Debate contribution: Budget 2025-26: Reports
Debate contribution by Mr Colin McGrath on .
- MLA
- Mr Colin McGrath
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 8 April 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Committee Business
- Heading
- Budget 2025-26: Reports
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4919923
Read the official Assembly record
Text
It is important to acknowledge that having a Budget prepared and a Programme for Government in this place is definitely a step forward. We are here to talk not about the Budget but about the findings of the Committee for Finance and the NI Fiscal Council in their interrogation of its draft. While the language of the two reports is relatively clinical and objective, the content clearly identifies many areas of concern. To begin, the alignment, or lack of it, between the Budget and the Executive's much-hailed Programme for Government is a key point for the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council, which states:
"The Draft Budget was not linked particularly strongly to the nine “immediate priorities” in the draft PfG".
Less diplomatically put: they are barely linked at all. In the draft Budget, as little as £425 million is directed towards Programme for Government priorities. To put that in perspective, that is less than 3% of the overall total Budget. Even then, that meagre funding is not guaranteed, with much of it dependent on the outcome of in-year monitoring rounds. Some might call it creative accounting, but you cannot deny that it simply does not add up. The Executive say that the Budget will help to do what matters most, but, based on the figures, how are we supposed to take that seriously? We have to remember that this is one of the largest financial settlements that we have ever had. With it, there is an opportunity to invest strategically in our shared priorities. The Fiscal Council outlines that there remains scant detail on how Programme for Government priorities will be funded, with several not being costed at all. The Executive are no longer in a position to blame others for their own inaction. Both pieces of work highlight the need for greater fiscal devolution to put our public finances on a more sustainable footing. That point was reinforced yesterday by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee's report on the funding of public services in the North. Despite the urgent need to progress that critical issue, successive Finance Ministers have sat on their hands. Decisions on how we run this place are then inevitably constrained by the choices made by the UK Government. It is hard to tell whether the Executive are helpless or hapless. All they do are sell people short and give way to hopelessness. There clearly needs to be more funding, but there is a need for the Executive to be critical and honest about how well it is being used currently. Just last week, the Public Accounts Committee highlighted the massive overspend on major capital projects — over £3 billion. Imagine what we could have achieved if that had been directed towards critical areas, such as healthcare, housing or childcare. As an Opposition, we have proposed practical solutions to ensure that public money goes further while addressing Programme for Government priorities. I know that the Finance Minister is keen to see our Budget, as he mentioned yesterday, and I am sure that, with the 3,480 staff in his Department compared with the two in mine, he will be willing to wait just a bit longer for that detail. However, we have a housing plan. It was thoroughly costed, and it demonstrated what can be achieved with a clear and focused strategy, which is something that the Executive have frequently failed to deliver. In conclusion, while vital, it is not just about the amount of money that we have; it is about how we choose to spend it and how we leverage the powers that we have to make public finances go further. It might require hard decisions, but the Executive cannot continue to bury their heads in the sand and blame everyone else as things get worse. They must learn from past mistakes and focus on efficient, strategic and long-term investment. Do that and, perhaps, we will finally deliver a Budget that genuinely delivers for people who live here.
661 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.94).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.04 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.94 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.96 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.04 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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