Northern Ireland Assembly - Monday 23 February 2026

The Northern Ireland Assembly approved a Supply resolution for the spring Supplementary Estimates 2025-26, authorising spending of up to £28.1 billion in cash and £32.7 billion in resources, alongside a Vote on Account for 2026-27. Finance Minister John O'Dowd introduced both motions, which will be underpinned by a Budget Bill introduced later in the day and debated on Tuesday. The session also saw significant debate on the future of the South West Acute Hospital, controversy over puberty blocker trials, and a range of economic and education questions.

In the supply debate, Opposition leader Matthew O'Toole used his platform to challenge Executive parties over budgetary failures, highlighting that the Department for Infrastructure was returning £100 million of unspent capital funding. "Here is an example of the Executive's failure. They have an extra £2.5 billion from last June to be authorised for spending, but we will vote through one Department's handing back £100 million of capital funding, saying, 'We cannot spend that money'," O'Toole said. He also questioned the prospects of a promised multi-year Budget, noting that utterances from the two main Executive parties appeared "massively at variance with each other."

Finance Committee Deputy Chair Diane Forsythe, speaking on behalf of the Committee, welcomed a £400 million reserve claim from the Treasury but cautioned that it was repayable over three years. She stressed that "departments need to become better at budget planning and living within their means." Ulster Unionist MLA Steve Aiken questioned whether Northern Ireland had effectively been placed under special measures by the Treasury, a characterisation that Minister O'Dowd rejected directly from the floor, saying, "We are most certainly not under special measures."

A large crowd of campaigners from Fermanagh and Tyrone gathered at Stormont to demand the reinstatement of emergency general surgery at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH), which has been suspended since December 2022. Sinn Fein MLA Jemma Dolan called on Health Minister Mike Nesbitt to produce "a clear, detailed plan, with timescales, for the future delivery of emergency general surgery," warning that "the ad hoc collapse of essential services is not transformation; it is unacceptable." SDLP MLA Colin McGrath echoed this, describing the campaign as "people-led" and representative of "farming families, school leaders, trade unions, business owners" and challenging the Department and Executive directly: "Will the Department and the Executive stand up for the people of Fermanagh, or will they not?"

DUP MLA Diane Dodds sparked debate over the pausing of a puberty blocker trial at King's College, attributing the decision to pressure from the DUP after she claimed Health Minister Nesbitt and the Ulster Unionist leadership had initially supported the trial. She claimed that "what changed between Thursday and Friday" was "pressure from the DUP," alleging that the decision to withdraw Northern Ireland children from the trial followed political pressure rather than new evidence. Dodds accused the Alliance Party of having a "Carry on regardless" policy when it came to the safety of vulnerable children.

UUP MLA Alan Chambers raised the issue of minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol, citing figures showing 397 alcohol-specific deaths in Northern Ireland in 2024, the highest on record. Chambers accused the DUP of blocking the Health Minister from even introducing MUP legislation, saying, "it is an absolute disgrace for it to block it from even reaching the Assembly for debate." He pointed to evidence from Scotland that MUP had cut alcohol-related deaths by 13 percent, saving around 120 lives annually, and argued that "history will not look kindly on those who chose obstruction over action."

DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley accused Sinn Fein of hypocrisy over its approach to a St Patrick's Day White House visit, claiming the party had presented a boycott of the event when it had not in fact been invited. He also cited a report in the Sunday Times alleging that Sinn Fein's US fundraising arm had increased donations to Republican candidates during President Trump's time in office, describing this as contradicting the party's public stance toward the Trump Administration. Buckley confirmed the DUP would travel to Washington to "progressing and promoting business" and "strengthening the economic ties" with the United States.

During Education questions, Minister Paul Givan confirmed he had returned to the Executive with proposals to legislate for a dedicated managing authority for controlled schools, citing a 10 percent differential in GCSE outcomes between controlled and Catholic maintained non-grammar schools. Givan directly challenged Sinn Fein to lift what he described as a "veto and blockade" preventing the matter being placed on the Executive agenda. Sinn Fein's Pat Sheehan said he would support any initiative that raised educational outcomes but demanded empirical evidence beyond consultation responses and sector support. Givan also confirmed that the Department had no plans to bring forward new major capital school works projects, citing a pipeline of existing projects that would "take decades to clear" under current capital allocations.

Economy Minister Conor Murphy addressed several questions, including on the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann coming to Belfast in 2026, support for businesses through local economic partnerships, and US tariffs. On tariffs, she said the US Supreme Court ruling that Liberation Day tariffs were unlawfully enacted was welcome but warned that the president's subsequent introduction of further tariffs would "once again exacerbate complexity and uncertainty." She confirmed she would travel to San Francisco and Los Angeles in early March to promote trade, tourism and the screen industry. On the 'Good Jobs' Bill, she said she expected the legislation to be drafted by end of March or early April and expressed confidence it would complete its full passage before the end of the mandate.

SDLP MLA Sinead McLaughlin raised sharp concern over healthy life expectancy data for Derry, noting that boys born between 2022 and 2024 can expect just 54.9 years of healthy living, a decline of nearly three years compared with the previous period. She said she was bringing a regional balance Bill to the Assembly to ensure that "tackling regional imbalance becomes a central consideration across government." TUV MLA Timothy Gaston presented a public petition signed by 1,309 people urging Ards and North Down Borough Council to retain Bangor Castle in public ownership and reject plans to convert it into a private hotel.

The School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Act (Northern Ireland) 2026, which became law on 19 February 2026, was noted by the Speaker at the start of proceedings, representing the first piece of legislation to receive Royal Assent in the current mandate under chapter 1.