The Northern Ireland Executive has agreed allocations of over £118 million as part of the June 2025/26 monitoring round.
Speaking after the announcement, Finance Minister John O’Dowd said: “I have worked collectively with Ministerial colleagues to prioritise the finite resources available and agree allocations which will make a positive difference.
“We are providing £25 million for health, £25 million for education to include funding for Special Educational Needs and childcare, funding for our higher education sector and Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.”
He added: “In line with our commitment to make childcare more accessible and affordable the £50 million set aside in Budget 2025-26 for the Early Years and Childcare Strategy, as well as the further £5 million being committed to in-year is now being formally allocated. We are already seeing the impact of this funding with it enabling the expansion of the Childcare Subsidy Scheme to school age children from September, supporting our hard-working families.”
O’Dowd also confirmed that £5 million has been allocated to cover “unforeseen costs facing the PSNI in dealing with the recent deplorable public disorder.”
“Recognising the importance of investing in our police workforce we have also agreed the Department of Justice will be given first call of up to £7 million on funding in future monitoring rounds this year for PSNI recruitment.”
“I look forward to working with Minister Long and the Executive on progressing on delivery of the PSNI Workforce Recovery Plan as part of the multiyear Budget process,” he added.
The minister said that the Department of Finance will now turn to the multi-year budget, and that “transformation must be an essential part of this Budget if the Executive is to deliver its ambitions within the funding available.”
He added: “This will be the first multi-year budget in over 10 years. This will provide an important opportunity to put our finances on a more sustainable footing and, along with the Programme for Government, will set the longer-term strategic direction.”
