Additional funding will avoid public services cliff-edge in Northern Ireland, says John O'Dowd

Additional money for public services in Northern Ireland will avoid a potential funding 'cliff-edge', Stormont's Finance Minister John O'Dowd has said.
Mr O'Dowd said he had reached an agreement with the Treasury over an additional £600 million to support public services in the region.
He said it brought the total extra funding provided for the region to £1.3 billion.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said the Northern Ireland Executive will 'receive the largest real-term settlement since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement' following the Government's spending review.
He added: 'The Executive will be receiving over 24% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the United Kingdom.
'That means the Executive will be receiving £19.3 billion per year on average between 2026-27 and 2028-29 with an average extra £1.2 billion through the Barnett formula per year, made up of £1 billion of day-to-day spending and £220 million of capital for that four-year period.'
Mr Jones said there would also be additional funding of £137 million over three years to tackle paramilitarism and organised crime, £11 million over three years to fund community development projects, £310 million over four years for city and growth deals and £185 million over three years for public service transformation and £2 million for integrated education.
Mr O'Dowd said agreement had been reached with the Treasury after months of negotiations.
He said: 'It will deliver an additional £600 million of funding provided for vital public services here.
'This will enable the Executive to take a long-term strategic approach to public service delivery.
'It helps avoid the potential cliff-edge in public funding that could have occurred when the restoration financial package comes to an end and the resulting damage this would have done to frontline public services.'
Mr O'Dowd said the Treasury had agreed to exclude £329 million of agriculture funding from the relative funding calculation for Northern Ireland.
He said: 'Without this agreement the Executive would have received £600 million less in funding over the spending review period.
'The agreement we have reached with Treasury will see us funded above 124% excluding agriculture between 2026-27 and 2028-29.
'The inclusion of agriculture and non-Barnett funding increases this to 128%.'
Mr O'Dowd added: 'Since taking up the role of Finance Minister I have consistently said I would do everything in my power to ensure our public services are fairly and properly funded.
'This agreement will see £600 million more for public services over the spending review period, providing additional investment in the services that we all rely on and delivers on my commitment to support workers, families and communities.'
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said the spending review had failed to deliver for working people in Northern Ireland.
He said: 'Once again, the British government has shown that its economic agenda is incapable of delivering for ordinary people.'
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