AN additional £127 million announced by the British Treasury to help Stormont tackle Covid-19 on Tuesday, is not new money, Finance Minister Conor Murphy has said.
The lump sum for the Executive was included as part of a £4.6 billion package announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Under the announcement, retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England and Wales will receive a one-off grant of up to £9,000, depending on their size.
The Treasury said the devolved administrations would “receive additional funding as a result of these announcements in the usual manner”.
But Finance Minister Conor Murphy said Stormont’s share, listed as £127m, was already included in a previous uplift on December 24.
“The £127m announced by the Chancellor isn't new funding," said the Sinn Féin minister.
"Before Christmas, Treasury confirmed a £200m increase to the amount guaranteed for our Covid-19 response. The £127m is covered within this.
“Covid continues to present many challenges. I’m encouraging Executive colleagues to ensure the remaining funding we have available gets out urgently to where it’s needed,” he added.
Belfast Chamber chief Simon Hamilton said any announcement of restrictions on businesses must be matched with additional “desperately needed” financial backing for businesses.
“What support has been offered has been gratefully received, but it has been slow and has often fallen far short of covering the costs businesses continue to incur as they are closed,” he said.
“The Executive needs to seriously up its game and create sufficient support and protection for the businesses it is keeping closed, or else we will see many firms falling by the wayside and the loss of a great many jobs.”
