Finance Minister John O’Dowd wrote to the Chancellor on 10 August 2026 requesting an immediate meeting to discuss fair and sustainable funding for the Northern Ireland Executive. He warned that the absence of an agreed Budget for 2026-27 is causing significant uncertainty and forcing departments to make short-term decisions rather than long-term strategic choices.

Mr O’Dowd said the Executive has already engaged extensively with Westminster to explain the scale of financial challenges facing public services. He stressed that an agreed Budget can only be put in place once a fair funding settlement is reached with the UK Government, and called on the Chancellor to intervene directly.

At the same time, the Minister announced how £27.4 million of Local Growth Funding will be allocated in the current financial year. The Department for the Economy receives £13.292 million for innovation, start-ups and social enterprises. The Department for Communities gets £7.068 million for community regeneration and access to employment and skills. Agriculture receives £3.82 million for innovation and productivity, while Infrastructure is allocated £3.249 million for transport and connectivity improvements.

Mr O’Dowd noted that the UK Government had imposed a capital-heavy funding profile, shifting resources away from employability schemes previously run by charities and community groups. He described the situation as far from ideal and said Executive ministers had urged Westminster to reconsider, but the profile remained unchanged. The Executive agreed the allocations to make the best use of available money.

The Minister confirmed that a co-design process with the community and voluntary sector and other stakeholders has begun to shape delivery of the Local Growth Fund in the 2027/28 and 2028/29 financial years.

He repeated his view that funding priorities should be set by locally elected ministers rather than Westminster, and argued that the overall funding package falls short of previous EU funding and breaches UK Government commitments that Northern Ireland would not be left worse off after Brexit.