UK’s Bryant “bored” of Stormont budget “sticking plaster” approach

The Northern Ireland Secretary has said he is “bored” with the “sticking plaster” approach to Stormont’s finance problems.

Chris Bryant said he is in talks with parties and aiming to “get to a place where we have a multi-year budget”.

The power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland is still to agree a budget for the current financial year, with departments operating on contingency budgets since April.

Stormont ministers signed a collective letter to UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham calling for “a fair funding envelope” saying the current level of finance from London “does not provide a sufficient basis to fund public services” in the region.

In January this year, Sinn Fein Finance Minister John O’Dowd unveiled a draft three-year budget but it was not agreed by other executive parties, highlighting “massive impacts” to public services with available funding.

The UK Treasury has stepped in multiple times in the past to provide one-off payments or loans to Stormont to overcome budgetary issues, most recently with a £400 million reserve claim to be repaid over three years.

Asked by reporters in Dublin if Burnham would be visiting Northern Ireland with news of additional financial support for Stormont, Bryant said: “We need to make sure that Stormont gets to a budget, a settled budget,

“Not just for this year, because I’m bored with this kind of sticking plaster issue of, we pour a little bit more cash in every year when there are troubles – we need to get to a several-year settlement.

“I’m going to be having discussions with people later on this week and then again next week to get to a place where we have a multi-year budget and we sort out the financial pressures that the Stormont government has got.”

By Claudia Savage, Cate McCurry, Press Association

Press Association: News

source: PA

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