Minister briefs MLAs on NI budget

Lord Rooker said he did not know how many MLAs would turn up

Assembly members have been given a briefing on the draft budget by the Northern Ireland Office minister Lord Rooker.

It is the first time such a meeting has taken place with Lord Rooker saying direct rule ministers wanted to be as open and inclusive as possible.

UUP finance spokesman Esmond Birnie said a 35 minute session was not enough to address a £16bn budget.

"Meetings like these are no substitute for local democracy," he said.

The South Belfast assembly member said it had amounted to "taxation without representation".

"The government should have the guts to restore local accountable democratic institutions to Northern Ireland even in the absence of Sinn Fein," he said.

Last December, a multi-billion pound spending plan to address Northern Ireland's infrastructure deficit was announced.

It said a 10-year framework for regeneration could see the delivery of £16bn in areas such as roads, schools and hospitals.

Delivering a revised budget, the then Finance Minister Ian Pearson also confirmed plans to cut the Civil Service by 2,300 within three years.

Lord Rooker told BBC News on Monday morning that the secretary of state and his ministerial team were "grappling with some big issues at the present time".

We have responsibility to Northern Ireland, we have responsibility to the Westminster Parliament, and of course my other four colleagues have constituency responsibilities Lord Rooker NIO minister

"We thought it would be quite useful, as opposed to offering announcements at press conferences - which of course we did do with the draft budget - to offer a specific briefing face-to-face from ourselves to members of the Northern Ireland Assembly."

However, Alliance Party leader David Ford said he believed the meeting had been called so the government could avoid true consultation with the parties.

"Today's meeting was an opportunity for the minister to talk at us rather than talk with us.

"As such, it was a cynical window dressing exercise," Mr Ford said.

The Northern Ireland Office minister said he wanted to be "as open and inclusive as possible".

"I appreciate that we are over in Northern Ireland as what are politely termed as 'part-time commuting direct rule ministers'.

"We have responsibility to Northern Ireland, we have responsibility to the Westminster Parliament, and of course my other four colleagues have constituency responsibilities.

"It is a question of doing it the best way we think we can."

He denied it was a one-way street and that the NIO would simply be telling assembly members what was going to take place.