A union representing senior Public Servants has called for a law change allowing United Kingdom Ministerial directions to be given to Northern Ireland Heads of Departments as the political crisis in the Province enters its 11th month.
General Secretary of the FDA union, Dave Penman has written to Northern Ireland Secretary at Westminster, Chris Heaton-Harris saying senior staff in the Province’s Public Service were being put in an invidious position because of the lack of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive.
Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held last May, but the Democratic Unionist Party has refused to re-join the power-sharing arrangement with Sinn Féin in protest over the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiated between the UK Government and the European Union.
The Northern Ireland (Executive Functions) Act 2022 allows senior officers in Northern Ireland’s Departments to exercise functions without the direction and control of a Minister.
However, Mr Penman said the tough 2023-24 spending constraints that are expected to be imposed from Westminster would cross a line.
Conor Murphy of Sinn Féin, the Minister of Finance in the last functioning Executive, said he expected a “most hard and tough Budget” from Westminster.
With no Ministers in place, it is up to Mr Heaton-Harris (pictured) to set the Budget.
The Northern Ireland Secretary warned the Budget would be tough, but denied it was a punishment. He said he would be setting the Budget “fairly soon”.
After a meeting with Head of the Province’s Public Service, Jayne Brady, Mr Murphy said the budget should have been set ahead of the new financial year, which began in April and that Departments had been left in limbo.
Meanwhile, a pay award has been announced for a number of the Province’s Public Servants.
The award, which amounts to an increase of £552 ($A1,027), will apply to non-industrial staff and will be backdated to last August.
Lowest-paid staff will also see their pay increase to the Living Wage Foundation rate of £10.90 ($A20.29) an hour.
Talks with unions representing industrial staff are continuing.
The pay award will be funded from within existing Departmental budgets and will cost around £25 million ($A46.5 million).
Belfast, 6 April 2023
