Multi-year budget 'not-sufficient' - deputy first minister

Stormont's draft multi-year budget fails to meet certain key targets, according to the deputy first minister.

A multi-year budget would allow departments to plan for longer-term spending and the executive has not agreed one for more than a decade.

Finance Minister John O'Dowd said it would "allow us to transform our public services", but other executive parties have criticised his proposals.

Emma Little-Pengelly claimed the draft is "not sufficient" in areas such as education and communities.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, Little-Pengelly said the proposed budget raises issues, with its aim being that public services can be "sustainable".

"The budget at the moment is set out as not sufficient for education, not sufficient to give the communities minster that funding to meet his targets set out for housing in the programme for government," she said.

"There's a huge opportunity here for the executive."

Little-Pengelly said she hopes that the executive will "work together and to try to take a look at all of these proposals and try to get a budget that has the ambition".

She said questions needed to be asked of the finance minster.

"I have urged the finance minster to take a look at a line-by-line budget scrutiny, take a look at what it is we are doing, how we are spending money, can we be spending money in a better way?

"These proposals are the finance minster's, at this stage, we wouldn't have the same proposals, but key at the heart of this is making sure our public services are sustainable."

However, she said "there are elements to this budget that we would welcome, for example that commitment to the PSNI recovery plan".

On Wednesday, the Secretary of State Hilary Benn said he had hoped a "balanced budget" could be delivered.

On Tuesday O'Dowd said he is "in listening mode" if others have alternative proposals.

"I'll sit down with other ministers and other parties and engage in a constructive manner so we can bring forward a final budget by the first of April, because we have to keep our eye on the prize," he said.

O'Dowd said it was "simply not possible to provide any department with the funding it has requested".

Under the draft budget for 2026/27, only four departments would see a mild increase in their budgets for next year - education, health, justice and infrastructure.

However, the figures currently do not reflect any potential overspend by departments for this year.

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt had previously said he was on course to bust his budget by up to £100m to meet the cost of pay awards for healthcare workers this year.

Education Minister Paul Givan has also made clear staffing and teacher pay costs mean he will struggle to balance his budget for this year.