Debate contribution: Budget 2025-26

Debate contribution by Mr John O'Dowd on 19 May 2025.

MLA

Mr John O'Dowd

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

19 May 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Budget 2025-26

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4968016

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

As you know, I am a man of few words. I do not intend to make a very long introductory statement but, if provoked, I am prepared to use my time at the end. I previously made a statement to the House on the Budget but I welcome the opportunity to debate it more fully with Members. The agreement of the Budget shows the Executive's determination to work together and do things differently using our limited resources to deliver what matters most. The Budget reflects our Programme for Government (PFG), as we have specifically ring-fenced some £441 million for our shared priorities. While the funding received following the Chancellor's spring statement could not be included in the departmental budget outcomes, the Executive agreed on how the money would be allocated in June monitoring.

Including those indicative June monitoring allocations, the Budget provides Departments with £19·3 billion, which will be spent on running our public services and investing in our infrastructure. Some £16·8 billion of that has been provided for day-to-day services, including £1·2 billion that has been earmarked for specific purposes and £15·6 billion of general allocations that may be spent at the discretion of individual Ministers.

With Health receiving £8·5 billion, Education receiving £3·3 billion and Justice receiving £1·4 billion, those three Departments alone account for some 80% of the available funding for day-to-day spending, providing vital funding for health services, schools, policing and the wider justice system. The Budget will mean £215 million going towards cutting health waiting lists and supporting investment in elective care. Some £165 million of that is earmarked within the Health budget settlement, with a further £50 million to be provided at June monitoring. In a recent statement to the Assembly, the Health Minister announced a package of initiatives to tackle hospital care backlogs, including a waiting list reimbursement scheme, demonstrating how that funding will make a difference. As the Health Minister said in that statement:

" It provides a sharper focus that is targeted in a way to have an effective impact on waiting lists." — [Official Report (Hansard), 6 May 2025, p16, col 2].

It invests in our children's futures while also helping hard-working families by doubling our investment in the early years and childcare strategy to £50 million, with a commitment to provide a further £5 million in June monitoring. We can already see the positive difference that that uplift in funding will make, with Minister Givan announcing last week that it will help to enable the extension of the childcare subsidy scheme to cover school-age children. It is estimated that the number of children who will benefit from the discount will now increase by 60%, from the current 15,000 to approximately 24,000. Education is further supported with £75 million for the Education Authority (EA) pay and grading review and £15 million additional for special educational needs. The Budget provides £322·5 million to support our agriculture, agrienvironment, fisheries and rural development, recognising the importance of that sector to our economy and local farming communities. Some £5 million has been earmarked for investment in Lough Neagh, recognising its importance and the desire to protect it. Some £15 million has been earmarked to build the skills base that our economy needs now and in the future. Recognising the importance of safe communities, Justice has received earmarked funding of an additional £5 million for that purpose and £16 million for the Executive's programme on tackling paramilitary activity and organised crime. That is on top of the £37·8 million of security funding provided by the Treasury. The Executive Office has been provided with an additional £2 million towards ending violence against women and girls. It also receives £150 million for historical institutional abuse (HIA) victims and truth recovery. The Department for Communities receives £47·3 million to fund existing welfare mitigations and £16·9 million to support benefit delivery. The Budget recognises the need for transformation, with £21·3 million for transformation projects in Health, Justice, Infrastructure and special educational needs, as well as £25·4 million for the Integr8 system, which will support all Departments. Importantly, in terms of today's spending, excluding earmarked allocations and in-year transfer, the Budget provides every Department with an uplift on its 2024-25 final Budget allocation. I turn to capital investment. Some £330·6 million has been provided for Executive flagship projects, with a further £102·8 million for Strule Shared Education Campus and £59·9 million for shared and integrated education. Some £100 million has been provided to deliver social housing. In line with that commitment, we are also investing £105·7 million in waste water infrastructure. Some £99 million has been provided for city and growth deals, inclusive futures and complementary fund projects. In line with our commitment to tackling climate change, £12·3 million has been provided for the just transition programme. Departments have also received £1·6 billion of general capital allocations that will provide investment in our schools, hospitals and road network, supporting the construction industry and our economy. Financial transactions capital (FTC) funding is the catalyst for stimulating private-sector investment in infrastructure and other projects that benefit our region. For the first time, that funding has been oversubscribed, with £58·7 million being made available to support initiatives that include co-ownership and capital grants to businesses. That is a positive development. Members who vote against the Budget will therefore be voting against every single announcement that I have made in the past five minutes and will be doing so in the absence of any alternative proposals. With increased demands on services and rising costs, significant challenges remain as we strive to deliver the public services that people rightly deserve. The 2025-26 Budget, however, prioritises the funding that we have available to make a real difference for the betterment of people's lives across society. The Budget provides record levels of funding for our public services and helps facilitate the delivery of our Programme for Government priorities, but challenges most certainly remain. Many in the Chamber have opinions on where Ministers should spend money, but fewer say which services Ministers should stop in order to make that happen or where they would like to see changes take place. Simply put, additional funding for one area means less funding for another. Articulating problems is very easy. Working together to address them is what we are elected to do. As Finance Minister, I have worked to build consensus among my Executive colleagues and focused on what we can do together. I hope that the 2025-26 Budget will be our last single-year Budget, as, in the autumn, I intend to bring forward recommendations for a three-year resource Budget and a four-year capital Budget, reflecting the period that is covered by the comprehensive spending review. A multi-year Budget has the potential to be a game changer and to enable Departments to plan on a longer-term, strategic basis. Work has already started on multi-year Budgets, with the Department of Finance's Budget sustainability team supporting Departments with their five-year budget plans. The benefits will be realised only if the Westminster Government use the spending review as an opportunity to invest in public services. I have made that clear in my meetings with the British Government. I continue to make the case to the Treasury for the Executive to be fairly and properly funded, reflecting our relative need. Professor Holtham's recent work has been crucial in my making that case. There is no doubt that the financial outlook remains incredibly challenging, particularly given the Government's continued policy of austerity. Behind those millions and billions of pounds are people and families who are hoping and striving for better. Now that all Ministers have their funding envelope, it is incumbent on each of us to manage our budgets efficiently and effectively. All decisions must be taken with the intent to make things better and to make every pound count. I will keep working in partnership with my Executive colleagues and will continue to press the case for better funding for our public services. I commend the Budget to the Assembly.

1,339 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:36 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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