The Northern Ireland Executive must make “difficult decisions” in 2026, Hilary Benn has warned.

In his new year message, the Northern Ireland Secretary pledged to give local businesses stability, but said the devolved administration at Stormont must “live within its means”.

He also reiterated his commitment to working with counterparts in Dublin to establish a new framework for dealing with the legacy of the Troubles.

Separately, Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O’Neill said in her new year message that the greatest challenge faced by the region is “the severe underfunding of our public services” and that “London has never and will never prioritise the interests of the people of the North of Ireland”.

Recent months saw the Northern Ireland Executive struggle to find the cash to deliver pay parity with colleagues in the rest of the UK for healthcare workers, teachers and police staff.

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There have also been spats between Sinn Féin and DUP ministers, particularly around funding allocations.

Mr Benn said Northern Ireland “offers all the right ingredients for economic success: exceptional talent, unique opportunities, a tradition of creativity and a strong spirit of private-sector entrepreneurship”.

Referring to the UK government’s “record financial settlement of £19.3 billion a year”, Mr Benn claimed “the Executive is being funded above Northern Ireland’s independently assessed level of need”.

He added: “Like all governments, the Executive must now make the difficult decisions needed to live within its means and deliver a balanced budget.

“I look forward to working with them in the year ahead as they do so.”

In September 2025, British and Irish leaders unveiled a joint framework to address longstanding legacy issues in Northern Ireland.

One measure the current UK Labour government has taken to deal with those issues is the introduction of legislation known as the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which aimed at reforming parts of the 2023 Legacy Act.

The 2023 Act halted scores of civil cases and inquests into Troubles deaths and also included a contentious conditional offer of immunity for the perpetrators of Troubles-era crimes in exchange for co-operation with a truth and information recovery body.

Mr Benn said he looks forward to further engagement with the Irish Government, but that “much work” remains on both sides to “implement the commitments” made in the joint framework.

“Our legislation has now been introduced, and has started its parliamentary scrutiny process,” he said.

“My aim is to establish a new Legacy Commission that can command public confidence in helping families to find answers, and we will continue to talk to victims, survivors, veterans, and others to get this right.

“During the past year, I have listened to many stories of grief, loss and unimaginable pain that families have shared with me about what happened during the Troubles to those they loved so much.”

In November, the Northern Ireland secretary visited Bragan Bog, Co Monaghan, during the search for the remains of teenager Columba McVeigh, who was abducted, killed and secretly buried by the IRA 50 years ago.

The dig ended without success.

Referring to Mr McVeigh’s family he said: “We owe it to them and all the families who lost loved ones to get this right, and finally make progress on the unfinished business of the Good Friday Agreement.” – PA