Talks to restore Stormont are over

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has said talks aimed at restoring devolved government at Stormont are now over.

He said it was “now time for decisions” and that more than £3.3bn was available for the return of the executive.

He was speaking after financial talks and separate negotiations with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) over the Windsor Framework.

The tánaiste said the DUP’s Stormont boycott was a “denial of democracy”.

Micheál Martin, the Irish deputy prime minister, added that the stance of DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s party was “disappointing”.

The Irish government is due to meet Mr Heaton-Harris this week, Mr Martin said.

Mr Heaton Harris said it was the final offer, at a press conference at Hillsborough Castle.

The talks have been taking place in a background of rising hospital waiting lists and ongoing strikes by public transport workers, teachers and NHS staff.

Mr Heaton-Harris said the financial package includes £584m to address public sector pay issues and “reasonably and generously” responds to the Northern Ireland parties’ concerns.

“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,” he told reporters.

“However, this package is on the table and will remain there, available on day one of an incoming Northern Ireland Executive to take up.”

He said by raising the offer of additional cash he was “not trying to put undue pressure on anyone or any party in any way”.

Mr Heaton-Harris said there was “no deadline” regarding the deal and that he would be in NI over Christmas if parties wished to speak to him.

On Monday, a pre-Christmas deal to restore Stormont was ruled out by the DUP.

Northern Ireland’s largest unionist party has been boycotting devolved government at Stormont for 22 months, in protest against post-Brexit trade arrangements..

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said there was still not a “basis to deliver the financial stability Northern Ireland needs”.

He said he was “very clear” there was no agreement with the government over the post-Brexit deal known as the Windsor Framework.

Despite Mr Heaton-Harris saying the talks were over, Sir Jeffrey said he had not been told this.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said it was “very regrettable” that no decision has been made by the DUP to restore Stormont and the public will be “bitterly disappointed”.

“The work is done. The decision has to be taken to recall the Assembly,” she added.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said the meeting with Mr Heaton-Harris on Tuesday morning was “useful” and that the new financial package was “much better”.

Mrs Long added that now that the Northern Ireland secretary said the Windsor Framework talks had concluded, the ball was “vey firmly in the DUP’s court”.

Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said the £3.3bn offer from the government was a “good financial package” and now it was “up to the DUP to make a decision”.

Mr Beattie added that pay deals for public sector workers “should be taken out of this process” and delivered before Christmas.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said that now is the time for parties to close a deal to restore devolution to deal with issues including public sector pay and public services.

He said people are “worried about their wages, they’re worried about family members still waiting for hospital treatment and they’re worried about the collapse of public services that we all rely on”.

Micheál Martin, who is also Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs, said it was a “denial of democracy” because it has been “18 months now since the election” and that it has become difficult financially for the civil service to manage in areas like health and education.

“It’s very serious, and whether it actually does come around in the first or second week in January remains to be seen,” he added.

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister has called on the details of the deal between the DUP and the government on the Windsor Framework to be published.

To end or not to end; that’s really the question we’re left asking now.

The government, Sinn Féin and other parties say talks are over and that it’s solely over to the DUP now.

The DUP maintains it’s not ready to finish talking yet though it’s obvious the substantive negotiations are at an end.

It was clear from Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s press conference that he wasn’t happy with the secretary of state’s declaration at the podium.

The government has upped the ante by improving its financial offer though with no deadline things are set to drift into the new year.

The year 2023 will end as it began with the lights on at Stormont but nobody home.

Remember, 18 January is the date by which the government is obliged to call another election if things aren’t sorted by then.

Chris Heaton-Harris’s New Year’s resolution will surely be to avoid that.

But will it match the DUP’s?

A consortium of business organisations has expressed support for the political parties’ demand that a new funding arrangement for Stormont should be backdated.

The government has offered to implement a new “fiscal floor” from 2024 which would guarantee funding per head would be set at 124% of the level in England.

The Northern Ireland Business Alliance has told the government that should be backdated to the start of the current spending review period which began in 2021.

It is also calling for a “short, sharp independent of review public spending”.

The alliance includes the Northern Ireland Chamber, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Institute of Directors.

The DUP pulled its first minister out of Stormont’s power-sharing executive in February 2022 in protest over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The protocol was introduced post-Brexit to prevent the need for goods checks along the border between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, which is an EU member state.

Earlier this year, the trade rules contained in the protocol were eased by the Windsor Framework – a new deal negotiated by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with the EU.

The DUP said it did not go far enough and has been in closed talks with the government for months over further changes it wants to the framework.

The party believes the current rules, which include additional checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, are damaging to the economy and undermine Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.

Sir Jeffrey has also asked for new legislation to “safeguard and protect Northern Ireland’s ability to trade within the United Kingdom”.

Last week, Mr Sunak said the government stood ready to legislate to “protect” Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market.

Stormont’s overspend will be written off if devolution returns and the executive produces a fiscal sustainability plan.

The overspend over the past two financial years has amounted to almost £560m.

Repayment will initially be deferred for two years to give an executive time to prepare a plan.

It is part of the £3.3bn “final offer” from the government.

The package also includes £584m to settle public sector pay claims, £34m for tackling hospital waiting lists and £15m to help the Police Service of Northern Ireland with the impact of a major data breach.

You can read more about Stormont’s overspend here.

— Reports /TrainViral/