The Church of Ireland has given its response to the Northern Ireland Executives’ recent “Programme for Government”, cautiously welcoming the document as a “positive step forward”.
The document outlines the governing priorities of Northern Ireland’s government, currently headed by First Minister Michelle O’Neill (Sinn Fein) and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly (DUP). It is the primary such document in a decade, following years of political crisis at Stormont.
While the Church in Ireland said that greater clarity around targets and delivery times for the programme would have been higher, the Church also noted that, given the political background, the document constitutes a “significant achievement”.
The Church gave a light welcome to plans by the federal government to construct 5,850 recent homes by 2027, saying that while it isn’t enough to resolve rising homelessness, it “signals an intention to handle the difficulty”.
The Church was more critical on issues akin to childcare and education, saying that quite a bit more must be done on each fronts. Specifically the Church called for greater funding to “address crumbling educational infrastructure”.
Similar criticisms were made on the difficulty of policing, with the Church noting that police officer numbers are at dangerous and historic lows and that more investment is required to bring police equipment up so far.
The Church nevertheless welcomed the programme as a “positive step” and concluded their statement with a prayer for Northern Ireland and its political leaders:
“God of our ancestors, God of our future;
from whom all authority comes,
We pray for the legislative Assembly and its Executive;
By your gracious help may it give Northern Ireland good governance, serve with integrity and seek the common good;
that each one people may live peaceably, and grow in respect for each other;
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
