Meeting to agree programme for government postponed Gareth Gordon and Raymona Crozier
Meeting to agree programme for government postponed The Northern Ireland Executive has postponed its long-delayed government program agreement meeting.
Late on Tuesday night, it became apparent that more work was needed, even though the meeting was scheduled for Wednesday morning.
It follows the September 2024 approval of the draft document and its distribution for public comment.
The meeting was postponed, according to Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir, because he wanted to view the completed paper before approving it.
However, he went on to say that things had devolved into “a storm in a teacup”
In an interview with BBC News NI’s Good Morning Ulster, Muir stated that a meeting is planned for Thursday am and that he was “confident” that the government’s policy would be decided upon at that time.
“The only ask from myself – and I think it’s a perfectly reasonable ask – is that the finalised document would be received before the meeting so we could consider it.”
According to Muir, the finalized draft document was distributed on Friday afternoon, and ministerial input is due on Tuesday.
He stated that since the criticism was received, he has not read the finalized paper, but he hopes to be able to give it “proper consideration” on Wednesday.
According to one source, “there’s no showstoppers in this” downplayed the importance of the delay.
“It’s a process story,” said the insider, “but there’s no sugar coating a postponement and the media is entitled to ask questions.”
However, this development clearly calls into question the ability of the four-party coalition to govern as a unit.
Prior to the anniversary of Stormont’s return earlier this month, it was anticipated that the government program would be finalized; however, this did not transpire.
The latest episode
“The latest episode in the Stormont farce” is how TUV leader and North Antrim MP Jim Allister characterized the issue.
He stated that there were “always excuses but the reality is this is an unworkable system of government” .
A storm in a teacup
Analysis – Jayne McCormack, BBC News NI political correspondent
After preparations were made to approve the paper, late-night signals to the media announced that a crucial executive meeting had been postponed with little justification.
This would have been a major problem in a prior version of this executive.
But as soon as this news broke, parties made a point of downplaying it and calling it a storm in a teacup.
Then, a clearer picture emerged: rather than anything in the document, the problem seemed to be with the procedure of bringing it across the line.
Alliance requested further time to review the government program before signing, since several parties said they only received the final version of the document from the executive office late last week.
Concerns about being abruptly canceled by the larger parties are a problem that we have heard previously.
It serves as yet another reminder of how slow and challenging it can be to work inside a four-party obligatory coalition, even though this document was already long overdue.
In summary, some people perceive it as incompetence, even if it isn’t even close to a crisis.
Justice Minister Naomi Long stated in a statement on Tuesday that although she would have preferred to see the document approved sooner, “it’s a four party executive, things don’t happen at the pace some of us would like but we are there now hopefully.”
According to her, “what we can deliver over the remaining two years of this mandate” is what matters.
“I have quite an ambitious agenda in terms of what I want to be able to do and finance permitting, hope to be able to achieve some of that in the next two years” she said.
Although it is unclear
Although it is unclear if it will include specific deadlines, it is anticipated that the majority of the draft document’s material will be included in the government’s finalized program.
In the past, the opposition leader of the SDLP Matthew O’Toole criticised the lack of particular goals and demanded that ministers focus on cutting waiting list wait times, which he was unable to locate in the document.
Which nine priorities does the executive have?
Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most, an 88-page paper, outlines the executive’s goals in a number of key areas.
Develop a sustainable and globally competitive economy
Provide childcare that is more reasonably priced.
Reduce waiting queues for medical care
Putting an end to violence against girls and women
Improved assistance for kids and teens with special education needs
More inexpensive, sustainable, and social housing should be made available.
Communities that are safer
Keep the environment and Lough Neagh safe.
Public service reform and transformation
When was the most recent government program agreed upon?
The previous government initiative was approved a long time ago.
Following a two-year boycott by the DUP over post-Brexit inspections on goods traveling between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, Northern Ireland’s devolved government was reinstated in February 2024.
The Assembly’s fourth term, which ran from 2011 to 2015, was the last time an executive was able to pass one.
In 2016, another was decided upon and put out to public consultation.
But before it was approved, the then Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resigned in January 2017 and the sharing of power fell apart.
