NI parties to press UK government to increase Stormont financial package

Northern Ireland’s five largest parties will press the UK government to increase the financial package on offer as part of a potential deal to restore the Stormont institutions when they meet the Northern Secretary on Wednesday.

Technical discussions on London’s offer, worth an estimated £2.5bn, took place between the parties and UK government officials on Tuesday.

Healthcare workers who are involved in a long-running pay dispute held a second day of protest outside the talks venue at Hillsborough Castle.

[ Is London’s offer enough to get the DUP back in to Stormont? ]

The package outlined by Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris at round-table discussions on Monday includes money for public sector pay rises this year, an extension to the deadline for paying back Stormont’s overspend, and a reform of the funding model for Northern Ireland.

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However, it is dependent not just on the restoration of the North’s Assembly and Executive – which have been in limbo for more than 18 months due to a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements – but also a commitment by Stormont to take forward new revenue-raising measures and an increase on the regional rate of at least 15 per cent.

The five main parties – Sinn Féin, the DUP, Alliance, Ulster Unionists and the SDLP – have all said the financial offer is not sufficient to address the financial challenges facing Northern Ireland.

[ The Irish Times view on Stormont: a system crying out for reform ]

The talks have increased speculation that the restoration of the Stormont institutions is imminent, potentially before Christmas, though time is limited as it is understood that the latest an Assembly recall could take place is December 18th.

Speaking to the media outside Hillsborough Castle following Tuesday’s discussions, Conor Murphy of Sinn Féin said the NIO’s “grand plan … falls short of what is needed” and said the UK government should pay striking public sector workers now rather than “wait for the DUP to decide if they are going to do powersharing or not do powersharing as to whether they will get a wage this year.”

Calling on the DUP to end its boycott of the power-sharing institutions, Mr Murphy said it was “very clear there is still no reason” for the Executive not to be in place.

The DUP Assembly member Gordon Lyons said there needed to be a long-term solution to Northern Ireland’s financial problems but the “reality” was that what was on offer was not sufficient. “We need to see that funding in place and that funding is not there.”

He said he did not want to “put any timelines” on the potential return of the Executive before Christmas, but said he was “hopeful that progress can be made, and be made quickly.”

Alliance MLA Andrew Muir said there was a risk negotiations could drift over Christmas as public patience with the DUP has “run out” and called for a “clear message from the DUP that they are going to go back into the Assembly and the Executive.

“That will give us a much stronger basis upon which to argue to the UK government,” he said.

Ulster Unionist MLA Steve Aiken said the issue of revenue raising measures was more complex than introducing a major hike to rates bills. “Just a straightforward, ‘we’re going to increase the rates by 15 per cent’, I don’t think that’s where we are,” he said.

SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole has said it would be “inexcusable” for negotiations around the UK government’s offer to “drag on” beyond Christmas.

“I don’t think public sector workers or people who rely on our public services are going to wait any longer for more dither, more delay and more indecision,” he said. - Additional reporting: PA.

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