Department of Finance (Northern Ireland) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Department of Finance
Department overview

Formed	June 1921 (as Ministry of Finance)
Preceding Department	Dublin Castle administration
Jurisdiction	Northern Ireland
Headquarters	Clare House 303 Airport Road Belfast BT3 9ED
Employees	3,586 (September 2011)
Annual budget	£188.6 million (current) & £18.9 million (capital) for 2011–12
Minister responsible	Vacant
Website	www.finance-ni.gov.uk

The Department of Finance (DoF) is a special government department in Northern Ireland. It is part of the Northern Ireland Executive, which is like the government of Northern Ireland. The person in charge of this department is called the Minister for Finance.

This department used to be known as the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP). Its name changed on May 9, 2016.

What the Department of Finance Does
- Key Responsibilities
  - What Northern Ireland Can't Control
  - Working with Other Governments
History of the Department
- Devolution and Self-Governance
Ministers of Finance
- Direct Rule Ministers
See also

What the Department of Finance Does

The main goal of the Department of Finance is to help the Northern Ireland Executive use money and services wisely. They want to make sure these resources benefit everyone in the community.

The current Minister in charge is Conor Murphy.

Key Responsibilities

The department handles many important tasks. These include:

Managing money and budgets for Northern Ireland.
Looking after the Northern Ireland Civil Service, which is made up of people who work for the government.
Dealing with land and property owned by the government.
Setting rules for how buildings are constructed (building regulation).
Handling how the government buys goods and services (procurement).
Working on changes to civil laws.
Keeping records of births, deaths, and marriages (civil registration).

What Northern Ireland Can't Control

Some money matters are handled by the main UK government in Westminster. This means they are not managed by the Northern Ireland government. These include:

Services like banks and financial companies.
Big financial markets.

Also, some things were never meant to be handled by the Northern Ireland government. These are called "excepted" matters:

Taxes.
Currency (the money we use).

Working with Other Governments

The Department of Finance works with similar departments in other governments.

In the United Kingdom Government, their main partners are:

HM Treasury, which is like the UK's finance department.
The Cabinet Office, for matters about government workers.
The Ministry of Justice, for changes to civil laws.
The Department for Communities and Local Government, for building rules.
HM Land Registry, for keeping records of land ownership.

In the Irish Government, their main partners are:

The Department of Finance.
The Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.
The Department of Justice, for civil law and land records.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, for building rules.

History of the Department

A department for finance was first set up in Northern Ireland in June 1921. It was called the Ministry of Finance back then. Later, in 1974, it became known as the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP).

Devolution and Self-Governance

In 1998, people in Northern Ireland voted in a special referendum. This led to the Belfast Agreement. After this, the Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive were created. This process is called devolution. It meant that Northern Ireland got back some of its own law-making powers from the UK government.

The Department of Finance and Personnel was one of six departments that continued to exist after devolution started in December 1999.

A minister for the department first took office on December 2, 1999. However, the Northern Ireland government was paused four times. During these times, the department was managed by ministers from the Northern Ireland Office under what is called direct rule:

From February 12, 2000, to May 30, 2000.
On August 11, 2001.
On September 22, 2001.
From October 15, 2002, to May 8, 2007.

Since May 8, 2007, the Northern Ireland government has been working without any pauses.

Ministers of Finance

Here is a list of the people who have served as Minister of Finance for Northern Ireland:

	Minister	Party	Took office	Left office
	Mark Durkan	SDLP	29 November 1999	11 February 2000
Office suspended
	Mark Durkan	SDLP	30 May 2000	13 December 2001
	Seán Farren	SDLP	14 December 2001	14 October 2002
Office suspended
	Peter Robinson	DUP	14 May 2007	9 June 2008
	Nigel Dodds	DUP	9 June 2008	1 July 2009
	Sammy Wilson	DUP	1 July 2009	28 July 2013
	Simon Hamilton	DUP	29 July 2013	11 May 2015
	Arlene Foster	DUP	11 May 2015	12 January 2016
	Mervyn Storey	DUP	13 January 2016	30 March 2016
Office renamed Minister of Finance
	Máirtín Ó Muilleoir	Sinn Féin	25 May 2016	2 March 2017
Office suspended
	Conor Murphy	Sinn Féin	11 January 2020	27 October 2022