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  • Executive agrees £273 million investment in public services

    Date published: 9 December 2025

    The Executive has today agreed £104 million towards public sector pay awards and £162 million for capital allocations including for social housing, health and education as part of December monitoring round.

    Finance Minister John O’Dowd
    Finance Minister John O’Dowd

    Updating the Assembly on the funding agreed as part of December monitoring round, Finance Minister John O’Dowd said: “The allocations agreed today will make a positive difference to citizens across society.

    “We have agreed £104 million towards supporting pay awards for health workers, police, teachers and infrastructure workers and honoured the previous commitment of £7 million towards PSNI workforce recovery costs.

    “These allocations demonstrate the priority the Executive attaches to our public sector workers and the role they play in the delivery of our public services.”

    Minister O’Dowd continued: “The Capital allocations announced today represent a major investment that will deliver real improvements across a wide range of public services and infrastructure.

    “Over £59 million will be directed towards water services, road maintenance and safety improvements, and rail projects driving economic growth and enhancing connectivity. This includes funding for new trains and track investment for the Enterprise Cross Border Service.

    “Almost £30 million is being allocated to deliver more social housing.

    “Recognising the importance of supporting our health service, over £25 million will be invested in IT and the health estate.

    “£22 million is being provided to support our school and education sector including funding for Irish-Medium facilities and accommodation. With £12.6 million for Higher Education and Further Education - underlining our commitment to improving skills and opportunities for our young people.

    “These capital allocations reflect our Programme for Government commitment to Doing What Matters Most by investing in health, education, infrastructure and housing. These investments will provide a significant boost to the construction industry and local economy by creating and sustaining jobs.”

    Allocations for Departments include:

    • Department for Communities - £42.4 million Capital
    • Department of Education - £25.6 million Resource and £22.0 million Capital
    • Department for the Economy - £12.6 million Capital
    • Department of Health - £69.3 million Resource and £25.2 million Capital
    • Department for Infrastructure - £4.6 million Resource and £59.8 million Capital
    • Department of Justice - £11.6 million Resource

    The Minister concluded: “Following the conclusion of the December Monitoring Round, my next step will be bringing forward the multi-year budget to the Executive. The multi-year budget will give departments the certainty they need to plan on a longer-term, more strategic basis and transform our public services for the years ahead.” 

    Notes to editors:

    1. A copy of the Minister’s Oral Statement to the Assembly can be viewed at Minister of Finance Oral Statement - 2025-26 December Monitoring Round | Department of Finance
    2. Media enquiries should be addressed to the Department of Finance Press Office on Telephone: 028 9081 6724 or email: dof.pressoffice@finance-ni.gov.uk.
    3. To keep up to date with news from the Department you can follow us on the following social media channels:
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    4. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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