Murphy refuses to accept £1bn funding offer
STORMONT’S Finance Minister has said he “cannot and will not” accept a funding package announced by the UK Government.
Last night, it was revealed that an extra £1bn was being made available on top of the £1bn which Northern Ireland would automatically get under the Barnett Formula. But Conor Murphy (above) said that will leave public services in Northern Ireland facing a “shortfall of at least £1bn next year alone”.
STORMONT’S Finance Minister has said he “cannot and will not” accept a funding package announced by the UK Government.
In a statement yesterday evening, the Government revealed an extra £1bn on top of the £1bn which Northern Ireland would automatically get under the Barnett Formula.
But that £2bn total falls far short of what a leading economist has said is required to get Northern Ireland back on an even keel after three years without a devolved government.
The funding will be accompanied by “stringent conditions” to ensure a “greater level of accountability for public spending” and ensure the new Executive is building sustainable public services, according to the statement.
A new UK Government-Northern Ireland Executive joint board will be established, convened by the Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith to oversee implementation.
Stormont Finance Minister Conor Murphy said the proposed package will leave public services in Northern Ireland facing a “shortfall of at least £1bn next year alone”.
He said half the money was already coming to the Executive, and another £240m was already promised as part of the DUP’s Confidence and Supply agreement. He accused the Government of “bad faith”, adding: “As Finance Minister I cannot and will not accept this and will be taking this up with the British Government.”
“The bottom line is with this proposed package, our public services face a shortfall of at least £1bn next year alone,” he said.
But Mr Smith said the money will end the ongoing pay dispute by health workers as well as transform public services.
“New Decade, New Approach is about putting Northern Ireland’s Assembly on a sustainable footing,” he said.
“This funding provides certainty to the Executive and ensures much-needed reforms across health, education and justice can be delivered.”
Of the £2bn, half was described as a Barnett Formula-based investment guarantee from the Government.
Of the remaining total, there will be an injection of £550m to the Executive, which includes £200m to resolve the nurses’ pay dispute immediately and deliver pay parity over the next two years.
Capital and resource funding of £60m will be ring-fenced to deliver a medical school in Londonderry, subject to Executive approval, with £45m provided by the Inclusive Future Fund announced last May.
Some £50m, paid over two years, will be provided to support the rollout of ultra-low emission public transport, while around £245m will support the transformation of public services.
There is also £140m to address what was termed as “Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances”.
Ulster University economist Esmond Birnie has estimated the cost of getting Northern Ireland back on its feet at around £5bn.
Last night he said the package falls “far short of what might be required to implement all the aspirations contained in the New Decade, New Approach document”.
“The NIO repeatedly stress there will be strict conditions — this was probably inevitable given not just RHI, but other times when the Treasury had to treat public spending in Northern Ireland with special indulgence.”
He urged the Executive to focus on its key priorities when spending the money, to spend it efficiently and consider raising revenue through water charges, higher rates or tuition fees.
Earlier, the Assembly’s First and Deputy First Ministers wrote to Boris Johnson claiming the financial proposal to restore Stormont is not adequate.
Mr Murphy said “the British Government has gone ahead and made this announcement” despite a request from Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neill not to do so.
Civil servants in Belfast are preparing detailed costings for pledges the British and Irish Governments made in the agreement restoring the devolved institutions, Mr Murphy revealed.