Northern Ireland education ‘would be ruined’ if budget shortfall confirmed

The proposed draft Northern Ireland Executive budget “would ruin education” and is about £700m of the £3.2bn 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.