Weekly Bulletin – What you need to know this week…

Executive agrees £700m of October monitoring round allocations

On Monday (11 November), Finance Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald MLA  updated the Assembly on the October monitoring round, allocating £700m in funds. The Department of Health received the largest share of £350m, but Health Minister Mike Nesbitt MLA has warned that the Department remains £100m short of a balanced budget and may struggle to patch UK-wide pay increases. The Department for Education was allocated £170m and the Department of Justice will receive £36m, with the three departments accounting for 92.6% of the general resource allocations. Of £68m in capital investment, £24m was allocated the help enable the delivery of 1,400 houses in this financial year, and £39.6m was allocated to the Department of Infrastructure to help it address constraints in wastewater infrastructure. Inside Housing reports that housing bodies welcomed the announcement, but said there remains a significant gap in the funding necessary to deliver the annual need of 2,200 new homes. Meanwhile, First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA  said the new allocations will relieve pressure but added that one budget would not be enough to “reverse the toxic legacy of austerity”.
What Next: The Finance Minister intends to produce a draft Budget for 2025-26 before Christmas, which will then go out to public consultation to be finalised for the start of the financial year. Dr Archibald said she hopes it will be the “last single budget year”.

Health workers ‘angry’ after pay offer
Health unions have said that a pay deal aimed at preventing industrial action is “totally unacceptable”, the Irish News reports. Health Minister Mike Nesbitt MLA met with the British Medical Association Northern Ireland (BMA NI), Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA), Unison, and Unite trade unions yesterday to discuss a pay award for health workers for 2024/25. The current proposal would see pay backdated to August, but not to April like other parts of the UK. Dr Alan Stout, BMA NI council chair, said “On behalf of all doctors in Northern Ireland, I made it clear this was totally unacceptable”. Minister Nesbitt said that unions had accepted the offer as a “serious proposal”, and that finding a resolution would require an all-Executive approach. He had previously warned that his Department had not been allocated enough money in the October monitoring round to pay health workers, revealing he was £100 million short of the money needed to make pay awards of at least 5.5% to all health staff.
What Next: Health unions are now discussing how to move forward with their members. First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA  said she believed that winter strike action was “not inevitable”.

New electricity links between islands of Britain and Ireland approved
GB’s energy regulator, Ofgem, has given the go ahead for two new electricity links between Britain and the island of Ireland reports BBC News NI. One project will link Scotland and Northern Ireland, while the second will be between Wales and the Republic of Ireland. Ofgem had initially rejected the projects over concerns about costs to consumers in Great Britain. However, its final decision said that was outweighed by improving security of supply. Akshay Kaul, director general for infrastructure at Ofgem, said: “We’ve carefully assessed all the proposed projects and only approved those ones which deliver for consumers in terms of value, viability and energy security.”
What Next: Ofgem has approved a total of five interconnection projects which it said will add between £2 to £5 a year on individual consumer electricity bills in Great Britain over the years 2030 to 2055.

Justin McNulty MLA (SDLP, Newry and Armagh): “3 Civil Engineers at Stormont today all concerned about water and waste water infrastructure capacity & modeling and the impact on stalling construction of housing and on economic development.”

NI businesses “beyond crisis point” over budget
23 business organisations including Hospitality Ulster, Retail NI and a range of Chambers of Commerce Northern Ireland have called on Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald MLA to announce “appropriate rates relief” for NI businesses citing unsustainable cost pressures following the Chancellor’s October Budget which included increases to minimum wage and employers national insurance contributions. The letter warns that escalating costs have left “thousands of businesses” facing closure, with expansion plans and additional employment halted. The Chancellor announced 40% rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England, but the same relief does not apply in NI. A Department of Finance spokesperson responded that £275m of rate relief is already provided to support business reports BBC News NI. They added: “Any support provided for this purpose would need to be considered alongside other priorities with the pressures on the Executive’s finances being well documented”.

Teachers warn of further strike action months after accepting pay increase
Four unions representing the majority of teachers in Northern Ireland have notified Education Minister Paul Givan of their intention to ballot members on reinstating industrial action, the Irish News reports. The unions said management had failed to make a satisfactory pay offer for 2024-25.  Staff in England received a 5.5% pay rise in September. In April, teachers agreed to a pay settlement that increase current teachers’ pay by over 10% and starting salaries rise by 24.3% to £30,000. Education Minister Paul Givan said he was disappointed that teachers may be striking again, saying he had hoped the previous settlement would  “increase stability”. He said any pay increases would be difficult given his Department’s financial pressures. A spokesperson for the unions said that the Minister would need to make a “satisfactory offer” on pay to avoid industrial action.

NI’s renewable energy sector ’employs 6,000 people and worth £1bn’ says report
The renewable energy sector in Northern Ireland currently employs 5,940 people across 13 sub-sectors and has an estimated market value of £929 million, according to a new industry report covered in the Irish News. The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA) report says that renewable energy now provides nearly half of all the UK’s electricity (47%), up from just 15% a decade ago, underscoring the sector’s pivotal role in meeting net zero goals. According to the report, NIs largest employer is the wind sub-sector, which combines offshore and onshore wind jobs, with an estimated employment count of 2,833, followed by biomass with 856 and biofuels with 533. The region’s largest sub-sector by market value is also the wind industry, with an estimated market value of £482m, followed by biomass and biofuels with £112m and £108m respectively.

Electoral Commission: Co-option process removes democratic choice
A report from the Electoral Commission said Northern Ireland’s co-option system of replacing Stormont assembly members and councillors who step down “removes democratic choice and reduces transparency”. Since the last Stormont election in May 2022, 10% of MLAs have been co-opted, including deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, along with 5% of councillors since May 2023. According to BBC News, the report has warned that the issue “is likely to be exacerbated in 2027”, as both the Assembly and local government elections will take place. However, the Electoral Commission also examined voter confidence during the most recent election and found that 85% in NI expressed confidence that elections were being well run.

Concerns about possible Post Office closures across NI as part of a UK-wide cuts
Concerns have been raised about the prospect of central post offices being closed in Bangor, Antrim, Belfast, Derry~Londonderry, and Newtownards as part of a UK-wide cuts, the News Letter reports. The Post Office revealed that it is looking to offload 115 directly managed branches (DMBs) within its 11,500 network, which could see them transferred to retail partners or postmasters, or potentially closed. Northern Ireland politicians have raised concerns about the plans and the effect the closures will have on the communities they serve, in particular the most vulnerable within those communities who rely heavily on these services.  Post Office chairman Nigel Railton has said he wants a “new deal for postmasters” as part of a broad restructuring plan, that would include £120 million in additional pay by the end of the first year. The plans are subject to public funding.

Economy Minister raises key economic issues for NI with UK Government
On Wednesday (13 November), Economy Minister Conor Murphy MLA raised a number of key economic issues with UK Government Ministers during a visit to London. Minister Murphy met with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Minister of State, Lord Phillip Hunt, to discuss achieving Northern Ireland’s net zero targets

Economy Minister launches £4million grant scheme to help businesses innovate
On Thursday (14 November), Economy Minister Conor Murphy MLA launched the Business Innovation Grant (BIG), a new £4.3million initiative designed to help businesses across Northern Ireland embrace innovation and boost productivity and competitiveness. Developed by Invest Northern Ireland and delivered in partnership with Innovate NI, BIG is aimed at micro-businesses, sole traders, and SMEs and will offer grants from £5,000 to £20,000.

Across the Border

Fine Gael out in front as general election campaign continues
With just two weeks to go until polling day in the Irish general election, a poll by Irish Times/Ipsos B&A shows Simon Harris’ Fine Gael leading the pack with 25% support. Their main rivals, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, are tied at 19%. However, Independent candidates, including the newly formed Independent Ireland party, set for significant gains across the country, with their support up 4 points to 20%. Labour leads among the small parties on 5%.

The first 24 hours of the campaign produced the first major gaff, as Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary made some inopportune comments about teachers. Speaking at the campaign launch of Fine Gael Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke, Mr O’Leary said “The Dáil is full of teachers, nothing wrong with teachers I love teachers, I have four children. But I wouldn’t generally employ a lot of teachers to go out and get things done.” Teachers unions called the remarks “outrageous”, “ignorant” and “insulting”, as other parties seized on the comments, and indeed the laughter from the assembled Fine Gael supporters, the Journal writes.

A Daft.ie report showing that average rents increased by 7.2% over the last year put the spotlight on the parties’ plans for the rental sector. Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats pledged a three-year freeze, while Labour said it would freeze rents indefinitely, the Irish Times reports. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil hit back at the opposition proposals, insisting it would lead to a reduced supply of rental properties.

Fianna Fáil and the Green Party have published their election manifestos. Fianna Fáil, the largest party in the outgoing government, have promised to increase the State pension to €350 a week, reduce childcare fees to €200 per month, and create a new Department for Domestic Affairs to take the lead on national security issues, counter-terrorism, cyber-security and migration. The Green Party, the junior coalition partner, want to spend €10 billion to “supercharge” public transport, create a €1.2 billion public buildings retro-fitting fund, and hold a Citizen’s Assembly on a four-day working week.

Delays to wind farms show that planning system needs overhaul
Writing in this week’s Belfast Telegraph  Mark Bain contends major environmental schemes, such as wind farms getting bogged down in Northern Ireland’s planning system, could pose a real obstacle to the region achieving its climate targets. Bain cites the case of Gruggandoo Wind Farm close to Hilltown, Co Down, the application for which was first  submitted in 2015. Upon construction, it would have been one of a number of large-scale schemes, producing enough power to supply almost 30,000 homes and contributing to Northern Ireland’s commitment to 2030’s 80% renewable target he notes. However, the development has been referred by the Department for Infrastructure for a public inquiry, where it sits in a queue behind another application, with two further wind farm developments, submitted as far back as 2020, piling in behind. Gruggandoo’s developer says Northern Ireland’s planning system is one of the biggest hurdles to decarbonising the economy. Bain concludes that the case highlights the “dire need to streamline the planning system across the province” or otherwise risk driving away investment.

Forward Look