The Ulster Unionist Party’s Finance Spokesperson, Steve Aiken OBE MLA, said;  

“Today should have seen the Northern Ireland Assembly debating the Fiscal Council report on our 2022-25 Budget. This budget would have represented a real increase, allocating £47.9 Bn to our public finances. Of this, close on to 50% would have been allocated to our NHS; helping to kick start the vital transformation programme that would have helped us deal with waiting lists and to deliver on our cancer strategy.

“All political parties have for years been complaining that we haven’t been given multi-year budgets – yet we were given the opportunity this year. Some parties have also complained about ‘austerity’. Yet now we have a settlement that is one of the most generous across all of our Islands with the potential to be transformational if we choose to prioritise what is actually important, in health, education and the economy.

“Instead, we have the farcical situation where instead of spending close on £50 Billion, we are in fact limited to 45% of last year’s budget and even those spending decisions will be made by the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

“While the previous collapse of the Assembly due to SF peevishness was bad enough, now we are faced with the DUP, a party that purports to put Northern Ireland and its people first, refusing to bring back the NI Executive for even a day, to pass a budget. That is simply a dereliction of duty and a case study in how not to do government in the interests of the people you are supposed to serve.

“For every person in Northern Ireland on waiting lists, looking for business support grants, trying to get a good education for our children, or just wanting to see our country succeed, this is a very sad day. We all deserve better.”