The UK government has made a fresh offer of £3.3bn to Northern Ireland’s budget in a bid to get the devolved administration up and running again.
There has been no executive at Stormont for almost two years after the DUP collapsed power-sharing, saying this was in response to the post-Brexit trade deal put in place by Westminster which effectively put a trade border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
The unionist party’s refusal to take part in an executive – required under the Good Friday Agreement – also came after the republican Sinn Fein party became the largest in the nation for the first, overtaking the DUP.
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Since the election in May 2022, there has been no elected government in Northern Ireland – despite Rishi Sunak’s attempts to solve the post-Brexit issues with his Windsor framework agreed with the European Union.
The UK government has been trying to restore power-sharing through various negotiations – both with the DUP and with political parties in Belfast as a whole.
A resolution is not expected to be reached in either set of talks this year, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has said.
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Today’s offer to increase the nation’s budget by £3.3bn over five years is an increase from a previous proposal worth £2.5bn.
There is no deadline for the offer.
The DUP’s leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, said that progress has been made and his party is still trying to fight for the best deal.
