Michelle O’Neill has defended the executive’s record on bringing forth legislation since February’s restoration of the institutions but conceded that “some slippage” will occur with certain bills.
The first minister was questioned today about Stormont’s legislative programme by Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole, where it emerged that only seven of 19 proposed pieces of legislation had made it to the assembly chamber.
The stalled bills include those dealing with public health, decarbonisation and the Executive Office-sponsored legislation on financial redress for mother and baby homes.
The Sinn Féin deputy leader and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly first outlined their legislative programme to Stormont’s executive office scrutiny committee on May 23, then in a written statement to the assembly three weeks later.
They said the bills included in the list were those the executive planned to “introduce in the period up until the end of this calendar year”
However, on Monday the first minister described it as the executive’s “initial legislation programme for 24-25″.
She said there was an “expectation” that all the bills listed earlier this year “will be introduced during this 24-25 session of the assembly”.
“Some slippage is, however, likely to the introduction of certain bills within the timescales that were originally estimated,” she said.
“Further bills will be introduced in the first quarter of 2025 but we share the assembly’s disappointment that there’s not been greater progress to date. However, it is important for the underlying policy issues to be resolved and finalised so that a bill can be presented to the assembly in as complete a form as possible.”
Explaining the delay in her own office’s bill on proposals for a public inquiry into mother and baby institutions, Magdalene Laundries and workhouses, Ms O’Neill said a consultation launched in June had received 269 responses.
“I don’t want to rush that. I want to get it right. I want to do it timely, but I also want to get it right, so we will keep working our way through that,” she said.
The first minister said she had “reached out” to all departments about their legislative programme.
“We’ve asked them for reasons as to why there has been delays, and we also have asked for a timeframe for when things are coming forward,” she said.
In a subsequent statement, Mr O’Toole said Ms O’Neill and Ms Pengelly “may want to consider a New Year’s resolution to replace platitudes and photo opportunities with delivery”.
“The first minister was keen to talk about Santa’s delivery today but less keen to talk about the executive’s failure to deliver even half of the legislation they promised just a few months ago,” he said.
“They set themselves a low bar and missed it, by a long way.”
