Stormont plan 'a message of ambition' - Little-Pengelly

The programme for government is "a message of ambition", the deputy first minister has said.

The plan, called Doing What Matters Most, was unanimously agreed by the four parties in the executive last week.

It was presented to the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday, with First Minister Michelle O'Neill describing it as a "significant milestone".

However, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)'s Matthew O'Toole said it was a "missed opportunity" and that his party would be "demanding better than this late, limp, listless programme for government".

Treating an extra 70,000 patients to reduce hospital waiting lists and building more than 5,000 new social homes by 2027 are targets for the government in the programme.

Little-Pengelly, from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said the programme for government was "not the totality of our ambitions".

"This is about prioritisation, and prioritisation is always difficult," she told assembly on Monday.

"We are in a fiscally constrained environment. It is difficult to fund everything that we want to fund and that does require hard decisions."

Speaking in the assembly, O'Neill said the final document recognised the four-party executive's "shared ambitions".

It is just over a year since the Northern Ireland Executive reformed in February 2024.

A draft version of the programme was published last September before an eight-week public consultation.

More than 1,400 responses were received in the consultation process for the draft programme for government.

The last time an executive managed to get one over the line was during the assembly's fourth term between 2011 and 2015.

O'Neill, the Sinn Féin vice-president said the programme showed the public parties were "willing to work together to do right by them."

"I believe the programme for government shows what we need to prioritise in order to make this a better place to live, work and invest," O'Neill said.

"As a result we have introduced targets and annual objectives, which will be updated each year aligned to our budget."

Little-Pengelly said her message was one of "hope".

"It is a message of ambition and it is a message of seeking to do everything in our power to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland," she added.

"The programme for government provides a roap to grow our economy, strengthen our communities and hardworking families."

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) member Matthew O'Toole said his party would be "demanding better than this late, limp, listless programme for government".

The leader of the opposition said: "This document contains aspirations we share, but it is far short of the kind of clear, targeted plan that the people of Northern Ireland deserve after so many years of failure."

He added: "This programme is better than nothing. It's a modest improvement on the draft, but it's a missed opportunity. It's nowhere near good enough.

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