Public to pay if Unionists refuse to form government

Controversial water bills will be posted to homes in the North in four days time if unionists refuse to form a power-sharing government, it emerged tonight.

As the Rev Ian Paisley met Prime Minister Tony Blair in London for crisis talks, government sources confirmed the bills have already been put into envelopes and will be issued next Tuesday if there is no devolved executive.

And they also warned Assembly members if they failed to form a power-sharing administration on Monday, they will not receive a single penny for their work.

“The parties should be under no illusion,” a source told the Press Association.

“The water bills are being enveloped today and they will be posted on Tuesday if there is no executive.

“If they want to stop the charges, if they want to avail of the £70m (€103.3m) the Treasury is offering to defer the charges, they will have to form an executive on Monday.

“If they refuse to appoint ministers, the Assembly will close down and MLAs will not receive any salaries or allowances.”

With Northern Secretary Peter Hain setting a deadline of midnight tomorrow for the Democratic Unionists to confirm they will nominate the Rev Ian Paisley as first minister, pressure mounted on the party to give the green light to power sharing.

DUP sources insisted there were still a number of issues to be resolved before the party could commit itself to power sharing by Monday’s deadline at tomorrow’s meeting of the 120-member party executive in Belfast.

In particular the DUP has pressed for greater clarity from Sinn Féin about its attitude to the police and for Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown to produce more funds for the devolved executive.

It is understood the party is reluctant to have a cabinet meeting within 48 hours of the power sharing executive being formed, although Sinn Féin economic spokesperson Mitchel McLaughlin insisted it would have to take place if ministers were to stop the water charges.

A DUP source said: “We’re not so sure that is the case.

“The talks we are having now are exploring a number of ways to access the Chancellor’s multi-billion pound economic package and stop water charges.”

Concerns have been mounting outside the DUP about Mr Paisley’s ability to persuade some senior party colleagues, including Derry MP Gregory Campbell, that the time is right to go into government with Sinn Féin.

Before he and his colleagues Peter Robinson and Nigel Dodds left for talks with the prime minister, Mr Paisley told a business conference in Belfast his party was still holding out for a deal which would deliver stable and enduring government and where all ministers including Sinn Féin’s were fully committed to the rule of law.

The DUP leader insisted the chancellor’s economic package of £51bn (€75bn) over 10 years, including £36bn (€53bn) over four was too stingy and he accused Mr Brown of a slight of hand over claims he had found an extra £1bn (€1.5bn), noting £400m (€590m) of it was actually Government money.

“I would go so far as to contend that the financial package is unfair because the UK Exchequer is getting off lightly in proportion to the capital investment on offer from the Republic of Ireland,” the North Antrim MP said.

“The Treasury has to realise that it has to be generous, not stingy in this regard and this slight of hand which the chancellor used to put the money in with that of Ireland’s (money) and then tell the people we’re doing a good job, we need more than Republic of Ireland euro, we need the British Exchequer to start making sacrifices for the people of Northern Ireland.”