Titled Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most, the programme emphasizes nine key policy areas for the remainder of the mandate:

– Growing a globally competitive and sustainable economy.

– Delivering affordable childcare.

– Reducing health waiting times.

– Ending violence against women and girls.

– Improving support for children and young people with special educational needs.

– Expanding social, affordable, and sustainable housing.

– Creating safer communities.

– Protecting Lough Neagh and the environment.

– Reforming and transforming public services.

– The document also includes a dashboard to track wellbeing across ten indicators: happier children, a cleaner environment, an equal society, healthier lives, brighter futures, a stronger economy, safer communities, a caring society, better homes, and peaceful living. The success of the programme will be evaluated against these metrics.

Key proposals in the draft programme include:

– Establishing a reform and transformation unit to work across all departments and oversee public service reform in Northern Ireland.

– A public sector transformation board will manage a £235 million fund dedicated to this reform.

– Health service reform is described as essential to addressing Northern Ireland’s growing waiting lists, and “difficult decisions” on service reconfiguration will be necessary.

– Implementing a tourism strategic action plan to position Northern Ireland as a prime visitor destination.

– A sub-regional economic action plan, aiming to invest £1.3 billion in regeneration and tourism over the next few years.

– Developing an early learning and childcare strategy, with the goal of providing 22.5 hours of standard pre-school education to all Northern Irish children.

– Committing to transform the education system to deliver high-quality, efficient, and sustainable services for children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities.

– Implementing a Northern Ireland housing supply strategy to increase the availability of homes and reduce housing stress.

– Seeking Treasury approval to change borrowing rules, allowing the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) to invest more in its housing stock and improve energy efficiency.

– Launching a new fuel poverty strategy by 2025 to assist those facing high living costs.

– A delivery plan to implement the objectives of the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy.

– Accelerating the justice process to ensure serious cases are handled more quickly and courts are not overwhelmed with minor motoring offenses.

– Advancing digital transformation across criminal justice organizations.

The Executive also plans to:

– Increase police numbers to 7,500, as outlined in the 2020 New Decade, New Approach agreement.

– Launch a cross-government strategy to reduce offending and reoffending.

– Adopt Northern Ireland’s first environmental improvement plan (EIP), setting carbon budgets and developing a climate action plan aimed at reaching net zero.

– Establish a just transition commission to support farmers in adapting to net zero policies.

– Invest £15 million in energy and resource efficiency to help businesses lower their energy bills.

– Publish a circular economy strategy.

– Improve the planning system in Northern Ireland.

Regarding the stalled redevelopment of Casement Park in west Belfast, the plan aims to make progress on the project. It also pledges to consider recommendations from a recent all-island rail review, which called for significant expansion of the Northern Irish rail network.

Finally, a taskforce for the expansion of the Ulster University campus at Magee in Derry, aimed at reaching a capacity of 10,000 students, will publish an action plan before the year’s end.