Equality Commission Northern Ireland

Priorities for Programme for Government(PfG)2024-27

In September 2024, the Northern Ireland Executive published its draft Programme for Government 2024-2027 ‘Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most’, outlining the priorities it would deliver on to make a difference to the lives of people in Northern Ireland.

The Commission welcomes the Executive’s commitment to tackle inequalities, and the recognition that equality of opportunity and good relations are central to shaping a fairer and peaceful society.  We also welcome the focus on areas such as Childcare, SEN, and delivering safer communities.

There is however a need for the 2024 PfG to include further actions to advance equality and good relations across a range of key areas.

We call for the Executive and this Programme for Government to:
 

• Deliver reformed race equality law, also commencing work to modernise and simplify equality legislation across all equality groups, including with regards to protection from age related discrimination in the area of goods, facilities and services.
• Deliver comprehensive hate crime legislation, supported by wider actions to build and maintain good relations across our diverse communities.
• Fulfil Windsor Framework Article 2 commitments, including by June 2026 to transpose recent EU Directives on Pay Transparency and Standards for Equality Bodies into NI law.
• Deliver and implement Social Inclusion Strategies for disability, gender, sexual orientation and anti-poverty, and a revised racial equality strategy by 2027.
• Ensure access to education and learning across and between all stages of life for all equality groups, including also people with Special Educational Needs, people for whom English is an additional language, and people with caring responsibilities.

It is essential that the Programme for Government mainstreams actions to promote equality of opportunity and good relations across its priorities and related strategies.

PfG priorities and actions should:
 

• Ensure specific actions and targets to advance equality and good relations across the nine priority areas, including to address inequalities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Provide leadership in promoting positive attitudes and challenging stereotypes and discrimination across the equality grounds.
• Mainstream collaborative approaches across Departments and with stakeholders to improve the design, delivery and review of legislation and public policy.
• Include outcome targets that are specific, measurable, resourced, and time-bound to ensure effective and timely delivery by 2027. 
• Ensure that PfG measures are not only tracked in aggregate, but also for impact across the equality grounds.
• Ensure resources are adequately allocated, so that priority actions tackle inequalities, and so that stakeholder organisations and the Equality Commission can better support individuals, organisations, and government.

 How you can help: Support our call for change

The PfG and related strategies have the potential to advance equality and good relations, benefitting people and organisations from across our diverse communities.  Prompt action is needed to ensure that priorities have a core focus on tackling inequality.

We would welcome your engagement with colleagues, officials, and elected representatives to raise awareness of our positions, and to secure adoption of our recommendations.

How you can help:
 

• SHARE: Share this webpage – www.equalityni.org/pfg to raise awareness and inspire action.
• SUPPORT: Engage with colleagues and use our recommendations to build shared support for change.
• ACT: Call on elected representatives and key government officials to implement our recommendations.