Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Lebanese Health Ministry: 1 woman martyred, 11 wounded in Israeli strike on residential apartment in Nabatieh, South Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Four civilians injured in Israeli strike that targeted house in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, South Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli warplanes launch strikes on regions of al-Mahmoudiyah, al-Khardali
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli aircraft execute series of strikes in Kfar Tibnit, South Lebanon.
Iranian ambassador in Beijing to Al Mayadeen: We hope that Europe and the US give up their illegal actions and authoritarian hegemony.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli shelling targets displaced persons' tent in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, casualties were reported
IOF storm Jalazone camp, north of Al Bireh city in the occupied West Bank
Israeli media: A severe incident reported in Gaza some time ago
Israeli media: Military evacuation helicopters are transporting injured soldiers from Khan Younis
Israeli media: A security incident has been reported in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip

Northern Ireland's public services face risk of potential collapse

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 7 Apr 2025 18:17
3 Min Read

Northern Ireland's public services are being “crippled” by lack of funding,

Listen
  • x
  • A nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine before administering it to Sister Joanna Sloan, left, the first person in Northern Ireland to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Royal Victoria Hospital, in Belfast, Tuesday Dec. 8, 2020 (AP)
    A nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine before administering it to Sister Joanna Sloan, left, the first person in Northern Ireland to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Royal Victoria Hospital, in Belfast, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020 (AP)

A government report finds Northern Ireland’s public services, including hospitals, schools, and police crippled by funding cuts, impacting the quality of life of many people.

Patients are waiting over 12 hours in A&E departments, and mental health needs are 40% higher than the UK average, with hospital waiting lists being among the worst in the country, according to a report published by the Northern Ireland select committee on Tuesday.

The investigation also found that Northern Ireland “recently held the world record for prescribing the most anti-depressants per head of population” and that children with special needs are waiting more than a year for receiving the support they need.

The Law Society of Northern Ireland told The Guardian that public services were at "risk of collapse."

Former MP Stephen Farry, now co-director of Ulster University’s strategic policy unit, told the committee it was vital for political leaders in London to grasp how much worse public services were in Northern Ireland compared with Great Britain, describing the scale of the crisis as significantly greater

“The crisis afflicting public services in Northern Ireland has gone on for far too long with the crippling effects of underfunding impinging on the day to day lives of people across communities. The current hand-to-mouth approach when it comes to funding has often been too little, too late," Tonia Antoniazzi stated.

The report found that while Northern Ireland has the highest public spending per person in the UK and raises the least revenue per person, it relies predominantly on a “block grant” allocated to the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

According to the Barnett formula used to calculate funding, each nation receives the same pound-for-pound increase in per capita funding as national spending, requiring devolved governments to be allocated equivalent levels of finance

The previous British government recognized the crisis in Northern Ireland's public services and upped the country's public sector funding to 124 pounds per person, however, the committee stated that research was being conducted to see if that amount needs to be raised again.

“During our predecessor committee’s inquiry in 2023–24, it heard that the funding and delivery of public services in Northern Ireland were under enormous pressure. One year on, little appears to have changed,” the committee highlighted.

The committee’s investigation found that this has become politically difficult, leaving the devolved government with few available options

  • public sector
  • Northern Ireland
  • United Kingdom

Most Read

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the US attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Iran declares victory as ceasefire forces Israeli retreat

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Israeli workers survey the site where a missile launched from Iran struck in Haifa on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

True Promise 3, wave 20: 40 missiles launched, Kheibar-Shekan in first

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025
Iran launches strikes on Israeli targets, despite alleged ceasefire

Iran victorious as ceasefire with 'Israel' takes effect

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iranian worshippers carry their country's flags in a protest to condemn Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, after the Friday prayers ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP)

Iran warns of NPT withdrawal, Strait of Hormuz closure after US attack

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen delivers her speech during the French far-right party national rally near the parliament in Paris, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Politics

US aide proposed funding Le Pen's legal fight, sparking uproar

People whose names were left out in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft fill their forms to file appeals near a NRC center on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Politics

India accused of illegal Muslim deportations to Bangladesh

Palestinians children mourn over the body of their father, Mohammed Ghaben, who was killed while heading to an aid distribution hub, at the morgue of the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP)
Politics

IOF troops admit to killing starving Palestinians: Israeli media

The commander of the Quds Force's Palestine Unit, Brigadier General Mohammad Said Izadi (Illustrated by Mahdi Rtail for Al Mayadeen English)
Politics

Who was Mohammad Said Izadi, head of the Quds Force's Palestine Unit?

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS