As we enter 2026, the scale of the challenge faced by the Stormont government is hard to overstate.

Against a backdrop of severe financial constraints, the holy grail is to find more efficient ways of delivering services together with marked improvements to productivity. 

Our politicians have rarely missed an opportunity to lament about the system of annual budgets, which have been depicted as a financial straitjacket, stifling innovation and making long-term planning almost impossible.

We have been repeatedly told that moving away from the time-consuming yearly scramble to spend budgets and renegotiate contracts would be a game-changer.

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Financial stability would facilitate long-term planning, enable much-promised transformation, unlock innovation and creativity. 

A multi-year budget would place government departments on a more sustainable footing, allow them to move away from fire-fighting and short-term pressures and focus on delivering........

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