[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-67693079](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-67693079)
**The government stands ready to legislate to “protect” Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market, the prime minister has said.**
Rishi Sunak told the Commons such a move would sit alongside a deal to restore the Northern Ireland Executive.
He added the government was prepared to work “at pace” to achieve this.
Northern Ireland’s parties have been meeting for a third day of talks on finances after the government unveiled a £2.5bn package.
Mr Sunak was responding to a question from Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson on Wednesday.
Northern Ireland’s devolved government collapsed in February 2022 after the DUP withdrew in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements between the region and Great Britain.
The party has been seeking further legal assurances from Westminster of Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market.
## ‘We can do this at pace’
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Jeffrey asked the government to amend the UK Internal Market Act to “guarantee and future-proof” Northern Ireland’s access to the UK internal market “in all scenarios”.
The DUP leader said unionists were concerned about “the need to remove the Irish Sea border” as it “disrupts the UK’s internal market”.
Mr Sunak responded: “I recognise the need to do more in this area and I can confirm to him that the government does stand ready to legislate to protect Northern Ireland’s integral place in the United Kingdom and the UK internal market alongside an agreement to restore the executive.”
The prime minister said that “we can do this at pace”.
“Our NHS, our police officers and the most vulnerable in Northern Ireland need devolved government urgently and I think it’s incumbent on all of us to work day and night to help achieve that,” he continued.
The DUP collapsed the power-sharing executive in protest against Irish Sea trade barriers under the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was agreed in 2019 by the UK and European Union.
Devolved government can only operate in Northern Ireland with the participation of the largest parties in both unionism and nationalism – currently the DUP and Sinn Féin.
Unionists said the post-Brexit arrangement diminished Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market.
In February, the UK agreed a new deal with the EU called the Windsor Framework aimed at reducing checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
But the DUP said this did not go far enough and it has been in negotiations with the government for months aimed at securing further changes.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris last month said those talks were in the “final, final stages”.
Separate multi-party talks on a £2.5bn financial package for Stormont began at Hillsborough Castle on Monday, with the Northern Ireland Office setting aside three days for meetings.
The government offer, [outlined on Monday](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-67672502), is dependent on reviving the power-sharing institutions.
## What is in the government’s offer?
The proposed financial package would include a lump sum to settle public sector pay claims and a new “needs-based” funding formula for public services.
It would also allow budget overspends at Stormont from last year and this year to be repaid over five years.
An executive would have to commit to raising rates – the property taxes paid by households and businesses – by at least 15%.
The new funding model would include a “fiscal floor”, which would mean public spending per head in Northern Ireland would always by 24% higher than it is in England.
The new funding offer is worth billions a year, a public finance expert has said.
David Phillips, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said it would be the biggest change to how Northern Ireland is funded since the late 1970s, adding that if the fiscal floor works the same way as in it does in Wales, its value will increase over time.
‘Funding won’t stay on the floor, it will grow relative to England – to maybe 126-127% after 10 years.
“This is because Northern Ireland’s population is expected to grow slower than England’s and this is ignored by floor,” he wrote on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
Stormont’s Department of Finance has previously said it is facing £580m of public sector pay pressures this year and it is understood the package would fully fund that.
The package would also include a four-year “stabilisation fund” worth £1.125bn.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris is expected to meet the leaders of the DUP, Sinn Féin, Alliance Party and Ulster Unionist Party on Wednesday evening.
But the parties have said the proposed funding is not enough.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary David Cameron is set to meet Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Micheál Martin in London.
## ‘Sustainable footing’
Discussions on a financial package for Stormont began at Hillsborough Castle on Monday, with the Northern Ireland Office setting aside three days for meetings.
DUP assembly member Gordon Lyons said on Tuesday he did not believe the package on offer was “adequate to address the issues that we face”.
Sinn Féin assembly member Conor Murphy said the talks process “isn’t a real negotiation” and the package offered “falls short of what’s needed”.
by Constant__18