Debate contribution: Administrative and Financial Provisions Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Miss Deirdre Hargey on 1 July 2025.

MLA

Miss Deirdre Hargey

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

1 July 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Administrative and Financial Provisions Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5061867

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Minister for coming to the House for the Second Stage of the Bill. In 20 clauses, the Bill makes amendments that will help to address several issues across various Departments, as the Minister laid out. There is more detail in the explanatory and financial memorandum (EFM). The oversight of the investment fund to utilise financial transactions capital naturally sits in the Department of Finance. Providing that Department with the power to issue loans will therefore remove the need for them to be issued through the Strategic Investment Board, an arm's-length body of the Executive Office. That will undoubtedly improve the overall accountability of the scheme. Clause 2 focuses on the ability of the Department for the Economy to proactively take initiatives that provide financial assistance to support our local economy, which the Audit Office highlighted as something that was missing, particularly during the pandemic period. The ability to create companies is a further intervention that the Department for the Economy could, as a result of changes proposed in the Bill, use in future, rather than having to rely on Invest NI to do so. The Executive have prioritised tackling violence against women and girls in the Programme for Government and in this year's Budget. I am pleased that a clear focus on those issues will remain in the Executive Office, which will be designated as responsible for implementing the strategic framework in the coming years. Other aspects of the Bill will improve financial stability, as they will enable DFE, DAERA and DFI to use additional fee-raising powers that will ultimately be scrutinised by their Statutory Committees. As we have been reminded in recent weeks, there is an onus on us, as public representatives, to ensure that our migrant and asylum-seeking communities are made to feel welcome here and that they have access to the services that they require. I therefore welcome the tightening of the legislative framework that assigns the Executive Office responsibility for coordinating integration and support. The Bill will give TEO the power to utilise funds provided by Whitehall Departments for integration support services rather than having to rely on the sole authority of the Budget Act, as was said previously. I support the Bill. It will close the legislative gaps that have been identified, having been raised by Members over a few years. I am glad that the Minister introduced the Bill before the summer recess. It is a bit laughable that some who cry and scream, "There is not enough legislation coming through; we need to bring legislation forward", now cry and scream that too much is coming forward before the summer recess. I am glad that we are now at the Second Stage of important pieces of legislation so that, when we come back from the summer recess, we can get stuck into scrutinising that important legislation and getting it through. After all, that is what we, as legislators, are here for.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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