Budget: Hilary Benn says 'we have given considerable amount of money to Northern Ireland - it has power to raise more itself'
Northern Ireland must “live within its means,” the Northern Ireland secretary has said, adding that “if it wants more funds, it can seek to raise them”.
Hilary Benn made the comments while speaking to the press today in the wake of the budget.
He was asked by the News Letter about the fact the extra £370m pledge for the Province will not nearly cover Northern Ireland's spending gap: should politicians here renew their focus on looking to raise more money locally?
“If Northern Ireland wants to find more money to fund the things that it thinks are important, it does have the means to do so in its own hands,” he said.
“It is a decision for them, but in the end, they are going to have to balance their budget.”
Would he like to see them take that decision, though?
“Well, I would encourage them to think about it,” he said. “I've talked about it before in the past, but it is their choice.
“But if they come to the government say ‘we haven't got enough money to do what we want, can you give us more?’, the point I'm making is we've given a considerable amount of money to the Northern Ireland Executive.
“If you want more funds, the means is in your own hands to take the decision to raise more funds...”
He added: “Northern Ireland, like any other government, is going to have to live within its means, and it needs to produce a balance.
“And if it wants more funds, it can seek to raise them.”
Summarising the upshot of budget for Northern Ireland, the Treasury issued a statement saying that, beyond the £370m in extra money, “Rachel Reeves recognised Northern Ireland's £63bn contribution to the UK economy, with multi-million pound investments in a Belfast to Derry-Londonderry R&D growth corridor and confirmation that advanced manufacturing will be the focus for the Northern Ireland Enhanced Investment Zone”.
It also said that scrapping the two-child benefits cap “could lift thousands of children in Northern Ireland out of poverty”.
The budget revealed that the National Living Wage will rise by 4.1% in April, and the National Minimum Wage by 8.5%, which the government estimates will “help around 170,000 workers in Northern Ireland”.