Latest news with #JohnODowd
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Casement Park: Government says funding will not have to be repaid
The government has confirmed that the £50m funding it pledged for the development of Casement Park in Belfast will not have to be followed questions raised in the Assembly by the DUP after it emerged the funding was allocated under a mechanism which allows for the money to be process is known as Financial Transactions Capital and when questioned in the chamber today Finance Minister John O'Dowd said the details were still being worked also raised the prospect of money being in a statement a government spokesperson said it was providing the £50m as an "equity stake" rather than a loan. The money came as part of the chancellor's Spending Review, which allocates money to day-to-day public services for the next three the west Belfast stadium is estimated to cost about £260m - of which £120m is jointly in place from the Stormont Executive, the Irish government and the is still a shortfall of about £90m.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Abandoned 34,500-seater football stadium that had been tipped to host Euro 2028 matches lands £50m towards restoration
AN abandoned stadium that was set to host Euro 2028 matches has received a huge boost over its future. The major tournament was set to be hosted by the Republic of Ireland and the four home nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 3 3 3 Belfast's Casement Park was initially selected as among the stadiums to host games amid plans to rebuild the ground to a 34,000 capacity. But it has since been axed from Euro 2028 due to funding issues and Northern Ireland will no longer be a host nation. Despite that, redevelopment of Casement Park is still going ahead and the government have confirmed that they are making a £50million contribution to the project. But there is still a £90m shortfall as Stormont chiefs and the Gaelic Athletic Association can only find £120m of the £260m required. Northern Ireland's finance minister John O'Dowd welcomed the government's backing and encouraged everyone to "now work together" to get the stadium built. Casement Park shut down in 2013 and has since been left abandoned. Incredible photos show the stands rotting and the pitch overgrown. The ground welcomed 31,000 supporters back in its pomp for hurling and Gaelic football matches. The derelict site has received planning permission to be modernised and early demolition work has begun. But some have called for the proposed design to be axed to allow for a cheaper build to be made. Northern Ireland currently play their home games at the 18,500-seater Windsor Park. Uefa require all grounds for major tournaments to be able to hold 30,000 fans. The Irish FA have ruled out expanding Windsor Park.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Spending Review 2025: What's next for Northern Ireland?
Wednesday's UK Spending Review means Stormont ministers now know the rough size of their budget in the two years before the next assembly 2026, they will have about £16.3bn for day-to-day spending, up by about 2% in cash terms compared to this will initially rise by another 3% in cash terms in 2027 to £ Minister John O'Dowd did not waste any time in managing expectations about what this means. "The reality is the executive will still remain in a financially constrained position, particularly in 2026-27," he said."It is clear that significant challenges remain for our public services."Those challenges were obvious on the streets of Northern Ireland this week. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), which the chief constable says is "critically underfunded", had to ask for outside help after just two nights of violence. Justice Minister Naomi Long is bidding for funding for a policing recovery plan, which is one of many competing in the week, the independent budget watchdog, the NI Fiscal Council, warned there were no easy answers to the chronic underfunding of NI Water.A lack of investment in wastewater infrastructure is already undermining other executive aims to increase housing supply and tackle pollution. A 'needs-based' top-up for Stormont The Spending Review confirmed that for the foreseeable future Stormont will continue to get a "needs-based" financial was introduced when devolution returned last year and adds 24p to every £1 which comes to Northern Ireland via the standard devolution funding formula.A bid to increase the size of the top-up was not successful, though negotiations between Stormont and the Treasury with no immediate prospect of significant additional funds from London executive ministers will need to look again at how they spend what they have.A more stable Stormont means makes a strategic approach relatively intention is to use the Spending Review as an opportunity to agree a multi-year budget next year, the first time that will have happened in more than a decade. The Audit Office, a spending watchdog, has previously concluded that single-year budgets were hampering planning and innovation across NI public services."The executive now needs to move away from single-year, crisis budgets and take more ownership of its own financial position," said Ann Watt, director of the Pivotal think tank."A multi-year settlement provides a chance for ministers to plan for the next three years, and choose how best to prioritise spending, investment, reform and workforce planning."However she warned that a multi-year budget on its own will come nowhere near to solving the problems in NI public services."Transformation is essential," she said."This is the only way that services can be made sustainable and affordable for now and the future."A focus on prevention and early intervention is key."Some relative minor transformation projects are underway, funded by the financial package which accompanied the return of is probably only a limited window to start bolder, perhaps controversial, projects before the Stormont parties start to move into election mode in the second half of next year.
The Independent
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Additional funding will avoid public services cliff-edge, says 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.'
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Casement Park in Spending Review: Will UK government announce funding?
The government will announce later on Wednesday whether it will make a financial contribution towards the redevelopment of Casement the west Belfast stadium is estimated to cost about £260m - of which £120m in funding is jointly in place from the Stormont Executive, the Irish government and the has been building on the government to make a decision, which is now anticipated as part of the Spending review will allocate money to day-to-day public services for the next three years. It will also set infrastructure budgets for the next four review will directly affect what Stormont ministers have to spend on public services in Northern are also expected to find out if they have succeeded in persuading the Treasury that Stormont's finances require a more generous "needs-based" top-up. Last week, Finance Minister John O'Dowd said he believed the Treasury was in "solution-finding mode" when it came to reaching agreement on funding for Casement Park. Days later, a senior figure in the GAA said the association was "cautiously optimistic" that an announcement on funding was coming this Stormont executive is contributing £62.5m to the project, the GAA will pay £15m, while the Irish government has pledged about £ GAA has acknowledged it will need to increase its commitment."We are prepared to step up. It would be premature to start mentioning figures here. I think it will be higher than £15m", said Stephen McGeehan, the project lead for the stadium Park, with a proposed 34,500 capacity, had been earmarked to host football games at the Euro 2028 football tournament but, with the project on hold, the plan was shelved. Stormont's Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has defended his handling of the planned Casement redevelopment and insisted the hold-up is not his has said the GAA will need to make its plans for the stadium more affordable if the government fails to cover the gap for the current proposed rebuild."What we do need to make sure is that any additional public funding that comes forward for sport is done on a fair and equitable basis," he said. Could Stormont get a bigger top-up? When devolution was restored in 2024, Stormont ministers persuaded the Treasury that Northern Ireland's public services were being funded below an objective level of a result any additional funding Stormont gets from Westminster now comes with a top-up - an additional 24p for every will be worth more than £800m over five years, the independent Fiscal Council has Treasury also left the door open for a bigger top-up if there was credible, independent evidence to support ministers believe they have provided that evidence in the form of an analysis by the devolution finance expert Prof Gerry Treasury's response to that will come as Chancellor Rachel Reeves lays out the government's Spending Review in the Commons on Wednesday afternoon.
