Marshalled list of amendments
Monday 14 September 2026
Item 4 – Order Paper 186/22-27 – Monday 14 September 2026
Motion: Agreement on a Budget
Proposed:
That this Assembly expresses deep concern at the Executive’s failure to agree a Budget; notes Pivotal’s recent assessment that the absence of a Budget is a serious failure which is damaging public services and preventing effective planning, investment and reform; acknowledges that analysis by the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council points to discrepancies in the funding of Northern Ireland versus other devolved regions; supports efforts to secure a fair and sustainable funding settlement from the UK Government; believes that the pursuit of additional funding cannot be at the expense of public service delivery; agrees that the failure to perform this most basic function of government reflects wider dysfunction across the Executive; calls on the Minister of Finance to urgently outline how he intends to address the crisis facing public services in Northern Ireland and secure agreement on a Budget; and further calls on the new UK government to engage constructively with the Executive throughout this process.
Leader of the Opposition
Amendment 1
Leave out all after ‘That this Assembly’ and insert:
‘acknowledges that analysis by the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council points to the comparative underfunding of the Executive versus other devolved regions; supports efforts to secure a fair and sustainable funding settlement from the British Government; believes that the absence of an agreed Budget for 2026-27 is creating significant uncertainty for departments and placing increasing pressure on the delivery of our public services; further believes that it is imperative that an agreed Budget is put in place as soon as possible after agreement has been reached with the British Government around a fair and sustainable funding outcome; 1 and calls on the British Government to engage constructively with the Executive to agree a funding settlement that enables us to set a sustainable Budget, drive transformation and deliver better outcomes for our people.’
[Miss Deirdre Hargey]
[Miss Áine Murphy]
[Mrs Sinéad Ennis]
Amendment 2 (mutually exclusive to amendment 1)
Leave out all after ‘Fiscal Council’ and insert:
‘confirms that funding Northern Ireland equitably with other devolved jurisdictions would be worth between £1 billion and £3.5 billion more per year to the Executive; supports efforts to secure a fair and sustainable funding settlement from the UK Government; recognises that agreeing the draft budget without additional funding would have resulted in drastic cuts to public services; agrees that repeated cycles of government collapse, the waste associated with segregated public services and the failure to transform those services have contributed significantly to the Executive’s financial pressures; calls on the Minister of Finance to urgently outline how he intends to address the crisis facing public services in Northern Ireland and secure agreement on a Budget; and further calls on the new UK Government to engage constructively with the Executive throughout this process.’
[Mr Eóin Tennyson]
[Ms Paula Bradshaw]
