The Northern Ireland Assembly sat on Tuesday 10 March 2026, with Members raising a wide range of constituency and policy concerns during Members' Statements, covering topics from soaring home heating oil prices and mental health services to domestic abuse support and failures of Executive accountability.

UUP MLA Robin Burrows delivered a stinging critique of what he described as a culture of unaccountability within the Northern Ireland Executive and the Civil Service. He cited examples including procurement failures costing schools thousands of pounds above market rates for basic maintenance, benefit fraud debts being repaid at as little as £1 per week, and a Northern Ireland Audit Office report finding the Civil Service vastly underperforming. Burrows stated that when he asked Minister O'Dowd who was responsible for the line management of the head of the Civil Service, the response was "I don't know", and he noted that fewer than 24 out of 24,500 civil servants had been formally marked as underperforming. "This place needs to change urgently," he said.

DUP MLA Harry Harvey called for urgent action from the Economy Minister on home heating oil prices, highlighting what he described as "sickening levels of profiteering" by wholesalers. Harvey noted that with 70% of Northern Ireland households relying on home heating oil, rises of 50% to 60% locally were unjustifiable when international crude oil prices had increased by only 11%. He echoed calls by Gavin Robinson for the Economy Minister to regulate the sector and explore the use of local oil reserves to shield consumers from short-term price spikes driven by global events.

Sinn Fein MLA Sinead Finnegan used her statement to argue that Northern Ireland's public services are chronically underfunded as a direct consequence of its position within the British economic system. She cited an Economic and Social Research Institute report showing North/South trade reaching a combined value of £8.6 billion in 2025, and argued that wealth generated in the North is counted as British revenue while citizens bear the cost in the form of underfunded hospitals and broken infrastructure. "Working families in nationalist areas feel it, working families in unionist areas feel it, rural communities feel it, and towns and cities feel it," she said.

Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan marked Mental Health Awareness Week by highlighting the reported deaths of 290 people by suicide in Northern Ireland in 2024, describing the figure as "terrifying". He noted that an estimated 70% of those who died by suicide had no active engagement with mental health services, and welcomed the announcement of a cross-party inquiry into how suicide prevention services are funded in Northern Ireland. The theme of this year's Mental Health Awareness Week was described as "Action: for yourself, for someone else, for all of us".

SDLP MLA Sinead McLaughlin paid tribute to Derry Women's Aid on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, describing the organisation as "a lifeline for women and children experiencing domestic abuse" over five decades. She also highlighted the opening of the Women's Aid Foyle Family Justice Centre in Bishop Street, describing it as a leading model across Europe for placing support services around victims as they navigate the justice system.

Alliance MLA Joanne Egan drew attention to a community conference on domestic abuse held in Donaghadee, organised by Donaghadee Community Development Association and North Down and Ards Women's Aid. The event, titled "When Home Isn't Safe", featured presentations from organisations including the Men's Advisory Project, Hourglass and Women's Aid, as well as testimony from victims and survivors. The PSNI also spoke at the event, noting that despite receiving a call relating to domestic abuse crimes every 16 minutes, they believe such offences remain significantly under-reported.

Alliance MLA Paula Nicholl raised concerns about the prolonged closure of the school hall at Rosetta Primary School in south Belfast, where the roof has been supported by steel poles since structural concerns were first raised nine years ago. Nicholl said children at the school have been denied access to indoor PE, assemblies and performances, with one parent noting her P2 child had never been inside the school hall. She called on the Education Authority to provide a clear timeline, confirm allocated funding and deliver a permanent solution as a matter of urgency.

DUP MLA Michelle McIlveen marked the 400th anniversary of Ballywalter Presbyterian Church in her Strangford constituency, noting that the congregation has provided continuous ministry since the installation of the Reverend James Hamilton as the first Presbyterian minister on the Ards peninsula in 1626. McIlveen thanked the Ulster-Scots Agency for supporting the anniversary celebrations.

UUP MLA Kate Nicholl highlighted the work of Silent Cuts, a sensory-friendly hair salon social enterprise run by Mainstay DRP in Downpatrick. The salon offers appointments for adults and children with sensory needs in a calm environment with dimmed lighting and minimal distractions, and also provides training to apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities.