Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey says budget pressures in the North stem from the British Government’s failure to deliver a fair, needs-based funding deal.

Deirdre Hargey has argued that the Executive’s budget problems are inseparable from Westminster’s approach to financing, insisting a fair and sustainable settlement is required to protect key services.

The South Belfast MLA said: “The Independent Fiscal Council has provided clear evidence that the North should be funded according to our level of need. If we were funded above our level of need to the same degree as Wales and Scotland, the Executive would receive approximately £1-3 billion more each year.

“While the Executive must make responsible choices with the resources available, those choices are being made within a financial framework imposed by Westminster. "Our health service, schools and public services are under enormous pressure, and people are feeling the impact of years of underinvestment and austerity.

"We need a funding model that is fair, sustainable, transparent and genuinely based on need.

“The British Government cannot recognise that the North has greater relative need and then expect our Executive to deliver more with less.

“Sinn Féin will continue to argue for a long-term fiscal framework that gives the Executive the certainty to invest, transform public services and tackle the infrastructure deficit, rather than constantly managing from crisis to crisis.

“Our communities deserve properly funded health, education and public services. They deserve the same opportunities as people anywhere else on these islands.

“Ultimately, the limitations imposed by Westminster demonstrate why we need to build towards a future where we have the full financial powers to invest in and transform our public services and create a thriving economy.”