Asked about what he will do to help areas affected by flooding, following recent incidents in counties Down and Armagh, John O'Dowd says it is one area he will hold discussions on "over coming days".

This will be on flood defences and "how we ensure we have a planning policy and operations in places that ensures that we are not building new properties in areas that are likely to be flooded".

When asked on Good Morning Ulster if he could give an assurance over the future of free bus and train passes for over-60s, he adds: “I’m starting from the objective that I want to protect that. But that’s going to require support from Executive colleagues.

Infrastructure Minister and Sinn Féin assembly member John O’Dowd says it’s clear that Northern Ireland is “under-funded".

“That engagement starts today… in terms of securing a proper financial package," he tells the BBC.

He says there is a need for discussion on a "proper financial package for this place both in terms of resource and capital”.

John Campbell
BBC News NI economics and business editor

Image source, Getty

In their letter to Sunak the new Executive is effectively saying the financial package announced before Christmas is almost guaranteed to lead to another budget crisis at Stormont unless it is revised.

Ministers therefore want the reopening of negotiations on significant elements, most notably the "fiscal floor".

The fiscal floor is based on the devolved funding model in Wales where it was recognised that demographic differences make it more expensive to deliver services compared to England.

The UK Government agreed that Wales should be funded at 115% of England’s level.

In other words for every £100 per head spent on public services in England, there should be no less than £115 per head for Wales.

The government has also accepted a similar model for NI with per head funding to be set at 124% of England’s level.

Stormont’s ministers say this is too low and has not been subject to robust independent assessment or analysis.

They believe the starting point should be 127% with a case for it to go higher.

The difference may sound small, but over time it would represent billions of pounds of additional funding.

In a letter signed by all the ministers in Northern Ireland’s Executive, they call for a new Northern Ireland funding model to offers “long-term sustainability”.

The government has already pledged to provide a financial package worth £3.3bn to any newly-formed executive at Stormont.

On Sunday, Sunak described the package as "a generous and fair settlement for Northern Ireland".

However, in the letter to the PM, the Executive says the additional funding "will only serve to provide a short-term solution to the pressing issues we now face".

First Minister Michelle O'Neill says how Northern Ireland is funded needs to change, adding she would be "strongly pressing that point" with Sunak.

Stormont’s ruling executive was rendered powerless in February 2022 when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) pulled its first minister out of office in protest over post-Brexit trade rules.

The DUP had objected to a newly-created trade border in the Irish Sea, which meant goods being imported from Great Britain had to be checked at Northern Ireland’s sea ports for EU compliance.

Image source, Getty Images

The DUP argued the checks and the associated paperwork harmed Northern Ireland’s economy and undermined its place as an integral part of the UK.

The party lobbied the UK Government for many months, seeking the abolition of port inspections and a relaxation of rules on goods moving between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Last week, the DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson put the government’s final offer to his party executive, and won their support to take the DUP back into power-sharing government.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives at Stormont joined by Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker Edwin Poots and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris.

Watch the latest developments by clicking the play button at the top of this page.

Sir Jeffrey also rejects any suggestion from First Minister Michelle O'Neill that it's time for a border poll.

"Polling data shows that about 60% of people here support our place in the UK," he says.

"Our population is growing, more of our young people are staying and more are coming back from third level education and I think there is a great future here," he adds.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says more funding is needed and he will be talking to the PM about Northern Ireland's public finances.

"Our priority is the health service and public sector pay awards," the DUP leader continues.

"Northern Ireland is funded below the level of need. We need the government to go a bit further so our finances are in a sound position.

"We have the longest waiting lists in health services in the UK - we need to reform our health service, invest in education, grow the economy and provide childcare support for working families," he says.

Image source, PA Media

The government has already pledged to provide a financial package worth £3.3bn to any newly formed executive at Stormont - but Stormont politicians say this isn't enough.

However, speaking on Good Morning Ulster, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris says the funding package is "fair and generous".

The government has accepted a model for Northern Ireland with per head funding to be set at 124% of England's level.

Stormont's ministers say this is too low and has not been subject to robust independent assessment or analysis.

Heaton-Harris questioned whether the civil servants might be wrong about the higher figure.

“Anything that we do when it comes to public sector funding has to be based on facts and numbers rather than theory," he says.

"So I am sure there will be lots of conversations based on this, but I would like to think they would be based on factual figures."

Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political editor

How quickly the political page has turned.

This time last week we wondered if Stormont had a future - today a restored Executive will begin the battle to cement that future by demanding more money.

Ministers will deliver that message to the PM but they are not expecting a positive response.

Rishi Sunak has also turned a page and will after today shift his focus elsewhere.

He has bigger battles to fight on other fronts now that Northern Ireland in his mind has been sorted.

It has already sucked up too much of the Downing Street bandwidth according to some officials.

Image source, PA

Instead the PM is here to bank a much needed win for his legacy and to tell our politicians to step up to the challenge.

This is Rushi Sunak's seventh visit to Northern Ireland as PM and it may be his last if the polls are right and he loses the general election.

If that is the case he will leave Northern Ireland in a better place than where he found it at the start of his time in office.

But don’t expect him to feel the love today.

We will bring you live developments from BBC output on this page by clicking the link above.

It will include BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio Ulster and coverage of the arrivals of the UK and Irish PMs at Stormont.

Image source, PA

Emma Little-Pengelly from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is the first unionist to hold the position of deputy first minister of Northern Ireland.

A qualified barrister and former MP for Belfast South, she has significant experience of both front-line politics and behind the scenes at Stormont.

She was formerly a special adviser to three DUP first ministers - Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster.

Little-Pengelly grew up in the village of Markethill, County Armagh.

Her father, Noel Little, was arrested in the 1980s for arms trafficking for the loyalist Ulster Resistance group.

She became involved in student politics while studying law at Queen's University Belfast.

Read more about the new deputy fist minister here.

Image source, PA

Michelle O'Neill grew up steeped in the history of Northern Ireland's Troubles.

Born Michelle Doris on 10 January 1977, she was raised in the rural village of Clonoe in County Tyrone and hails from a family of prominent Irish republicans.

Her father was a former IRA prisoner who became a Sinn Féin councillor in the 1980s.

When he stepped down from the council in 2005, Ms O’Neill won his seat and replaced him.

Before her appointment to the most prestigious job in Northern Ireland, she served as deputy first minister for two years from January 2020 to February 2022.

O'Neill also held previous roles as health minister and agriculture minister.

Read more about the new first minister here.

The prime minister, who arrived in Northern Ireland on Sunday evening, is due to meet the newly appointed First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly on Monday.

He will also meet the 10 other politicians who were appointed to ministerial roles on Saturday.

Sunak also has a number of community engagements lined up as part of his schedule.

It is the prime minister's seventh visit to Northern Ireland since he took office in October 2022.

Varadkar will likewise separately meet ministers in the executive. He and Sunak are also expected to hold bilateral talks.

Image source, Reuters

Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly gathered at Stormont on Saturday to elect a new Speaker and appoint 12 ministers to led nine government departments.

Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill acknowledged that she had made history as the first Irish nationalist to be appointed as first minister of Northern Ireland.

In the last assembly election in May 2022, Sinn Féin became the largest party at Stormont for the first time, entitling the party to hold the post.

The County Tyrone woman says her appointment represented "a new dawn" but added that despite her support for a united Ireland, she would "serve everyone equally".

Welcome to BBC News NI’s coverage of the visit of Prime Minster Rishi Sunak and Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar.

They’ve come to Northern Ireland to mark the return of devolution.

Stormont’s government was restored on Saturday, exactly two years to the day that power sharing collapsed as the result of a boycott by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Northern Ireland now has a new ruling executive led by First Minister Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin - she is the first Irish nationalist to hold the post.

Stay with us for the latest updates as the PM meets the new Stormont ministers.