Political talks in Northern Ireland about a proposed £2.5bn financial package for a restored Stormont executive are entering a third day. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris is expected to again meet leaders from the assembly’s largest parties. The government offer, outlined on Monday, is dependent on reviving the power-sharing institutions. But the parties have said the proposed funding is not enough.
Discussions on a financial package for Stormont began at Hillsborough Castle on Monday, with the Northern Ireland Office setting aside three days for meetings. DUP assembly member Gordon Lyons said on Tuesday he did not believe the package on offer was “adequate to address the issues that we face”. Sinn Féin assembly member Conor Murphy said the talks process “isn’t a real negotiation” and the package offered “falls short of what’s needed”.
Calling for the DUP to end its Stormont boycott, Mr Murphy said the best way to discuss a support package for public services was through “a working executive engaging with the British government”. On Monday, members of public service union Unison staged a protest outside Hillsborough Castle as party talks were under way. Its public sector members will strike on 18 January over pay.
The proposed financial package would include a lump sum to settle public sector pay claims and a new “needs-based” funding formula for public services. It would also allow budget overspends at Stormont from last year and this year to be repaid over five years. An executive would have to commit to raising rates – the property taxes paid by households and businesses – by at least 15%.
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie said it would be “really difficult” for Stormont parties to make a decision on the government’s proposed financial package by Wednesday. Matthew O’Toole, of the SDLP, said it would be “inexcusable for this to drag on beyond Christmas”. The DUP collapsed the Stormont executive in February 2022 in protest against Irish Sea trade barriers under the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was agreed in 2019 by the UK and European Union
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