Stormont would have an extra £3.3 billion (€3.8 billion) a year at its disposal, equivalent to almost a fifth of its budget, if it ended populist giveaways and overstaffing in the public sector.

That is the finding of a so-called “open book review” by the UK treasury, after combing through the finances of every Stormont department. The review was a condition of an emergency loan in February to cover £400 million of overspending, mainly due to unfunded pay rises in health and education, departments controlled by the UUP and the DUP respectively.

Unionists are a little more conservative than Sinn Féin with public money – the health and education ministers made some cuts to help towards the pay rises. But the difference between them is becoming more like that between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael than any party would care to admit.

Similar budget reviews have been made in recent years by the Northern Ireland Office and independent fiscal bodies. These have produced figures of about £700 million, so the treasury’s shocking assertion is that matters are five times worse. Most of the giveaways it identifies are wearily familiar. Subsidising university tuition fees, refusing to introduce domestic water charges, charging lower household taxes than the rest of the UK, plus waived fees and discounts on other public services all add up to about £1.3 billion by the treasury’s........

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