Debate contribution: Waste and Inefficiency in Government

Debate contribution by Mr Matthew O'Toole on 23 March 2026.

MLA

Mr Matthew O'Toole

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

23 March 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Waste and Inefficiency in Government

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5465957

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Listening to this debate this evening, I feel as if I have got into the back of a taxi while the cabbie is already in mid-rant, or I am in a pub and there is a boy on a bar stool saying, "And another thing —". I am sure that we have all had that while doing this job. A lot of Members have got up and ranted about a lot of things that are not entirely focused on what the motion is supposed to be about. Of course, the motion itself is about a lot of things. It starts off with a commentary on wasteful spending in the public sector. To be clear, there is waste in the public sector. There is a profound need to reform the way the public sector works in Northern Ireland, including the performance and culture of the Northern Ireland Civil Service. That has been a clarion call from the Northern Ireland Audit Office, but it has been clear, not just for years but for decades, that we have significant structural issues in terms of how we deliver public services here and how our Civil Service performs. Those are inextricably linked to all of us in the political class, and particularly, it must be said, to the two big political parties, who are wont, for their own political purposes, to collapse devolution when it suits them. Before we get into talking about how public servants and civil servants perform, we need to reflect on the ultimate responsibility, which is seeking election and putting yourself forward to authorise spending, which we do. We did that a couple of weeks ago via a Budget Bill and a Vote on Account. We authorise all the spending that is done and we, particularly Executive Ministers, are collectively responsible for the performance of civil servants. When we come in here and rant and blame others we, and particularly those who are in the Executive Office, including the party that moved the motion, need first of all to think particularly about the responsibility that we have to lead and to give direction. I should say that some of the issues that have been dragged up in this debate thus far, whether it is about the class of aeroplane that Mr Burrows flew on, or his cycling —. That is quite an achievement; I am actually quite impressed by that, although it is slightly bizarre. He talked about the Health Minister flying economy. Some people will be genuinely worried and will have asked why the Health Minister needed to go. I can understand the argument for others, even in a political context, but anyway. Needed to go to Washington DC in multiple years. That is fine, but —.

I am happy to give way, yes.

I know that both you and Mr Burrows are desperate for my job, but let me tell you: we are the Opposition. If this is your audition, come back next year, lads, because you are not doing it very well. In relation to what is in the motion, there is a legitimate debate to be had about efficiency in the public sector, but it is little or nothing to do with spending on issues to do with transgender people. That is a bizarre, inappropriate and weird crowbarring in of an issue that is so far from being responsible for wasteful public spending that it just seems absurd. Let me be clear: I care about the rights of trans people to be treated with dignity, but even if I was a hawk looking at every penny of public spending, that is such a trivial rounding error that it is absurd to insert it into this debate. I want to see a target for efficiency savings. I hope that the Finance Minister will be able to tell us more about that. I also want to see a programme of meaningful Civil Service reform that improves and changes how we do government here. The Finance Committee is going to be looking at that; our inquiry starts in two days' time, when we will take our first evidence on that topic. We also need to incentivise public servants to transform the way in which we do government here. Let us be clear: we do waste money when it comes to the duplication of public services, as the Alliance Party has raised before. I hope that one or both of the amendments is made. We put down an amendment looking at the cost of duplication in public services. By the way, to come back to Mr Gaston's point, I will come in here and be as robust, ruthless and theatrical as I like, and I do it all the time in opposition. However, constructive and serious opposition is also about being able to offer serious and robust scrutiny, which is what we do in the Chamber and what we will do in the Finance Committee. We will not be supporting the substantive motion, but we will be supporting the Sinn Féin amendment, which is a bit more sensible. However, I also say to the Minister of Finance, whose party moved the amendment, that we need clarity from him. Earlier, his colleague Colm Gildernew mentioned the Minister's great review of arm's-length bodies, which, I think, he said was urgent or key. If it is so key, why has it taken six years? In 'New Decade, New Approach', we agreed to hold a review of arm's-length bodies. In all sorts of ways, we have not had meaningful change. We have had more than half a decade of Sinn Féin Finance Ministers, but we have seen no meaningful step change in fiscal devolution, which was touched on, or in public service transformation. The other day, the Minister referred to shroud-waving in relation to budgetary matters. Despite some of the slurs that he has thrown at me, I have never said that the UK Government fund this place to perfect need. I have never said that. What I have said is that those of us who want to build a new future on this island should take responsibility and not simply blame the Brits, who, we know, do not really care about us, and not simply blame the DUP, whose Members are at their work again tonight, as they usually are — yes — brazenly talking about wasteful public spending when their party was responsible for the biggest public spending scandal in the history of devolution. I say this to the Finance Minister: take responsibility. Come forward with a plan to improve public services and reform them.

Do not simply shift blame to others. We support the amendment.

1,113 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:08 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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