Never before has the Stormont Assembly’s Legislative Programme for Government been so important.

With increasing influence through further devolution, and stabilisation in the form of what have now been four-and-a-half years as coalition government, decisions taken by the current Executive affect our lives more than ever before.

While, given the context, achieving a stable and functional government is of course commendable, the Executive now has the opportunity to demonstrate real progress through the Programme for Government, due to be published tomorrow.

Up to this point The Executive has come under considerable criticism due to the length of time this publication has taken to be issued. However the Executive now has the chance to produce a Programme which illustrates that the delay in its arrival is down to the extensive hard work and attention to detail that has gone into it.

In this time of austerity and cuts political leadership will play a key role in restoring morale and leading Northern Ireland back to economic prosperity. Therefore it is vital that we see tangible evidence of a Stormont Executive that is thinking ahead and that has a clear vision of where things are going. It is imperative that the Programme for Government is a document that reflects an Executive with specific goals to which it is fully committed to implementing.

Let’s hope that by this time tomorrow we have a Programme for Government that provides deliverable projects and targets – not vague aspirations. The private sector in particular will allow nothing less.