The Northern negotiations and Mo Mowlam's plan to have the new executive in place by this weekend went through several turns this week. One aspect of all the developments, however, that is only rarely mentioned, is the huge amount of money and the vast array of jobs that the successful conclusion and the establishment of the new Northern administration will bring to Ireland, North and South.
The jobs are in the new Assembly - both in terms of its members (who were alarmingly threatened at one stage with an unpaid leave situation if it had to be prorogued through lack of progress), and its administrators on the dozens of new boards and committees dealing with civil rights and equality, co-operation and so forth. They also relate to the servicing of these boards and in the new rural and urban projects and inter-community associations and cross-Border initiatives. The list is endless and the pot of money available seemingly bottomless. Indeed, providing the new Assembly with property, staff and resources to conduct business is costing at least £36.8 million and running the 10 departments will account for £90 million. Millions more are being spent elsewhere.
One set of structures that will have all-Ireland implications are the six North/South Implementation Bodies which were provided for in the international agreement signed by Dr Mowlam and David Andrews in Dublin Castle last month. The bodies - Inland Waterways, Food Safety, Trade and Business Development, Special EU Programmes, Language and Aquaculture and Marine, will employ 880 people, of whom about 200 will be new staff and the remainder drawn from existing government departments, North and South.
Although locations for the semi-state institutions have yet to be decided, and towns rather than cities are favoured, chief executives are already being sought and there is much interest as the jobs are considered plum ones.