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The Stormont Executive has agreed a £266 million funding package including £104 million towards public sector pay awards and £162 million for capital allocations covering social housing, health and education.
Finance Minister John O'Dowd updated the Assembly on the funding agreed yesterday 9 December as part of the December monitoring round, confirming that £104 million will support pay awards for health workers, police, teachers and infrastructure workers, alongside a previous commitment of £7 million towards PSNI workforce recovery costs.
"The allocations agreed today will make a positive difference to citizens across society," said Minister O'Dowd. "These allocations demonstrate the priority the Executive attaches to our public sector workers and the role they play in the delivery of our public services."
The capital allocations represent investment across a wide range of public services and infrastructure. Over £59 million will be directed towards water services, road maintenance and safety improvements, and rail projects, including funding for new trains and track investment for the Enterprise Cross Border Service. Almost £30 million is being allocated to deliver more social housing, whilst over £25 million will be invested in IT and the health estate.
Education will receive £22 million including funding for Irish-Medium facilities and accommodation, with a further £12.6 million for Higher Education and Further Education.
"The Capital allocations announced today represent a major investment that will deliver real improvements across a wide range of public services and infrastructure," Minister O'Dowd said. "These capital allocations reflect our Programme for Government commitment to Doing What Matters Most by investing in health, education, infrastructure and housing. These investments will provide a significant boost to the construction industry and local economy by creating and sustaining jobs."
Allocations for Departments
- Department for Communities - £42.4 million Capital
- Department of Education - £25.6 million Resource and £22.0 million Capital
- Department for the Economy - £12.6 million Capital
- Department of Health - £69.3 million Resource and £25.2 million Capital
- Department for Infrastructure - £4.6 million Resource and £59.8 million Capital
- Department of Justice - £11.6 million Resource
Following the conclusion of the December monitoring round, Minister O'Dowd confirmed his next step will be bringing forward the multi-year budget to the Executive, which will give departments the certainty needed to plan on a longer-term, more strategic basis and transform public services for the years ahead.
