Stormont’s delayed programme for government has been hit by another hitch after its planned publication was postponed at late notice.
The latest hold up has been blamed on an administrative issue, with Alliance Party Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir complaining he was not being provided with sufficient time to review the final document ahead of a planned Executive meeting to sign it off.
Ministers had been due to meet on Wednesday morning to approve the devolved administration’s governance plan.
A press conference involving Sinn Fein First Minister Michelle O’Neill and DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly was planned at Stormont Castle after the meeting for a public announcement on the programme for government (pfg).
However, those plans were shelved late on Tuesday night, with the media informed of the postponement early on Wednesday.
It has emerged the meeting did not proceed as planned after Mr Muir expressed concern he would not get sight of the final document until shortly before ministers were due to convene at Stormont Castle.
Development of the document has been undertaken by the Executive Office, which is headed by Ms O’Neill and Ms Little Pengelly. During the process, versions of the plan have been circulated to other ministers in the four-party mandatory coalition to review.
A final draft version was circulated on Friday, with ministers asked to respond with feedback by Tuesday in advance of any last minute alterations being made.
The postponement relates to when the finalised version was due to be issued to ministers ahead of the planned meeting on Wednesday.
The Executive is now set to meet at 8am on Thursday, with the document being circulated to ministers on Wednesday morning to give them a day to review it.
Mr Muir insisted there is no major political row over the pfg, characterising the postponement as a “storm in a tea cup”.
He told BBC Radio Ulster: “The only ask from myself, and I think it’s a perfectly reasonable ask, is that the finalised document will be received before the meeting so we could consider it.”
The draft programme for government – an 88-page document titled Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most – was published last September ahead of an eight-week public consultation exercise.
A final version was due to be agreed before the first anniversary of the return of devolution at the start of February, but that timeline was not met.
At the time, Ms O’Neill blamed the delay on the Executive’s need to respond to Storm Eowyn.
The draft programme for government is framed by three key missions – people, planet and prosperity – with an underpinning cross-cutting commitment to peace.
It sets out nine policy areas that Executive ministers have agreed to prioritise in the two years remaining in this Assembly mandate.
They are: growing a globally competitive and sustainable economy; delivering affordable childcare; cutting health waiting times; ending violence against women and girls; providing better support for children and young people with special educational needs; providing more social, affordable and sustainable housing; making communities safer; protecting Lough Neagh and the environment; and reforming and transforming public services.
When the draft document was published, critics claimed it lacked tangible targets to measure progress in achieving its objectives.