Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Stormont House Agreement means particular conditions being adhered to. I do not have in front of me the difference between the detailed discussions on welfare reform conducted before Christmas before the agreement was arrived at and the details that apply now for welfare reform since the agreement was put together. There seems to be a discrepancy somewhere in the mathematics if this is what the row is about. Obviously, the Government was not party to the detailed discussions prior to Christmas about what welfare reform would mean for people but there seems to be a change in the figures that apply. I think one must go back to that point - what was laid out in detail in papers before Christmas and what has brought about a change in those figures that affect people with social welfare payments in various forms in Northern Ireland.

This is a very serious political matter. These institutions have paved the way for many years since the Good Friday Agreement. It has not been an easy journey in many respects. This row was brewing before Christmas. All of the parties and the two Governments got involved and agreement was reached on a set of figures with details about them. The agreement was signed off, accepted and welcomed by everybody. There now seems to be a difference in those figures. What has happened? I think the Deputy First Minister needs to go back and discover why this drift in these figures occurred, if it happened.

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