The Committee for Finance is one of nine statutory committees at Stormont, each shadowing a single Executive department. It scrutinises the work of the Department of Finance and its minister, examining policy, expenditure and administration, and considers relevant legislation in detail during a bill’s Committee Stage — including every Budget Bill that funds departmental spending each year.
Statutory committees advise and assist their department’s minister in developing policy, can launch their own inquiries, and must approve or reject certain secondary legislation before it takes effect. This gives them influence over departmental business beyond formal bill scrutiny alone.
Who sits on it
The committee is chaired by Matthew O’Toole (Social Democratic and Labour Party), with Diane Forsythe (Democratic Unionist Party) as deputy chair. See the full nine-member roster on the committee’s page.
Bills before it
Nine bills fall under the committee’s scrutiny — more than any other statutory committee, reflecting Finance’s role in passing the recurring Budget Bills that authorise government spending:
- Budget Bill (2024) — passed, Royal Assent
- Budget (No. 2) Bill (2024) — passed, Royal Assent
- Budget Bill (2025) — passed, Royal Assent
- Deaths, Still-Births and Baby Loss Bill — passed, Royal Assent
- Budget (No. 2) Bill (2025) — passed, Royal Assent
- Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Bill — Final Stage
- Administrative and Financial Provisions Bill — Final Stage
- Budget Bill (2026) — passed, Royal Assent
- Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill — Committee Stage
Data sources
Membership, chair and bill-stage data are drawn from the NI Assembly’s official committee and legislation records, kept up to date by the weekly Assembly sync.
See the committee’s full roster and remit at mlas.news/committee/committee-for-finance/.