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Boris Johnson has met Stormont\u2019s newly-appointed leaders for talks set to focus on how much the Government will stump up to support the return of devolution.<\/p>\nBoris Johnson has met Stormont\u2019s newly-appointed leaders for talks set to focus on how much the Government will stump up to support the return of devolution.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister was greeted by DUP First Minister Arlene Foster and Sinn F\u00e9in deputy First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill outside Stormont Castle in Belfast.<\/p>\n
As they posed for photographs Mr Johnson shook hands with Ms O\u2019Neill and Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith shook hands with Ms Foster.<\/p>\n
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is also due at Stormont on Monday as he and Mr Johnson mark the resurrection of the institutions after a three-year political impasse.<\/p>\n
Ahead of Mr Johnson\u2019s arrival, a Stormont minister said he expected the Government to deliver at least \u00a32 billion to support the power-sharing deal.<\/p>\n
DUP agriculture minister Edwin Poots warned that the money could come with \u201cstrings attached\u201d, potentially by way of a commitment from the executive to raise extra revenue through the introduction of water charges or a hike in rates bills.<\/p>\n
The UK government made a series of financial promises as part of efforts to get the \u201cNew Decade, New Approach\u201d agreement over the line.<\/p>\n
Mr Smith, who helped broker the deal, pledged major investment to alleviate problems in the region\u2019s struggling public services, but declined to confirm the sums involved until a devolution was restored.<\/p>\n
Ministers are now keen to get those figures nailed down.<\/p>\n
Mr Poots said he not wanted to get into precise figures but he was anticipating the quantum to be in the billions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was with Julian Smith (during the talks) and he didn\u2019t want to be tied down to a particular figure but we were working off identified needs and they were seeking to ascertain what it was actually going to take to meet those identified needs,\u201d he told BBC Radio Ulster\u2019s Nolan Show.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he didn\u2019t want to make any promise on a figure and I said all you have to say is \u2018billions\u2019 and, of course, that would be at least two billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would hope those are the ball parks we are in, that we are actually looking at billions of pounds over the course of the next number of years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey may well come with some strings attached to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, for example, and I don\u2019t know this, but I wouldn\u2019t be at all surprised if they do press us to raise rates at a higher level and we do something in terms of water rates and all of that \u2013 those may be pressures that are applied by the Treasury and we will have to wait and see if that is the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
His comments come amid media reports that the Government could be poised to announce a \u00a32 billion package.<\/p>\n
However, a Number 10 source described the \u00a32bn figure as \u201cjust speculation\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Irish government has also made financial pledges within the agreement to honor commitments to part-fund some north\/south projects, such as the A5 dual carriageway and a redevelopment of the Ulster canal system.<\/p>\n
Stormont\u2019s new finance minister Conor Murphy said it was time for the administrations in London and Dublin to deliver their \u201cambitious commitments\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe local parties have done their part by restoring the power-sharing executive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two governments must now honor their pledge and provide the funding needed to deliver on the New Decade, New Approach document.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson said discussions at Stormont would focus on how the executive intended to take forward \u201ccritical reforms\u201d to public services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an historic time for the people of Northern Ireland,\u201d he said ahead of the visit.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter three years, Stormont is open for business again with an executive who can now move forward with improving people\u2019s lives and delivering for all communities in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look forward to meeting with the new executive and hearing about their plans for the future \u2013 including driving forward much-needed reforms to public services and resolving the current health strike.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next decade will be an incredible time of opportunity for Northern Ireland and the whole of the United Kingdom as we come together to unleash the potential of our four nations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ministers will need to hit the ground running to tackle a host of acute problems facing a public sector that has been floundering amid the 36-month governance vacuum.<\/p>\n
Top of the executive\u2019s in-tray is an industrial dispute in the health service that has seen nurses take strike action on three occasions in the last month.<\/p>\n
Under the terms of the deal, the new Executive will also take action to reduce spiraling hospital waiting lists; extend mitigation payments for benefit claimants hit by welfare reforms; increase the number of police officers on the beat; and resolve an industrial dispute involving teachers.<\/p>\n
The last DUP\/Sinn F\u00e9in-led coalition government collapsed in January 2017 over a row about a botched green energy scheme.<\/p>\n
That row subsequently widened to take in more traditional wrangles on matters such as the Irish language and the thorny legacy of the Troubles.<\/p>\n