First Minister O'Neill 'glad' to see Executive reach agreement on programme for government

The Northern Ireland Executive has agreed a proposed programme for government more than seven months after the return of Stormont power sharing.

The opposition however, criticised the announcement for lacking in detail. SDLP Matthew O'Toole said the Executive could not be "hailed as heroes for simply agreeing vague aspirations".

"Less waffle, more delivery is needed,” he said.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Justice Minister Naomi Long and Health Minister Mike Nesbitt announced the agreement at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

The details will be put before the Assembly on Monday for MLAs and to be finalised. It will then be put to public consultation.

The announcement came after the Executive met at Stormont Castle on Thursday to agree a plan for the remaining two-and-a-half year Assembly term.

Nine improvement areas have been identified and key priorities include tackling health waiting lists, making communities safer, delivering affordable childcare, and tackling violence against women and girls.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she was “very glad” to have reached another milestone with the agreement of the draft programme of government between the four-party Executive at Stormont.

When asked why it had taken so long to get to this point, she said she was proud of the Executive coming together “in a holistic way” to address the fact that public services in Northern Ireland are “at a crisis point”.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said that despite the “difficult budget situation”, the programme aims to improve lives for people in Northern Ireland in meaningful ways.

She added that there would always be differences between parties but the programme was a compromise that does not reflect the agenda of one particular faction with the focus on what the Executive could agree on.

Justice Minister Naomi Long said the fact that one of the priorities in the Stormont programme was about ensuring safer communities was “very heartening” and reflects the government’s concern about the damage done by the recent unrest.

Mrs Long highlighted that the programme was a draft and would not be delivered in one go.

“It will be very much dependent on our financial situation but it is realistic and I believe it is positive,” the Alliance politician said.

Stormont Health Minister and incoming UUP leader Mike Nesbitt said he was “pleased” that his Executive colleagues agreed their new programme for government is linked closely to the budget.

The MLA told the press conference there were “huge challenges” for health, but that every department faces similar challenges in Northern Ireland.

Leader of the Stormont opposition, SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole, said the public was still none the wiser as to what the draft programme actually contained.

“Once again, the Executive has proved adept at PR but deficient at clarity or delivery,” he said.

“Today’s announcement contained no specific targets or actions but rather a press conference in which Executive parties patted one another on the back for agreeing on broad aspirations.

“The public might have expected more clarity not just on vague aspiration but what exactly the Executive intends to do, how and when. What is the target for reducing waiting lists, how will that target be achieved and when can patients expect to see meaningful improvements in the failing health service.

“Until the Executive gets into this level of detail and clarity, after years of collapse and dysfunction, they cannot expect the public to trust this as-yet-unpublished programme for government, they cannot expect to be hailed as heroes for simply agreeing vague aspirations. Less waffle, more delivery is needed.”

Further details on the programme for government will emerge on Monday after Assembly approval is sought.

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