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Northern Ireland faces a \u201cvery severe\u201d recession following the coronavirus crisis, Stormont\u2019s finance minister has warned.<\/p>\nNorthern Ireland faces a \u201cvery severe\u201d recession following the coronavirus crisis, Stormont\u2019s finance minister has warned.<\/p>\n
Conor Murphy described the post-pandemic landscape as featuring \u201cmajor challenges\u201d including the UK\u2019s departure from the EU.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland has taken its initial steps out of the Covid-19 lockdown, with the reopening of garden centers, churches for private prayer, and golf courses.<\/p>\n
However many businesses will not be permitted to reopen until later in the year.<\/p>\n
The Executive has published a five-stage plan for recovery, but this does not give indicative dates.<\/p>\n
Mr Murphy said he recognizes it is \u201cinevitable we will have damage\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognize inevitably businesses will suffer and jobs may go, but we\u2019re obviously trying to mitigate against that as best we possibly can,\u201d he told the BBC.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it is going to be very severe (a post-pandemic recession), and what we have to take into account is the impact of Brexit \u2013 that was something that was always going to be very economically challenging for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognize there are a number of very serious challenges ahead, challenges that will last for some time, and what we want to do is try and support business to meet those challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are very real challenges ahead. The Executive, when it reformed in January, was going to face a very challenging time politically, economically, in terms of support for public services because of the years of austerity budgets, but that\u2019s all been greatly increased because of the situation we are facing at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Murphy said he is \u201cbringing a process\u201d to the Assembly on Tuesday to approve additional funding for some departments, after four\/five departments \u201cspent more than we can them cover for\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, he said, in other areas departments are spending less money than anticipated, such as on capital projects where building work has stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have also asked departments to undertake a reprioritization exercise to let us know monies that they aren\u2019t spending so that we can collectively, as an Executive, have a look at that and make sure the recovery plan we intend to put in place, that we will be discussing this week, will have resource to go along with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n