The UK government has upped the financial package aimed at restoring Northern Ireland’s political institutions to £3.3 billion (€3.8 billion) and said it is now time for the DUP to “make a decision” about returning to Stormont.
The latest round of talks between the Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Northern Ireland’s four largest political parties – Sinn Féin, the DUP, Alliance and Ulster Unionists – ended without resolution at Hillsborough Castle on Tuesday.
The financial package is dependent on the restoration of the Stormont Assembly and Executive.
Hopes that the offer would lead to the return of power-sharing were dashed on Monday when the DUP ruled out the prospect, saying discussions were not yet complete and the party was “condition-led not calendar-led.”
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The North has been without a functioning government for almost two years due to a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Speaking to reporters following the talks, Mr Heaton-Harris insisted the financial deal – an increase of £800m from London’s £2.5 billion (€2.9bn) offer last Monday which the Northern parties said wasn’t enough – was London’s “final offer” to get the devolved institutions back.
“These financial talks have concluded and there is a financial package worth in excess of £3bn on the table should the Executive be restored,” he said.
“It is disappointing that there will not be a new executive up and running to take up this offer and deliver it for the people of Northern Ireland before Christmas.
“However, this package is on the table and will remain there, available on day one of an incoming Northern Ireland Executive to take up.”
The Northern Secretary confirmed that separate Windsor Framework negotiations between the UK government the DUP on post-Brexit trading were “effectively concluded” on “all issues of substance”.
“But we are always, always happy to answer concerns and any questions from any of the parties on this,” he said, adding that he planned to spend Christmas in Northern Ireland if parties wished to speak with him.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin described the DUP’s ongoing boycott of the institutions as a “denial of democracy”.
Mr Martin, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, said the failure to break the deadlock was a “very disappointing development as very good progress had been made in talks”,
“I’m not clear what is left to negotiate,” he said, adding that that once the Executive and Assembly were restored there should be reforms put in place where no one party would ever have a veto in future.
He confirmed the Government is due to meet Mr Heaton-Harris this week.
The Hillsborough political talks have taken place amid widespread strike action by teachers, NHS staff and transport workers who are demanding the same pay as their counterparts in Britain.
Mr Heaton-Harris said the financial package includes £584m to resolve the North’s public sector pay dispute.
Asked if there was deadline for the funding deal to be withdrawn, he replied: “There isn’t a cut-off point, this offer will remain there for as long as needs be.”
Mr Heaton-Harris was also asked if his message to the DUP in relation to the Windsor Framework was: ‘take it or leave it’.
“The message is fairly clear, it’s now time for them to make a decision,” he said.
But DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson denied that talks with the UK government on the Windsor Framework had ended.
Addressing media directly after the Northern Secretary, Mr Donaldson said he was “very clear” that no agreement has been reached on “issues of substance” around Northern Ireland trade with Britain.
“We will continue to engage with the government to get to the point where that agreement is reached,” he told reporters.
Mr Donaldson rejected the increased £3.5bn deal, saying it wasn’t enough to “deliver the financial stability that Northern Ireland needs in the years ahead.”
Sinn Féin president Mary-Lou McDonald said it was “bitterly disappointing” that other parties in the North are continuing to wait for the DUP to make a decision.
“The work is done here, the British government has presented a new financial offer. Jeffrey Donaldson said a number of days ago that he and the DUP had reached a decision point. It is very, very regrettable that they have rowed back it seems from that position, that the decision has not been made.”
Alliance Party leader Naomi Long welcomed the enhanced £3.3bn offer as “much better” than she expected and said the ball was now “very firmly in the DUP’s court”.
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie said it was a “good financial package” by London and now it was “up to the DUP to make a decision”.
The improved financial package outlined by the UK government to the parties on Monday is understood to comprise £184m for a public sector pay award.
Northern Ireland will be funded through a new needs-based model, which means it will receive £1.24 for every £1 spent in England.
The repayment of the Stormont overspend – estimated at £559m – will be deferred for two years and will be written off if a restored Executive publishes and implements a fiscal sustainability plan.
The previous proposal for a 15 per cent increase on the regional rate has been removed and replaced with a broader requirement to raise revenue by whatever means the Executive chooses.
It is understood this would require it to raise at least £100m per year.
More than £600m of new and existing funding will be used to create a fund for the transformation of public services, with an additional £34m provided to tackle health waiting lists next year.
In the wake of the PSNI data breach, an additional £15m has been approved, and Northern Ireland will be regarded as an enhanced investment zone, worth £150m.
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