Our vision is of ... stable, cohesive government

No one can be in any doubt that, in many ways, Northern Ireland is a very different place now than it was 10 years ago.  However, for many people and communities, life hasn’t changed much and statistics on poverty, inequality and inclusion show that in some cases problems are getting worse.

A recent report on the impact on devolution across the UK found that Northern Ireland lagged behind the other regions when it came to making an impact on key issues. The authors attributed this to the “stop start” nature of devolution here. The fact that the 2007-2011 Assembly was the first one to fulfil its mandate is an encouraging sign and bodes well for our future development.

The 2011–2015 government of Northern Ireland will face difficult social, environmental and economic challenges. Many of these will not be of their own making but now, more than ever, the people will expect government to work together with a sense of purpose and meet these challenges head on. 

This will call for new thinking, new ways of doing things and strong leadership.  Public confidence will be dented by an Executive that appears divided. Quite simply, Ministers will need the support of their cross party colleagues to have the space to deal with difficult issues. Unity of purpose in the Northern Ireland Executive will be the essential ingredient that will deliver success or failure.

Failure will mean public services in retreat, economic stagnation and a bleaker, wasted future for many of our people, particularly those on low incomes. An Executive that operates in a divided way almost guarantees failure. An Executive with unity of purpose will have a tough struggle and will face enormous challenges, but it has the possibility of success.

However, government and its agencies cannot do this alone. Voluntary and community organisations are ready to play their part in working alongside government to deliver positive results for all. Voluntary and community organisations can offer some effective solutions to tough times. They respond quickly to an emerging problem and are experts in cost saving early intervention measures. Where the aims and desired outcomes of a voluntary or community organisation and government converge, the sector can bring expertise, user engagement and often additional resources.

In order to realise our vision of a stable, cohesive government, which works with others to take decisive action on the social, economic and environmental challenges facing Northern Ireland, politicians and political parties should:

• Ensure the NI Executive makes all major public policy and spending decisions together in a collegiate way and be jointly responsible for them.
• Lead an open and informed public debate on key issues such as water and sewerage, health and social services, education and dealing with division.
• Commit the NI Executive to putting in place a compact with outside stakeholders across the voluntary and community, private, and trades union sectors.  The purpose of the compact would be to get agreement on the actions necessary to reshape the economy and deliver good public services, the focus of which is the needs of individual citizens. This compact would spread unity of purpose outside government, encouraging all those who have a part to play to see that their efforts are part of a bigger plan.
• Refocus resources across all government departments to support early intervention and preventative action. Investing to save in early intervention and prevention can deliver the preferred outcome for people, families and communities, eg keeping people out of care, while at the same time saving the cost of more expensive and less effective alternatives. In tough times the focus must be on finding more of these win-win solutions.