There is no doubt that Stormont needs more money to fund public services. It is one of the few things on which our politicians wholeheartedly agree.
Even the Conservatives, the architects of austerity, accept that Northern Ireland needs not only a new funding model but also more cash; that welcome and long overdue admission was made by secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris and the £3.3 billion package which eased the reboot of devolution.
We have now been given a closer look at the strings attached to the deal, in particular the Treasury’s knotty demand that the executive raises at least £113 million in additional revenue in the next financial year.
The executive has already made clear that it is unhappy about having to ask hard-pressed families to part with more money. First Minister Michelle O’Neill has ruled out water charges while Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly correctly points out the disconnect between asking people to pay more when public services are so poor.
How the executive confronts the Treasury’s demand will be an early test of its resolve and sustainability. Ministers should not contemplate additional revenue-raising measures - perhaps through a bump to the regional part of domestic rates bills, however unpalatable that may be - until the British government has committed to multi-year funding at a level that fully matches the north’s need.
More money is vital but it is wishful thinking to imagine that is all that matters. It needs to be allocated, administered and spent wisely. Years of dysfunction at Stormont, whether around the executive table or in the civil service, means delivery of services and stewardship of public money has been found wanting far too often.
Spiralling hospital waiting lists and crippling childcare costs, to pick but two pressing issues, did not emerge from a vacuum; the DUP’s dough-headed boycott of powersharing has certainly made things worse, but the rot set in long before that in a system addicted to crisis and confrontation.
More money is vital but it is wishful thinking to imagine that is all that matters. It needs to be allocated, administered and spent wisely. Years of dysfunction at Stormont means delivery of services and stewardship of public money has been found wanting far too often
Years of neglect means Stormont has also given us potholes - lots of them. You don’t need to go far from your front door to find evidence of just how poorly maintained our roads are, especially in rural areas; it’s there in the craters that turn roads into moonscapes, overgrown verges, blocked drains and faded white lines.
Infrastructure minister John O’Dowd has found an extra £1m to fill the holes. It’s a start, but only a small one.
Fixing the roads is one simple but important way that Stormont can show that it can actually materially improve the quality of our lives.
And if it can’t manage that, how can ministers ever look voters in the eye and ask them for more money?
