John O'Dowd
Upper Bann · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“As I set out in response to the previous question, we have in place the vacant property rate relief scheme and the small business rate relief scheme, which are very successful. I set aside £10 million in the draft Budget for small business rate relief to be invested.”
“I am particularly keen to hear from those impacted by vacant commercial units and especially about how any phased increase can be implemented in a sustainable way that is fair, proportionate and sustainable within the tax system.”
“I outlined my intent to take that approach in my statement on 18 November, alongside the fact that reform of rating policy should support growth, make better use of property and ensure that the system is fair, proportionate and aligned with wider economic objectives.”
“The accelerator will operate alongside our highly successful Back in Business scheme, which has helped to bring over 100 vacant high street properties back into use since May 2024. Those issues have been the subject of considerable interest and comment in the Assembly, and it is right that we grasp the nettle now.”
“There are no circumstances in which a hard border would be good for the people of Ireland; it would not be good for anyone. Those who suggest that are being naive at best and dangerous at worst, in the sense of not understanding this society. <BR /> <BR />Rural communities along the border are one and the same.”
“This announcement represents the next step in that. That said, I also put on record my intention to strengthen support for small businesses. In that vein, £10 million has been set aside in the draft Budget to broaden the impact of the small business rate relief scheme in order to increase the number of businesses that can benefit from it.…”
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“As Members will be aware, the regulations follow from the Deaths, Still-Births and Baby Loss Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 26 February. During Assembly debates on the Bill, I said that a baby loss certificate scheme was needed to close the gap in our registration service, so that we could treat losses that occur early in pregnancy in the same way as we treat births and deaths. I said that I wanted to bring forward a baby loss certificate scheme that is shaped around the needs and experiences of families to provide comfort and support as they navigate their grief. I set out my commitment to establish the scheme as quickly as possible. <BR /> <BR />Today's debate provides an opportunity for us to make an important step towards delivering on those commitments.”
“The simple answer is yes. We have proven time and time again that we can and will deliver on that funding and that we can deliver real change; indeed, those who work on the front line of public services are making a real change as a result of it. Therefore, I will continue to lobby Treasury on the matter.”
“It has to be a two-way street. I encourage my Executive colleagues to look at all areas in which they can achieve additional funding. In this instance, it is Shared Island Fund funding. There has to be alignment between that and our Programme for Government. Better engagement at the level of the Taoiseach's office and the Executive would be beneficial to ensuring that funding coming forward, which, it has to be said, is welcome, will further align with our Programme for Government and therefore fits into the plan for delivery and change that we want to see across the board. Without a doubt, Shared Island funding is making a real difference not only through this project but elsewhere.”
“The transformation board and the delivery unit in the Executive Office will continue to monitor the delivery of the projects. The relevant Minister also has a responsibility, and I have no doubt that the relevant Committees will play their part.”
“The investment will be made over a number of years. The principle for all the transformation projects is that they are funded through transformation funding but the Departments will adopt them and bring them into their funding baseline. That is the objective. It is about long-term change, not four or five years of change. It is about Departments doing things differently by embedding the projects by using the seed funding and then making that the way that they do things in the future.”
“I understand the detail required by the question, but the detail of the administration of the projects is best placed with the Health Minister, the Communities Minister or the project manager of each project.”
“That is a matter for the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. It will be for him to decide the best way forward for bovine TB control.”
“The pathways to work and well-being proposal has been allocated about £16 million, plus there is to be a contribution from DFC. It will be an innovative health and work model to support 3,750 people to find sustainable employment. It will be piloted in two council areas on a cross-departmental basis and in partnership with a range of local organisations. A commission on work and well-being will be established to shape long-term plans to scale up interventions. That work will be carried out over time with DFC and, as I said, with local organisations, which, in many instances, I suspect, will be from the community and voluntary sector. As the Member pointed out, the sector has significant experience in the area. It is up to the sponsor Departments to finalise how the project will proceed.”
“I cannot provide a time frame for that today. Ongoing engagement will be required between the Department and the hubs, the community and voluntary sector and all the others involved. We want to see the funds make a difference on the ground as quickly as possible. As I said, the delivery unit in TEO, the board, and, indeed, Ministers will monitor the progress of individual projects in the time ahead.”
“My Department's project is about enabling the Civil Service and the wider public sector to move forward in an informed way on digitalisation, the use of AI and so on. We have to learn from elsewhere and ensure that, at its heart, the project is people-focused and based on the needs of the community — the public whom we serve — and staff and that there is a human focus at all times. AI can and will be transformative for our public services, but we cannot and should not replace the emotion and connection that only humans can bring to the equation.”
“I have set aside around £100 million in the draft Budget for transformation. When we do have a final Budget, I would like to see money set aside for transformation. I have witnessed at first hand not only how that transformation pot has delivered outcomes for the public but how, when the Civil Service is given a bit of space and some money to be innovative and to allow it to plan and to do things differently, it presents projects such as those that have been successful. Therefore, let us give our Civil Service and public servants the space and money to transform, and then we see the changes on the ground.”
“The details and minutiae of those matters are best discussed with individual sponsoring Ministers on how exactly that will work, how they will work in tandem with the community and voluntary sector, and how they can support each other in delivering better outcomes for children.”
“That is an innovative new partnership between statutory children's and social care services and the voluntary sector, providing enhanced, targeted and more easily accessed help for families before problems escalate. It will mean fewer children entering care and more returning to their families where it is safe to do so, improving outcomes for children and addressing rising and unsustainable demand. It will also deliver measurable efficiency savings. It seems somewhat crass to talk about efficiency savings when talking about such an important issue but around £34 million over 10 years can be directed back into the service.”
“The two projects that are on time within the first tranche are in the Department for Infrastructure, namely flood management and the recruitment of independent inspectors. I understand that advertisements have been out for that recruitment process, which may have already closed, and applications are being assessed. With regard to tranche 1, therefore, DFI is on time.”
“I do believe that it has achieved those aims. As I said to a previous questioner, there have been delays and maybe not as quick a pace as we would have liked to see in some projects at the start. That is now steadily uplifting and moving forward, however, and I read out the figures. Even with regard to GP services, almost 300,000 more people now have access to a wider range of supports in GP practices as a direct result of the transformation fund. We just talked about the next stage with pharmacies, so this is about real change happening in real time, and the general public seeing the difference.”
“It is an important development over a wide range of areas. It reduces bureaucracy in GP services and allows easier access for the public to the prescriptions that they need, with those being forwarded to their pharmacist. Obviously, it highlights again the importance of pharmacy in the primary care sector. It is a project of modernisation. In this day and age, GPs should not have to be signing a paper prescription that is then brought or sent to a pharmacist, and then dealt with etc. It is a great project, and I think that it will make a huge difference to GP services, to GPs, to those who use a GP and to those who use a pharmacist.”
“I set out in my statement areas where there will be projected savings as part of the transformation. They are of higher scale in some areas than in others. Obviously, the importance of this is to save funds that can be redirected back into public services. The public seeing an improved public service, whether that improvement is in health, education, bovine TB or wherever it may be, is the important element of the transformation fund. It is about where we are improving public services and seeing the public get easier access to those public services and seeing real results for themselves.”
“I commend that project. Not only is it being brought forward through this transformation fund but it has been able to secure Shared Island funding. Where we can lever in further funding from other organisations or other areas, that is vital. I have had engagement with the Minister on that matter. Clearly, it is an important project for animal welfare and for the welfare of farmers because diagnosis of TB in a herd can be quite detrimental to farming families. The cost of this over the past number of years has continued to rise, so we have to get a handle on it, and I think that this project will be a way forward.”
“As I said during my address, the board, the delivery unit in the Executive and individual responsible Ministers have to ensure, as they continue to monitor this, that spend is taking place at the speed that we want.”
“I do not have in front of me sight of the letter to which the Member refers. The first tranche of projects has taken longer to get off the ground than was first hoped, but I have announced, as I reiterated to Mr O'Toole, where we have seen significant progress. There have been delays in some of the projects, particularly in Education with delivery of the new investment in SEN. I would like to see that increase significantly over time, as I am sure that everybody would, and I believe that it will as time moves forward. There has also been a delay in some of the Justice funding being delivered. I think that that is related to the ongoing industrial action from barristers and so on. I do not have the exact figures in front of me, but no money has been lost to this project. The Treasury has agreed to re-profile all that funding.”
“Citizens whom he and I represent will see a real change in how their public services are delivered. I will continue to engage with the British Government around the Budget to ensure that this place is fairly funded, and I hope that I have his support in that task.”
“Matthew O'Toole continues in his guise as the glass-half-empty guy in the Assembly. I have just announced hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in public services, following up on transformation and making real, tangible change to people's lives that they are witnessing on a daily basis. I remind him that almost 300,000 more people now have access to a wider range of supports in their GP practices; 4,000 policing hours have been saved; 114 student classroom assistants are availing themselves of new training; the first natural flood management scheme has commenced; and a digital maturity assessment of the Civil Service has been completed. Today's announcement will continue that programme of change across our Civil Service and public services.”
“The projects being announced today will unlock additional funding, encourage cross-sectoral and cross-departmental collaboration, and maximise the impact of transformation funding in driving improvements in service delivery, promoting prevention and early intervention approaches, delivering cost savings and placing public services on a more sustainable footing. Today's announcement therefore represents another important milestone in the transformation journey.”
“Dependent on the outcome of discussions about the draft Budget, I intend to engage further with the board on determining the best approach for commissioning future bids to enable wider reform and transformation. The transformation fund on its own will not deliver all the reforms required to our public services. It is essential that we look to embed successful approaches in mainstream delivery and that we share learning and good practice. The transformation board is providing an active challenge function, encouraging projects to be innovative and agile and to take managed risks and adopt new ways of doing business. That is critical, given that demand for services is outpacing the funding available. <BR /> <BR />It is clear that the transformation fund can make, and is making, an important contribution.”
“Once the multi-year Budget has been agreed, it will therefore be my intention to seek Executive agreement that those proposals be supported, using the additional funding set aside for transformation in the Budget. I will update Members further at that point. <BR /> <BR />I once again express my thanks to the public-sector transformation board for all its work throughout the process, and to Departments for their engagement with the programme. The board will continue to monitor the delivery of all funded projects. It is supported in that regard by the delivery unit, based in the Executive Office, which will work very closely with my officials.”
“Long-term projections show that a sustained reduction in disease prevalence could deliver annual savings of up to £2·8 million, improving the financial sustainability of a programme that has cost around £750 million over the past 20 years. <BR /> <BR />Members will know that I am ambitious about what I believe transformation can deliver. The transformation board is, too. In fact, reflecting the strength of applications received, the board has recommended supporting another five projects that it assessed as meeting the criteria for funding but which could not be funded from the £235 million funding envelope that is currently available. As Members will be aware, I have proposed in my draft Budget that additional funding be allocated by the Executive for transformation over the Budget period.”
“Finally, £4 million has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for a bovine TB pilot for the transformation of disease control delivery. That investment will deliver a first-of-its-kind regionalised research pilot to redesign the control of bovine TB; a preventative, evidence-led approach to target a disease programme that is currently costing over £60 million per year; Shared Island funding of approximately £5·6 million, which equates to roughly €6·4 million; and direct savings of around £275,000 by 2028-29, with substantially larger savings expected as the model scales up.”
“The investment will deliver two data pathfinder projects to highlight the power of integrated data for policymaking across key PFG priorities; a stronger data-driven culture to provide better outcomes for citizens; and improved financial sustainability by delivering efficiency gains.”
“<BR /> <BR />There will be an allocation of £6 million to the Department of Finance for its digital workplace solution. The investment will deliver modernised records and information management across the Civil Service, replacing an ageing system that is used by 26,900 staff; recurring savings of £400,000 per year from 2029-2030, once legacy support and infrastructure costs are removed; reduced duplication and manual handling, supporting faster access to information and freeing staff time for citizen-facing activity; and the secure foundations required for the future use of AI-enabled tools in government, strengthening transparency and decision-making over the long term. <BR /> <BR />There will be £5·3 million for the Department of Finance's NISRA data linkage office.”
“<BR /> <BR />There will be £16 million for the Department for Communities for its pathways to work and well-being proposal. Together with a contribution from DFC, the investment will deliver a redesigned health and work model delivered in partnership with the Department of Health and the Department for the Economy and offering stronger integration between employability and health services to support more people to find and sustain employment; support for 3,750 people to improve work and well-being outcomes, through working in partnership with local organisations; a commission on work and well-being, bringing together independent experts across health and employability, to set a forward approach to tackling health- and disability-related economic inactivity and shape long-term recommendations for scaling up interventions; a shift to early intervention and prevention, responding to individual needs as early as possible to prevent long-term economic detachment and higher-cost public-service interventions in the long term; and an estimated long-term financial benefit of £103 million, driven by reduced duplication, higher productivity and lower long-term demand on public services.”
“The investment will deliver earlier, easier help for families at scale, strengthening 29 family support hubs that offer region-wide coverage and adding new, targeted neighbourhood support so that families get timely help before problems escalate. It will also deliver reduced pressure on crisis services and £30 million investment from the National Lottery community fund for a transformative new partnership between the Department of Health, the fund and the voluntary and community sector. Better value for the public purse will be achieved by shifting spend left: investment will focus on prevention and reduce reliance on high-cost interventions at a later stage. There will also be measurable efficiency and savings potential, with a moderate estimate of around £34 million in savings over 10 years.”
“It will deliver reduced waiting and travel time for patients, with no need to collect paper prescriptions from GP practices or out-of-hours centres, improving convenience and patient experience, as well as reduced pressure on GPs, hospitals and emergency services, supporting the shift of care into the community and allowing clinicians to focus on more complex cases. It will also deliver £18 million cash releasing savings over 10 years, with £3·5 million recurring annually, alongside reduced paper use and travel, contributing to more sustainable health services. <BR /> <BR />There will be £29·2 million, also for the Department of Health, for Together for Families.”
“<BR /> <BR />There will be £42 million for the Department of Health's ePharmacy primary care digital reform programme, which will deliver digitisation of the over 45 million prescription items issued each year, replacing paper prescriptions with a faster, safer, electronic system capable of being available 24/7, including in evenings, at weekends and on bank holidays. The investment will also enable over 500 community pharmacies across the region to provide more clinical services, improving access to care closer to home and reducing reliance on GP appointments.”
“They will embed prevention and early intervention to ensure that people can access the services that they need where and when they need them; address some of the most pressing public-sector challenges; and lay the foundations for system-wide reforms to improve the sustainability of services in the longer term. I am pleased that additional funding of £30 million from the National Lottery community fund and approximately £5·6 million from the Shared Island Fund has been leveraged to support those transformative projects. <BR /> <BR />The six proposals for which I am announcing funding today reflect the board's recommendations. They have been agreed by the Executive, and I have secured the release of the funding from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. The successful proposals and funding amounts are as follows.”
“<BR /> <BR />The 2026-27 year marks a critical expansion phase for the transformation fund and the projects that it is supporting. I am therefore pleased to announce today that, following a second call for proposals from Departments, £102·6 million of public funding from the transformation fund is being provided to a further six projects across the public sector to support the continued transformation of our public services. That £102·6 million represents the funding remaining from the original £235 million. <BR /> <BR />These projects have significant potential to bring about visible and lasting improvements to the way in which front-line services are delivered, including to some of our most vulnerable people.”
“Almost 300,000 more people now have access to a wider range of supports in their GP practice. Some 114 student classroom assistants are availing themselves of new training, which is aimed at supporting children with additional needs in early years settings. Four thousand policing hours have been saved, and court time is already being freed up in order to focus on the most serious criminal cases. The first natural flood management scheme has already commenced, with the potential to reduce flooding, improve water quality and make our urban spaces greener. A digital maturity assessment of the Civil Service has been completed, and work is in train to appoint a chief digital officer. Those are just some of the early successes resulting from the fund.”
“That means designing services around citizens, not organisational structures; cutting duplication and unnecessary complexity; planning our workforce better so that skills are used where they add the most value; using data wisely in order to guide decisions and support early action; focusing on prevention, not just managing demand; and making sure that every pound that we spend delivers the greatest possible impact, achieving better outcomes and responding to the changing needs of the community. The transformation fund has a part to play in that. <BR /> <BR />Last March, I announced £129 million for six transformation projects across healthcare, special educational needs, justice and infrastructure. While those projects are still in the relatively early stages of delivery, it is encouraging to note the progress that has been made.”
“The Executive set out their vision for the delivery of public services in the Programme for Government (PFG). It is clear that transforming how we deliver our public services is central to meeting many of the challenges that the Executive face now and in the years ahead. 'Reform and Transformation of Public Services' is one of the nine key priorities in the Programme for Government. <BR /> <BR />At its core, transformation is about changing how we work so that our services become more effective, more resilient and more sustainable. That is increasingly important, given the constrained public finances.”
“I meant to touch on that during my address: apologies. I understand that there is a letter in my office from the Clerk of the Committee requesting those letters. I have agreed to their being issued.”
“Sorry, may I come in on that point quickly?”
“The task before us is to protect public services, defend fairness, pursue reform with purpose and secure a funding settlement that genuinely reflects need and enables long-term stability. The choices ahead are difficult, but failing to confront them will come at a far greater cost to public services, workers and the people whom we serve. <BR /> <BR />I therefore welcome the motion, acknowledge the reports that it references and reaffirm my commitment to giving full and due regard to their findings, as we work towards a fairer and more sustainable financial future.”
“I would like to see that happen in circumstances of enhanced, increased and proper funding from the British Government. That will not mean that I and other Ministers will not have very difficult decisions to make. We will have such decisions to make, but there is still scope for continued engagement with the Government in the short time ahead. <BR /> <BR />Once again, I remind those listening that hard-working families and small to medium-sized businesses here pay their fair share of taxes but are not seeing a fair return from London. The reports before us do not offer easy answers, because there are no easy answers. They confirm that the pressures in 2026-27 are severe and that continuing as we have done in the past is not an option: I agree.”
“The Executive shared a paper with the Treasury last week. There was official engagement this morning. There will be further engagement, I hope, throughout this week. I hope to meet the Secretary of State the following week. <BR /> <BR />The Government have matters of concern of their own at the moment that, I assume, that they are dealing with, but we have been engaging proactively with them. I would like to see the matter resolved as quickly as possible. I agree that we need a multi-year Budget. Others have pushed us to agree a Budget now, but we should not do that. We should continue discussions with the British Government. The time will quickly come, however, when the Executive and Assembly will have to make decisions on a Budget.”
“I will in one second. <BR /> <BR />That engagement, however, must be underpinned by credibility on our part through realistic budgeting, disciplined delivery and Executive leadership.”
“<BR /> <BR />No honest discussion of the Budget can ignore the role of decisions taken by successive British Governments. I have pressed and continue to press the Government for fair funding for public services to enable us to provide the services that our citizens need and deserve. The funding settlement applied to this region has failed to keep pace with the levels of need, the legacy of underinvestment and the real cost of delivering public services. The independent analysis before the Committee supports and strengthens the case that I have made repeatedly: current funding arrangements fall short of what is required to support our public services sustainably. We will continue to press for a funding model that is transparent, fair and grounded in need rather than in crisis management.”
“The draft Budget includes modest revenue-raising measures, including regional rate increases that the Executive have collectively agreed. Those measures contribute to funding public services and should not be dismissed. As the Fiscal Council and others have made clear, however, local revenue alone cannot bridge the scale of the funding gap facing the region. Analysis presented to the Committee has cautioned against overstating the potential of local revenue raising and against making simplistic comparisons with other jurisdictions that fail to reflect differences in wages, tax yield and service responsibilities. Those differences place clear limits on what local revenue can deliver. Revenue-raising decisions must therefore be considered alongside transformation, efficiency and the need for a fairer funding settlement.”
“Committees have raised serious concerns about health services, justice outcomes, infrastructure maintenance and support for vulnerable communities. I will be clear: protecting those most in need and defending public services remains a core priority. The evidence also makes clear, however, that incremental reductions and across-the-board savings have reached their limit.”
“<BR /> <BR />Rightly, the Committee and others highlight the constraints on capital investment in the absence of an agreed investment strategy. Years of underinvestment have left significant infrastructure deficits across Departments, such as those in transport, water, public buildings and community facilities. Without a clear and agreed strategy, capital investment risks becoming fragmented and reactive rather than aligned to economic recovery, regional balance and climate objectives. Evidence from Statutory Committees highlights the issue that budgets are increasingly dominated by fixed and statutory costs, leaving little flexibility to respond to rising demand.”
“Transformation will not remove the need for difficult decisions, nor will it happen overnight, but it is essential if we are to protect public services, support staff and secure best value for public money in the years ahead. Scrutiny has highlighted significant pressures arising from workforce size and pay. Those working in public services deliver vital support in demanding circumstances, and fair pay and decent conditions are essential to maintaining stable and effective services. The pressures that the Executive face cannot be resolved by unilateral cuts or by asking workers to absorb the cost of underfunding. Long-term solutions require engagement, workforce planning rooted in need and reform of the funding settlement itself.”
“That means designing services around citizens, not organisational structures; cutting duplication and unnecessary complexity; planning our workforce better so that skills are used where they add most value; using data wisely to guide decisions and support early action; focusing on prevention, not just managing demand; and making sure that every pound that we spend delivers the greatest possible impact. That kind of reform is not optional; it is good government. <BR /> <BR />The Executive recognise the need for transformational change across many public services and the need to fund that transformational journey. As demand has grown, particularly among the most vulnerable, due to the cost-of-living crisis, so has the cost of delivering the services that our people rightly expect and deserve.”