Stormont departments given funding proposals by finance minister

Stormont departments now know what their funding could look like for the next three years under a plan proposed by the finance minister.

John O’Dowd has published details of a draft multi-year budget for 2026 to 2029/30, but it has not been agreed by other parties yet.

A multi-year budget would allow departments to plan spending longer term, and the executive has not agreed one for more than a decade.

O’Dowd said it was “simply not possible to provide any department with the funding it has requested”.

Under the draft budget for 2026/27, only four departments would see a mild increase in their budgets for next year – education, health, justice and infrastructure.

• Department of Health: £25.9bn resource; £1.3bn capital

• Department of Education: £9.9bn resource; £1.2bn capital

• Department for Infrastructure: £2bn resource; £4bn capital

• Department of Justice: £4.6bn resource; £470m capital

• Department for Communities: £2.8bn resource; £1.3bn capital

• Department for the Economy: £2.5bn resource; £1pm capital

• Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs: £2bn resource budget; £500m capital budget

• The Executive Office: £678m resource; £56m capital

• Department of Finance: £893m resource; £138m capital