Stormont parties called to talks to address NI finances

Chris Heaton-Harris said last week the government's talks with the DUP were in their final stages

Stormont's largest parties have been called to roundtable talks with the secretary of state next week to address NI finances, BBC News NI understands.

It comes as speculation continues over whether the DUP and government will strike a deal to restore power-sharing.

The party has been boycotting devolution since February 2022 over post-Brexit trade arrangements.

Last week NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said talks with the DUP were in the "final, final stages".

The Windsor Framework was struck by the UK government and EU earlier this year in an effort to address unionists' concerns with post-Brexit rules agreed under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

But the DUP wants further legal assurances of Northern Ireland's place within the UK internal market.

The DUP has been engaged in separate discussions with the government for months.

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At the weekend Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill said she had written to the secretary of state asking for him to bring that process to an end and restore an executive as quickly as possible.

The Northern Ireland Office has now extended an invitation to the five largest parties to hold talks at Hillsborough Castle on Monday.

While the invite relates to the future of Northern Ireland's finances, parties are likely to look for clarity about where discussions are at to get power-sharing restored.

It is up to the secretary of state to set a budget for Northern Ireland while there is no executive.

Mr Heaton-Harris did so for 2023/24 back in April but it saw Stormont departments facing difficult decisions and having to implement some cuts.

'Gravity' of financial situation

The secretary of state has also been urged by various health, education and transport unions to take action on pay awards in recent months.

He maintains he does not have powers to act in this area, and in recent weeks different unions have gone on strike or notified the public of upcoming strike action.

Michelle O'Neill called for an immediate end to the "prolonged negotiations" between the government and the DUP

In a statement on Thursday, Ms O'Neill said her party would attend the Hillsborough Castle talks on Monday.

However, she added that the dialogue on Stormont's finances "must be concluded within days and the institutions immediately restored".

She said her letter to Mr Heaton-Harris had emphasised "the gravity of the current situation and the imperative for him to take urgent action".

Ms O'Neill also called on him to "immediately bring an end to the protracted and prolonged negotiations between the British Government and the DUP".

"We stand ready to engage on the budgetary challenges devastating our public services which demand proper financial resources from the British government to address the fact we are underfunded."