NORTHERN IRELAND PUBLIC FINANCES Funding Position, Pressures, and Cross-Department Progress Dashboard (October 2025) 1. Background – £3.3 Billion Settlement and 24 Percent Uplift In early 2024 the UK Government and the restored Northern Ireland Executive agreed a £3.3 billion funding package to stabilise services, fund overdue pay settlements, and enable reform.The Barnett Formula “needs-based factor” […]
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Ranking Northern Ireland’s Road Schemes by Safety Priority A Neutral, Evidence-Led Assessment of Major Current and Proposed Schemes Improving road safety remains one of the most cost-effective interventions available to policymakers in Northern Ireland. While discussions about road investment often focus on economic development, regional balance or political visibility, the single most important criterion for […]
Alert: Vacant Property Rates About to Skyrocket to 100% – NI Owners, Don’t Let This Drain Your Profits! As a non-domestic property owner in Northern Ireland, the clock is ticking on your vacant units. Finance Minister John O’Dowd recently confirmed plans to phase out the 50% relief on rates for empty commercial properties, ramping up […]
The 32 Core Subjects in Any Serious Debate About a United Ireland A balanced, structured framework across nationalist and unionist concerns — and how solvable each issue actually is. Debate around a potential United Ireland is usually loud on emotion and quiet on structure. To have a genuinely useful conversation, each side needs a clear […]
“We can’t afford a £300m bridge.” Really! Every time the idea of a fixed link across Strangford Lough comes up, somebody in or around the Executive says the same thing: “We’d love to – but there’s simply no money.” Not that money is being asked for but simply a proper independent feasibility study into an […]
Summary of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Preference Index (NICPI) The NICPI is a professional, evidence-based composite indicator designed to assist the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in objectively assessing whether a majority in Northern Ireland would likely support Irish unification in a border poll, as required under the Good Friday Agreement. It aggregates data […]
Northern Ireland Schemes – Deep Soundings, Week Ending 7 November 2025 This week in NI construction feels like classic “two steps forward, one step sideways”: some long-promised regeneration schemes finally clear planning, tourist projects move into the spotlight, but the big strategic roads and stadiums are still stuck in the mud. Here’s a QS-style sweep […]
Northern Ireland Executive 2025-26 Budget Info Sheet on All Possible Charges Aired This info sheet compiles all revenue-raising charges (fees, rates, and other cost-passing measures) that have been publicly “aired” — meaning proposed, discussed, consulted on, or ruled out — in the context of the Northern Ireland Executive’s 2025-26 Budget process. Sources include the Draft […]
UK Construction Warning Indicators Q4 2025 UK Construction: Surface Stability, Deep Trouble Ahead Official figures might suggest UK construction is holding steady, but beneath the surface, the foundations are cracking fast. Output has grown by around 1%, yet almost every forward-looking indicator signals a sector sliding into contraction. The data from ONS, S&P Global, and […]
Equity Trap, Crumbling Infrastructure, and the Warming Frog: Why Ireland Needs Radical Action Now Families across Ireland are trapped in rising equity but falling access to real wealth. As Northern Ireland politics stall and infrastructure decays, China powers ahead. Radical transport, housing, and land-use reform are urgently needed before the economy reaches boiling point. Ireland’s […]
Then and Now: Why One Wage Bought a Dublin Home in 1968 — But Two Can’t Today Introduction Across Ireland, a familiar question keeps resurfacing:How could an ordinary worker once buy a three-bed semi-detached house in Dublin on a single income — while today’s generation, even with two salaries, cannot? The contrast between 1968 and […]