Executive priorities ambitious - first minister

Michelle O'Neill (left) and Emma Little-Pengelly head up Northern Ireland's Executive

The first minister has said the priorities set out in the Northern Ireland Executive's draft programme for government (PfG) were "ambitious and focused".

The 88-page document, entitled 'Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most', sets out the executive's ambitions under several core areas.

It outlines nine "immediate priorities" the executive intends to work on this year and for the duration of its electoral mandate.

"This is government in action, this is us putting in place our plans, what we're prioritising to make people's lives better," Michelle O'Neill said.

The executive’s agenda was signed off on Thursday and presented to assembly members on Monday.

When asked how the priorities would be funded, Ms O'Neill told BBC Newsline that Northern Ireland's funding model isn't right.

"That needs to change, so we'll be at the Treasury's door again on Thursday to continue our engagement around the funding model here," she added.

The first and deputy first ministers will travel to London to meet with the chancellor Rachel Reeves as part of discussions on the funding shortfall.

Ms O'Neill said the Labour government should reverse Tory austerity and described any ask they had of the UK government as "very reasonable".

The deputy first minister said that they would also ask Ms Reeves to reverse the winter fuel payments decision.

An eight-week public consultation on the draft PfG is under way.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly acknowledged the budget "is tight, but there are things we can do".

"We're asking the public take a look at this and give us their views about these priorities, and once we have finalised those priorities we will put in place key measurements and attach a budget," she added.

What are the Executive's nine priorities?

Ms Little-Pengelly outlined there would be nine priorities for the Executive in its current mandate.

• Grow a globally competitive and sustainable economy

• Deliver more affordable childcare

• Cut health waiting lists

• Ending violence against women and girls

• Better support for children and young people with special educational needs

• Provide more social, affordable and sustainable housing

• Safer communities

• Protect Lough Neagh and the environment

• Reform and transformation of public services

The Executive's priorities were presented to the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday

The paper highlighted the executive will "make progress" on the long-delayed redevelopment of Casement Park GAA stadium in west Belfast.

It will also be "considering" the recommendations of the All-Island Rail Review, which proposed a major investment in the railway network.

Other areas include a commitment to expand Ulster University's Magee campus in Londonderry to accommodate up to 10,000 students, with an "action plan" to be published by the end of the year.

Speaking in the Stormont Chamber the deputy first minister said: "We must all focus on delivering this programme together for everyone.

"We know that there are challenges but there are opportunities."

The first minister said the Executive is in "listening mode".

"This is very much the basis in which we think we can go out to consultation but there is no doubt that there will be very constructive comments that will come forward," Ms O'Neill added.

Matthew O'Toole, from the SDLP, leads the opposition in the assembly

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) withheld support for the recent budget because of the allocation of cash to the health ministry which it holds.

This time the new Ulster Unionist leader-in-waiting Mike Nesbitt said voting against the programme for government was not even on his radar.

The SDLP leader of the opposition Matthew O’Toole previously said of the draft PfG “to call it broad brush would be generous”.

Speaking on Monday, he welcomed the fact that the document had been published, given that the opposition had been "constructive in calling for a (PfG) for months now".

Mr O'Toole called for ministers to address the target for reducing waiting list times, as he could not find this when looking through the document.

What reaction has there been to the PfG?

Mark Spence from the Construction Employers Federation said the document falls “drastically short” of what is needed in order to deal with Northern Ireland's housing crisis.

"It is vital that urgent steps are taken to deal with decades of underfunding in our water and wastewater system which means that homebuilders cannot get new housing connections and a planning system which is no longer fit for purpose," he said.

Glyn Roberts from Retail NI said the PfG "needs to be a co-design with business and other key stakeholders in civic society if we are to realise and share the full potential of this region".

"We want to be partners, not just consultees in the implementation of the new Programme for Government," Mr Roberts added.

Suzanne Wylie from the NI Chamber said despite a challenging fiscal environment it was time for "ambitious delivery" after a decade without a PfG.

Northern Ireland's Children's Commissioner Chris Quinn said: “Whilst there are positives, I am disappointed that is no specific outcome focusing on children and young people, as there was previously, and I would have expected outcomes in addressing child poverty to be a fundamental aspect of the PfG."

What is the Northern Ireland Executive?

The Executive is responsible for the governance of devolved affairs in Northern Ireland, while the Assembly provides scrutiny of ministerial decisions.

The current Executive is made up of four parties: Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Alliance Party, and the Ulster Unionist Party.

The number of departments allocated to each was determined using the d’Hondt system.

The Executive is led by the first and deputy first ministers, a joint office with equal responsibilities.

The Social Democratic and Labour Party sits as Stormont’s opposition in the Assembly chamber.

When was the last programme for government?

Devolved government was re-established in Northern Ireland in February after a 24-month hiatus.

This was because of the Democratic Unionist Party’s protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

In recent months ministers have discussed their priorities for the Executive.

The previous programme for government agreed in 2016 went out for public consultation but was never implemented following the resignation of Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister.

Before this, the last PfG to be agreed and implemented was in 2011.