Northern Ireland executive ministers agree programme for government

The agreement of a long-awaited programme for government by Northern Ireland's ministers is an important milestone, First Minister Michelle O'Neill has said.

The programme was agreed after a virtual meeting of ministers lasted about 40 minutes on Thursday morning, a day after plans to agree the document were withdrawn at the last minute.

The document will have to be delivered to the assembly first on Monday before it can be published to the wider public.

First Minister Michelle O'Neill said the agreed programme will "set out the foundations to help build a prosperous and sustainable future for generations to come".

"That includes focusing on priorities such as delivering improvements on childcare, cutting waiting lists, ending violence against women and girls, growing our economy and protecting the environment."

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said the "unanimous agreement" from ministers was "an important step in bringing about an ambitious agenda of delivery".

She said ministers were "determined to build on our reputation here as a great place to live, work and invest" and that "good progress" had already been made in many of the priority issues.

The programme for government comes just over a year since the Northern Ireland Executive reformed in February 2024.

It is understood the document contains a number of targets alongside the executive's nine main priorities.

A draft version of the programme, an 88-page document entitled Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most, was unveiled last September before an eight-week public consultation.

Meanwhile a visit by Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin to Belfast today has been postponed.

He was due to visit Stormont for the first time since being re-elected taoiseach last month.

The Irish government said that the meeting has been pulled due to a schedule change.

Irish national broadcaster RTÉ has reported that Martin is to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Shannon Airport.

Zelensky is to make a brief stop in Ireland before travelling to the United States to meet President Trump.

The priorities set out in the draft were described by First Minister Michelle O'Neill as "ambitious and focused".

There were nine key priorities:

• Grow a globally competitive and sustainable economy
• Deliver more affordable childcare
• Cut health waiting lists
• Ending violence against women and girls
• Better support for children and young people with special educational needs
• Provide more social, affordable and sustainable housing
• Safer communities
• Protect Lough Neagh and the environment
• Reform and transformation of public services

It has been some time since a Stormont executive agreed a finalised 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.

One was also agreed in 2016 and went out to public consultation.

But before it could be passed, the power-sharing institutions collapsed following the resignation of then Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.