NI economy: £45m allocated to teachers' pay, housing and transport

Northern Ireland Finance Minister Conor Murphy has announced £45m of funding for teachers' pay, the Housing Executive, Translink and the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA).

The £45m comes from remaining resources for 2021-22, the Department of Finance said.

It still leaves £50m to carry-forward into 2022-23.

Mr Murphy said the move "steps outside the normal processes to allocate funding without executive approval".

However, the minister added that he had considered the matter at length and felt it would be "unforgivable if funding that could be used to support local people and services was returned to the Treasury because of the absence of an executive".

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He said he had sought legal advice on the options available to address the unallocated funding and sought the views of ministers.

He said he was allocating the money to the departments that had sought further funding.

Where will the money go?

• The Department for Infrastructure will receive £16m to provide additional funding for Translink and address increased energy costs and a reduction in testing income for DVA

• The Department for Communities will receive £16m for the Housing Executive for the implementation of the Tower Block Action Plan and Thermal Insulation Programmes

• And the Department of Education will receive £13m, meeting its request in full for teaching pay pressures

"Following these allocations and additional funding received from Treasury relating to the Council Tax rebate and the repayable energy discount, there is at least £300 million of additional funding next year, over and above the draft budget position," said Mr Murphy.

"The legal advice I have received is clear that, regrettably, it is not possible to allocate this funding until such times as an executive is re-established," he added.

Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey said the extra money would allow the Housing Executive to "ensure that tenants have warmer homes, resulting in more comfortable, healthier living conditions and lower heating bills".

She said the money would also help replace inefficient, poorly insulated tower blocks with "new modern, energy efficient homes" to meet the needs of tenants, applicants and the local community.