The South Belfast MLA has said: "We can see clearly now that more than a year on from restoration, and with promises made of an 'ambitious' legislative programme to be brought forward, still more than half of the Bills proposed have not been introduced well into 2025.

"Fundamentally, this speaks to ongoing backlogs and delays in the functioning of the Executive itself, responsibility for which rests with the First and deputy First Minister. It is well known how unnecessarily difficult it is proving for ministers even to get papers onto the Executive agenda. Indeed, it is yet another area where the case for reform of the institutions is clear.

"For all that, it must be said that some of the First and deputy First Minister’s legislative programme was already somewhat less ambitious than they liked to claim, particularly in terms of reform of public services. In the Department of Health (DoH), where reform is most obviously necessary, we see little to no legislation at all, with still no indication that the Public Health Bill is even imminent.

"The lack of legislation coming from DoH and the failure to make meaningful progress on bills on key issues, such as flooding and the RHI scheme, speaks to a legitimate concern that any supposed reform agenda has completely ground to a halt.

"Ultimately, the task of reforming services across all areas of government to deliver more efficiently for the public can only be coordinated by the First and deputy First Minister. The question now is how they propose to change their approach to ensure more legislation is introduced and essential reform is prioritised."