Brokenshire To Set Budget For NI

NI Secretary of State James Brokenshire is to set a budget for Northern Ireland after the recess at Westminster.

The DUP and Sinn Fein have failed to reach an agreement to form a power-sharing Executive.

Mr Brokenshire said: "I am, therefore, now taking forward the necessary steps that would enable a Budget Bill to be introduced at Westminster at the appropriate moment in order to protect the delivery of public services in Northern Ireland.

"I would expect the Budget Bill to be considered in Parliament after the short November recess, but I will be returning to Westminster to update MPs.

"Subject of course to Parliamentary approval, the effect of this would be to give the Northern Ireland Civil Service certainty to plan for the rest of this financial year by giving the necessary legal authority to spend to existing plans.

"The Budget Bill will deal only with 2017-18 and would incorporate figures provided by the Northern Ireland Civil Service reflecting their assessment of the outgoing priorities of the previous Executive."

Mr Brokenshire also said that he will be seeking "independent advice" on what steps should be taken to reflect the current circumstances in MLA pay.

He continued: "The Government remains steadfast in our commitment to the 1998 Belfast Agreement and its successors and to the institutions that they establish.

"I therefore urge the parties to resolve their outstanding differences to see the restoration of devolved government quickly.

"Together with the Irish government, in accordance with the three stranded approach, we will continue to work with them and support them in their efforts.

"But in the end it is only the parties themselves that can reach that agreement."

SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood said the continued failure of the DUP and Sinn Fein is set to deliver Direct rule on 13 November.

He said: "I have been consistent and clear – a Northern Ireland budget passed in Westminster is Direct Rule.

"That is why I have also said that as co-guarantors of all our political agreements, the Irish government must now step in to provide 'joint stewardship' of our politics.

"From the Secretary of State's statement it is unclear whether this budget will mark the roll-out of the Tory agreement with the DUP. Many in the North will be worried that the DUP will now be directing where the money goes.

"The public are understandably deeply worried about what Direct Rule will bring.

"A Tory/DUP government will do nothing for the rights of people in the North. It only strengthens the DUP's intransigence.

"It will do nothing for the rights of Irish language speakers, the LGBT community or victims.

"For nationalism in the North, the return of Direct Rule is deeply serious and a huge step backwards from the political accommodation we all signed up to.

"In two elections, Sinn Féin asked for and received a strong mandate from the nationalist electorate to negotiate. Now their failed negotiation is leading to a Tory/DUP government in London, giving Arlene Foster a blank cheque."

Sinn Féin Leader in the North Michelle O'Neill said Mr Brokenshire is wrong when he said that it is only the parties themselves who can reach agreement and said he and the Irish Government also have obligations.

She said: "It is in part because of Mr Brokenshire's tolerance of the DUP's blocking of the equality agenda, the reneging on past agreements and recent financial scandals. This led to the erosion of confidence in the political institutions and Martin McGuinness's resignation in January after ten years in office.

"Over the last ten months, the focus of these negotiations has been on the delivery of rights which are the norm everywhere else on these islands. Many of these rights are fundamental parts of the Good Friday and other agreements. They are for the benefit of all sections of society and threaten no-one. Furthermore, marriage equality, language rights, the Bill of Rights and the right to Coroners Inquests are supported by a majority in the Assembly and in wider society.

"The only reason they are denied is because of DUP resistance to the rights agenda and the British Government's acquiescence in this. That has been compounded by the Tory-DUP pact. The British Secretary of State is wrong when he says that it is only the parties themselves who can reach agreement, he and the Irish Government also have obligations.

"The issue of rights is not going to go away. The DUP and British Government know this. These rights must be satisfactorily dealt with. Sinn Féin is disappointed that the last few weeks of negotiations have ended in failure. We did our best to be flexible and we were prepared to stretch ourselves in the common good.

"Endless talks without conclusion are not sustainable. There is a need for the two governments to act urgently to deliver equality. This is their joint responsibility under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement."

(CD)