Any threat to collapse Stormont must be removed, Conor Murphy has said.
Northern Ireland’s Minister for Finance outlined an already challenging timetable to get the next budget passed before the institutions are dissolved for fresh elections at the end of March.
However, there is speculation the Stormont Assembly could be effectively collapsed sooner if DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson acts on his threat to withdraw ministers from the Executive over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Mr Donaldson has repeatedly threatened to take action if major changes to the Brexit protocol governing Irish Sea trade are not secured.
Mr Murphy said “any threat to collapse the institutions must be removed”.
'Cynical in the extreme'
The draft budget, currently out for consultation, is among outstanding legislation to be passed by the Assembly before this mandate ends.
It is the first three-year budget for several years, which the Minister said would allow departments to plan.
“I think it would be cynical in the extreme to deny those people the opportunity to get that level of support,” he said.
“We are a short distance from the end of this mandate and there is a lot of work to be done both in this chamber and in the Executive, and we need to conclude that work.”
He said in a “worst case scenario”, the permanent secretary of his department would ensure funding continued but could only do so at a “limited level.
“It doesn’t give anywhere near the level of certainty to an awful lot of organisations who depend on it, and given we have a three-year budget to put in place, that is an opportunity to give certainty and allow for planning into the future.”
Mr Murphy said when the consultation ends on March 7, he will bring a further paper to the Executive outlining responses and seeking agreement on a final budget.
“There is a legislative requirement for a budget to be in place before the beginning of the next financial year, and it is therefore imperative that a draft budget is agreed by the Executive ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections,” he said.
“Such an agreement would allow departments to plan and deliver services appropriately providing public services the stability that is afforded by a three-year budget settlement.
“I am under no illusion the timetable is challenging, and it will be important for the Executive to work collectively in agreeing a budget.”
Meanwhile, Mr Murphy also told MLAs that further rate relief in the new financial year is being examined.
He said business is “starting to return again” following measures introduced during the coronavirus pandemic, but warned: “We are a long way short of where we want to be.”
“Thankfully business is starting to return again, although we’re still a long way short of where we want to be, and we still have some journey to go to get out of the pandemic completely,” he said.
“We are looking at packages in terms of rate relief across a range of businesses.
“It won’t be at the same level that we were able to provide with the additional Covid money we had during the pandemic, but we’ll continue to try and support those businesses who will continue to struggle as we emerge back into, hopefully, full economic recovery.”
