Robinson warns of Stormont crisis over welfare deal

The Stormont House Agreement will fall if Sinn Féin pulls out of a deal on welfare reform, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson has said.

Republicans have said they will not support the proposed benefits legislation after accusing the Democratic Unionist Party of reneging on commitments and failing to protect the vulnerable.

A deal was signed before Christmas involving the British and Irish governments and five parties at Stormont to resolve public spending disputes which had paralysed the devolved administration.

Mr Robinson said welfare reform was crucial.

“The Stormont House Agreement will fall because this is a key element of it. If the Stormont House Agreement falls, then we are back into a crisis.”

The agreement paved the way for a budget to be passed for Northern Ireland public services next year — including changes to welfare reform.

The issue has been a red line for Sinn Féin in their negotiations as part of their commitment to protecting the vulnerable.

However, Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has accused the DUP of reneging on commitments he said had been made in the Stormont House deal.

“At Stormont House the five parties agreed a series of measures to protect the vulnerable and safeguard current and future welfare claimants under the control of the Executive,” he said.

“However, the DUP have acted in bad faith and are now reneging on their commitments to protect the most vulnerable.

“It is their intention to provide only partial protection to current recipients of benefit and no protection whatsoever for future claimants.

“That is totally unacceptable.

“If the DUP want to strip benefits from children with disabilities, from adults with severe disabilities, the long-term sick, or push children further into poverty, then they need to explain and justify that. Sinn Féin certainly will not accept that approach.”

The parties had agreed to provisionally set aside around £560m over the next six years to provide top-up payments to thousands of claimants.

Sinn Féin now claims the DUP has gone against its word in regard to how those Executive-funded measures would work.

The British Treasury had been imposing multi-million-pound penalties on the Executive for its long-standing failure to implement the reforms.

In total around £100m has already been taken off the block grant in the last two years — to reflect the failure to save the British Treasury the money that has been saved elsewhere in the United Kingdom — and £114m will be cut in the coming financial year if the changes are not implemented.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers has described the developments as “deeply concerning’’.