Minutes of Proceedings

The Assembly met at 10.30am, the Speaker in the Chair.

1. Prayers

Members observed two minutes’ silence.

2. Speaker’s Business

2.1 Resignations and Appointments

The Speaker informed Members that he had been notified by the Nominating Officer of Sinn Féin that Mrs Cathy Mason had replaced Miss Nicola Brogan as the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Communities, and that Ms Emma Sheerin had replaced Miss Deirdre Hargey as Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Justice, with effect from 24 November 2025.

3. Members’ Statements

Under Standing Order 24A, the following Members made a statement to the Assembly:

Ms Emma Sheerin
Mr Phillip Brett
Ms Connie Egan
Dr Steve Aiken
Ms Cara Hunter
Mr Cathal Boylan
Mr Brian Kingston
Mr Jon Burrows
Mr Timothy Gaston
Ms Diane Forsythe
Mr Pat Sheehan

The Principal Deputy Speaker took the Chair.

4. Opposition Business

That this Assembly recognises the need for the first multi-year Budget in more than a decade, to support long-term planning, improve certainty on public service funding and public sector pay and provide clarity on infrastructure investment; acknowledges that the forthcoming Autumn Budget will impact Executive plans; notes statements by Ministers on the insufficiency of funding, and also the absence of any concrete plans by the Executive to better fund public services through existing revenue tools or new devolved fiscal powers; and calls on the Minister of Finance to bring forward a draft multi-year budget which includes options for new devolved fiscal powers and other innovative means of funding public services in Northern Ireland, which is fully aligned to the priorities outlined in the Programme for Government, before 9 December 2025.

Leader of the Opposition

Amendment:

Leave out all after ‘insufficiency of funding’ and insert:

‘; notes the overspend and delay on the delivery of major capital projects; believes that public sector transformation is required to deliver clear value for money; and calls on the Minister of Finance to bring forward a draft multi-year budget which is fully aligned to the priorities outlined in the Programme for Government, as soon as possible.’

Ms Diane Forsythe
Mr Brian Kingston
Mr Harry Harvey

Debate ensued.

The Question being put, the amendment fell (Division 1).

The Question being put, the motion was carried (Division 2).

The Deputy Speaker, Dr Aiken, took the Chair.

4.2 Motion: Free School Meals Provision

Proposed:

That this Assembly recognises that providing free school meals in primary schools delivers multiple benefits including improved nutrition, enhanced educational attainment and long-term economic returns; notes that in Northern Ireland an estimated 20 per cent of children living in poverty are currently not eligible for free school meals; further notes that other jurisdictions across these islands are significantly expanding free school meal provision; regrets the decision to halt the School Holiday Food Grant scheme, which provided vital support to low-income families during school holidays; believes that eligibility for free school meals should be significantly expanded, with the ambition of moving to universal access over time; and calls on the Minister of Education to work with the Minister of Finance to publish a funded plan with timelines to extend free school meals to all school children by 2030.

Leader of the Opposition

Debate ensued.

The sitting stood suspended at 12.59pm.

The sitting resumed at 2.00pm, the Speaker in the Chair.

5. Question Time

5.1 Finance

Questions were put to, and answered by, the Minister of Finance, Mr John O'Dowd.

The Deputy Speaker, Dr Aiken, took the Chair.

6. Opposition Business (cont’d)

6.1 Motion: Free School Meals Provision (cont’d)

Debate resumed.

The Question being put, the motion was carried.

The Principal Deputy Speaker took the Chair.

6.2 Motion: Policing Resources

Proposed:

That this Assembly notes the recent report from the office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland into the handling of a high profile child sex offender case, which found that the PSNI did not have the capacity or capability to manage the risk posed; expresses grave concern about the implications of these findings for the protection of children and for wider ambitions to tackle violence against women and girls; regrets that police officer numbers continue to fall, even after the restoration of the Executive; expresses concern that sufficient funding has not yet been secured to support police recruitment and workforce recovery; and calls on the Minister of Justice to set out what steps she is taking to support recruitment and retention, including measures to ensure that the PSNI better reflects the society it serves.

Leader of the Opposition

Amendment 1:

Leave out all after ‘fall’ and insert:

‘following the Chief Constable’s workforce Recovery Plan endorsed by the Minister of Justice and the Executive; expresses concern that the agreed funding to increase the PSNI headcount to 7,000 officers has not been made available, resulting in the PSNI being dangerously understaffed at around 6,100 officers and an available deployable workforce sitting at just over 4,500 officers; and calls on the Minister of Justice to outline how she intends to address this crisis in Northern Ireland policing, to provide an immediate update on the viability of the workforce Recovery Plan targets and what measures she will take to ensure the PSNI reflects the society it serves, including the recruitment of officers from ethnic minority communities.’

Mr Doug Beattie
Mr Alan Chambers
Mr Jon Burrows
Mr Robbie Butler

Amendment 2:

After ‘the Executive;’ and insert:

‘recognises that whilst resourcing pressures have a significant impact on policing capacity, the way in which the PSNI determines investigative priorities must recognise, prioritise and more effectively tackle violence against women and girls;’

Mrs Linda Dillon
Miss Deirdre Hargey
Mr Gerry Kelly

Debate ensued.

The Question being put, amendment 1 was made.

As amendment 1 was made, the question was not put on amendment 2.

The Question being put, the motion, as amended, was carried.

The Deputy Speaker, Dr Aiken, took the Chair.

7. Adjournment

Proposed:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

The Speaker

Miss Michelle McIlveen spoke to her topic regarding Traffic Flow in Newtownards.

The Assembly adjourned at 5.16pm.

Mr Edwin Poots
The Speaker
25 November 2025

Northern Ireland Assembly

Proxy Voting Notifications

In line with Standing Order 27A, Mrs Deborah Erskine arranged for her vote to be exercised by a proxy (Mr Trevor Clarke) during the period 15 September 2025 to 14 June 2026.

In line with Standing Order 27A, Miss Nicola Brogan arranged for her vote to be exercised by a proxy (Mrs Sinéad Ennis) during the period 11 November 2025 to 10 August 2026.

Northern Ireland Assembly

25 November 2025 – Division 1

Amendment - The Executive’s Multi-Year Budget

Proposed:

Leave out all after ‘insufficiency of funding’ and insert:
‘; notes the overspend and delay on the delivery of major capital projects; believes that public sector transformation is required to deliver clear value for money; and calls on the Minister of Finance to bring forward a draft multi-year budget which is fully aligned to the priorities outlined in the Programme for Government, as soon as possible.’

Ms Diane Forsythe
Mr Brian Kingston
Mr Harry Harvey

The Question was put and the Assembly divided.

Ayes: 31
Noes: 46

AYES

Dr Aiken, Mr Allen, Ms D Armstrong, Mr Beattie, Mr Bradley, Mr Brett, Mr Brooks, Ms Brownlee, Mr K Buchanan, Mr T Buchanan, Ms Bunting, Mr Burrows, Mr Butler, Mr Chambers, Mr Clarke, Mrs Dodds, Mr Dunne, Mrs Erskine, Ms Forsythe, Mr Frew, Mr Gaston, Mr Givan, Mr Harvey, Mr Irwin, Mr Kingston, Mrs Little-Pengelly, Miss McIlveen, Mr Martin, Mr Middleton, Mr Robinson, Mr Stewart.

Tellers for the Ayes: Ms Forsythe, Mr Harvey.

NOES

Dr Archibald, Ms K Armstrong, Mr Baker, Mr Boylan, Ms Bradshaw, Miss Brogan, Mr Carroll, Mr Delargy, Mr Dickson, Mrs Dillon, Miss Dolan, Mr Donnelly, Mr Durkan, Ms Egan, Mrs Ennis, Mrs Ferguson, Ms Finnegan, Miss Flynn, Mr Gildernew, Mrs Guy, Miss Hargey, Mr Honeyford, Ms Hunter, Mr Kearney, Mr Kelly, Ms Kimmins, Mr McAleer, Miss McAllister, Mr McGlone, Mr McGrath, Mr McGuigan, Mr McHugh, Ms McLaughlin, Mr McMurray, Mr McNulty, Mrs Mason, Mr Mathison, Mr Muir, Miss Murphy, Ms Nicholl, Mr O'Dowd, Ms O'Neill, Mr O'Toole, Ms Reilly, Mr Sheehan, Ms Sheerin.

Tellers for the Noes: Mr Durkan, Ms McLaughlin.

The amendment fell.

Votes cast by proxy:

Mrs Erskine’s vote was cast by Mr Clarke.

Miss Brogan’s vote was cast by Mrs Ennis.

Northern Ireland Assembly

25 November 2025 – Division 2

Motion - The Executive’s Multi-Year Budget

Proposed:

That this Assembly recognises the need for the first multi-year Budget in more than a decade, to support long-term planning, improve certainty on public service funding and public sector pay and provide clarity on infrastructure investment; acknowledges that the forthcoming Autumn Budget will impact Executive plans; notes statements by Ministers on the insufficiency of funding, and also the absence of any concrete plans by the Executive to better fund public services through existing revenue tools or new devolved fiscal powers; and calls on the Minister of Finance to bring forward a draft multi-year budget which includes options for new devolved fiscal powers and other innovative means of funding public services in Northern Ireland, which is fully aligned to the priorities outlined in the Programme for Government, before 9 December 2025.

Leader of the Opposition

The Question was put and the Assembly divided.

Ayes: 53
Noes: 23

AYES

Dr Aiken, Mr Allen, Ms D Armstrong, Ms K Armstrong, Mr Baker, Mr Beattie, Mr Boylan, Ms Bradshaw, Miss Brogan, Mr Burrows, Mr Butler, Mr Carroll, Mr Chambers, Mr Delargy, Mr Dickson, Mrs Dillon, Miss Dolan, Mr Donnelly, Mr Durkan, Ms Egan, Mrs Ennis, Mrs Ferguson, Ms Finnegan, Miss Flynn, Mr Gildernew, Mrs Guy, Miss Hargey, Mr Honeyford, Ms Hunter, Mr Kearney, Mr Kelly, Ms Kimmins, Mr McAleer, Miss McAllister, Mr McGlone, Mr McGrath, Mr McGuigan, Mr McHugh, Ms McLaughlin, Mr McMurray, Mr McNulty, Mrs Mason, Mr Mathison, Mr Muir, Miss Murphy, Ms Nicholl, Mr O'Dowd, Ms O'Neill, Mr O'Toole, Ms Reilly, Mr Sheehan, Ms Sheerin, Mr Stewart.

Tellers for the Ayes: Mr McGrath, Mr O’Toole.

NOES

Mr Bradley, Mr Brett, Mr Brooks, Ms Brownlee, Mr K Buchanan, Mr T Buchanan, Ms Bunting, Mr Clarke, Mrs Dodds, Mr Dunne, Mrs Erskine, Ms Forsythe, Mr Frew, Mr Gaston, Mr Givan, Mr Harvey, Mr Irwin, Mr Kingston, Mrs Little-Pengelly, Miss McIlveen, Mr Martin, Mr Middleton, Mr Robinson.

Tellers for the Noes: Mr Harvey, Mr Kingston.

The motion was carried.

Votes cast by proxy:

Mrs Erskine’s vote was cast by Mr Clarke.

Miss Brogan’s vote was cast by Mrs Ennis.

Northern Ireland Assembly

Papers Presented to the Assembly on 25 November 2025

1. Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly

2. Bills of the Northern Ireland Assembly

3. Orders in Council

4. Statutory Rules

SR 2025/185 The Occupational Pensions (Revaluation) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025 (Department for Communities)

5. Legislative Consent Memorandums

6. Assembly Reports

Report of the Examiner of Statutory Rules to the Assembly and the Appropriate Committees Fifty-first Report (NIA 132/22-27) (Northern Ireland Assembly)

7. Written Ministerial Statements

Publication of the 'Healthy Futures’ Obesity Strategic Framework (Minister of Health)

8. Publications Laid in the Northern Ireland Assembly

9. Publications Presented in the Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly Legislation:

Stages in Consideration of Public Bills

First Stage: Introduction of Bill.
Second Stage: General debate of the Bill with an opportunity for Members to vote on its general principles.
Committee Stage (Comm. Stage): Detailed investigation by a Committee which concludes with the publication of a report for consideration by the Assembly.
Consideration Stage (CS): Consideration by the Assembly of, and an opportunity for Members to vote on, the details of the Bill including amendments proposed to the Bill.
Further Consideration Stage (FCS): Consideration by the Assembly of, and an opportunity for Members to vote on, further amendments to the Bill.
Final Stage: Passing or rejecting of Bill by the Assembly, without further amendment.
Royal Assent.

Proceedings as 25 November 2025
2022-2027 Mandate
Executive Bills

2022-2027 Mandate
Non-Executive Bills