that is remarkable for how effective it is in its campaigning. It will be disappointed today, as I am. The document has chapters on "Building New Foundations" and "Shaping a Better Tomorrow", but it does not mention reform of the institutions. It talks about suicide only once. How can we prepare for a better tomorrow if we are not addressing the critical issues of today? I feel strongly that the document seems like an opportunity for the Executive to smile and have their photos taken, while being entirely non-committal on their policies, on funding and on any timelines and just hoping that the public will not notice. The Executive see the weight of the problems that our people face, but the document does nothing more than provide vague, aspirational language as an illusion that they are solving those problems. It offers no hope, no real plan, no promises and no funding. I am incredibly disappointed in it.

1,201 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification