Debate contribution: Executive Progress

Debate contribution by Mrs Pam Cameron on 19 January 2026.

MLA

Mrs Pam Cameron

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

19 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Executive Progress

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5322062

Read the official Assembly record

Text

The Opposition motion claims that, two years after the restoration of devolved Government, the Executive have failed the public. I fundamentally reject that claim. The truth is very different. Yes, there are pressures; yes, public services are stretched. However, the public do not want constant negativity: they want delivery. That is exactly what DUP Ministers are providing. We are dealing with the most difficult financial environment that Northern Ireland has faced in decades, yet, even in that context, the Executive — in particular, DUP Ministers — have delivered real, tangible outcomes for working families, schools and communities. Since restoration, we have seen £273 million invested in public services, including funding for public-sector pay, social housing, health, education, roads, water and rail. We have seen over £30 million allocated to new social housing, £25 million invested in the Health estate and IT and £22 million provided for education and higher education. That is not failure: it is delivery. In Education alone, the DUP Minister has delivered expanded free school meals, increased uniform grants and introduced the School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill to tackle rising costs to parents. My party has expanded preschool provision, increased inclusion support and launched the TransformED teacher development fund. We have delivered a £55 million childcare package to support working families. Those are not slogans: they are policies that are already helping people across Northern Ireland. On the Budget, let us be clear: the Sinn Féin Finance Minister has published a draft Budget without Executive agreement. Of course, that document cannot be treated as settled. The DUP wants a multi-year Budget, but it must be fair, balanced and focused on front-line services and our agreed Programme for Government priorities. We will not rubber-stamp a Budget that protects waste whilst squeezing our public services. We want consensus, but we do not want coercion. The motion talks about the failure of delivery but ignores the reality that governing through a five-party coalition is not simple. That requires compromise, leadership and responsibility. DUP Ministers are not hiding from difficult decisions: they are taking them. While some Members prefer to chase sound bites, talk this place down or even argue for its collapse, the DUP is focused on making devolution work, because Stormont, imperfect as it is, is far better than being ruled from Westminster by a Labour Government who have cut winter fuel payments, hit family farms and caused the economy to stagnate. If it were not for DUP Ministers, pensioners here would not even have their winter fuel payments today. Devolution means local Ministers making local decisions on schools, housing, health and community investment. That matters. The Programme for Government is a road map for growth, stability and opportunity, and the DUP is committed to delivering it. We take responsibility seriously. Governing is harder than heckling. We are here to govern. The people of Northern Ireland deserve solutions, not collapse, and that is exactly what the DUP is delivering.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:13 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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