Failure by Stormont Ministers to agree a budget is “catastrophic” for public services in Northern Ireland, an independent think tank has said.
With seven months left until the Assembly dissolves in advance of an election in May, the Pivotal tracker report warns politicians face a “rush” to pass key pieces of legislation including a flagship Good Jobs Bill.
The absence of even a single-year budget – Ministers have worked under a contingency budget since April – is singled out as the “biggest shortcoming”, resulting in Stormont departments unable to plan.
Criticism of the lack of progress on major policy goals is made throughout the report.
RM Block
Hospital emergency departments are in “perma-crisis” with more than 500,000 patients on waiting lists for consultant-led outpatient appointments, and a median waiting time of 60 weeks.
Blue-green algae still “plagues” Lough Neagh while about 40 per cent of all planned social homes have been stalled because of lack of investment in the wastewater system, which could lead to an estimated £11 billion (€12.8 billion) in lost economic growth by 2040.
Expansion of Magee College in Derry and the redevelopment of Casement Park are also “at risk”.
The report, Running out of time: the performance of the Northern Ireland Executive in 2026 so far, published on Tuesday, finds the Executive has struggled to work together on shared challenges.
“Increasing tensions” risk allowing social and economic problems to deteriorate further, it suggests.
“As Stormont gets into the closing stretch of this mandate there are real concerns that this Executive will miss its chance to improve outcomes and begin addressing some of Northern Ireland’s most persistent issues,” according to the think tank.
If no budget is agreed, this could add further pressure to already strained budgets, the report notes. Current estimates suggest overspending of £250 million in education and £800 million in health.
Delays in the Executive’s legislative programme have left it “way behind schedule”, the think tank finds.
Nine planned pieces of Executive legislation have yet to be put to the Assembly.
Among them is the Race Equality Bill, which has still not been tabled despite a third summer of racially-motivated violence across the North.
The Good Jobs Bill was hailed as “the most significant overhaul of local employment law in over two decades” when it was proposed by Minister for the Economy Caoimhe Archibald.
Designed to protect workers’ rights, particularly vulnerable workers on zero-hours contracts, the planned reforms are in a “race against time” to get introduced.
Ann Watt, director of Pivotal, acknowledged “pockets of progress” made by the Executive over the past seven months.
Endoscopy waiting times have dropped by almost 70 per cent from their peak and projected waits of more than four years for inpatient surgery reduced by two-thirds.
A Criminal Justice (Sentencing) Bill introduced in the past six months will create a specific offence of assaulting a public worker while other reforms have reduced court backlogs.
However, Watt argued that the Executive “ultimately falls short in some big-picture ways”.
“Deciding a budget is a basic element of good governance. The inability to do so is a serious failing,” she said.
“Northern Ireland has not had a multi-year budget in over a decade, which has restricted planning for public service delivery and transformation. The absence of even a single-year budget at present is catastrophic for public services.”
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The recent resignation of minister of health Mike Nesbitt over a row about the removal of emergency general surgery at a Co Derry hospital indicates a “political reluctance” around reforms recommended by health experts.
“Looking at the performance of the Executive as a whole, many previous failures in behaviours and cultures have continued – political point-scoring often crowds out discussion of substantive issues, difficult or unpopular decisions are postponed rather than addressed, and others are blamed for problems rather than the Executive taking responsibility for solutions itself,” according to the report.
In a damning assessment, Watt said the public “struggles to see the difference Stormont is making in their day-to-day lives”.
“There is a risk that the election means more point-scoring and growing divisions along party lines. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. A lot could be done between now and May,” she said.
“The Executive has a chance to make real progress on key issues. Some policy areas have already seen successes. By building on those, Ministers can make tangible improvements to people’s daily lives and set a more positive tone ahead of the next mandate.”
