Durkan's revised budget gets €72m windfall with focus on social spending

Northern Ireland's £6.3 billion sterling (€10.07 billion) draft budget for 2002-2003 is to be boosted by a £45.2 million (€72.24 million) windfall which will deliver a multimillion injection for health and social services, the North's finance minister has announced.

Mr Mark Durkan, Minister of Finance and Personnel, has said that four sources will now help augment the spending programme first presented in his draft budget more than two months ago.

The majority of the cash windfall, £27.8 million, will come from the British Treasury, which last week announced an additional £1 billion spend for Britain's National Health Service.

A further £5.4 million has become available to the Minister of Finance because of the reclassification of Laganside, a Government-funded development body, and £5 million should be realised from the sale of unspecified assets during 2002-2003.

Mr Durkan also anticipates receiving an additional £7 million from reduced spends within some previously allocated Departmental budgets in early 2002-03.

Health and social services remained the priority for Mr Durkan in his fourth and last budget presentation to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

He has confirmed his intention to step down as Minister of Finance to concentrate on his responsibilities as Deputy First Minister and party leader of the SDLP.

Mr Durkan's chief legacy will be a major increase in health and social spending in the North over the next two years.

The total budget for the Department of Health and Social Services will top more than £2.5 billion in 2002-03, an increase of 8.9 per cent or £205 million compared to the 2001-02 allocation.

The health service in the North will also benefit from an immediate injection of £8 million in the current financial year, also outlined in yesterday's revised budget.

According to Mr Durkan, heath and social services will account for 40 per cent of the Northern Ireland Assembly's total spend over the next two years.

"We have increased the allocation for health funding very significantly since devolution.

"In 2002-2003, spending will be £687 million or 37 per cent higher than it was in 1998-1999. This is a clear signal of the importance that we attach to the health service.

"Yet health services in Northern Ireland have to address greater needs and hence cost more than in England. We have some very significant issues to address in how they are managed and organised," Mr Durkan warned.

Although health remains a priority for the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr Durkan's decision also to boost spending at the Department of Regional Development reflects that it is now one of the top concerns.

Mr Durkan said its budget would be increased by 14 per cent, or £69.6 million, to £538.3 million over the next two years.

The Finance Minister had already outlined in his draft budget that the Department of Education would receive a major boost. He confirmed this yesterday with a 5 per cent increased in its allocation to £1.4 billion.

"This budget will allow mainstream education to be sustained at current levels, further progress to be made in raising standards of literacy and numeracy and improving the condition of schools estate," Mr Durkan said.

He said the Department for Employment and Learning would also receive a budget increase of £26.9 million to bring it to a total of £618.7 million over the next two years to support the Northern Ireland Assembly's programme for Government.

Mr Durkan believes his final budget reflects the concerns of the wider community in the North, which is translated in the case of the Department of Agricultural and Rural Development in an increased budget of £203.8 million for 2002-2003.

The £8.4 million increase is expected to be mainly used to carry out BSE testing and maintain the inspection and control at ports in the aftermath of the foot-and- mouth crisis in the North.

On a social agenda, the Northern Ireland Executive is also keen to be seen to be actively supporting the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure which will benefit in the next two years from a £7.6 million rise in its allocation to £80.3 million.

Although both the Department of Finance and the Office of First and Deputy First Ministers will receive additional funding of £116.5 million and £32.6 million respectively, the only department not to receive an increase in its budgets will be the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

Mr Durkan confirmed that although this may be subject to change, the current budget allocation would stand at £256.4 million.

Further details and political reaction, page 6