Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill have written to Prime Minister over the deal to restore powersharing.

By PA

Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the deal restoring powersharing.

Finance Minister Conor Murphy said: "The first and deputy first minister wrote to the Prime Minister yesterday to tell him that we are doing a piece of work, a more detailed piece of work through my department, costing the commitments that the two governments made in the document that they produced last week.

"We want to provide accurate costs for that.

"We intend on the back of that work to engage with Treasury, to engage with the Prime Minister's office and to engage with the Northern Ireland Office because that is where the blockage is in terms of that commitment.

"The Executive is united in terms of its approach to this.

"Once that work is complete, we will pick that up next week and we may well be over in London talking to people in the Treasury and in Downing Street."

Page 2: 18:21

The UK Government has announced £2 billion in funding for the new Northern Ireland Executive.

It is expected to end the ongoing pay dispute by health workers as well as fund public services and infrastructure investment,

The financial package will be accompanied by what a statement termed as "stringent conditions contained within the New Decade, New Approach deal to deliver a greater level of accountability for public spending and ensure the new Executive is building sustainable public services".

A new UK Government-Northern Ireland Executive joint board will be established, convened by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to oversee implementation.

Page 3: 18:23

Commenting on the announcement, Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith said: "This £2 billion injection will help transform public services in Northern Ireland, including ending the nurses' pay dispute. New Decade, New Approach is about putting Northern Ireland's Assembly on a sustainable footing.

"This funding provides certainty to the Executive and ensures much-needed reforms across health, education and justice can be delivered."