Coronavirus: NI businesses demand to see executive cash

Northern Ireland businesses have called for urgent financial aid after Stormont ministers agreed a multi-million pound support package to help people hit by Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

From Friday, non-essential shops and businesses will close for two weeks, as part of tougher measures across NI.

The executive had pledged to provide additional financial support to businesses forced to close.

B&B owner, Scott Borthwick, said "there is a real sense of fear".

The Stormont Executive's immediate package will be worth about £338m, while £150m is being set aside for longer-term rates relief.

Mr Borthwick, who is sole director of a bed and breakfast in Portrush, County Antrim, said he had yet to receive any financial assistance.

He told BBC NI's Good Morning Ulster programme: "Where is the money? I have not seen any of the money.

"I know there are hundreds of people who messaged me last night haven't seen the money.

"What are they doing, why has the money not gone out? They have had months to do this."

Mr Borthwick said he had taken a factory job for 12 weeks during the initial lockdown in order to survive.

"It was a sink or swim situation for myself, we had no money coming in - it couldn't have hit us at a worse time, the hospitality sector, this has come in the middle of March when you are coming out of a winter period," he added.

His business was able to reopen for a short time but has now closed again.

"There's no money left, it's got to the stage where there is nothing," he said.

Ciaran Smyth, who is the owner of licensed premises in Belfast city centre welcomed Monday's announcement for "wet bars", and said he had been "devastated by four months of closure".

"We are glad to receive something, the government aid doesn't really cover the expenses it is slightly token," he said.

"I maintain they don't have the money to cover us - you have rent, insurance, security, furlough shortfalls.

"They tend to forget the huge loans that we took out which all have to be paid now."

Mr Smyth said at this stage they had "no idea" what they were going to get in terms of a financial package.

"My issue is we can't live just guessing what is going to happen the next day and that is the situation we are put in," he added.

"The executive should be considering these issues a long time ahead of what has happened."

Finance Minister Conor Murphy set out full details of the plan in the assembly on Monday afternoon.

Mr Murphy said uncertainty with the virus and not knowing how much Stormont would receive from the Treasury had made planning difficult.

He said the financial support package he was announcing was as a result of an additional £400m provided from Westminster two weeks ago to support the executive's response.

The executive had faced criticism for not having new financial support in place before it announced the lockdown measures last Thursday evening.

But Mr Murphy said his officials were working as quickly as possible to process payments to those who need them.