Approval of NI budget taken off Stormont Executive agenda six times

Finance minister Conor Murphy. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA

A decision on next year’s budget for public services has failed to make the Stormont Executive’s agenda six or seven times, the finance minister said.

Time is running out and outstanding issues surround whether to borrow at historically low rates and whether the British Government will replace millions of pounds the EU traditionally pays towards priorities such as education.