Draft budget shortfall 'would ruin education', official warns

The proposed draft Northern Ireland Executive budget "would ruin education" and is about £700m short of the £3.9bn that is needed, a Stormont official has said.

The Northern Ireland Executive has failed to reach a final agreement on the draft budget which was published in January.

Neil Palmer, from the Department of Education (DE), said the department was in an "incredibly difficult" and "unprecedented" budget position.

But some assembly members criticised the money the department had spent on items like mobile phone pouches.

A departmental official said that £248,000 had been spent on phone pouches in 2025/26.

If a pilot programme is expanded the cost could be much higher, the Education Committee heard.

Officials from the department were answering questions on the budget from assembly members on the committee on Wednesday.

Palmer said the "vast majority" of the department's budget is pay related.

"We've got a huge increase in costs related to pay and special educational needs (SEN)."

"It would be devastating to take out, for example, £600-£700m in terms of people.

"It would ruin education to be honest."

Palmer also said that there could be cuts to a plan to reduce childcare costs for families in Northern Ireland.

The cost of a school meal has already risen in Northern Ireland by almost 20%.

But Palmer suggested that the department would need to make further savings including on school meals and school transport.

However some MLAs queried how the department was spending the money it did have.

Sinn Féin MLA Danny Baker questioned why the department had decided to spend money on mobile phone pouches.

His party colleague, Pat Sheehan MLA, also said that £6m provided to the department by the Department of Finance specifically for Irish-Medium school accommodation had not been spent on Irish-Medium schools.

Sheehan claimed only £1m had been spent on Irish-Medium schools and the Education Minister Paul Givan had used the other £5m for other purposes.

BBC News NI has sought a response from the Department for Education (DE).

The Alliance MLA Michelle Guy also criticised the money spent on the Strule Shared Education Campus as "insane."

The Omagh campus is the biggest school building project in Northern Ireland but had been subject to repeated delays, although building work on the site is now under way.

But Stephen Creagh from DE told MLAs that the budget for work needed on the campus this year "barely comes close," and another £100m was required.

The Education Committee chair, Alliance MLA Nick Mathison, said that schools were "at breaking point" and the budget picture was "incredibly bleak".