A disagreement has erupted between the Northern Ireland government and the Irish government regarding funding for cross-border organizations established under the Good Friday Agreement. Sinn Féin finance minister Caoimhe Archibald proposed an alternative funding model, but DUP deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly expressed opposition, arguing that it would disrupt the existing balance between contributions from both jurisdictions.
The deputy first minister has stated that a Sinn Féin minister's proposal to alter funding arrangements for north-south bodies 'breaks the balance' between Stormont and the Irish government. Emma Little-Pengelly, of the Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP ), refuted claims of obstructing Caoimhe Archibald's plans but asserted that there is currently no agreement.
Sinn Féin has accused the DUP of 'holding up' the funding proposals for cross-border organizations established under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. This controversy arises following an announcement by one of these organizations, the Irish-language agency Foras na Gaeilge, regarding funding cuts. Foras na Gaeilge stated that it must implement savings exceeding €800,000 (£669,000), resulting in funding reductions for certain groups operating in Northern Ireland. However, it emphasized that these reductions must be proportionally matched by Stormont's Department of Communities before any budget increase can be considered.Archibald has proposed an alternative funding model, which she anticipates the executive will discuss promptly. Caoimhe Archibald informed BBC's Sunday Politics program that she had presented an 'alternative funding model' for north-south bodies. 'I hope to have that paper discussed by the executive as soon as possible,' stated the outgoing finance minister, who on Monday was succeeded by Little-Pengelly. Little-Pengelly conveyed to the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday that there exists a 'careful balance' in funding for north-south bodies. She explained that this balance is 'to ensure that the work that happens within those bodies is also balanced in terms of the north-south aspects of those'. 'I understand that the finance minister perhaps is proposing to break that, and indeed to facilitate the south to increase their contribution without that being linked to Northern Ireland's contribution,' she said. 'That is not something that I am in agreement with, so therefore it is not blocked - there is simply not agreement with that proposal at this stage.'Little-Pengelly asserted that she could 'see no reason to change' the existing funding model. 'If the only alternative funding model that is on the table is one that breaks the balance between the contributions between the Republic of Ireland government and the Northern Ireland government to north-south bodies, then that is not something that I am in agreement with,' she added. 'I am in agreement with that being balanced across the two jurisdictions. That gives both jurisdictions that balanced say in terms of both the activities and the funding model.' She requested 'an explanation for the delay in introducing a new funding model', stating that it could provide 'vital funding to both the Ulster Scots Agency and to Foras na Gaelige'
FUNDING DISPUTE NORTH-SOUTH BODIES GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT REPUBLIC OF IRELAND NORTHERN IRELAND Sinn Féin DUP CAOIMHE ARCHIBALD EMMA LITTLE-PENGILLY
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