Stormont budget crisis: Party leaders agree to further talks

Stormont party leaders have agreed to meet finance officials on Friday to discuss what options are possible to resolve a funding crisis.

Finance Minister Conor Murphy has said a pot of £300m from the Treasury cannot be spent without executive approval.

The executive collapsed last month after the Democratic Unionist Party withdrew Paul Givan as first minister.

The DUP has suggested there are other ways to allocate the money without needing it signed off by ministers.

The five main party leaders met for just under 90 minutes on Thursday to discuss what is possible.

There was no breakthrough, but they have agreed to be briefed by officials in the Department of Finance on Friday.

Sinn Féin has called on the DUP to solve the crisis by renominating a first minister and allowing an "extraordinary executive" to take place.

Following the meeting, the party's vice-president Michelle O'Neill said Sinn Féin were "ready to be in the executive".

"I am ready to be in the executive, Conor's ready to be in the executive, all other executive parties are ready to be in that meeting to discuss how we will allocate funding to support families right now," she said.

"We can discuss things up and down but we can't take decisions. It's only the executive that can allocate this funding. That's where we all need to be and that's where we need to be today".

Alliance leader Naomi Long said reforming the executive was the "cleanest and most effective route" and one "least open to legal challenge".

But DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said nominating a first minister, even for the duration of one meeting, will not happen.

The DUP has argued that if there is "political will" and agreement among the parties to allocate the money to departments, it can be done without the need for an executive meeting.

"I want to hear from the Department of Finance tomorrow as we explore the options," Sir Jeffrey said.

"No one has put a specific proposal to me about how this money can be delivered. We need to decide how this money can be delivered to support households in Northern Ireland.

"Might it be through the rates system, that's what I'm putting forward as an idea."

The SDLP is already exploring options at Stormont and Westminster to access the money without an executive in place.

Colum Eastwood said private members legislation could be brought in to solve the issue.

He said: "This is the most important issue facing people right now. There is nothing more urgent than this".

Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie said he would "plead" with Sir Jeffrey to renominate a first minister "even in a limited capacity".

He added this would allow for a budget to be agreed and then if the DUP leader wished he could "collapse" the executive again.

Stormont's Agriculture and Environment Minister Edwin Poots said the lack of an executive "doesn't stop the money being spent".

"The planning of it is more difficult," he continued.

During the meeting, the parties also agreed to be briefed by SDLP assembly member Mark H Durkan on his separate proposal to manage the situation.

He has suggested emergency legislation could be fast-tracked in the assembly to bypass the executive and allow the money to be spent.

Despite the executive's absence, Stormont departments will still be funded in the new financial year.

A rollover budget will be managed by the senior official in the Department of Finance, a mechanism that has previously been used when the executive has collapsed.

However, it means a planned 10% increase for the Department of Health will not happen.

The meeting between executive party leaders - Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Michelle O'Neill, Doug Beattie, Naomi Long and Colum Eastwood - also examined how Northern Ireland could assist refugees fleeing from war in Ukraine and growing fuel costs.

On Thursday, Ms O'Neill posted on social media to explain that a renomination could allow ministers to "agree a budget and allocate the £300m available to struggling families".

Last week, the finance minister, Mr Murphy, said all options to resolve the budget situation had been "legally exhausted".

However Sir Jeffrey Donaldson disputed that all options had been considered.