Peter Robinson warns assembly could collapse over welfare powers

First Minister Peter Robinson has warned that the Stormont Assembly could collapse next week if welfare reform is not agreed.

Social Development Minister Mervyn Storey will bring the Welfare Reform Bill back to the assembly next week, alongside a new implementation plan.

But Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy said this was "a mistake".

He said his party was already exploring a petition of concern to block the bill.

Mr Robinson said if the bill is not passed he will ask the secretary of state to take control of welfare.

If she refuses to do so, the devolved institutions are likely to collapse.

However, Mr Murphy said the proposal that Theresa Villiers could take control of welfare powers would be "unacceptable" to Sinn Féin.

Analysis: BBC NI political correspondent Gareth Gordon

In the politics of Stormont, the next crisis is just around the corner. Or make that next week.

If the DUP carries out the threat to bring the welfare bill back to the assembly then it will surely fall, short of a Sinn Féin about-turn of mammoth proportions.

What the secretary of state will do is less clear. Taking control of welfare, as Peter Robinson wants, is unlikely to be her first choice.

Her meetings with the party leaders this week could be fraught, And possibly fruitless as well.

This may still drag on and on.

In the short term, the head of the civil service could direct that an emergency budget be drawn up of up to 95% of the real budget.

But that is a sticking plaster. Short of political agreement, of the Stormont House variety or something else, the prospects for Stormont look bleak.

Mr Robinson said the welfare reform issue had "run out of road" and was making Stormont's finances unsustainable.

He said the implementation plan being produced by the social development minister could be "tweaked" by the other Stormont parties.

However, he added that Sinn Féin's continuing insistence that all current and future claimants should not lose out was "an impossible ask".

He said the welfare bill could be debated on Tuesday, and if it fails to pass he would formally ask the secretary of state to take back welfare powers or to legislate.

He added that if the assembly was to collapse, Westminster would still have to legislate for welfare reform in Northern Ireland.

Finance Minister Arlene Foster said she will also produce a budget that would show how each Stormont department would be impacted if welfare reform is not passed.

Mrs Foster has already said failure to agree will open up a £500m hole in the budget as it would prevent the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement.

Theresa Villiers said she would be meeting the parties this week to try to find a solution.

"I've said repeatedly that it's crucial the parties resolve the welfare reform impasse and press ahead with implementing the Stormont House Agreement, which includes putting the executive's finances back on a sustainable footing for the future."

She added: "The consequences of the executive not being able to meet its commitments could put the institutions at risk, which is in no-one's interests."