Front-line services in 'crisis situation' without a budget - Long

The justice minister has said the only way her department can "move towards balancing the books" without a budget, is to make cuts to front-line services.

There had been hope that Stormont could agree a multi-year budget in January for the first time in more than 10 years, but that did not happen.

This means government departments started the financial year in April without being certain how much they have to spend.

Naomi Long said that has left her in the midst of a "crisis situation" and she was concerned about the impact it would have on front-line services such as policing, probation, prisons and the youth justice agency.

On Wednesday the chair of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland said a recovery plan which aims to lift police officer numbers to 7,000 by 2028 was in "grave doubt".

Liam Kelly said the number of Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers was "supposed to grow" to 6,500 by April 2026 - the end of year one of the recovery plan.

That number currently stands at 6,315 - "35 officers less than where the original baseline was drawn in 2025," he said.

Speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme Long said: "I haven't waited for the Police Federation or the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to say it's a crisis, I have been saying it to the executive.

"Without a budget, I cannot give certainty to the Chief Constable or to any other body that operates in the justice system."

Long said that the proposed draft budget would have left the Department of Justice (DoJ) with a shortfall of over £100m in year one - money she said was essential for the department to "simply stand still".

She estimated that, if implemented, by year three, the draft budget would require her to make £215m of savings, which is the "entire operating budget" for the prison service, probation service, youth justice agency and forensic science service.

"That is a gap that I simply cannot fill," she added.

"There are no efficiencies that I can make after 10 years of the budget being consistently squeezed."

Long said there were "very limited opportunities for revenue raising" in the DoJ and she didn't think it was realistic to "expect the public to pay more for us to deliver less".

Overall, she said the situation was "not manageable".

"That is part of the reason why we have struggled to get an agreement on a budget, because other departments are also facing massive shortfalls."

Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir agreed that a budget was needed.

He said a multi-year budget would provide greater certainty than a single-year budget.

"We've got so much we want to do for the people of Northern Ireland and we're doing it within very difficult circumstances," he said.

"I need that multi-year budget, particularly for the farming community in Northern Ireland, giving certainty in terms of the support that we wish to deliver, not just in this year, but in future financial years."

He called on the UK government to provide better support which would enable the executive to set a budget.

"We've got to take difficult decisions, but the UK government also need to support us in this," he added.

A UK government spokesperson said that NI secretary Hilary Benn met with the finance minister on Thursday morning to discuss the budget.

"The government is clear that the executive needs to come forward with a detailed, strategic plan for how it will manage its finances and move towards sustainability," they said.

"The Secretary of State looks forward to hearing back from the executive on its plans to set a balanced, multi-year budget."

Prepare to be bombarded with figures in the coming weeks as the budget crisis starts to bite.

Though the money continues to flow no agreed budget means no spending plans for Departments and civil servants left in limbo.

From the outside it appears Ministers have given up on trying to agree a budget and have opted instead for the easier option of asking the treasury for more money.

If they succeed then agreeing a budget may be doable but not without pain.

But if they fail then Executive cracks will appear as respective ministers head for the trenches with an election looming next year.

History shows the Treasury has buckled before and may do so again but nothing about this process will be pain free.