The Northern Ireland Assembly passed an amended opposition motion on Tuesday condemning the delayed response of the Executive to the cost-of-living crisis triggered by the United States-led bombing campaign against Iran, which began on 28 February. The motion, brought by the SDLP, originally criticised the Executive's response as "non-existent", but an Alliance amendment, which passed 45 votes to 27, acknowledged that an enhanced home heating oil support package had since been agreed by the Executive while still criticising the delayed response from the Minister for Communities and the Minister for the Economy. The main question, as amended, passed by 44 votes to 27.

SDLP leader Matthew O'Toole opened the debate by arguing that the Executive had abdicated responsibility for weeks while families struggled with home heating oil prices exceeding £1,000 for 900 litres and soaring fuel costs at the forecourt. He said the First Minister and deputy First Minister's joint letter to the Prime Minister, which came more than five weeks after bombing began, showed "a brass neck" and called on the Executive to take collective responsibility rather than engage in "pointless rows and blame shifting". He warned that "dark actors" were trying to turn people away from democratic politics and that the institutions needed to prove they could work.

Alliance MLA Eóin Tennyson, proposing the amendment, agreed that the initial Executive response had been "confused, slow and beset by bickering, point-scoring, blame shifting and obfuscation", singling out the Communities Minister for initially blaming the Sinn Féin Economy Minister for the delay before later accepting responsibility lay with his own Department. He also called on the UK Government to deliver a temporary fuel duty reduction, increased windfall taxes on energy companies and greater support for domiciliary care workers and other affected sectors.

Sinn Féin's Linda Dillon and Emma Sheerin argued that the primary fiscal levers, including fuel duty and VAT, rested with the British Government and criticised the framing of the SDLP motion. Sheerin expressed frustration at what she described as unnecessary party political point-scoring, saying that if all parties spoke with a united voice demanding action from London it would be more effective. Dillon criticised suggestions that revenue-raising measures such as water charges or student fees should be used to address the crisis, saying "nobody in their right mind would support that".

DUP MLA Deborah Erskine defended her party's record, saying the Communities Minister had "stepped up" to support households, and argued that net zero policies and excessive fuel taxation were adding to the burden on families and businesses. She said the reason the scheme took time to develop was that the Minister wanted to support not only benefit claimants but working families, and called for VAT on home heating oil to be removed and fuel duty to be cut. Traditional Unionist Voice MLA Timothy Gaston argued that over half of every tank of fuel was taxed by the British Government and that rising prices automatically increased Treasury VAT receipts, calling for a VAT reduction rather than criticism of Donald Trump.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll criticised the Executive and argued that the deep cost-of-living crisis predated the Iran war, pointing to food insecurity affecting one in five households, a dental care crisis, spiralling food costs and chronic waiting lists. He called for windfall taxes on energy companies and rent controls, noting that Tesco was still projected to make £3 billion in profit and that the top 20 energy companies had made £557 billion in profit by mid-2024. SDLP MLA Sinéad McLaughlin, winding up the debate, said the Executive's response had been "nothing short of complacent" and called for a multi-year Budget, greater devolved fiscal powers and faster progress on energy efficiency retrofitting and an anti-poverty strategy.

During oral questions to the Economy Minister, Caoimhe Archibald confirmed that the Good Jobs employment rights Bill would be sent to the Executive for approval the following week, with primary legislation drafted with the Office of the Legislative Counsel. She confirmed that the Bill would include a right to flexible working from day one of employment, carer's leave, neonatal care leave, enhanced redundancy protections for pregnant employees and a right to move from zero-hours to banded-hours contracts. She faced questions about alleged cronyism in her appointment of former Sinn Féin politician Máirtín Ó Muilleoir to the Invest NI board and rejected the suggestion that political allegiance had influenced the decision, saying questions were being asked "only because he is a prominent republican" and that such an attitude "stinks of sectarianism".

The Minister confirmed that the renewable electricity price guarantee scheme policy intent had been agreed by the Executive on 26 March and that primary legislation would be introduced before the summer recess. She also expressed concern about the announcement by Ulster University of up to 450 potential redundancies, describing it as "a real-world consequence of the Executive not being funded to their level of need" and saying she had prioritised £35 million for the Magee campus expansion, which had seen a 22% increase in student numbers.

The Assembly also debated a motion on antisocial scrambler and e-scooter use, with Members across parties expressing concern at the dangers posed to pedestrians, disabled people and road users. SDLP MLA Mark Durkan called for legislative changes to strengthen police seizure powers, the expansion of successful community and school-based pilot programmes and mandatory registration at the point of sale. A DUP amendment tabled by Brian Kingston called additionally for resources for drone-equipped officers to gather evidence and powers modelled on clause 8 of the Crime and Policing Bill in England and Wales, which removes the requirement to issue a warning before seizing a vehicle used antisocially. Members referenced the 2016 death of Valerie Armstrong in Colin Glen Forest Park and legislation introduced in the Republic of Ireland following the death of Grace Lynch. DUP MLA Phillip Brett called the situation an "epidemic" in North Belfast and said footage he released showed 35 young people driving along Shore Road. The Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir, responding on behalf of the Minister of Justice, highlighted fire safety concerns with cheaply purchased e-scooters and the irresponsible online marketing of such vehicles to young people.

In Members' Statements, MLAs marked the centenary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth II, with DUP MLA Gordon Dunne praising her "unwavering dedication to constitutional responsibility" and Ulster Unionist MLA Diana Armstrong recalling her private meeting with Enniskillen bombing families in 2012. Other statements covered research showing 91% of teachers experiencing burnout, the all-Ireland boxing title won by Cahir McMaster from Ballinascreen, the 70th anniversary of MS Society Northern Ireland, Limavady United's promotion to the Sports Direct Premiership, the unveiling of a mural in Enniskillen marking the campaign to end violence against women and girls, and the importance of Boys' Brigade and Girls' Brigade organisations.