Member's statement: Executive Failure

Member's statement by Mr Daniel McCrossan on 9 February 2026.

MLA

Mr Daniel McCrossan

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

9 February 2026

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Executive Failure

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5369054

Read the official Assembly record

Text

It is now more than two years since the restoration of the Assembly and the return of the Executive. It has been two years of promises, two years of announcements and two years of carefully staged press conferences about delivery, reform and transformation. Yet, in all that time, the Sinn Féin/DUP-led Executive have failed to bring forward a single meaningful piece of primary legislation to improve the lives of the people whom we represent. Let us reflect on that extraordinary situation: the parties that claim to be legislators have, in reality, chosen not to legislate. The institutions were restored amid great public expectation with commitments to action and urgency. Instead, what we have witnessed is drift, delay and dysfunction at the very heart of government here. Rather than doing the serious work of lawmaking, Ministers have filled the void with a constant stream of non-binding motions that change nothing, fix nothing and are designed for headlines not for hospitals, homes or hard-pressed families. When we examine the record of the mandate, the picture becomes even starker. After two full years of restored government, the total time spent on legislation in the Assembly amounts to mere minutes of legislative business in two years of supposed delivery. How embarrassing. That is not just inadequate; it is an abdication of responsibility on the part of the Executive. Legislation is not optional government; it is the central mechanism by which Ministers deliver reform, protect citizens and shape the future. Without it, there is no meaningful progress or action, only rhetoric. We know how the story usually ends. As the mandate approaches its conclusion, urgency will suddenly be discovered. Bills will be rushed in at the eleventh hour; scrutiny will be compressed; Committees will be pressured; and stakeholders will be sidelined, all so that Ministers can claim, in the dying days of the mandate, that something — anything — has been delivered. That is not good governance. It is not transparency, and it is not respectful to the House or to the people whom we serve collectively. The reality is simple and stark. Two years on from restoration, public services remain under immense strain, waiting lists remain unacceptable and families continue to struggle with the cost of living, and there is still no serious legislative programme coming forward from the Executive. Therefore, the public are rightly entitled to ask a basic question: what are the Executive doing with the time that they have been given? Government is not measured in press releases; it is measured in progress. Not in rhetoric but in results. It is absolutely shameful for government parties to bring forward non-binding motions, given that they have no meaningful end. After two years, the real story of the Executive is absolute failure.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:31 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