Tory-DUP deal: £400m for infrastructure, study on air passenger duty impact

The Conservative and Democratic Unionist Party parties have agreed an agreement to vote together in Parliament that includes an additional £400m over the next two years for the Northern Ireland Executive to spend on infrastructure development.

The Executive has been given "sufficient flexibility as to the choice of the project to ensure that it is able to deliver the York Street Interchange road project and other priorities," a statement on the financial support states. A power-sharing deal in Northern Ireland itself would need to be agreed for politicians in the province to agree how the funds are spent, or it will be the Northern Ireland secretary who will decide under direct rule. The York Street Interchange, to address a strategic road bottleneck, would cost an estimated £130m.

Agreement has not been reached on scrapping air passenger duty to the province, as the DUP wants. Instead, there will be a "detailed, consultative report on the impact of APD [and VAT] on tourism in Northern Ireland". 

Parties in Wales and Scotland criticised the deal in the media, stating that additional capital funding should also be found for their nations.