Recommendation 1

Northern Ireland’s public services remain in crisis. Its health service is under immense pressure, with long waiting lists, a struggling primary care sector and an acute mental health situation, in part due to Northern Ireland’s recent history. There are severe demands on the education sector, too, with SEN pupils suffering and schools operating with large deficits. Policing and justice continue to operate under budgetary constraints, while dealing, among other things, directly with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s recent past. Other sectors are not immune to funding and service delivery problems, and all this continues to stifle Northern Ireland’s ability to invest in skills, infrastructure and grow its economy. The problems are clear. In the rest of this report, we consider some potential solutions. (Conclusion, Paragraph 21) The needs-based assessment