The Northern Ireland Executive has reached an agreement to allocate approximately £55 million in new funding to address critical pressures in public sector pay and the regional infrastructure network.

The financial package includes £25 million specifically earmarked for pay awards, alongside £29.7 million in capital investment for departmental projects.

The redistribution of funds has been made possible through additional Barnett consequentials from the UK Treasury and identified "easements" or reduced spending requirements from various Stormont departments.

Finance Minister John O'Dowd confirmed that £25 million of resource funding will be split between the health and education sectors. The Department of Health is set to receive £18.3 million to support health service pay costs, while £6.8 million has been designated for the Department of Education to assist with teacher pay.

"At December Monitoring, I committed that if any further funding became available, I would move quickly to allocate this towards public sector pay pressures," Minister O'Dowd stated. "As an Executive we remain fully committed to supporting public sector pay. We have therefore agreed to allocate £25million in additional resource funding towards meeting health service and teacher pay costs." Infrastructure is another primary beneficiary of the deal, with the Department for Infrastructure receiving a £16.8 million capital injection. This includes nearly £17 million for the transport and road network, with a particular focus on repairing potholes and surface damage following recent severe weather.

Further capital allocations include £6.5 million for the Department for Communities to fund home adaptations for people with disabilities, and £6.4 million for the Department of Education to manage general capital pressures. The NI Authority for Utility Regulation will also receive £0.2 million in resource funding to address IT-related costs.

Despite the injection of cash, Minister O'Dowd warned that the figures do not fully resolve the underlying financial strain on local services.

The Minister added: "While additional funding is welcome, it is nowhere on the scale required to meet the challenges facing departments. Our public finances remain extremely constrained this year and going into next year. I remain committed to working in partnership with my Ministerial colleagues to find a way forward on the multi-year budget."

Full breakdown of departmental allocations:

- Department of Health: £18.3 million (Resource)

- Department for Infrastructure: £16.8 million (Capital)

- Department of Education: £6.8 million (Resource) and £6.4 million (Capital)

- Department for Communities: £6.5 million (Capital)

- NI Authority for Utility Regulation: £0.2 million (Resource)