27 May 2026
An anaemic progress report on delivery of the Programme for Government is evidence that Sinn Féin and the DUP have given up even pretending to govern together, the SDLP Opposition leader has said.
Today the Executive published a short update designed to highlight progress on delivery of the PfG – but instead highlighted both the lack of delivery and the inability of the First Ministers and their parties to keep up the pretense of governing together.
Matthew O’Toole said that the vast majority of the efforts under the so called nine key priorities – which are themselves deliberately vague and unspecific – include generalised descriptions of intention and effort rather than specific actions, let alone improved outcomes.
The South Belfast MLA, who also chairs Stormont’s finance committee, said the refusal of the Executive to set a Budget, could jeopardise progress on the small numbers of areas where there has been delivery – as well as fundamentally damaging virtually every other area of Government.
Matthew O’Toole MLA said:
“The First and deputy First Minister may be happy to engage in photo opportunities today to keep up the pretence of governing this place together, but the reality is quite different and that’s borne out in today’s Programme for Government progress report. Sinn Féin and the DUP are constantly at each other’s throats, turning the work of government into a game of one-upmanship to serve their own party political ends.
“The attempt by Executive Ministers to claim credit for the bare minimum is in complete contrast to what’s actually being delivered. When it comes to our health service, building new homes, agreeing a Budget, major infrastructure projects and cleaning up Lough Neagh, to name just a few examples, the Executive are falling well short of their own meagre targets.
“The public know this Executive isn’t delivering for them. They feel the consequences of it every single day. Ministers can continue this gaslighting exercise and patting themselves on the back for ‘doing what matters most’, but the public won’t be fooled by an Executive that has given up on governing and has already moved to election mode.”