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Department of Finance
Department of Finance (Northern Ireland) logo.svg
Department overview
Formed June 1921 (as Ministry of Finance)
Preceding Department
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, Irish: An Roinn Airgeadais, Ulster-Scots: Männystrie o Siller) is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for Finance.

The department was previously called the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP) before its name change on 9 May 2016.

Aim

DoF's overall aim is to help the Northern Ireland Executive "secure the most appropriate and effective use of resources and services for the benefit of the community".

The incumbent Minister is Conor Murphy.

Responsibilities

The department is responsible for the following policy areas:

Some financial matters are reserved to Westminster and are therefore not devolved:

In addition, some matters are excepted and were not intended for devolution:

  • taxation
  • currency

DoF's main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:

In the Irish Government, the main counterparts are:

  • the Department of Finance;
  • the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform;
  • the Department of Justice (on civil law reform and land registration);
  • the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (on building regulation).

History

A Ministry of Finance was established on the formation of Northern Ireland in June 1921. A finance ministry also existed in the 1974 Northern Ireland Executive and became known as the Department of Finance and Personnel under direct rule.

Following a referendum on the Belfast Agreement on 23 May 1998 and the granting of royal assent to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive were established by the United Kingdom Government under Prime Minister Tony Blair. The process was known as devolution and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland. DFP is therefore one of six direct rule Northern Ireland departments which continued in existence after devolution in December 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

A devolved minister first took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule ministers from the Northern Ireland Office:

  • between 12 February 2000 and 30 May 2000;
  • on 11 August 2001;
  • on 22 September 2001;
  • between 15 October 2002 and 8 May 2007.

Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption.

Ministers of Finance

Minister Image Party Took office Left office
    Mark Durkan MarkDurkan.jpg SDLP 29 November 1999 11 February 2000
Office suspended
    Mark Durkan MarkDurkan.jpg SDLP 30 May 2000 13 December 2001
    Seán Farren No image.svg SDLP 14 December 2001 14 October 2002
Office suspended
    Peter Robinson Peter Robinson MLA DUP.jpg DUP 14 May 2007 9 June 2008
    Nigel Dodds NigelDodds.jpg DUP 9 June 2008 1 July 2009
    Sammy Wilson SammyWilson.jpg DUP 1 July 2009 28 July 2013
    Simon Hamilton SimonHamiltonDUP.jpg DUP 29 July 2013 11 May 2015
    Arlene Foster MLA Arlene Foster.jpg DUP 11 May 2015 12 January 2016
    Mervyn Storey Mervyn Storey.jpg DUP 13 January 2016 30 March 2016
Office renamed Minister of Finance
    Máirtín Ó Muilleoir Máirtín Ó Muilleoir.jpg Sinn Féin 25 May 2016 2 March 2017
Office suspended
    Conor Murphy Conor Murphy.jpg Sinn Féin 11 January 2020 27 October 2022

Direct rule ministers

During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the Northern Ireland Office were responsible for the department:

  • Adam Ingram (2000)
  • Ian Pearson (2002–05)
  • Lord Rooker (2005–06)
  • David Hanson (2006–07)

See also

  • Committee for Finance and Personnel
  • NIDirect
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